Competition among banks and fintechs to transform payment technology is heating up.
Technology company Square on Wednesday launched a new service that will let merchants accept contactless payments with nothing more than a compatible Android smartphone.
It'll compete with a similar service from National Australia Bank launched late last year and Commonwealth Bank's Smart Mini, a $59 tap-and-go device unveiled in March that connects to mobile merchants' smartphones via Bluetooth.
Marco Lamantia, Square's Melbourne-based head of industry relations and operations, told AAP the Tap to Pay on Android service would let sellers accept tap-and-go payments by simply downloading an app and going through an identification and verification process.
While it obviously could be useful for mobile tradesmen such as locksmiths, Mr Lamantia said it had applications beyond that.
"We're seeing some really interesting potential use cases with this product," he said.
"Retail stores who have a point-of-sale on their countertop today can now use this in conjunction with that and start roaming the floor with their mobile phones and start accepting payments from anywhere.
"Australia is an incredibly innovative market from a technology perspective, and we're really excited to see what innovations our sellers can bring to the market through this solution."
Square is one of the brands within Jack Dorsey's Block Inc, well known domestically for acquiring leading Australian tech company Afterpay for $39 billion in late 2021.
