

The Extraordinary Reinvention of Square - bhups
http://fortune.com/2015/08/02/square-reinvention-ipo-dorsey/

======
chralieboy
> In other words, Square today is more of a financial services company than a
> consumer product company

They are becoming a B2B software company, building back-office tools. Square
Capital is a financial service, but a majority of the new products they've
rolled out are small business software products.

One critical question not yet addressed is how Square handles the impending
(October) switch to ship and pin readers. My guess is they take a one-time
charge by shipping new readers to every customer; otherwise they are open to a
competitor swooping in.

> With Wallet’s demise went Square’s Starbucks partnership that allowed people
> to pay for their coffee using the app (though the company continues to
> process payments for Starbucks)

Fortune neglected to mention how disastrous that deal was for Square. They
lose money on every transaction. They spent, and continue to spend,
substantial money for press and acquiring a customer outside their target
market (small businesses.)

Lastly, there is no criticism that they have filed for an IPO while there CEO
is also the temporary CEO of another public company. That's an incredible
distraction at a difficult time for any company — exactly the moment when you
want your leadership focused on getting everyone on the same page.

~~~
feld
Square is offering the readers for $50 and then over the next 3 months they
will waive up to $50 of processing fees.

