Innovative startup Square continues to make waves with their app and reader combo that enables small-time businesses to access payment with credit cards. Imagine somebody with a camping table and self-made T-Shirts selling these on the street. For example I would have loved a T-Shirt to commemorate 2 weeks of iPad2 queues saying “I queued for iPad 2, but all I got is this lousy T-Shirt”. Without hesitation my Mastercard would have jumped out of my wallet to make love to a Square reader and app.
But then there are the established companies which feel threatened by Square. First and foremost VeriFone, a company that apparently seems to see themselves as the sole owner of the market for processing payment information. This is evidenced by the statements made on their website. Take for example their SEO-friendly site title: “VeriFone Official Site | Secure payment solutions for credit & debit cards, EMV, contactless, & NFC”. They have vested interests in technologies that require you to purchase their products.
Let’s have a closer look what’s behind this rivalry and also investigate if there really is a gaping security hole in Square’s approach as VeriFone claims.
