Block Inc. (formerly Square Inc.) is an American financial technology company founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. It is a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Block comprises a number of businesses. Square enables small and medium-sized businesses to use smartphones or tablet computers as point-of-sale (POS) registers for accepting credit card payments and for managing payroll and shift schedules, customer bookings, e-Commerce, inventory, banking, and borrowing business loans. Cash App is a mobile payment service offering peer-to-peer transactions, direct deposits, a debit card, investments in stocks and Bitcoin, and personal loans. Afterpay is a buy now, pay later service, Weebly is a web hosting service and Tidal is a subscription-based streaming service.
History
The original inspiration for 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 readers.
In October 2020, Square put approximately 1% of their total assets ($50 million) in Bitcoin (4,709 bitcoins), citing Bitcoin's "potential to be a more ubiquitous currency in the future" as their main reasoning. The company purchased approximately 3,318 bitcoins in February 2021 for a cost of around $170 million, bringing Square's total holdings to around 8,027 bitcoins (equivalent to around US$500 million in 2021, around US$190 million as of February 2023).
On March 2, 2021, Square reached an agreement to acquire majority ownership in Tidal. Square paid $297 million in cash and stock for Tidal, with Jay-Z joining the company's board of directors. Jay-Z, as well as other artists who currently own stock in Tidal, will remain stakeholders.
On December 1, 2021, Square announced that it would change its company name to Block, Inc. on December 10. The change was announced shortly after Dorsey resigned as CEO of Twitter. On December 10, 2021, the name change took effect, and Square, Inc. became Block. On December 16, less than a week into the rebrand, H&R Block, sued the company for trademark infringement, claiming that the name seeks to confuse customers by misappropriating the Block brand name, which H&R owns. The lawsuit was resolved in April 2023 when the two companies jointly agreed to dismiss the suit.
On January 31, 2022, Block completed its acquisition of Afterpay.
Subsidiaries, products, services
Square
Square is a payments platform aimed at small and medium businesses that allows them to accept credit card payments and use tablet computers as payment registers for a point-of-sale system. The platform was founded in 2009 by Dorsey and McKelvey. Square also offers additional features to manage staff payroll and shift schedules, customer booking, inventory, e-Commerce, banking and business loans.
Cash App
Launched in October 2013, Cash App (formerly Square Cash) allows person-to-person money transfer via the app or website. In March 2015, the firm introduced Square Cash for businesses, which includes the ability for individuals, organizations, and business owners to use a unique username, known as a $cashtag, to send and receive money. As of 2023, Cash App also offers a debit card and services such as direct deposit and investing in stocks and Bitcoin. In October 2023, it was reported that Cash App allowed users to borrow up to $200 from the app, and that "not everyone is an eligible user for this feature".
In May 2023, Block reported that Cash App had 53 million "monthly active users" by March 2023.
Afterpay
Afterpay is an Australian digital payment platform in which a bought product can be paid off in four installments. This idea made in 2008 by a then eighteen-year-old Nick Molnar was geared towards millennials and inspired by the aftermath of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Molnar and Partner/ Co-founder Anthony Eisen launched their platform in 2014 and in four years their product reached a market capitalization of around $3.3 billion. In February 2020, Afterpay was reported to have 3.6 million active customers in the US, 3.1 million in Australia and New Zealand, and 600,000 in the UK. In August 2021, Afterpay and Square announced that Afterpay would be acquired by Square. Block paid US$29 billion in stock for the acquisition and the process was finalized in January 2022. Although Afterpay is now owned by Block inc., Molnar and Eisen still spearhead Afterpay's merchant and consumer businesses.