The payments industry has always been one of dynamic change so we were encouraged to read a recent AllThingsD profile of a start-up called Square.
Square is a service that enables merchants, who have traditionally been limited by paper-based payments, to accept electronic payments through a credit card reader that plugs into a phone or iPad. This is a big deal and will help the entire payments industry’s efforts in bringing access to electronic payments to a segment that has historically not been easy to serve—very small merchants.
Before, these very small merchants—local vendors who sell at a nearby farmers’ market, service providers who come to your home, a potter in a remote region of the world, a fisherman who comes into port with the day’s catch—depended solely on the limits of cash transactions. Now with Square’s product, these small merchants can use a mobile device as a gateway, making a transaction over Visa’s global network and gaining the security, speed and reliability that come with it. Enabling easy card payments on-site can help increase sales, reach new customers and involve the merchants in the larger electronic payments community.
We believe there are countless ways that innovative tools like Square, coupled with the unparalleled experience and performance that Visa offers, will allow the global electronic payments industry to continue innovating and evolving, making the consumer’s life a little easier, quicker and more secure.
We are committed to working with innovative companies, like Square and others, as the world shifts to electronic payments.
Posted by: Elvira Swanson, Visa Corporate Relations on February 14, 2011 at 6:29 pm
