The Square Essays - Economy, Payment Systems, Money, Finance

The Square CIS207 The Square Several users are taking advantage of the Internet at heightened measures, accessing it only on mobile devices such as the iPad, iPhone, or Android smartphones. The user is able to interact anytime and anywhere, creating business opportunities at its best when and where the customer is most inclined to interact or respond to an offer. Square Wallet provides the capability of two-dimensional (2D) tag technology, making it possible to interact with individuals through the devices nearest to them and when they would be interested the most. According to Turban and Volonino (2011), a 2D tag can be encoded with an instruction or a Web site address in small box or dot that forms a matrix-like pattern (Chapter 1, Information Systems in the 2010s). The data contained can be store purchases or credit card payment. The data collected is processed and stored or updated in a database, and designed to process these specific types of data input from ongoing transactions is the Transaction Processing System (TPS). The data can be entered manually in a form or on a screen, or automatically through the use of a scanner, sensor, or reader. Square Wallet transactions such as customer purchases are internal, "originating from or occurring within the organization" (Turban and Volonino, 2011, Chapter 2, IT Infrastructure and Support Systems). TPS processes data captured as soon as it occurs, one transaction after another. This is called real-time processing or Online transaction processing (OLTP); the input device - iPhone or Android is directly linked through a network to the TPS. Providing a clean data that can be accessed is an operational data store which is a database for TPS that use data warehouse concepts. Entrepreneur's face many obstacles in their business ventures. One of these obstacles is how to proce ss payments at a minimum overhea d cost to the company. As we move toward a becoming a cashless society, customers and business owners alike demand the ease of hassle-free transactions. Stepping into the spotlight is Square, a mobile payment processing system offering sales data to small businesses (Ravindranath, 2012) . Traditional payment processing systems can be convoluted and often include equipment fees and third-party connection fees that can minimize profits. Square was developed in response to an artist who was unable to close a sale due to his inability to process credit cards. Square offers clients a free mobile card reader that plugs into the headphone mini-jack of any Android, iPhone, or iPad device. (Stevenson, 2012) It is small enough to fit in a pocket allowing business owners to process payment anytime, anywhere. Business owners are given the option of a set monthly price or a pay per swipe so they know exactly what they are paying each month. Customers benefit from Square in a variety of ways, too. They can download Square to their phone and merchants using Square can accept their payments from the phone without ever needing to handle cash or credit/debit cards. From their personal computers, customers link Square to their bank accounts, and the Square software handles the rest. All the customer needs to provide a vendor is his or her log on name. It's a convenience for people who might be out exercising, who might find themselves stranded, or who want simply to carry one device. Also, Square's directory includes a "find" function, in which people can discover new businesses that accept the service nearby! The convenience of Square for the customer and the accessibility of Square for the business owner combine to make this online service a hassle-free transaction for all parties. The Square system makes options available that no other small business has. The economy today lives off of credit and debit cards. If a business does not have the option to pay by card business is going to be rough and maybe obsolete. Making the option available will allow your business to grow. If you have a small business the Square system allows that option in the easiest way possible. Businesses today need to be fast paced and always ready. Over 75% of Americans use debit and credit cards. Businesses that use this system will absolutely see an increase in customers, products, and