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Block, Inc.
Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) is an American technology company and a financial services provider for consumers and merchants. Founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, it is the U.S. market leader in point-of-sale systems. As of 2024, Block serves 57 million users and 4 million sellers, processing $241 billion in payments annually.
Block's inaugural product Square, launched in 2009, is a point-of-sale system. It allows sellers to accept card payments and manage operations, including bookings, e-Commerce, inventory, payroll, banking, and obtaining business loans. Additionally, Block's portfolio includes Cash App, a consumer-focused digital wallet introduced in 2013. This app allows users to send, receive, save or borrow money, access a debit card, invest in stocks and bitcoin, and file taxes. Block also owns Afterpay, a buy now, pay later business; Bitkey, a self-custody bitcoin wallet; Proto; a bitcoin mining system; and Tidal, a music streaming business.
The original inspiration for Block's first product "Square" occurred to Jack Dorsey in 2009 when his friend Jim McKelvey was unable to complete a $2,000 sale of his glass faucets and fittings because he could not accept credit cards. Co-founders Dorsey—who also co-founded Twitter—and McKelvey began developing the company out of a small office in St. Louis. The name "Square" derives from the company's square-shaped card reader product.
According to Forbes, Block, named Square, Inc. then, tested its payment method on 50,000 merchants in the summer of 2010, and was reporting a chargeback rate of less than 0.05 percent. In February 2011, Square was reportedly valued at approximately US$240 million, signing up 100,000 new merchants every month. In April 2011, Square announced that it has secured an investment from Visa. In October 2011, the company stated that it was processing about US$2 billion per year in payments through its "Square" card readers, charging 2.75 percent per swipe.
In 2012, Starbucks and Square announced a partnership that would allow Starbucks to use the Square payment technology to accept payments for coffee. In the same year, Starbucks also reportedly invested in Square at a valuation of US$25 million. Square was handling an annual payment volume of around US$6 billion around that time.
In 2013, Square launched Cash App, a peer to peer payment service. In October 2014, the company launched the integration of a payroll feature into its Square payment processing system, following the integrations of a merchant cash advance offering, a customer feedback product and an invoicing service into the system.
In 2015, Square stated that it processed about US$23.8 billion worth of payment volume in 2014. In the same year, the company sold shares in its initial public offering for US$9 per share, giving itself a market capitalization of $2.9 billion.
In 2018, Vox reported Square as stating that over 7 million people used the Cash App in December 2017. Vox also stated that Cash App was the "No. 1 free finance app" in Apple's U.S. iPhone App Store and was "ahead" of PayPal and Venmo.
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Block, Inc.
Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) is an American technology company and a financial services provider for consumers and merchants. Founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, it is the U.S. market leader in point-of-sale systems. As of 2024, Block serves 57 million users and 4 million sellers, processing $241 billion in payments annually.
Block's inaugural product Square, launched in 2009, is a point-of-sale system. It allows sellers to accept card payments and manage operations, including bookings, e-Commerce, inventory, payroll, banking, and obtaining business loans. Additionally, Block's portfolio includes Cash App, a consumer-focused digital wallet introduced in 2013. This app allows users to send, receive, save or borrow money, access a debit card, invest in stocks and bitcoin, and file taxes. Block also owns Afterpay, a buy now, pay later business; Bitkey, a self-custody bitcoin wallet; Proto; a bitcoin mining system; and Tidal, a music streaming business.
The original inspiration for Block's first product "Square" occurred to Jack Dorsey in 2009 when his friend Jim McKelvey was unable to complete a $2,000 sale of his glass faucets and fittings because he could not accept credit cards. Co-founders Dorsey—who also co-founded Twitter—and McKelvey began developing the company out of a small office in St. Louis. The name "Square" derives from the company's square-shaped card reader product.
According to Forbes, Block, named Square, Inc. then, tested its payment method on 50,000 merchants in the summer of 2010, and was reporting a chargeback rate of less than 0.05 percent. In February 2011, Square was reportedly valued at approximately US$240 million, signing up 100,000 new merchants every month. In April 2011, Square announced that it has secured an investment from Visa. In October 2011, the company stated that it was processing about US$2 billion per year in payments through its "Square" card readers, charging 2.75 percent per swipe.
In 2012, Starbucks and Square announced a partnership that would allow Starbucks to use the Square payment technology to accept payments for coffee. In the same year, Starbucks also reportedly invested in Square at a valuation of US$25 million. Square was handling an annual payment volume of around US$6 billion around that time.
In 2013, Square launched Cash App, a peer to peer payment service. In October 2014, the company launched the integration of a payroll feature into its Square payment processing system, following the integrations of a merchant cash advance offering, a customer feedback product and an invoicing service into the system.
In 2015, Square stated that it processed about US$23.8 billion worth of payment volume in 2014. In the same year, the company sold shares in its initial public offering for US$9 per share, giving itself a market capitalization of $2.9 billion.
In 2018, Vox reported Square as stating that over 7 million people used the Cash App in December 2017. Vox also stated that Cash App was the "No. 1 free finance app" in Apple's U.S. iPhone App Store and was "ahead" of PayPal and Venmo.