Square gets Apple and Visa backing
You might remember Square, the tiiny accessory for iOS and Android devices that turn it into a credit card reader, bringing electronic payments to the masses. Since we first mentioned it back in February, Square has been on a roll and made serious headway in the US. In the middle of this month, Apple started carrying the reader in their retail store for $10 (which you get back through a $10 credit) making it even easier to get one (compared to ordering it for free online), not to mention all the publicity such a deal gets them. Now Visa has gone in and made a strategic investment, and while the royalties for the $66 million in payments that went through Square in Q1 should cover their expenses for a while, such an investment is a huge thumbs up from Visa. Good on them, and I hope that they’ll go international soon, as this is one US only deal that my US iTunes account can’t help me with.
