Square Now In UK, To Use UK As A Launch Pad For European Expansion

Square, Jack Dorsey’s payment company, is now available in the U.K. as of Tuesday (March 28), reported CNBC.

According to a report on CNBC citing Square Chief Executive Dorsey, the launch of Square in the U.K. is part of its efforts to gain a foothold in the market in Europe.

“The U.K. is really interesting in that we see a lot of card usage through tap … which is perfect for our new card reader,” Dorsey said in a prerecorded CNBC TV interview. “There are over 5 million small businesses in the U.K., and we think less than half accept credit cards, so we think the market opportunity is huge.”

Dorsey declined to say how many merchants are coming on board in the U.K. for the test but said it’s “enough” and covers different industries and businesses from merchants that sell flowers to restaurant operators.

Dorsey said in the interview that the U.K. rollout of Square should have a “fairly meaningful” impact on revenue in a positive way this year but disclosed to provide forecasts or figures. He said launching in the U.K. will not increase its capital expenditures or impact its march forward to profitability.

“[Profitability is] always something we are driving toward, but we want to make sure that we have a good balance between driving profit and investing in the company. Investing in the company means investing in more technology so we can continue and innovative and bring new products and features to all of our sellers. And as we do that, we get to see more sellers, and we get a deeper relationship with sellers than we do have,” Dorsey said in the CNBC interview. He noted that while Square is already in Canada, Japan, Australia and the U.S., the entrance into the U.K. will give it a base to expand throughout Europe.