Jack Dorsey unveils Square Stand, new iPad point-of-sale system

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jack Dorsey, co-founder of San Francisco payments startup Square, is making another big push to expand into larger restaurants and retailers with a sleek new point-of-sale device.

The Square Stand is made out of molded white plastic and swivels either to the merchant or to the customer. It bolts to a checkout counter or a cash register box and runs Square’s point-of-sale application called Square Register. It comes equipped with a credit card reader and USB ports as well as a bar code scanner, receipt printer and a cash register box.

The new product is a shift for Square, which will now be taking on traditional point-of-sale system makers as well as companies that make a new wave of registers built around the iPad.

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In a news conference held at Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco, Dorsey said the new product is aimed at high-volume brick-and-mortar stores.

Square has become popular with small merchants who use its credit card swiper that plugs into smartphones and iPads. But the company has come up against resistance from larger retailers.

Now it’s going after that much bigger piece of the transactional pie by bringing together hardware and software into one device.

“Fundamentally, we do believe that hardware makes software better,” Dorsey said.

It’s unclear if Square –- even with its celebrity founder and hundreds of millions in funding –- can chip away at merchants who still use traditional registers and checkout stands.

The Square Stand goes on sale in July for $300 on the Square website and in Best Buy stores. Thirteen merchants in more than 30 locations will begin testing the stand this week, including Blue Bottle Coffee outlets.

Asked if Starbucks will begin using Square Stand, Dorsey said Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who sits on Square’s board, is “excited” about it. Starbucks invested $25 million in Square last year, and Square processes Starbucks’ credit card transactions in the U.S.

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