Mobile payments technology keeps getting better. One of the more prominent startups in this field, Square, now allows users to send digital gift cards to people who don’t even have an account:

If you already have Square Wallet, your gift card will automatically be saved to your Wallet. Square also offers Apple Passbook integration for iOS 6 users. And for everyone else, there’s a QR code option that you can use either by having a merchant scan the code on your smartphone, or by printing it out and taking it with you to the store.

Square COO Keith Rabois tells Fast Company the service is a win-win for both merchants, who get a seamlessly integrated marketing product for no additional cost; and busy customers, who don’t necessarily have the time or means to get meaningful gifts for friends, especially if they live far away.

“You can sit on your sofa and go through your address book for all the people who are important to you and instantly provide them with an amazing experience,” he says. “That’s never really been done before.”

Possible drawback? If using credit cards strips away some of the natural reticence to spend cash like water, one can only imagine how much further down that road a system like Square’s will take us.

Related articles

• Mobile Gift Cards: Coming to a Holiday Wish List Near You (cardhub.com)
• Square integrates Apple’s Passbook and introduces gift cards for iOS app users (thenextweb.com)
• Square Wallet offers gift cards with Passbook integration [GigaOM] (gigaom.com)