You will need an Internet connected iPad, iPhone, Android, or computer available for you and your staff if you plan on conducting Bitcoin transactions. Here is a hypothetical scenario:

1. Customer brings $25.27 worth of merchandise to counter and wants to pay with Bitcoins.

2. Sales associate rings up merchandise on the standard POS system, and chooses “Bitcoin” for the payment method. Most POS systems have customizable payment option buttons, one of which could be labeled “Bitcoin”.

3. Sales associate launches the Bitcoin software on one of the devices:

– Chose “Receive Payment”

– Enter $25.27 as the amount to be collected.

4. A QR code will be generated by the Bitcoin software. This will include:

– The deposit address for the collection.

– The amount to be collected.

5. The Sales Associate shows this QR code on screen to the customer.

6. The customer uses their mobile device to scan the QR code with their Bitcoin wallet app, and sends the payment.

7. The sales associate closes the register as a complete sale, and issues receipts as usual.

Bitpay has a few videos showing the transaction process.

As you will notice in the steps I provided above, Bitcoin merchants do not have to worry about exchange rate obfuscations. You simply enter the USD amount of the sale, and the Bitcoin network calculates the current Bitcoin value in real time as the transaction occurs. This is one of Bitcoin’s many strengths as a global commerce platform, as travelers worldwide can worry less about local exchange rate calculations.