We’ve come a long way baby. And who knows where we are headed. While reading through some interesting articles on new technologies in consumer spending, I could not help but shake my head.
     We all have gotten used to having our freshly written checks handed back to us as our receipt, since funds are being automatically drafted from our accounts. But just wait until you hear what is on the horizon.
     It appears that it has gotten a lot easier to make a credit card sale. Thanks to a host of new applications, businesses can process credit cards without using dedicated wireless devices or clunky terminals, which can cost anywhere from $200 to $2,000. All you need is your cell phone.
     HVAC technicians from one company in Ohio recently started using their phones to process orders in clients' homes and offices. After an employee finishes a job, he keys the customer's credit card information into an application on his cell phone.
     The data are automatically encrypted, and payment is processed immediately. No information is stored on the phone. After the transaction is approved, the technician can use the application to send the customer a receipt via e-mail or text message.
     Some think that processing payments on cell phones works much better than the old system, in which technicians sometimes scribbled card numbers on invoices to take back to the office.
     Customers were not thrilled about handing over their credit card information, and sometimes technicians would get back to the office only to discover that the card number was wrong or had been declined.
     For those that frequently process transactions, swipe sleeves can be used

that wirelessly connect to the phone. The mobile application has become an integral part of many companies’ day-to-day operations.      Mobile card processors may be well suited for companies that want to process payments off-site, but retailers have also begun using them in stores. One high-end clothing retailer based in California never installed a register in the company's third boutique, located in New York.
     Instead, in the middle of the store, past the racks of vintage-inspired jeans and next to a rotary phone and a vintage riveting tool, there's an iPhone on a large wooden desk that serves as the store's checkout counter.
     The phone, which is the boutique's only means of processing credit cards, has a small plastic cube plugged into the headphone jack. The device is a card reader and app that makes it easy to swipe customers' credit cards.
     Instead of printing a receipt, the clerk asks for an e-mail address, and the iPhone sends the customer an electronic receipt via e-mail. The app can also send a receipt by text message. The cashier can even include a photo of the items the customer bought, snapped with the iPhone.
     Because none of the credit card information is stored in the phone (the data are encrypted and sent from the application to the credit card companies, without being stored on a server) there are no concerns about someone stealing the phone.
     So when will this new technology start showing up in our area? Who knows. But being in the Charlotte metro region, we can bet you will be seeing it a lot sooner than you imagine

Janine B. Rywak
County Extension Director