In February 2009, Jim McKelvey wasn’t able to sell a piece of his glass art because he couldn’t accept a credit card as payment. Even though a majority of payments has moved to plastic cards, accepting payments from cards is still difficult, requiring long applications, expensive hardware, and an overly complex experience. Square was born a few days later right next to the old San Francisco US Mint.

Today the Square team is focused on bringing immediacy, transparency, and approachability to the world of payments: an inherently social interaction each of us participates in daily.

Financials

Date Type Amount Investors Valuation
11/01/09 Series A 10M Khosla Ventures Unknown
01/01/11 Series B 27.5M Sequoia Capital Unknown
12/01/11 Series C 103M Kleiner Perkins Unknown
View more financial info about Square

People

Competitors

Payleven: payleven is the smart way to get paid: it’s low-cost, convenient and secure. payleven gives you… See Company Profile »
Paydiant: Paydiant will be formally launching later this year, but in the meantime if you are a… See Company Profile »
AppNinjas: Accept Credit Cards on your iPhone Swipe transforms your iPhone or iPod into a safe and… See Company Profile »
iCharge: iCharge developed when a small group of serial entrepreneurs and credit card industry experts had a… See Company Profile »
OpenCuro: OpenCuro is an online payment and money transfer service for individuals and businesses including online merchants.… See Company Profile »

View more details about all 6 competitors

News

Foursquare now lets you ‘visit’ NYC locales from over 100 years ago

June 19, 2013 5:55 pm

Last week, social-location service Foursquare launched Time Machine — maybe the coolest thing it has ever done with check-ins. Now… Continue reading ⟩

Square cofounder Tristan O’Tierney latest exec to leave after string of departures

June 15, 2013 8:47 pm

July 9-10, 2013 San Francisco, CA Tickets On Sale Now Tristan O’Tierney has left Square to circle the globe. O’Tierney… Continue reading ⟩

Foursquare launches Time Machine, an amazingly trippy way to explore your check-in history

June 13, 2013 3:47 pm

July 9-10, 2013 San Francisco, CA Tickets On Sale Now If you’ve been using Foursquare since its beginning, chances are… Continue reading ⟩