August 3, 2009
-
News: iPhone Credit Card Comes to America
If you haven't found a good reason to shell out for that new iPhone, you might want to reconsider. Credit card companies have been scrambling to beat each other out with a new high tech idea that should greatly reduce the customer's risk for credit card and identity theft. Criminals have been very creative in finding ways to skim and scam you out of your personal information while making purchases online, on the phone, and at the point of sale. The latest in new technology combines the capabilities of the iPhone with a new payment processing system named Square. The system is currently being tested in the New York area at the new Self Edge NYC store. The system is quick and easy and costs the merchant a small percentage and a monthly fee while providing the credit card consumer peace of mind in knowing his card is not being skimmed or scammed.
The system works very simply by plugging in a small plastic card reader into the headphone jack of the phone. The customer verifies the amount of the transaction and hits approved. The credit card information is sent along with the dollar amount of the transaction to Square. Square transfers the purchase amount to the merchant and sends and email to the iPhone user with a receipt. The customer's credit card information isn't passed through the merchant's or its employee's hands.
The system sounds like a great solution for several problems. Merchants save money on printing receipts and card customers receive a saved receipt that can be easily stored in his database. And best of all, the credit card reader is so small it could be easily stored and taken anywhere. Square hasn't yet released when the program will be extended to other businesses. I would bet that registered iPhone customers will be the first to know.