TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Square just got a lot more interesting. They just announced what they’re calling “Card Case,” which effectively allows you to purchase things in stores without ever using your credit card or paying with cash.

Leena Rao describes it:

In a merchant’s card within the case, you can press a “use tab” button which allows the frequent customer to essentially put a purchase on their virtual tab with Square at the merchant. So once you press that button within two blocks of the merchant, you’ll be able to tell the cashier your name and your card will be charged on the merchant’s backend Square register. Because you are a repeat customer, Square already has your payment information. The purchaser will then receive a push notification when the merchant processes the payment.

That’s really exciting, and not just because it means not needing to fish out your wallet when ordering another coffee. It’s great for businesses because they can build a more personal relationship with their customers. No need for them to hand over their credit card or cash; just take their order and give it to them. The payment transaction handles itself, out of sight.

Square is one of my favorite new companies, because they’re doing incredible, exciting stuff, but they’re doing it in a staid industry, payment processing, but one that we interact with every day. We need more tech companies that attack areas untouched by innovation—payments, banking, politics, education—because not only will we all benefit tremendously from it, but there’s so much great potential there.