iPhone Credit Card Reader

Earlier in the year a wandering Hindu monk approached me on campus asking for a donation. The man seemed very sincere in what he was trying to preach to me and I felt very sad when I told him that I wasn't carrying any cash that I could donate to him.

The lack of carrying dinero (money) seems to be the way of the future; virtually everyone carries plastic these days whether it is a credit or debit card. That is why today things like going door to door trying to sell appliances like they did in the '50s is an almost silly and outdated profession, or is it?

Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, has invented a new product for the iPhone, the device is a portable credit card reader. The reader is a small plastic cube that plugs directly into the iPhones headphone jack.

When the card is swiped it opens a program on the iPhone allowing for the customer to sign their name, using the touch screen, to verify payment. The customer then has the option to have a receipt sent to their e-mail account to be saved for records.

Once the payment is verified the amount will be sent to the sellers bank account one or two days later.

The device is currently is in testing and there is yet to be a fee set by Dorsey on the use of the product. The reader is expected to read just about every type of credit card, even including Diners Club.

Also, for the people that may have just rushed out to buy a Nexus One phone last month don't fret. At the moment there is a reader in development for Android phones.

You can read more about the credit card reader at Wired.com- http://tinyurl.com/yl4ay6e