So I recently read about Square. You know, the little credit card reader that plugs into the headphone jack of your iPhone or iPad. It’s a great idea – and I started thinking…..
Being from a small town, I don’t go to half the places around because they only take cash or check. Cash is a pain – if I have it, it’s gone right away… I feel like it’s ok to spend cause I know I can’t overdraft and I’d never pay my bills with it. Checks suck cause you write a check and a week later (if you’re lucky) it comes out of your account – and during that time, you want to be sure you factor for it in your balance… Obviously card is the way to go – and Square is a step towards the future… Small towns need this. For $500, you can buy an iPad – you get the square for free and pay almost nothing for each transaction – and now all the mom-and-pop businesses can start taking card.
To add to this, Square is starting to introduce Card Case – think of it as having a store credit card for everywhere you love to go… only without the ridiculous fees and all the obnoxious emails & “special offers.” It’s a way to link your bank account to your profile, and for a store/shop to charge your profile with your consent. You don’t even have to touch your wallet.
I had heard rumors of Near Field Communications (NFC) – which is a way to swipe your mobile device and have it contain your bank/credit information to be charged. It involved extra sensors and the risk of losing your phone and someone having your phone and all your money at their fingertips. Card Case seems like a much safer, more logical spin on it. Those folks over at Square have their stuff figured out. And how can you not like them, Jack Dorsey (one of the founders of Twitter) started it.
Now if only there was a way to work for Square as a marketing person… I’d be killer at that.
Check out Square!
Let me know what you think!