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<p>Dear committee and tech subscribers,</p>
<p>As some of you may be aware, I have been attempting to implement
a card payment system for UCC using <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://squareup.com/au">SquareUp</a> (with the <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://squareup.com/shop/hardware/au/en/products/chip-credit-card-reader-with-nfc-au">Square
Reader</a> hardware).</p>
<p>The Square reader itself is fairly neat, it has a slot to insert
a card, a micro-USB 2.0 socket, a single button and 4 LEDs built
in. It is however not a standalone payment system - a compatible
Android/iOS device running the Square app must connect to the
reader via Bluetooth in order to accept payments.</p>
<p>I've done a fair amount of testing on various devices with
different custom Android images and have arrived at the conclusion
that it would be virtually impossible to convince the Square app
to connect to the reader on a non-stock (ie. rooted/modified)
Android device (including android-x86 running on a laptop or VM).
That leaves the option of purchasing a phone or tablet (ideally
running Android, although iOS remains a possibility) as a "club
device".<br>
</p>
<p>My recommendation for hardware is as follows:<br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>Nokia 3.1 ~ $210 (such as
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BRAND-NEW-NOKIA-3-1-2GB-16GB-DUAL-SIM-SIM-FREE-UNLOCKED-WHITE/332724479845">https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BRAND-NEW-NOKIA-3-1-2GB-16GB-DUAL-SIM-SIM-FREE-UNLOCKED-WHITE/332724479845</a>)</li>
<ul>
<li>Currently supports "Android One" (support guarantee for 2
years)</li>
</ul>
<li>Square reader - $60 (at Officeworks)<br>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Once the phone and reader have been purchased, they could then be
configured using the Square app and it would be possible to start
accepting card payments (ie. for events or dispense topups)
straight away. Further integration with dispense would be possible
using the Square APIs, this would require more time and
experimentation but is something I intend to work on in the
future.<br>
</p>
<p>Feedback is most welcome, with luck the necessary budgeting will
be discussed at the next committee meeting.</p>
<p>- [FVP]<br>
</p>
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