I can't actually remember the last time I swiped my card and signed for anything, because we in the U.K., like most of Europe, use Chip and Pin (EMV is the official name). I wonder if Square will still function when this gets pushed into the U.S. market.
Square will be in trouble if NFC takes off. That is why its coming up with what I think is its main product line, the register. The credit card reader thingy is not where it makes money. Once prople get hooked on the analytics it can hope to add the NFC functionality in and still keep going.
Square seems to be attempting to counter NFC with Card Case[1]. Still requires the merchant to be using Square, but has the upshot of working /now/, with the cards/phones you already have, instead of maybe in a year or two when ISIS gets it's act together.
Square as a company isn't tied to credit card processing. Credit cards just happens to what's popular now. If NFC takes off, the company will run with it. When that happens, the shops just need a new attachment or a device upgrade, the software just works.
NFC contactless payment readers are already common here in big retail chains now. By the time the consumer adoption becomes more widespread, most phones and tablets will have NFC radios in them as well, so it'll just be a matter of software support (e.g. Google Wallet).
Surely this is due soon in the U.S.? http://corporate.visa.com/media-center/press-releases/press1...