The College Fix

“What’s that thing on your phone?”

That’s a question becoming more common on campus since Bling, a new payment method that uses a proximity chip stuck onto users’ cell phones, expanded into Palo Alto and began its push among Stanford students at the beginning of the school year.

Bling tags are meant to function as more efficient and safe debit cards. To complete a transaction, a user touches a Bling tag, which he or she sticks on the back of a cell phone, to a pad provided by a retailer. The tag eliminates PIN numbers and signatures, and is about one-eighth the size of a credit or debit card. The tap withdraws funds from a user’s PayPal account, which can be connected online.

“It’s about adding a small amount of convenience,” said Bling user Drew Padley ’10.

The convenience also extends to retailers. Fraiche employee Annalisa Likens said she has seen Bling drive consumers to the Stanford campus Fraiche location because they want to pay with the tag. She uses the payment method herself.

Setting up a tag involves entering a mobile phone number upon completing the first transaction, and after setup, every purchase instantly sends a text message alert to the linked phone, an added feature for bookkeeping and security.

Read the full story at the Stanford Daily.

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