>The Square reader has made payment processing easy for merchants, and now provides a location-aware no-card payment option for customers. Image: Flickr / cdharrison / CC-BY-SA
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey launched the Square payment service in May of 2010. The payment service brings credit card processing to anyone with a smartphone, and it is proving very popular. Now, Square has updated its service with a location-aware app that allows near-field style payments without a specialty NFC setup.
Square, originally called Square Up, is a service that turns smartphones into payment processing devices. The service processes all credit card payments for a flat rate and can process either typed-in or swiped credit card transactions anywhere there is a connection to either phone networks or wifi connections. For merchants, this means simple, low-cost card processing. The Square Card Case sets up easy payments for customers at a location that uses Square payments. This is different because current location-aware payment systems require Near Field Communication setups that are expensive for merchants and require specialty hardware in phones.
.
The latest update to the Square payment apps makes use of the location-aware iOS features. The new Card Case can be set up to “check in” to a business when walking in, and then pay without having to pull out a card or even the phone. The data about who is within the confines of the store is transmitted to the merchant, and the open tab can be paid at any point with the customer’s name. Card information is never seen by the merchant, it is processed by Square, and the money is transferred to the merchant’s Square account. The location-aware features are currently only available with iOS, but Android Square apps will be updated soon to include the service.
The Square app has been incredibly popular with small retailers, coffee shops and businesses without a physical location. The Square card reader transfers card information via the audio jack, through audio signals. When a card is swiped, the information is read, encrypted, and sent to Square for payment processing. Hackers have shown that the audio transmission is the weak point of the Square system. However, a new card reader is in the works and the Square Card Case system stores information remotely, not using the Square card reader.
