Looking for a way to interface a mag-stripe reader Android

Question

I'm relatively new to android development, but not to programming. I'd like to be able to use an Android Tablet with a mag-stripe reader, either via bluetooth or USB interface. Is Android capable of reading the serial input from the gun? If so, can anyone point me to the libraries I would need to write classes for this input?

Thanks in advance

see also http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7876274/android-how-to-read-magnetic-stripecredit-cards-etc-data — Hyangelo, Mar 12 '12 at 20:55

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 21 '11 at 21:23

1

Square uses an audio jack mag-stripe reader. You could use a similar device like this: http://www.idtechproducts.com/products/mobile-readers/112.html

answered Mar 21 '11 at 21:23

Xantus

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1

excellent option, thank you. Now all I have to do is figure out how to interface with it – Andrew Worthington Mar 23 '11 at 21:26
Could you accept this answer (if this is the best one of course) – Xantus May 25 '11 at 22:25

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 21 '11 at 18:52

I think the easiest way to build your skimming gear would be to use a standard serial usb dongle/chip (such as one from ftdi) that already has a serial driver for linux. There are a lot of good magnet card readers that talk RS-232, and programming against a serial device is a piece of cake compared to writing a usb-driver without documentation.

Looking for a way to interface a mag-stripe reader Android

2 Answers2