Sorry, All I Have Is Plastic
Posted by Rick at 12/9/2009 7:29 PM 
Categories: Technology
Tags: Tools for Business Gizmos Mobile Credit Card Gadgets
Categories: Technology
Tags: Tools for Business Gizmos Mobile Credit Card Gadgets
I remember when Nextel came out with an attachment for a cell phone that had magnetic card reader on its side to accept transactions for mobile business sites. I thought that was pretty cutting edge. Jack Dorsey, native St. Louisian and co-founder or Twitter, found a smilar frustration that I have often had around a pool table. How do you accept a payment from someone when they happen to have a greenback deficiency? You find an easy way to accept plastic, and Jack's solution to the dilemma and his newest company is called Square.
With the availability of Square’s device, just about anyone can be a merchant, that is, anyone with an iPhone or iPod Touch, at least for now. The store owner simply plugs it into the audio input jack of his mobile phone, and he can now start accepting credit card payments. Buyers, on the other hand, can then swipe their credit or debit cards through the ‘Square’ device, which will transfer the payment information into an application on the iPhone. Square uses a magnetic-strip reader that plugs into the iPhone’s headphone port. All users of the app need to do is swipe the card, punch in the amount and have the customer sign right on the phone. After the transaction is complete a receipt is sent via email.
“…We wanted to allow people to very easily and quickly, within 10 seconds, be able to accept these plastic devices as payment,” said Dorsey.
If this device goes into mainstream, it will do away with the prohibitive costs businesses find with credit card processing. For instance, the credit card payment terminal alone can easily cost about $1,000, compared to Square, which runs on a $299 mobile gadget.
In the past there have been several offerings for those who want to use their iPhone to charge one of their customers credit card but they require you to punch in the card’s entire number.
I want one just so I can avoid friends saying, "I don't have any cash, I'll get you next time." Rob Dyrdek went so far as to install an ATM in his basment next to his pool table at his home in Hollywood. I think I would rather invest in one of these little Square devices so I could take it with me.
The new companies website is https://squareup.com/
Background - In February 2009, Jim McKelvey wasn’t able to sell a piece of his glass art because he couldn’t accept a credit card as payment. Even though a majority of payments has moved to plastic cards, accepting payments from cards is still difficult, requiring long applications, expensive hardware, and an overly complex experience. Square was born a few days later right next to the old San Francisco US Mint.
Today the Square team is focused on bringing immediacy, transparency, and approachability to the world of payments: an inherently social interaction each of us participates in daily. We’re starting with a limited beta and rolling out to everyone in early 2010.
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