Card.io, a San Francisco startup, is offering software that enables phone cameras to read credit card information.
The product is designed to eliminate the need for card-swiping hardware. It is also intended to replace the process of typing card information on a phone's keypad, the company said in a Thursday press release.
Card.io is offering the software to mobile developers to integrate with their own applications. "There is a huge opportunity to grab developer mind share," the release said.
Card.io charges developers 15 cents per scan. It does not require a contract and does not charge a monthly fee, according to its website. The company also announced Thursday that it has raised $1 million in funding from private investors.
"We're betting that, over the long term, software will win out over hardware-dependent payment" services, Mike Mettler, Card.io's chief executive, said in the release.
However, Gil B. Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc. of Los Angeles, said in a phone interview that he sees the product as a short-term bridge technology, useful only until consumers widely adopt phones with near field communication chips for payment.
