Bitcoin is about to find itself embedded deeper in everyday retail.
Revel Systems, makers of an iPad POS, has added native Bitcoin transactions to its service.
First, a definition of terms. A POS, or point-of-sale system, is the machine where a cashier or sales person rings up your order. An iPad makes a pretty cool-looking and useful POS, and you are most likely to see one at a coffee shop or a pizza place — somewhere cashiers need a little bit more functionality than a normal cash register provides.
And now, any such place using Revel’s technology can accept Bitcoin payments. Margherita pizzas, caramel macchiatos, food truck tacos … a whole buffet of options opens up to Bitcoin spenders.
"Digital currency is the wave of the future," said Chris Ciabarra, Revel Systems CTO and co-founder. "As the standard in point-of-sale, we like to provide our customers with more ways to take advantage of consumer payment trends and supply a platform in which to take them, and that includes configuring our system to accept Bitcoin."
Revel is working with Coinbase to process Bitcoin payments. Customers will be presented with a QR code on the iPad’s screen, and they simply have to scan that with whichever Bitcoin wallet app they have on their phones.
"We like to give our clients options," said Lisa Falzone, CEO and co-founder of Revel Systems. "We listen to their feature requests, and take those into account when releasing a new build. Furthermore, we stay on top of industry trends, and we're ready for whatever's next in terms of payments. By giving our customers even more ways to accept payments, Revel gives them the freedom and opportunity to take advantage of trends and subsequently profit from them."