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Wait a second: Why is this supposed to be any better than pulling out a credit card? It’s not faster, it’s not more convenient, and it’s not any safer.
Yes it is. Just having an RFID card + POS reader is awesome. Putting the chip into a phone is even more awesome. If you don't believe me, move to Japan for a few months and live the dream. ;-)
What I find the most fascinating is that the same company is running both the seller and buyer sides of the transaction. Without middlemen, they have a lot of flexibility to determine how the transaction should occur. Right now credit cards rely upon a fairly complex system of gateways and processing and so it's really complex and difficult to change the process. I wonder if a security feature they could add would a…
That being said, the payment ecosystem is a pretty messed up place, even though the ugliness is all pretty much abstracted from the customer. The interchange fees charged to the merchants at times rival their margins on the items they sell. And it got ugly because it was essentially a duopoly and the stakeholders including Acquirers (MC, Visa etc) and the Issuers (Credit Card Issuers) and the POS vendors all had a pretty good reason to keep things the same.
When things are messed up because we do not have enough choice, do you think it would be preferable to hand over the keys to this to a single player - in this case Square? If Square controlled both ends, owned the customer as well as the merchant POS, and cut off everyone else in the process (by going directly to your bank account), then how long before Square starts bumping up the fees it charges each merchant? Couple that with the fact that Square will own the customer, and is in control of delivery of targeted merchant offers, and you get a sense of the size of the pie they would like to own. Anyone agree if that is a good thing? I certainly dont.
The reality is, the ecosystem will be a lot more fragmented this time around than it currently is. The various mobile wallet initiatives (and there are over 70) will eventually coalesce around a few major players, but we will be using NFC driven mobile wallets (GWallet) and Cloud based mobile wallets (Paypal/Square) and the traditional plastic form factor for a long time to come.
Square is a disruptor. And they have created a beautiful customer experience and has spurred the reinvention of the check out process. They inspired several, including me, to see how the status quo was so messed up.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The mind-blowing thing, I see, is that—with that little doohickey—Square has single-handedly broken bistromathics[1]. And yes, you can take this comment as a joke, or you can take it seriously. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistromathics#Bistromathic_driv...
Holy cow, Square is going to have all the pieces to build the ultimate restaurant-bill-splitting application of our dreams. Card Case doesn't happen to have an API, does it? ;)
The difficulty and hence lucrativeness of financial transactions depends on size, distance and familiarity. A large transaction across the world between two strangers is the riskiest/hardest/most expensive. A small transaction face-to-face amongst friends is the opposite.
This is amazing in terms of ease-of-use. However, the privacy implications are a bit worrying...
I don't really want to rubbish this, I hate the naysayers when something disruptive comes around (note that Japan rolled out pay-by-cellphone on their subway systems something like 10 years ago) but...
"She saw my name and photo on her iPad, tapped it, and I was done. A receipt was sent to my phone."
So all employees at stores using Card Case can see the name, identity and photo of every single person using card case within a 100 foot radius of the store. Completely regardless of whether they want to buy something or enter the store. What if you don't want random stores to know when you walk past? What if your abusive ex-husband is working at a store and sees your name come up on the list.. etc.
Additionally, if you use the app, Square knows exactly where you are at all times. I'm not at all comfortable with that. Apple had a massive scandal when it was revealed that it's technically possible to retrieve location history from iOS. This is legit human tracking - police and three letter agencies everywhere are probably throwing parties right now.
HN was up in arms when retail giant Westfield was tracking number plates entering their car park. Just number plates.
Uh, it doesn't sound awesome to me at all. It sounds annoying and frustrating. Swiping a credit card is already pretty simple.
> then tell the cashier your name
Yeah, because that works great. My name is fairly common, and cashiers still manage to get it wrong, especially if it's noisy. Also, what happens when three "John Smiths" walk in?
EDIT: They do address the multiple "John Smiths", missed that in the article.
> For instance, because Card Case can notify a coffee shop when you walk in the door -- and because the cashier can see your profile, and can see that you usually get a medium mocha and a croissant -- the barista can get your drink started for you while you’re standing in line.
If a restaurant's going to go to all the trouble to install a system like this and set it up so that my phone can pay them, why couldn't I just order on the phone? Then I wouldn't have to stand in line at all, and they won't have wasted their time if it turns out that I want something else instead of what I usually get.
This is amazing in terms of ease-of-use. However, the privacy implications are a bit worrying... I don't really want to rubbish this, I hate the naysayers when something disruptive comes around (note that Japan rolled out pay-by-cellphone on their subway systems something like 10 years ago) but... "She saw my name and photo on her iPad, tapped it, and I was done. A receipt was sent to my phone." So all employees at s…
What happens when your chilling in a coffee shop and your arch nemesis orders a latte with your name?