Square will begin supporting Apple Pay and Bitcoin through its new register service
Square, a prominent mobile payments firm in North America, recently announced that it will be registering its service with Apple Pay. The firm is yet another prominent entity in the mobile commerce space that has begun showing support for the Apple Pay platform. Square is not limiting itself to showing support for Apple Pay, of course, and has also announced that it is considering supporting Bitcoin, a somewhat controversial digital currency.
Register service aims to accept any form of payment that will become available in the future
The firm is currently developing a register service that will allow merchants to accept traditional payments, checks, credit cards, and digital currency. Eventually, the service is meant to accept any form of payment that could emerge in the future as a way to help merchants connect with the ever evolving nature of mobile technology and how mobile payments are influencing consumer behavior. Supporting Bitcoin is one of the first steps in this endeavor.
Bitcoin continues to gain traction despite volatile nature
Bitcoin is somewhat controversial because of its unregulated nature. The lack of regulation makes Bitcoin somewhat volatile in terms of value. The value of this digital currency often fluctuates with little reason. At the beginning of 2014, a single Bitcoin was worth approximately $1,000. Now, however, a single coin is worth $435. The value of this currency changes based on various factors, most of which are impossible to control. Because of its volatile nature, some merchants avoid Bitcoin, but others are beginning to embrace it in order to better accommodate digital consumers.
Square does not see Apple Pay as competition because they both accomplish different tasks
Square notes that Apple Pay is not considered to be a competition for Square. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square, claims that Apple Pay is only a platform that enables mobile payments, while Square processes these payments. Square does not build a payment device, but rather serves as a payment processor for organizations that are involved in the mobile commerce space.
Among the most frustrating elements of the mobile commerce experience is in the checkout, which requires a customer to have to complete forms and use a tiny touchscreen keyboard to enter shipping and billing information. This can be time consuming and often requires a great deal of correction when incorrect information has been accidentally entered due to the nature of the keyboard.