It’s cool to be Square now…
December 1, 2009My mind is boggled right now, I have just read about the unveiling of the new site Square. This website will allow users to attach a small card scanning device to their iPhone or other smart phone (in the future) that will allow them to pay directly on their phone and receive an instant, paper-free receipt. This program was founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. Small businesses, apparently, will be the first to take advantage of this feature. There will be ways for the businesses to verify it is the correct person paying, I believe through photo identification that pops up on the screen. The new program will be efficient and environmental friendly. There are no contracts or fees, which make it very hassle free. Square will also donate money with every transaction to a charity of the user’s choice. I think that this new technology will be great for the future when more companies and businesses begin to use it. However, people are going to have to invest more in smart phones if they want to use it. One of the companies who have begun using it is Sightglass Coffee in San Francisco. The technology is in beta testing right now. To find more information on this, visit the website or this article about its new launch.
This is crazy! I feel like this new device gives good insight into where technology will be going in the future. I can’t help but wonder how people will react to this. It seems like older will people will probably be leery of this because it is paperless and so cutting edge. On the other hand I think younger people, like our generation, who start their own businesses will find this technology very practical and choose to use it.
One thing I like about this idea is that we would be using less paper because receipts are made electronically. I don’t really know how secure the measure they take to verify identity are, so I would be worried about identity theft with this program. However, it is an interesting step for technology and I’m sure if it becomes popular enough the technology will become more perfected.
Wow. That is so crazy… Very neat idea, but I wonder A. How much of the market would be captured with this product if it requires an (expensive) iPhone and B. How many would go out of their way to buy the gadget. I mean, people are starting to buy more online these days and I have friends who shop online for everything from tickets to groceries, but I just wonder which of them would actually buy that card swiper “Square” when they can just put in the data into PayPal or other payment webpage. People get “paperless” receipts that way as well (email receipts). Anyways, it would be interesting to see what kind of a market would buy that gadget…
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Thanks for sharing the link. I’m always a skeptic…I can’t help but wonder where the banking data will be kept (encoded in the square or downloaded into the phone)? After all, cell phones are hackable, though our smartphones are getting “smarter” about this. Also, what about theft? I don’t think a pic is enough. I can see some kinks that need to be worked out, though the potential is obviously exciting, and they already have a great marketing strategy of user-oriented donations.