Card.io: The New App You Can Use To Split Lunch, Pay Your Friend Back
Mobile payments are rapidly becoming a huge industry. Companies like Square and Google Wallet are using all sorts of new technology to turn everyone from the local farmer to the cafe owner across the street 
into a business that accepts credit cards quickly, cheaply, and easily. But what if you just want to split lunch? Or you just don't want a gadget that plugs into your phone? That's where Card.io comes in.
How does it work?
It's pretty simple: you download the application, either for Android or iPhone. Boot up the application, and then hold the credit or debit card in front of your phone, lining it up with the box placed on your screen. The app snaps a picture of the card, scans the information it needs, and it makes the charge. The money either goes to your bank account directly or to PayPal, with payouts every seven days.
What does it cost you?
Thirty cents per usage, plus 3.5% of the charge. If you want your payouts to go to PayPal, that'll be another 2.9% of the charge and another 30 cents. Which brings us to what to us is Card.io's big drawback: it's great for everyday use, but businesses are going to want something a little stronger and more business-oriented. This comes out when you compare it to the 800-pound gorilla in smartphone payments, Square.
Card.io vs. Square
Square is not really for the man on the street: you need a dongle to plug into your phone, which is free, but still annoying and easy to lose if you're not going to deploy it every single day. But, unlike Card.io, Square has no charge limits: Card.io has a $1 charge minimum and a $999.99 charge maximum. Also unlike Card.io, Square pays out much faster; payments arrive next day, not a week later, and in any small business, getting your receipts turned around as fast as possible can be the difference between staying in business and going out of business.
And finally, Square is cheaper: 2.75% and no fee for swipes, and 3.25% and 15 cents to manually enter card numbers. If you're using a credit payment app to, say, split lunch or pay your friend off for that couch you're taking off of his hands, you could really care less about 30 cents off the top; it's worth the convenience of not struggling to find a gadget you tossed in the junk drawer six months ago. But for a small business, every dollar is important.
So, the decision, for now, is pretty obvious: if you just want the convenience of charging a friend's credit card for minor expenses, Card.io is perfect for you: it requires no extra gear, it's simple to use, and the fees are low. But if you're running a small business, Square is the way to go: its fees are even lower, its turnaround is quicker, and it's more oriented towards small business.
Even if they are subtly different in their markets, more competition is a good thing, especially when it comes to payments. Anything that makes using credit cards easier for everybody is a good thing, no matter what you use to do it.
5-7-2012
by Chris Martin
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4-6-2012
by Dan Seitz
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12-5-2011
by Neil Hayashi
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