Not just for micro and small business any longer, mPOS provider Square has been adding solutions for larger sized retailers. As the following San Francisco Chronicle article reports, Square continued to increase revenue and payments volume for the recent quarter.
Square, the San Francisco payments company, made a profit of $20 million on revenue of $431 million in its third quarter, beating Wall Street analysts’ expectations.
Revenue was up 68 percent from a year ago. The company’s revenue was $257 million last year during the same period.
Square introduced a new, portable payment device, the $399 Square Terminal, in October. CEO Jack Dorsey called the Terminal a highlight of recent months, likening other payment terminals to a stegosaurus.
“We fully expect (sellers) to surprise us with how they use it and where they use it,” he said. Unlike the company’s original device, a card reader that plugs into smartphones and swipes magnetic-stripe credit and debit cards, the Terminal is a stand-alone, battery-powered device that can handle chip cards and has a built-in receipt printer.
Interestingly, Square has diversified into restaurant meal delivery with its Caviar unit, as well as offering Square Payroll as an essential service for its business clients. Along with other business management tools and working capital lending, Square continues to build a product portfolio that enables stickier customer relationships. As Square expands, it will increasingly come up against heavier competition in both payment services and lending. The next year will prove pivotal for Square as it strives for more growth.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group
