VeriFone Payware Mobile iPhone peripheral looking ready to square off with, er, Square
By Ross Miller 
posted December 10th 2009 9:29PM
posted December 10th 2009 9:29PM
[Thanks, Jason]
posted December 10th 2009 9:29PM
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are you kidding? this is way more elegant than square. first saying envy 15 looks good and now this?
@(Unverified) I think you failed in detecting the sarcasm.
@(Unverified) These are "GEEKS" writing these articles...You expect them to have any sense in knowing good aesthetic from bad? I don't thinks so.
"... not quite as elegant as a little cube jutting out of one corner ..."
Personally, I think this is way more elegant. If it's the same one that was featured before, it's a slim look, the card reader is in a much more natural position, and you don't have to worry about breaking off the "cube" — or the cube spinning around for that matter.
Hello fraud city!
If you thought that shifty looking fellow at the gas station dressed too well for making $5/hr oumoing gas, just wait for the parking lot attendants skimming cards AND then stealing your car for a chop shop.
@NAME
nextel has had something like this for years. so the only difference is now you can be defrauded by hipsters and not just blue collar folks
@(Unverified) Even if it exists already, iPhone solutions like this are going to put it in a LOT more hands.
I think VeriFone are missing the point too. A tag line of 'Accept payments ... with confidence' is forgetting one important thing: it's the *customer* that wants the confidence.
I won't even go into VeriFone describing a scrawled signature as "Secured".
On that note, I assume capacative stylii aren't yet available, so am I supposed to do my signature with my finger?
Sorry for the downer, VeriFone, it's a great idea without enough thought about *practical* security. It's a bit like an elaborate safe with the key taped to the front.
@NAME Why is this any more risky than an restaurant swiper or any swiper that is currently using cell technology (and has been for the last several years)?
Take off the tin foil hat, it's ok. The government is not after you, neither are us aliens.
@PaulMdx
There are capacitive styli out now. From what I am told, Apple uses them in their stores that are now using iPod Touches for checking out.
And like the commenter above me alluded to, people need to relax about tech and credit cards. The waiter/waitress at a restaurant takes your card out of your sight and has all the time in the world to take your number.
This > Cube?
who would be dumb enough to swipe their credit card on someone else's iphone?
@nerd - Is this any dumber than handing your credit card over to a clerk at the counter?
@nerd : Is this any dumber than handing your card over to a waiter who WALKS AWAY WITH IT?
What about those of us that have chips not strips? I suppose their anywhere actually means anywhere in the USA not the world?
@amjp I was wondering about the same thing. Even if I am willing to let someone swipe my credit card on his phone, there is no way I am going to enter my PIN on his phone.
@amjp : Still no worse than traditional card readers in the US. ;-)
this will certainly expedite my drug transactions
@nerd i wonder what the receipts would say
@Joe Geronimo
Because iPhones are so well know for their built-in printer.
@Joe Geronimo condoms
If I wanted to pay with credit/debit and the cashier took out an iphone with this thing attached, I would immediately grab my card and take my business to another establishment. This is nothing more than a gimmick.
@Shandy
They're using them at apple stores. I agreed with you in advance.
@Shandy - Hardly a gimmick. This is not meant to replace conventional PoS terminals, it's meant to be used in situations where you can't set up a traditional terminal. For example, at a flea market where previously you were unable to pay by credit card.
@Shandy
I paid my tree service guy with an old nextel version of this. there are plenty of mobile services that need a way to except more forms of payment than cash/check. you, sir (or ma'am) (or thing), are incorrect.
I see this being incredibly useful in situations such as live music - plenty of people don't buy CDs from local groups because they don't have cash.
I'm in the middle of rolling out VeriFone's PAYware PC client and server software. It's a god damned MESS. Hopefully they've simplified the iPhone version.
About the iPhone/iPod touch battery, I wonder if this credit card case has also a built in battery to extend the battery life.
"the backing of VeriFone means this mobile payment peripheral has some pretty important backing..."
eh?
@credo I used to work for Verifone. They are by far the largest point of sale credit card terminal manufacturer in North America and many other markets - take a look next time you are in Walgreens, Rite Aid, McDonalds, etc and paying with a card.
They also make PC software for processing transactions, which this app is an exension.
@mentally ill
He wasn't talking about Verifone. He was poking fun at the terrible sentence structure in the article. Public schooling FTW!
i think these type of devices are meant for a personal business, not an actual retailer. if i had a home business i would rather have this then trust my customer's checks.
@Engadgeter yes but would they trust you?
If they don't trust you then why are they doing business with you?
My first job delivering pizzas (about 7 years ago, I think) for Pizza Hut, we'd make an actual imprint of the credit card when we delivered the pizza, and that was never an issue.
Point being that if you use this with a business that people can trust, be it a national chain or even a local business with an established identity, then people won't mind it at all. I could understand not trusting the random guy at the craft fair, but that's different than calling your trusted handy-man who's been in business for some time, and can be held accountable if something goes wrong.
@nerd
your credit card company doesn't reimburse you for fraud? time to switch
This application is perfect for personal business or for merchants that sell arts and crafts at festivals and fairs, but I agree it would be a little weird.
theyre using these at the apple store in atlanta (perimeter mall)
i bought a case for my iphone and i checked out on one of these.
the store employees all had them with ipod touches.
Outrun him? Nah, just outsmart him (track that down http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/23/find-my-iphone-reunites-true-nerd-with-lost-iphone/)
Why not just print QR codes on receipts? That way, anyone with a cameraphone can scan them and process them, no peripherals or smartphones required.
This payments solution is different from Square in that it replaces a credit card terminal completely.
Square's solution is for someone who sporadically/randomly needs to accept a card payment b/c it functions like PayPal where they shave off a HUGE percentage of the transaction for the convenience.
No real business would use Square's solution to run more than 1 transaction per day unless they want to go out of business.
GENIUS!, a floppy disk reader accessory for the iPhone now I can store all 3 pictures I have!
I consider myself an innovator / early adopter for most technology... but if some guy tried swiping my credit card on his cell phone I'd take my business somewhere else. I'd have half a mind to smash his scanner to pieces too. This is how people steal your credit card information, folks... exactly like this.
@Smurf
Do you pay by credit card when you dine out? In that situation, the server takes your card out of your sight. I think people are really overreacting to the dangers here. If you do not trust someone not to steal your CC info, why on earth would you trust whatever goods or services they are selling?
As with the story about Square, there are lots of slack-jawed yokels bleating about fraud that can't actually outline a threat that doesn't apply just as well to other card terminals.
@radarskiy Much like a man selling cars on craigslist is just as likely to sell you a stolen car as a Mercedes-Benz dealership, right? Point that idiot finger right back at yourself.
I'm seeing the visions now, long gone are the days of getting beaten and having your money stolen! It will now be replaced with thugs holding iPhones waiting for you to swipe your money to them.
I am guessing the traffic coming out of the attachment into the phone is already encrypted by an IC so that only the servers at the processing gateway can read.
@nate345
yes but i'm sure it can be hacked. yup, theres an app for that.
I wouldn't trust this either. Unless the credit card machine is attached to a register, forget about it. Any nit-wit could be walking around with this. And what kind of encryption does this thing have? The article makes a good point. You need some kind of tethering to attach it to the employee. Are the numbers actually stored on the device, or are they sent back to a main database?
The concerns here seem utterly without merit. In 30 years of credit card use, I have NEVER had to pay on a fraudulent transaction. On top of that, I have never purchased any form of CC protection or insurance. That's not to say my card or number haven't been used fraudulently several times, but each time I have not had to pay the charge. Usually the CC company uncovered the problem before I did.
On a side note, I find it fraudulent that Paypal blithers some BS about their "protection" while nagging you to draw from your bank rather than a CC on purchases. Paypal's protection is so inferior to what your credit card provides, their claim should draw FTC scrutiny.
Chip and PIN tech will simplify the process, reducing cost and maximising security.
C'mon, merchandising giants of the USA, time to move forwards with Chip and PIN (or possibly the next-gen technology beyond this).