Archive for March 2009
Bad Idea: Intuit GoPayment
Intuit recently launched a new service called GoPayment. The service is aimed to help small businesses to accept electronic payments on the go. The new service supports an optional Bluetooth mag stripe reader or reader/receipt printer along with Quickbooks integration of the payments processed. See a demo here.
Like many other bad ideas, this one looks like a good one at the first glance. It offers convenience for both merchants and their customers. A transaction is immediately confirmed via a mobile device, thus reducing the hassel and risk involving in accepting/clearing a check. For Intuit, it’s an idea product that can be cross sold along with its popular bookkeeping software. However, there are two problems that will almost certainly doom the future of this product. First, concerns about data security. In today’s day and age, everyone is scared of identity thief. Will customers really want to give their credit card numbers or swipe their credit card through an unfamilar blue device that the pizza delivery boy pulls out of his back pocket? Second, it is a fact that many small businesses love to receive cash payments for “tax purposes”. Do they really want IRS to know how much business they do in a year?
