Square has taken on the payments industry in the last few years and done really well bringing simple money-exchange hardware and software to the masses. I applaud them! Yet with mobile payment options like Apple Pay, and whatever will follow on other formats, it might be time to think differently (so to speak).
Jack Dorsey has already shown the mighty power of mini-messages and mobile-money--
so isn't it time to revolutionize mini-money too?
Just a couple of uses: let's say I love Wikipedia and after I use it I would like to leave a $1 to support their efforts-- I could hit the Square button, indicate an amount and voila! Or what if I would like to read some articles in the Times but have hit a paywall and can't afford a yearly subscription :( Hit Square and I have 5 credits I can use to read on.
The uses are endless: buying items from Twitter, pitching in for birthday gifts on Facebook, charitable donating during crisis, supporting writers, musicians & artists on their site or channel...
When I use my I-Pass (on Illinois tollroads) I have an auto replenish linked to my credit card and they process $.30- $3 tolls all day long. There might be some technical and scale issues involved to process such small payments but they could be overcome by maybe having a $10 account balance minimum to pay or collect payments.
There are other online payment forms but none set up to go BIG on going small and as recognizable and credible as Square. Not only could they bring about a new way of money exchange, they could possibly save struggling journalism, entertainment, and political funding as we know it.
Go BIG, Go small :)
