Square says it now takes a snappy 4.2 seconds from the moment you dip your chip until the transaction is completed. And they'd like to see that turnaround time driven down even further, to an even three seconds. Square does have a bit of an advantage in the space because they control both the hardware and software at Square registers, but according the New York Times, Wal-Mart also managed to save customers 11 seconds just by removing an amount confirmation screen.

On the other hand, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out last month, all of this is driving towards a contactless payment future. And, as it turns outs, chip cards were not as secure as we thought in the first place.