Square updates Card Case, reinvents retailing

Square updates Card Case, reinvents retailing

Swiping a customer's credit or debit card may be on its way out, thanks to a new technology just starting to emerge from the West Coast.

Mobile payments startup Square has launched an updated version of its innovative payment processing tool Card Case, which allows merchants to accept payments without a physical card.

Now, customers at participating retail locations can pay for goods and services simply by giving their name.

"Now, with @CardCase you don't even have to take out your phone to pay," tweeted Square founder Jack Dorsey earlier this month. "Try it! It feels like magic." 

How it works
Initially, customers walk in the door of a participating Square merchant, open an account and link a selected debit or credit card. After the initial transaction, if the customer enables "automatic tabs" on their mobile phone and keeps the phone with them when they visit a participating retailer, Card Case detects his or her presence near the store and opens automatically.

The merchant's app then opens a tab that contains the customer's account information, name and photo. At checkout, the customer gives his or her name to the cashier, who looks it up on an iPad, verifies the customer's photograph and taps the iPad to accept the payment. No need to touch a wallet or a phone. The customer then receives a notification with the amount of the charge.

Proponents say this simple payment method could revolutionize retailing. "The ultimate goal is to reinvent both sides of the counter. We want to create a system in which making and receiving payments is less like going to the dentist," said Keith Rabois, Square's chief operating officer, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.

Square: A startup with rapid growth, big potential, according to advocates
Barely a year old, Square is already used by 750,000 merchants and handles $2 billion in transactions annually, according to the company's Chief Operating Officer, Keith Rabois.

The company's name Square comes from the small square credit card readers that plug into sellers' smartphones or iPads. Launched in early 2010, the company has enjoyed widespread adoption by a variety of merchants and amateur sellers.

A crop of similar startups has appeared recently, but proponents say Square has a unique foothold in the market. "Square has a great product with extensibility, which we believe has the potential to have a lasting impact on how people make payments," said Mary Meeker, a Square board member and partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), in a statement earlier this summer. "Square's product is fast, easy and fun for both consumers and vendors; a small business can be up and running within minutes."

The company currently offers three products: the Square reader, Register and Card Case. The reader enables anyone to accept payments on an iPhone, iPad or Android phone. The Square Register for iPad serves as a point-of-sale system for merchants to accept payments, track inventory or share menu or location information. Card Case enables customers to open a tab at a local merchant's establishment, store digital receipts, connect with merchants offering deals and browse nearby directory and menu listings.

Published: November 23,2023