Since the invention of the smartphone, programmers and developers have been racing to be the newest form of electronic payment. Rather than carrying a wallet full of plastic credit cards that can be lost, stolen, or used by unauthorized parties, a simple password protected application that you carry on a device you never leave home without is a logical stepping stone in the hunt for the definitive alternative. However, with so many fingers in the pie, the devil is in the details and becoming the platform that merchants embrace is crucial to a company’s software solution coming out on the top of the heap. Square, a leader in the mobile credit card processing and mobile POS system market, has developed their own version of such a payment gateway to toss their hat in the ring. Dubbed “Square Wallet”, the need to pull out cash or plastic to pay for your items is being replaced with a simple QR code on the phone’s screen that can be scanned with a merchant’s barcode reader. The idea is to speed up the process of making a purchase for both the consumer and the merchant, with the added benefit of being more secure and needing to carry fewer items with you.
Much to Square’s credit, there are companies coming out of the woodwork to embrace this new technology such as Starbuck’s and other large-scale companies that do billions of small transactions each year. The support from massive companies such as these are fueling the notion that Square Wallet will soon be an accepted form of payment at most merchants and put an end to carrying cash and credit cards with you wherever you go.
What Exactly Is It?
In a very simple nutshell, Square Wallet links directly to your credit or debit card and manages your digital receipts. In essence, it turns your phone into your wallet for all intense and purposes. However, Square Wallet also gives you benefits that your regular wallet could never dream of offering such as coupons, specials, and recommendations to help you discover and save money at places in your neighborhood that you otherwise may have never known existed. As more companies begin to accept Square Wallet as a feasible form of payment, the flexibility and ease of its use is sure to increase exponentially.
Furthermore, using Square Wallet is one of the easiest things you can imagine. When you walk into a store that accepts Square Wallet as a form of payment, the application will automatically recognize the location and it will show up as an optional location in which to make a payment. Just tap on the store’s name, tell the clerk your name so they can send the charge request to your phone, and then click “OK” to authorize the payment. It’s that simple. No waiting, now fuss, and now paper receipts. You can even setup your phone to automatically authorize purchases at store you go to frequently when they are in range so you never have to take your phone out of your pocket.
