from Hacker News

Point-of-sale providers that don't require proprietary hardware

by willmadden on 10/25/24, 4:10 PM with 6 comments

I have a relative who runs a micro-brewery. Most of the focus is on distribution, but they have a healthy retail business.

They hate their existing point-of-sale solution because it requires expensive pre-configured Samsung hardware to work.

What is the consensus on point-of-sale providers with software that works on existing client hardware?

  • by joshstrange on 10/26/24, 11:56 AM

    I work in this space and there are providers who don’t require proprietary client devices (bring-your-own-iPad) but there is still proprietary hardware in the form of a small box (think MiniPC) that runs locally at the store so the iPads can still work while the location is offline (this happens far more often than I ever would’ve guessed).

    Most POS systems, even if they let you use your own iPads, will still require hardware for taking credit card payments and printing receipts.

  • by RecycledEle on 10/25/24, 11:01 PM

    I believe the contracts POS companies sign with VISA, MasterCard, and many others require the certify their hardware.

    So I do not expect to see hardware agnostic POS providers.

    I would love to be proven wrong.

  • by washadjeffmad on 10/26/24, 3:36 AM

    Do they currently have a merchant account, or are they relying entirely on third party services?