Twitter founder Jack Dorsey launches payment by iPhone

JACK DORSEY, chairman of micro-blogging site Twitter, has unveiled Square, a new technology proposition that allows users with an iPhone or iPod Touch to accept credit or debit card payments instantly.

The product is designed to allow small business owners to have merchant accounts and to allow individuals to exchange funds without the need for carrying cash.

Eventually, anyone with a mobile phone will be able to accept card payments, although at the moment the idea is being trialed in the San Francisco. The product works by plugging a small plastic device, known as a Square, into the headphone socket of an iPhone or iPod.

"I think we're going to give the Squares away for free because they're pretty cheap for us to make," he told the Los Angeles Times, although he later added that the application may cost $1 (£0.60).

At the moment, the mobile internet app is only compatible with Apple’s operating system, although it is understood that the developer is currently working on BlackBerry and Android versions.

In a manner befitting for the man who dreamt up Twitter, the announcement was made yesterday on the micro-blogging site: “Announcing our new company, called Square, which I’m thrilled to be a part of” and then giving the company’s website, www.squareup.com."

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