Square is blazing a trail in finance and payment technology. Throughout its existence, it has democratized payment processing for organizations and small businesses through its intuitive and straightforward square card readers. The company then progressed to deploying Point of Sales systems that appealed to small businesses such as restaurants and small retail chains.
The firm later deployed Square Capital to provide proper financing to small businesses that weren’t appropriately served by banks and other traditional lending institutions. Further, Square launched Square Cash app, a no-fee payments application for individuals, to which it would eventually add bitcoin buying and selling. Finally, adding an extension of its brand by opening up a new division called Square Crypto.
Remember, all of this in a relatively short period, a little over a decade or so.
Well, the fintech firm still seeks to stay competitive and is currently testing an option that allows users to speculate on stocks with zero commission costs.
Square and Stock Trading
Square may act as a challenger to other entities such as Robinhood, M1 Finance, Webull, FirstTrade, and other platforms that offer free trading.
The firm hasn’t yet confirmed its plans to bring about a free stock trading option and is only in the early testing phases of the project. Square might have a leg up. It already has an installed base of 15 million monthly active accounts. Cash App already provides cashback on purchases, has an optional debit card option, bitcoin trading, and the ability to send payments to your friends and family. Integrating a stock trading feature should mesh directly with the platform and open up opportunities for margin trading, and other monetization opportunities similar to Robinhood’s Gold.
The Square Ecosystem
For Business
Square started by catering to business (Square Reader, Square POS, and Square Capital). It allows small businesses to modernize their payments infrastructure and transact whether they are in the same room (SQ reader and SQ POS) or from afar (Cash app). Additionally, it lets businesses continue to run operations and draw capital as needed with its Square Capital lending option.
For Individuals
Finally, Square is expanding its service by building out a modern banking and simple banking infrastructure for individuals with the Cash App. Individuals can store funds on Cash app, send funds to each other, and make payments by swiping their Cash App debit cards at businesses. The addition of bitcoin trading to its overall ecosystem was a prescient move, its notes that this component is increasing in activity and is doubling down on bitcoin by creating its Square Crypto division. Fully compliant throughout, secure, and simple, Cash App is undoubtedly a contender within the growing consumer fintech sector.
