Mobile payment company Square introduces Square Register

The mobile payments company Square has introduced a new checkout device that looks like a tablet but runs only Square's checkout software.

Square Register

You will soon be able to swipe the Square Register and sign to pay for your meal or just coffee, instead of doing the same on an iPad. The new Square Register will serve as an alternative to other mobile devices used for the same purpose including Square's own contactless chip reader.

One advantage of the Square Register is that people are less likely to steal it. Square claims: “A built-in seller display means you don’t have to worry about iPad theft.” Businesses can still use iPads and other mobile devices with the Register but Square maintains that its device is the superior option.

The Register automatically checks for software updates. It can be connected over Ethernet or Wi-Fi. It has an offline mode that can be used if connections are down.

The Register comes with a USB hub that has five ports, so it can be connected to other devices. There is a two year warranty. You can swipe, tap, or insert a chip for payment.

The cost of the Square Register will be $999 or payments of $49 a month for two years.

The were a few retailers who tested Square Registers in New York before its release including Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Cafe Grumpy.

The Register has separate screens so that the buyer and seller can see items as they are being rung up a feature that many larger sellers had wanted, according to CEO of Square Jack Dorsey. Dorsey is also CEO of Twitter.

The Register wont necessarily replace the Square's other hardware such as Stand, but will give larger sellers great choices.

Dorsey said that they were not shifting away from supporting smaller businesses. However he also said that the company decided early on that it was not going to just focus on small and independent businesses.

As well as the cost for the hardware, there will be a transaction fee of 2.5 percent and 10 cents per transaction charged.

Square and bitcoin

Square has accepted bitcoin as payment from the spring of 2014. A buyer can pay in bitcoin and the transaction is settled in US dollars.

CEO Dorsey said at the launch of the Square Register: “We started accepting bitcoin through our online store and enabled sellers to not have to think about anything. If a buyer wanted to use bitcoin, they could use it.”

However, in 2014 there were only one or two transactions each day and Dorsey said that not much has changed since then.

Dorsey said:“I think it’s seen less as a currency right now and more like a way to invest. And I think a lot of people are using it in a digital gold kind of way. We haven’t seen a lot of the currency aspects or the potential there just yet, but we’re definitely watching closely. There’s nothing that’s more impactful to our business than digital currency and everything that’s happening in cryptocurrency — and the tech behind it. So we are definitely paying attention and are learning as quickly as possible.”