Gigwalk: Make money on your morning commute

blog@dgktech.com — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 06:44:00 -0500

Gigwalk, a startup founded last summer in Mountain View, Calif., takes the phrase "mobile workforce" literally. The company harnesses America's vast army of iPhone users, enlisting them to complete various "gigs" when they're out and about.

View the whole article here.

Accept credit cards on your smartphone

blog@dgktech.com — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:15:00 -0500

Square makes it possible for anyone, whether an individual or small business, to take payments via credit card. The reader is a tiny square box that plugs into the audio port on iOS devices or other smart phones. Rather than using an expensive (usually $75 or more) swipe reader like those used in Apple's retail stores, Square developed a reader that did not use the dock connector or need the blessing of Apple's "Made For iPhone" certification. These readers have no moving parts and are so inexpensive to manufacture that Square can give them away.

Anyone, business or individual, can sign up for the service and get a free card reader. If you want to be able to split a dinner check with friends and have them pay you via credit card, you can get a Square account and reader, and then simply swipe your friends cards to get paid. Square takes 2.75% of the transaction + 15¢ per swipe as long as you can acquire a finger-written signatures, and 3.5% + 15¢ if without a signature. Does that sound like a lot? To an individual, it might, but to small businesses who are used to hefty sign-up fees, monthly account minimums, merchant account fees, and higher percentages, Square is one heck of a deal.

Companies that are doing large numbers of credit card transactions will probably come out ahead using a more traditional app like Credit Card Terminal and a merchant account. But for those of you who just want to accept credit cards occasionally, Square is a bargain. Note that you cannot accept web payments using Square, but for those purposes, PayPal or Google Payments work quite well without requiring a merchant account.

If you have any concerns about the security of such a system, you should probably read up on Square's security measures. One important measure is that at no time is the credit card information stored on your device. It goes right from reader to Square, and it's encrypted the entire time.

Sound interesting? Head on over to Square's website and or the iTunes store to install the free universal app. Once you install the Square app and setup your account, your reader will be in the mail on on its way to you. Once received you plug the Square reader into the audio port on your device and a little icon shows that the reader is attached, and then all you need to do is swipe a credit card through it. Next thing you know you're up and running processing credit cards on your iPhone, iPad or Android device.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBieYjxUj5Q

DGK Technologies Blog

Gigwalk: Make money on your morning commute

Accept credit cards on your smartphone