Apple Squared: Tech Giant Begins Selling Jack Dorsey's Game-Changing Device

It's disrupted the way individuals accept payments, become the target of traditional payments vendors and generally made a splash in the industry since the day Twitter founder Jack Dorsey announced it in 2009. And now mobile payments startup Square's minuscule credit card readers are easier to find than ever.

The question is: do you want the black one or the white one?

Apple is now selling Square credit card readers to the masses for 10 bucks a pop.

While Square has made its card readers available through its own site for some time now, having a distribution channel like Apple's is a sign that the little reader that could has finally arrived. Square's price point of 2.75 percent per transaction and with no contract or monthly fees is aimed, um, squarely at individuals and small businesses who want to expand payment options, but would rather not deal with cash, checks, banks or traditional merchant credit payment processors. The $10 spent through Apple gets new customers a $10 credit with Square, technically evening out the barrier to entry via Apple's retail channel.

Will this translate into mass adoption of mobile credit card payments? Maybe. But Apple's clout surely doesn't hurt the effort.

The only remaining question is whether Verifone will make a renewed effort to attack its new competition and distribute its Square-emulating card skimming software in an effort to inform the public of the "disturbing new risk to consumers" these devices allegedly present.