Girl Scout Cookie Booths to Accept Credit Cards …Right from Your Phone

There is even an App to help you find where you can purchase mass quantities of Cookies

Perhaps some things have really just gotten too expensive. But buying Girl Scout cookies with a credit card seems a little too much…but then again have you seen the prices? Actually it’s probably a great marketing plan to sell a lot more cookies this year.

All kidding aside the official Girls Scout Cookie Season starts January 20 and ends March, 25, 2012. During this 100th anniversary year, the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles’ local troops will take their cookie sales hi-tech. For the first time in the Los Angeles County area, cookie booths will be able to accept credit cards using a device from Sage Mobile Payments. The secure credit card reader attaches to a smart phone allowing troops to accept debit and credit cards, email receipts and even refund money to customers’ on-the-spot right from a smart phone.
The annual Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest financial literacy program for girls in the nation. Started at a local event in Oklahoma in 1917, the program now is the leading business and entrepreneurial program run by girls, funding activities, community service and leadership projects during the year. The Cookie Program also helps girls who participate in building leadership and money management skills, as well as teaches them business ethics. In 2010, over three million girls sold 198 million boxes to support Girl Scouting. To mark the Girl Scouts’ 100th anniversary, a new member of the Girl Scout Cookie family has been added?Savannah Smiles, a lemony delight cookie that pays homage to Girl Scout founder, Juliette Gordon Low who was born in Savannah, Georgia.
“Many customers would love to buy Girl Scout Cookies, but many can only buy one or two boxes because they only have a certain amount of cash on them, or they have to walk by the booth entirely because they have none on hand,” said David Corey, Director of Retail and Product Sales. “We have obtained 1,000 of these devices to start for the troops. We hope that this will open up Girl Scout Cookies to new customers, increase the number of boxes per customer from the loyal patrons that come out every year to the booths, and teach the girls about credit cards and the importance of good credit?because Girl Scout Cookies really is financial literacy in action.”
Credit card readers aren’t the only hi-tech offering that Girl Scouts are using for their cookies sales this year, there’s also the Little Brownie Bakers? Girl Scout Cookie Locator app. The app lets customers easily locate a cookie booth near them where they can purchase the famous cookies. The Little Brownie Bakers? Girl Scout Cookie Locator app works on iPhones™, BlackBerrys™ and Android™ phones. The app is free and available through iTunes or by simply dialing **GSCOOKIES (**472665437) from your mobile phone.

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