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Square has revamped one of its payment devices and cut its price as it aims for a sleeker design.
The Block Inc.-owned business said Monday that it had rolled out a new version of its Square Stand hardware, which allows sellers to combine an iPad interface with Square’s payment technology.
While the original Square Stand was “affordable, easy to use, and had the looks and features of professional point of sale,” the new version “cleans up the experience,” said Mike MacLennan, the head of product for Square Hardware, at a media event Monday.
The old Square Stand linked up to a card reader, but the new product has built-in dip- and swipe-payment capabilities. Cashiers can swivel the new Square Stand around so that customers can pay directly on the device, which is designed to minimize the presence of cables on a merchant’s countertop.
“These changes really helped us get people through the line faster” because of the “more clearly defined areas for tapping and inserting your card,” said Dan Cohen, the owner of Super Nice Coffee and Bakery, at the media event.
Square is lowering the price of the Stand to $149 from $169. The Stand is built to work with Apple Inc.’s
AAPL,
iPad. Users can either provide their own or opt to purchase one in combination with their payment-hardware order. The users also pay for card processing.
Block shares
SQ,
are off 1.6% in Monday morning trading. They’ve lost 16.0% over the past three months as the S&P 500
SPX,
has declined about 5%.
