I've said it before and I'll say it again: the card infrastructure is too old. Unless Square plans to replace it from end to end, it won't be going very far and will likely end up as a large acquisition for Visa.
I have read your Quora post and I agree that the credit card system is antiquated, outdated and leaves a lot to be desired. I certainly feel this as credit card user and as a member of the startup community who knows the possibilities that are out there. I wrote the article considering the perspective that when Square started I was rather skeptical, it felt like a bit of a gimmick, yet their latest update suggests they are moving away from merely providing a piece of hardware that allows a merchant to accept credit cards and considering a more holistic system.
The new direction is at least interesting as the introduction of Card Case means they could the a customer's identity and credit card to their mobile phone and I can't see why down the road they couldn't use a variety of fund sources, i.e. not just credit cards.
I do think Square has a long, long way to go.
Where they started has given them some traction to date and I think that's because at this point in time, albeit antiquated, credit cards are well understood. In my opinion it's good to see Square adding extra features to their initial offering as I think it will need to in order to survive.
I think the article makes good points and it's true that the current dongle is a brilliant acquisition tool that will likely give way to better mechanisms in the future. Square needs to stick with the dongle for now so as not to give the perception that it is inferior. It's a bit like Apple's release strategy: the features are always a bit behind but the overall user experience is exceptional and creates demand for future releases.
New payment systems face a nearly insurmountable chicken-and-egg problem. By taking advantage of an existing infrastructure, one side of the equation is addressed neatly. The FaceCash thing is more reminiscent of PayByTouch (minus the fraud, I suppose) where you've got zero merchants, zero account holders and you're trying to push an unfamiliar and even awkward user experience.
[+] [-] pier0|15 years ago|reply
Change the title. Or make up a malware story to go with the tone of the title.
[+] [-] chexton|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thinkcomp|15 years ago|reply
I've said it before and I'll say it again: the card infrastructure is too old. Unless Square plans to replace it from end to end, it won't be going very far and will likely end up as a large acquisition for Visa.
See http://www.quora.com/Aaron-Greenspan/Paying-With-Your-Phone-....
[+] [-] chexton|15 years ago|reply
I have read your Quora post and I agree that the credit card system is antiquated, outdated and leaves a lot to be desired. I certainly feel this as credit card user and as a member of the startup community who knows the possibilities that are out there. I wrote the article considering the perspective that when Square started I was rather skeptical, it felt like a bit of a gimmick, yet their latest update suggests they are moving away from merely providing a piece of hardware that allows a merchant to accept credit cards and considering a more holistic system.
The new direction is at least interesting as the introduction of Card Case means they could the a customer's identity and credit card to their mobile phone and I can't see why down the road they couldn't use a variety of fund sources, i.e. not just credit cards.
I do think Square has a long, long way to go.
Where they started has given them some traction to date and I think that's because at this point in time, albeit antiquated, credit cards are well understood. In my opinion it's good to see Square adding extra features to their initial offering as I think it will need to in order to survive.
[+] [-] pbreit|15 years ago|reply
New payment systems face a nearly insurmountable chicken-and-egg problem. By taking advantage of an existing infrastructure, one side of the equation is addressed neatly. The FaceCash thing is more reminiscent of PayByTouch (minus the fraud, I suppose) where you've got zero merchants, zero account holders and you're trying to push an unfamiliar and even awkward user experience.
[+] [-] ilkhd2|15 years ago|reply