Square: Accept Credit Card Payments on Phone
Twitter co-founder and Chairman Jack Dorsey is gearing up to launch his next company and this one couldn't be more different to the micro-blogging site that took the web by storm.
Dorsey yesterday launched the website for Square, a company that is currently developing a way for anyone with a phone to accept credit card payments. With the aid of a small adapter, which will plug into the audio jack of your phone, anyone can accept credit card payments without having to go through the lengthy process of getting set up with all the right equipment and paying monthly fees or signing a contract.
The site itself makes the product look very promising. While everything is still in beta (expect Square to be available to you early next year), the site shows off some of the niftier details like photo verification and instant, paperless reciepts. Also interesting to note that Square will donate a penny from every transaction to a cause of your choice.
Hands up who's interested! Check out the site and let us know what you think in the comments below.
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First
First being a dumbass.
ubuyusave@gmailcom = idiot
If this allows anyone to easily accept credit cards, then it could be huge. Armies of Girl Scouts (a.k.a. cookie pushers) will be able to peddle their addictive treats on even the cash-poor. Panhandlers will no longer be limited to pocket change. And the list goes on...
This has the look of being a great vehicle for criminals to further commit credit card fraud.
But other than that, it's also really cool for small business owners.
beats the 3.5" credit card reader slot that came on desktop PC years back....
in Japan, you can use phone as train card and credit card/pay service...the embedded chip stores how much money you have and all you have to do is swipe the phone on the reader and the money is taken out of your account...
i doubt such service would work in US due to too many assholes stealing personal information but in the future....
@ubuyusave@gmailcom - this is almost 2010....that kind of noob post is so 1990....
I would be concerned with the security of such a device.
This looks like an intresting system, for it to work though you would need a smartphone with a camera,touchscreen and stylus,a mini usb port and mobile internet or wifi.
Anyone with a phone or anyone with an iPhone?
Completely useless. I can't see how this can replace the swipe and sign pads in most major outlets and the swipe, print and sign in other outlets. This is poorly invested money going down the drain.
Completely useless. I can't see how this can replace the swipe and sign pads in most major outlets and the swipe, print and sign in other outlets. This is poorly invested money going down the drain.
It is not aimed at major outlets. From what I gather, Square was designed for people who operate very small, independent businesses. The website gives the example of an artist being unable to sell a piece because he cannot accept credit card payments.
Great! Now they have an app for that too?!!
They already have a app on the pre that does this except you have to manualy type in the information..This one will be a faster way to input the card information.
Panhandlers will no longer be limited to pocket change. And the list goes on...
I'm pretty sure I'll keep my money if a panhandler pulls out a touchscreen.
In all honesty this isn't really a new idea. It is still unrefined though. If square makes the product appealing and available on almost any device with a touchscreen. This might be the market winner!
I'm pretty sure I'll keep my money if a panhandler pulls out a touchscreen.In all honesty this isn't really a new idea. It is still unrefined though. If square makes the product appealing and available on almost any device with a touchscreen. This might be the market winner!
ROFL! That's pretty good.
Yeah, I agree. Make the device more generic so it can be used with a variety of phones and you've got a real winner here. This would be an absolute boon to small service businesses who do most of their work "out in the field."
I believe this is going to be very useful for many small business. My only concern is... is iPhone secur enough to handle this kind task? This kind of device kind of provide the hackers a reason to spend sometime on iPhone hacking.
No fees, or just no monthly fees? I wonder how that will work out since everyone else has to pay for their credit card processing. If I had my own home business I would get in on this. Where I live most people don't deal with cash, they use cards.
Reminds of the credsticks in Shadowrun. Soon, paper money will be a thing of the past.
One more step in the removal of paper money. Eventualy the the Fed will need to step in an make their own card. Which I hope will have better security then Cerdit Cards have today.
4 digits is to short of a pin.
I really think it should be easy to track the transactions that happen since they are attached to a phone account, and the account for the service is also attached to some personal info, yes it could be faked or spoofed, but why go to that much effort when you can just use a pocket swipe unit to get what you need quicker?
Though I can see business sense in this... I have to say...
Credit Card Fraud is going to get even worse.
Now anyone can steal your wallet/purse and start charging your credit cards without even going into a store. I'm sure there will be apps made to allow you to charge directly into your account. Sure that means there's a digital paper trail, and accounts involved to identify people. But I'm sure a few smart folks will figure out ways to mask their identity and randomize it.
As a consumer, I don't think I'd trust giving my credit card to someone to enter into their cell phone frankly.
Are they really going to let "anyone with a phone" use this? I checked the website, but it seemed to be lacking in, well, information. Unless of course you want to submit your e-mail. Point is, until I know exactly how easy or difficult it is to sign up for one of these things, then it's hard to comment on how safe/dangerous this capability actually is to consumers, no? I'm assuming some dude isn't gonna walk up to you on the street, ask if you want a dime bag, and then have you whip out a credit card. I'm more inclined to think they will require a bit of verifiable background information first. Otherwise the company would have too many liabilities. But who knows? And that's the point. More info please!
Quite interesting. I can see this becoming popular for vendors in the near future.
Completely useless. I can't see how this can replace the swipe and sign pads in most major outlets and the swipe, print and sign in other outlets. This is poorly invested money going down the drain.
I run my own business fixing computers. I go directly to the site and hope they have enough cash on hand to pay me when I'm done. This would be perfect for accepting payments on the road. I would buy this and I think many many people in my situation would buy it as well. Anyone who goes to the customer's site could accept payments right there.
Reminds of the credsticks in Shadowrun. Soon, paper money will be a thing of the past.
+1 For an awesome pen and paper RPG reference, great Super Nintendo and Genesis RPG, and fun books to read as a kid!
If this comes on android I'm getting it for sure
I can see this getting shut down fast. Makes credit card fraud easy for criminals who steal cards.
Interestingly enough, I actually looked over the site and one of the things they have (or will have) available is photo verification of the credit card holder. The person accepting the card can pull up a photo id of the cardholder and verify that he/she is the person presenting the card. That would really cut down on credit card fraud.