Article

Visa makes strategic investment in Square

Start-up Square receives funding from industry leader.

April 27, 2011 by James Wester — Editor 1, Mobile Payments Today

Electronic payment network Visa Inc. has made a “strategic investment” in start-up mobile point of sale company Square. Though the exact amount of the investment was not disclosed, several reports put the figure in the “low single digit millions.” It is also reportedthat along with the investment, an executive from Visa will be joining Square’s advisory board.

Square offers merchants the ability to process credit cards through an application on an iPhone and a small credit card reader. Square announced earlier this year that 100,000 new merchants are signing up for the service on a daily basis and that it had processed $66 million in the first quarter of 2011.

The news has been seen by some analysts as a sign that Square’s recent dust-up with other point of sale rivals over data security has been put to rest. In the Wall Street Journal tech blog, Yankee Group analyst Nick Holland said that an investment from a payment industry leader like Visa demonstrates Square’s product is safe enough.

Prior to Visa’s investment, Square had raised approximately $40 million in venture funds.