Mophie Turns iPhone into a Mobile Credit Card Reader

Mophie , an accessory manufacturer, is scheduled to debut their iPhone add-on at CES. The add-on will turn any iPhone into a mobile credit card reader. No traditional card-reading equipment will be needed at all, just use the Mophie device to swipe cards while on the go to take credit card payments. The Mophie physical card reader will go hand-in-hand with a third-party app to process credit card transactions.

To a small business owner in need of a simple and seamless method of accepting credit card payments, this probably sounds like a pretty great opportunity. Unfortunately, it may also seem like a wonderful opportunity to thieves as well. In fact, it may not be too long before every petty thief and con artist is walking around with his own iPhone swiper ready to “process” payments from you.

A similar card processing system, Square, was introduced approximately a month ago (in beta).