A Simple Swipe on a Phone, and You're Paid

As said in David Pogue's article "A Simple Swipe on a Phone, and You're Paid"  the human race truly is full of unsuspecting genius. We have always questioned 'Why?' and then found a way to say 'Why Not?,' well its been done again. Have you ever wondered why can't we pay with credit cards everywhere we go? Well now its possible; not without minor catches, but with the help of any IPhone, IPad, ITouch, or Android  phone, any small business can accept credit cards. Pogue only raves about the ease of the Square, all you need to do is plug the device into the headphone jack of your "Square" capable device, swipe and sign. The software of the Square authorizes the purchase, emails you the receipt, and logs the transaction onto the Square web page.  

The Square, who's chief executive is Twitter creator Jack Dorsey, is a innovative piece of technology, whether it is ready for the world, I'm not so sure I can say yes. The Square, like any new innovation, has its faults, because it is a device that handles peoples money there are some concerns. The Square has created its own contract, so unlike when opening a transaction account with a bank there are no monthly fees, and no transaction minimums. The Square even has a lower transaction charge rates than most banks. This set up will help small businesses, allowing them to complete transactions without the stress of not being able to afford the big bank charges. This helps business from everything as big as as the coffee shop down the street or as small as the bake sale raising money for charity or a school. Though this could be a great asset to those small businesses, it could also run into a lot of problems for the big banks who are making their money through those credit card reading equipment and software. While the Square is aimed at smaller businesses that doesn't mean that big companies won't want to take advantage of their low cost benefits as well. 

Everyone having the ability to have a credit card reading equipment raises some concern. Though the Square does have an authenticity and auditing system, doesn't make it out to seem the most secure way to transfer money. By swiping your card you give that machine your information, putting your information out into the public, wherever you swipe. This brings up concerns of the ability of the person with who's Square you swipe with, having control over your information; primarily revealing the threat of Fraud. This is a technicality that the company is working on, so much so that they believe to have fixed it the threat recently as seen in this article on Mobile Beat. 

While the Square does seem to be in competition with banks, hopefully there will be benefits from this new found competition. Maybe, because of the Square, banks will look forward for a way to "beat" the Square in competition, through technology. Who knows maybe because of this new innovation we won't have to carry credit cards around at all, maybe there's a way to lighten our wallets; in a good way. 

"A Simple Swipe on a Phone, and You're Paid"

New York Times (written edition September 30th, 2010) 

Written By: David Pogue 
Sources: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/technology/personaltech/30pogue.html
http://venturebeat.com/2010/06/18/square-mobile-payments/