Hasta La Gadget!

Square is an iPhone credit card payment system from Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, and it has just entered public beta. Square lets anyone with an iPhone accept payments from a credit card using an iPhone app and a small card-reader dongle which plugs into the iPhone’s headphone jack. Square is different from other solutions because it is designed for individuals, not big-business. All you need to start is the widget and an account at Square. Check the video:

All you do is enter the cash sum, swipe and have your “customer” sign the screen with their finger. If they are a Square member, too, you can see a picture on-screen to check they really are who they say they are. The buyer can have a receipt sent to them via SMS or email.

It all looks super-slick and even fun (when was the last time you said that about paying by credit card), but the real revolution will come if this goes mainstream. There are more than 40 million iPhones in the world, which is a huge market. Imagine paying the hot-dog guy with your Visa, or having the girl-scouts swipe your card at their lemonade stand. All those small transactions that still use cash are covered.

If you want to try it out, you’ll need to join the line by submitting your email address. Right now, terms and condition (and the cut presumably taken by Square) are still under wraps, but this could be the beginning of the end for cash, in the credit-card crazy USA, at least.

Square [Squareup]