Mobile commerce evolves with the roll-out of Square

by Scott Bicheno on 11 May 2010, 18:44

Tags: Square

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qax75

Add to My Vault: x

Hip to be square

Back at MWC 2010 we brought you the vision of ARM and NXP that one day we will pay for everything using our mobile phones and contactless swipe pads. While that remains the Holy Grail of mobile commerce, it's likely to arrive in increments.

One of those could well be Square, an app and smartphone peripheral that turns your smartphone into a credit card terminal, such as the ones you might use at your restaurant table. The peripheral is a miniature card swiper that connects into your phone via the headphone port and reads the card details. A couple of videos below show what it's all about.

Square is the brainchild of Jack Dorsey, who is also one of creators of Twitter. He recently posted a state of play on the Square website. "We want to enable all people to accept payments instantly, with access to all the information they need, in a way that feels amazing and engaging," he said.

"Today, in addition to releasing clients for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android devices, we are opening up our first cut at activating card processing and pricing, and sending out our first production batch of free card readers. All represent just the beginning of what Square is striving to become: a simple payment utility for everyone."

The post is only dated May 2010, but Dorsey's recent tweet announcing the iPhone and Android apps suggests it's a very recent announcement. While the demand for a service like this isn't necessarily overwhelming right now, it's one step closer the potential obsolescence of cash. It will be interesting to see what end-users do with this new facility.

 

 

 

HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
Posted by Scarlet Infidel - Tue 11 May 2010 19:06
At a glance this doesn't look particularly secure and the dongle is a bit weird. Phone-to-phone or phone-to-merchant payments seems like a more obvious way to go.
Posted by finlay666 - Wed 12 May 2010 02:37
Scarlet Infidel;1921037
At a glance this doesn't look particularly secure and the dongle is a bit weird. Phone-to-phone or phone-to-merchant payments seems like a more obvious way to go.

It's more designed for US markets where they don't really use Chip + Pin yet and still rely on a signature + ID usually

It looks very interesting, some fairly simple things going on, but combining with a couple of complicated areas (swiping, possible signature verification) and it looks like an interesting concept
Posted by amdavies - Wed 12 May 2010 08:01
It's my belief that Chip and PIN was only brought in over here to circumvent the protections in law that c
consumers have. If your card was used illegally before Chip and PIN, then, in most cases, losses were absorbed by the card issuer and retailer (mostly the retailer) unless it was proved that you were negligent (difficult). Once Chip and Pin came into effect, if your card is used in combination with your PIN, then it's assumed you've given out the number willingly and it's up to you to prove you didn't.
Posted by duc - Wed 12 May 2010 15:21
finlay666
It's more designed for US markets where they don't really use Chip + Pin yet and still rely on a signature + ID usually

Its very much like PayPal in that the cardholder has already been vetted by the system; all their card details, personal details have been taken including the last three security numbers from their card.

The whole verification process relies on your own visual ID recognition with the photo held and provided by Squareup (provided both parties have signed-up to squared). Judging by the videos, the signature isn't actually used for verification purposes.

Side note, what's stopping someone running off with the taco truck's iPhone.