901am

New Media News Every Morning

NYC Taxis in Square Mobile Payment System Pilot Program

By

The Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) of New York City has given the go-ahead for Square Mobile Payment system to conduct a pilot program.

The approved pilot program will involve 30 NYC taxicabs (the city has a total of 13,237 taxis) and will run for one whole year. The taxis under the program will be installed with iPads in the backseat, replacing the Creative Mobile and Verifone Taxi TVs. Aside from the iPad, the drivers will also access an iPhone that is installed within their easy reach. The iPhone will help in processing credit cards, looking at traffic data and other types of information. [Read more…]

Square Rolls Out Credit Card Payment App for iPhone, iPad and Android

By

Are we now looking at the future of credit card payment solution? I mean, does the Square credit card app which is now available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices the future of mobile commerce?  It could possibly be, depending on the success of Square’s credit card payment system which just got out into the open, ready to offer an alternative payment solution not just for small entrepreneurs but big businesses as well.

How Does Square Work?

First, how does Square work really? What do you need to start accepting credit card payments using your iPhone and iPod Touches, iPad or Android devices. Of course you need any of those devices. Then you also need Square’s credit card swiper which you attach to your device’s headphone jack. The credit card swiper is free and even comes with an online dashboard to let you keep track of what you’ve sold.

Once connected to the device, you can now swipe the credit card, and the application will process the transaction.  After swiping you let the customer sign the transaction using a finger. Customers can opt to add a tip before entering their phone number or email address. Transaction receipts are delivered via SMS or email on the customer’s mobile device.

“With Square the goal is to get people in immediately, and make the transaction as smooth and simple as possible,” says Jack Dorsey, the brains behind Square and the cofounder and chairman of Twitter.

Will  It Take Off?

Right now, there are around 1,000 users who are testing the Square card swipers. Dorsey hopes to distribute it to millions more in three months. Some people are actually using the system now out of the pilot program.

The band Spoon for instance is using the Square app for selling their merchandise while on the road. Tipping Point is currently using 25 iPod Touches for taking donations at fundraising events.

Democratic congressional candidate  for New York, Reshma Saujani has been using Square to accept donations for her campaign.

Surely, Square’s credit card app is taking off. But it’s success will still depend on customer acceptance. It’s going to be a change of mindset which is pretty hard to achieve.

Kevin Rose Demos Square Device that Turns your iPhone into a Credit Card Machine

By

I’ve hearing about Kevin Rose’s latest project called Square for quite some time now but only got the chance to really find out what’s it all about just now. Square is a small gadget/tool that works with iPhone and a corresponding app which will in turn allow you to accept credit card payments. Very much the same way that establishments used those credit card transaction machines.

It’s a pretty clever idea actually. Who would have thought that you can use your iPhone to accept credit card payments. You can just imagine how useful this would be if you’re in remote places where credit card machines don’t exist. With an iPhone running on 3G or Wi-Fi perhaps, small businesses can elect to use the iPhone instead of the usual credit card machine.

So, how does the Square gadget really works? It’s quite simple actually. You just plug in the device onto your iPhone using the headphone port. Then you need to launch the Square app on your iPhone, swipe your credit card on the Square device, wait for the app to process and then you can start entering the necessary transaction details.

What’s cool about this device is that you can actually sign the transaction by writing your signature on the iPhone screen and voila! Your credit card transaction will be proccessed.

Cool right? But wait, there’s more.  You can also email transaction receipts to your clients after processing the credit card payment. The Square tool will be coming out in a few months.

Via