Hagenston, a decade-long veteran of the streets who calls himself “Honest Abe,” says “being homeless is my business.” Like many small businesses, he accepts cards with a Square Reader attached to his cellphone, turning his hand-held device into a mobile cash register.

The device costs about $10 and charges vendors a 2.75 percent fee per transaction.

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Hagenston’s cellphone was provided by the federal government’s Lifeline Assistance program and is known as the “Obamaphone,” according to the Telegraph.

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It’s unclear how many people have let Hagenston swipe their credit card, but each day he pulls in between $20 and $50 from strangers, the New York Daily News reports.

The 42-year-old — who spends his days on the corner of a highway overpass — told WDIV-TV that it’s not as if he doesn’t want to work. Hagenston told WWJ-TV last year that he’s worked as a web designer from time to time, so it’s no surprise that he has a website where people can make donations or hire him to do odd jobs.

On that site, Hagenston writes that his donation method is “safer than using your credit card at the local grocery.”

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“And as you are aware,” he adds, “every credit card transaction has a 72-hour right to recession, so if you change your mind let Square know and we have no problem refunding your donation.”

Most years, he told WWJ-TV, he shovels snow for extra cash in the winter, but a mild winter has cut down on available work.

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“It’s not really that easy. What we’re lacking is snow,” Hagenston said. “I used to look forward to that, doing some shoveling.”

With lots of time on his hands, Hagenston told WWJ-TV that he’s begun organizing his homeless friends. He likened the group to “a union” and said they’ve started panhandling in shifts.

“I’ve got about 20 or 30 friends around here, all homeless, all various skills that would love to get some work,” he told the station.

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He told WDIV-TV that people don’t realize how difficult is to pull yourself out of poverty when you lack “family or any friends.”

“It seems that my life has been a series of rebuilding,” a statement on his website says. “Along the way I have learned that hard work, determination, ethical and moral decision making, along with a positive attitude is the right combination to pull yourself out of a hole. However, just once I wish there was someone with a rope to assist.”

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