kebosabi

And that's the problem; it's so cheap nowadays that's it's so prone to skimming fraud. Buying a Square mag-stripe reader that one can attach to an iPad for less than $30 at Walmart raises eyebrows in security concerns. Durability wise, a $30 Square mag-stripe reader from Walmart, likely cheapily built in China, probably lasts a year at best; not including the monthly data fee of the iPad.

For businesses that has to eat up the cost of skimming fraud, something like a Square reader + iPad is not something they would want to go with. They would want something that has a direct line to the acquirer, something more durable and long lasting.

From my local pet store owner's perspective, $400 for a replacement device that has the mag-stripe, the contactless, the EMV chip slot, and an LCD signature pad, which has a direct line to the acquirer is a good investment in the long term. While $400 may sound expensive, considering that the average life span and durability of these stand alone POS devices are built to last 15-20 years, through the long term the annual cost of the device pretty much equals the Square reader. In addition the stand alone device comes with contactless and the EMV slot.

And with VISA now issuing TIP incentives to US merchants, he's also protected against eating up the cost of fraud and wouldn't have to comply with expensive annual PCI-DSS fees.