Bitcoin POS is now a thing

I just saw this news on X and it really grabbed my attention. So, bitcoin payments are getting easier with this new device, which I believe will help boost adoption. But has anyone actually seen one of these physical bitcoin POS machines? Not talking about the usual bitcoin ATMs here. The downside is that using this machine might be a bit tricky for newbies. Plus, local businesses are gonna need to trust it before they start accepting it, which could slow down the process of getting more people on board. Has anyone encountered a real bitcoin POS device? How user-friendly is it?

This is the first time i am seeing this, I have never heard of this kind of stuff before, i have seeing different machines before but I have never heard or seeing bitcoin machine before, it will be similar to other pos machine but how do people are going to believe it when you can use your phone to make a transaction if you want to make a payment, the machine is good because it will help some people when they are not with any device that they will use to make payments but what people to not see it very important is that since the introduction of pos is new, people will still prefer to make a phone transaction than using the machine because no one is safe, people are using pos machine to scam customers and no matter how there are people who thinks negative about it, so as long as people can make transactions of bitcoin through their own wallet and phone, they will prefer to continue using it.

I saw such devices in the hands of merchants when I was visiting Japan a year ago. They seemed very accustomed to using them, because from an outsider’s perspective it looked extremely easy for them to operate. You can even order such device for yourself, for example here, but I think the ordinary bitcoiner doesn’t really need one, since the wallet is enough to pay in BTC or buy bitcoin.

Judging by the branding (the image isn't very clear to me), it looks like a Sunmi v3. I don't know exactly how it works; I think it's like an integrated cash register that can print receipts using NFC and QR codes. Perhaps this device can also support Bitcoin LN implementations with more complex settings, considering it's not specifically designed for crypto payments, idk. I don't think trust is the primary concern, as this is a user-facing transaction. But how customer privacy is guaranteed, along with cost and time efficiency, is important.

This post doesn't explain the Bitcoin payment process, but I guess it's based on a Lightning Network-based custodial wallet solution, such as the merchant receiving service of WOS wallet. The post mentions that charging an extra 3% to 4% fee for Bitcoin payments would hinder the widespread adoption of Bitcoin payments, since most people hold Bitcoin not for payments but as an asset for appreciation.

This is interesting and all, but don't you (and I mean anyone reading this thread) think the days of bitcoiners wanting merchant adoption are gone--or at least are going at a rate where there's not going to be much enthusiasm left when tech like this comes out? I remember years ago there was a lot of talk about bitcoin adoption, but slowly that talk got replaced with conversation about price performance and big purchases by institutional investors and/or government ownership.  In so far as privacy has all but disappeared with bitcoin use, which was a big selling point, and in addition to the priorities of the community at large...I don't see this as succeeding long-term. I hope I'm wrong, though and I hate to be a pessimist.  It's just in my damn nature unfortunately.

I just see it as something inevitable. If BTC is for everyone, by design, and it truly is - then everybody will have their fingers in it eventually. Just in a different degree.

There are many devices like this, they look like mobile smartphone and some are even removable, I believe the device is running on a android OS which makes them easier to install crypto wallets on, there is no miracle behind this, it's just a smartphone made for payment options and they work beautifully well. The usage shouldn't be challenging is users are already familiar with metamask and trust wallet for example, it's just a scan and complete payment thing, it's not complicated like you think, if you can use a crypto wallet you can use this device.

I can see your point and I do not think that is pessimistic at all, I also think that the conversation regarding Bitcoin has shifted. In the beginning, almost every merchant was encouraging others to adopt Bitcoin as an accepted form of payment; however, now it seems that most of the noise surrounding Bitcoin is centered on the price, ETF's, institutions and government holding BTC. While I still do not believe merchant adoption has come to a complete halt, it is just not the main focus of attention at this time. The simple fact is the technology did not support payments effectively in the early days of Bitcoin, payment processing times were slow and fees were often excessive. Using Bitcoin for day-to-day transactions caused significant stress. While developments such as Lightning Network and physical Point-of-Sale (POS) devices are at least trying to make payments smoother and more familiar for regular users and businesses. You're also right about privacy not being what many of us expected and that is also a valid concern. That being said, I do not believe that Bitcoin needs to become a replacement for cash in order to matter. The adoption of Bitcoin will likely be more niche-based - i.e., cross border payments, people in tough economies or merchants who wish to provide an alternate method of accepting payments. Therefore, while this will likely not result in widespread adoption immediately, I do not believe it to be useless either, but rather, I perceive it to be quiet progress rather than hype, and historically, Bitcoin has developed in stages.

Someone talked about this device on this forum last December, he wanted to buy another phone but he finally paid with bitcoin. You can see this discussion here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5567297.0 He called it a payment device but I am very sure that it is a POS machine. You are right. But I wish there could be a device like that in my country, so that I can buy electronics and phones with bitcoin. Maybe I just like the idea.

I haven't seen this personally, but it looks like the modern POS that some of the restaurants near my place use. It probably accepts credit cards, too, with that design. It seems like a tap-to-pay type of system as well. I'm curious, would it be okay to use it directly? Does it need any KYC or any registration before you can do it? I assume there would be some protection when sending from a wallet you generated, because it might take time or can be abused if it's not LN or fast TX. To where in the world is this, is this taxable already or VAT ex? Lol.

Great news but I’m still very confused on how possible this can work very well but since I know there’s nothing impossible in this world I will likely believe it can work very well. Has anyone in this forum used this machine before if yes please tell us how it works and what are the requirements needed to use or make transactions with this machine, I have not seen this machine but I believe they may be using it in super market that accepts bitcoin as a form of payment.

Yes, if Bitcoin cannot be used on a large scale in daily life, it will eventually fail due to the gradual depletion of on-chain transaction fees. Bitcoin can only survive by returning to the electronic cash defined in its white paper.

Fiat POS machines are popular in my country. Almost every business in cities and some places in rural areas uses them. Bitcoin POS will increase the use of Bitcoin for small-medium scale businesses. The use of this machine might be challenging for first-time or new users, but they would master the machine as they use it more. There are always risks in using centralised platforms and anyone using them should be prepared to bear them. I have never seen this machine in my location. Maybe with time, its use will become popular.

POS machine is a past trend and it won't help adoption. It's very complicated, and charge big fees combined with high maintenance cost. So merchants are not interesting in using it. These days people can pay in a merchant with their bitcoin by scanning via QR code on their smartphone. Paying via QR code much more simpler and faster. So that kind of machine is not needed.

It's anyways worth having for alternatives sake  And for regulation, having the taxes and printing out what was carried out in a transaction.. It's worth it, imo, for some vendors, it will be.

I've heard of Bitcoin ATM but not the POS. Again, for adoption to increase, these machines need to be distributed across businesses and countries who are Bitcoin tolerant should adopt it's use, this way it can attract more use and those who are curious about Bitcoin can get to know more about it. What a welcome innovation.

Next time provide an alternative link in the OP, and posts containing only X links should not be merited at all. Unless you have an account on that website it is not easily readable, it is not worth trying to add effort to read it from this source. All business solutions that are from 3rd parties require trust, therefore stop making up arguments against Bitcoin solutions that do not apply. I have criticized this trend in some other threads, where users look for any negative points and bring them up as if they were specific to Bitcoin even if they apply to everything and anything which makes them inapplicable in that way. I have good news for you, you are completely and absolutely wrong. The main reason for this is that your primary interaction with the Bitcoin world is as follows (in the case of most users): 1) Bitcointalk forum - Most members are spammers and don't give a fuck about Bitcoin or know anything about Bitcoin, this even includes most DT members, staff members and merit sources. 2) X - Completely unhinged, full of scams, misinformation and money oriented (I am talking about the crypto side). 3) Reddit - Good at times but very inconsistent over longer time periods, similar to X at times. Most of the good people that are actually advancing adoption are not on any of these platforms, why would they be? Usually they are if they are trying to get money or some other shit for their project, which just shows that their motivations are corrupt. What I have observed over the recent years is that there is a growing bottom-up adoption effort in many places, places you will find barely mentioned online even if you look for them. I actually managed to stumble into places that adopt Bitcoin by chance in recent years and have paid using LN many times too (I actually installed it on a mobile device only after encountering places that accept it, not the other way down). Of course this will depend a lot on where you live or go, but like most people -- if you are not doing anything to get local adoption going, don't complain about it -- complaining without action is useless.   Change your nature when it is not beneficial, don't be a rock or a fake person like many users here.

I saw this tweet a few days after he posted it. It's a pretty good initiative, but he oversimplified it. It's not as easy as he made it seem. First of all, it depends on how Bitcoin-oriented your country or city is. And also, how ready are local businesses to accept something they don't understand? To convince local businesses to accept payment from services you don't understand, you need very good marketing, and that requires a budget. Not something that is easy for a person with no real money to do. People who live in big cities where tourist visit a lot and have a lot of local business can make use of the opportunity, if they're ready to put in the work, but people who live in small cities might not have the privilege.

It’s still charging a 4% fee, which doesn’t seem ideal. Bank POS systems either don’t charge extra or charge very little. For regular transactions, if the goal is to compete with industry giants, a maximum 2% fee would be more reasonable. The positive side is that even if shop owners don’t hold Bitcoin, accepting BTC payments and spreading usage among people would be a big step forward for adoption.