(Image source: Droid Matters)
BY SARAH NG
ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY
You’re watching multisource tech video news analysis from Newsy
Card.io released its app for Android three months after it launched for Apple. The app is meant to make using a credit card on your smartphone easier. Here’s how it works.
The Card.io app takes a picture of the credit card and scans it for the card number and expiration date. The developers claim it never saves credit card data and is fully encrypted.
While other apps can store your credit card information, Card.io offers an alternative to swiping or keying the 20 digits in. A writer for MyBankTracker.com says it’s a great option for businesses that have to take payments on the go.
“What also sets Card.io apart from its competition is that its geared toward developers rather than brick and mortar merchants. Specifically, the company’s services are geared towards developers in realms that include e-commerce, retail and daily deal services.”
Card.io hopes their app will make it easier to do business on mobile devices. However, former PayPal Inc. executive, Rene Pelegero is not convinced it’s all that much simpler.
He tells Digital Transactions:
“I’m in the middle of an app, now I have to pull my wallet out of my pocket, and then I have to scan [my card]. You might as well put a card reader on the phone.”
One of the app’s competitors, Google Wallet, is only available to Google Nexus phone users, and only works with Mastercards. But a writer for ZippyCart says as Google Wallet expands its scope to other cards and devices, Card.io might soon be redundant.
“The launch of Google Wallet and impending release of other mobile payment technology from companies such as PayPal may make plastic credit cards obsolete sometime in the next several years. If this happens, ecommerce software like that offered by Card.io will no longer serve a purpose...”
Right now, 80 apps are integrated with the card.io's tools, and 750 developers have signed up for its services.
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