Credit Card Swiping add-on?

edie · May 24, 2011

I use a credit card machine for my business. Does this have a similar capability to what is at www.squareup.com? I plan on getting rid of my leased machine and transitioning over. I am paying $62 per month to lease my bank-leased credit card machine - whether I use it or not!! It's ridiculous.

Let me know.
Thx!
- Edie

TheWebTech · May 25, 2011

I don't think there is an app yet for this. You can however manually enter the card numbers, but I could see this being a pain in the but if you get a lot of customers in at once.

I'd estimate there will be a web app that can understand a hardware card reader in about 5-6 months for chrome OS. This will require work on Google's part to make more hardware work with the devices.

So I don't suggest trying to switch over to Chrome OS for card swiping just yet, but I believe it will eventually be possible.

Bling-Bling · May 25, 2011

It sounds to me like that would be almost like adding something "external" to it, which seems to be everything this computer is trying to avoid.

chromerock · Jul 9, 2011

squareup

Bling-Bling said:
It sounds to me like that would be almost like adding something "external" to it, which seems to be everything this computer is trying to avoid.

just another input device, I ordered one today, will report how it works. I see the app for android, not a google app one yet, but i bet it is coming....

modder · Jul 11, 2011

chromerock said:
just another input device, I ordered one today, will report how it works. I see the app for android, not a google app one yet, but i bet it is coming....

Does the Android one work well, I could actually see some use in that?

Driod · Jul 11, 2011

One for google should be coming on soon maybe adding an NFC support type of thing as a usb addon or something like that!

zora · Jul 12, 2011

Hrm, I saw this USB credit card swiper but I don't know if you could use it on a Chromebook or not. It is called a USB Swiper, maybe you can check them out.

USB Swiper

Dee · Jul 13, 2011

Isn't Android made by Google? I could be wrong, but that is the impression I have. I'm kind of surprised that they don't already have a Google app for squareup.

clairmont · Jul 13, 2011

Dee said:
Isn't Android made by Google? I could be wrong, but that is the impression I have. I'm kind of surprised that they don't already have a Google app for squareup.

Absolutely, hence why you very least need a google account to activate the phone and why there's a google TOS you have to agree to.

russcasey · Jul 13, 2011

Support for usb devices on chromeos is crap. Keyboards, mice and disks are about your lot, so don't rely on a usb card reader working at all - it would probably need dedicated windows software installing. You might be lucky if the card reader acts like a keyboard, in which case a web form could pick up the details it transmits.

NFC has nothing at all to do with reading credit cards as far as I understand it. NFC is a way you can make a prtment with an android phone instead of using a card.