Square Valuation Hits $6 Billion

Like all other payments efforts, Square’s new financing move needs to be seen in the context of a rapidly changing payments environment, giving the recent introduction of Apple Pay, the planned spinoff of PayPal, Alibaba’s huge IPO and Amazon getting into the payment card reader business.

“Square, a six-year-old start-up, spent much of its early years giving away free credit card readers to small and medium-sized businesses, asking for 2.75 percent of each transaction using the reader. The small dongle, square in shape, became especially popular with merchants who had conducted mostly all-cash operations,” the Times story said. “Recently, however, Square has tried to diversify its revenue streams beyond its core payments business. In May, the company introduced Square Capital, a cash advance program for small businesses. Square acquired and continues to run Caviar, a start-up that provides food delivery for restaurants that do not otherwise offer it. And Square offers an appointment booking service to small businesses for a monthly fee.”