Square rumoured to start accepting bitcoin

Recent comments from Square’s Jack Dorsey have caused speculation over whether Square might start accepting bitcoin. The CEO claimed his company was not threatened by the announcement of Apple Pay, despite problems with the adoption of the Square Wallet.

“It’s not a threat because … we don’t build a credit card, we don’t build a payment device at all,” said Dorsey at the opening of Square’s new Canadian office in Kitchener, Ont. on Wednesday.

Instead, Square has created the Square register, which includes an app for IOS and Android, and a card reader. Users swipe their credit card at terminals installed by retailers on mobile devices.

“We’re building a register so that sellers can accept a credit card, so they can accept cash, so they can accept a cheque, so they can accept Bitcoin and so they can accept any form of payment that comes across the counter including future ones and burgeoning ones like Apple Pay,” said Dorsey.

Dorsey did not elaborate further on Square’s plans to start accepting bitcoin, or a possible relationship with Apple. Square has previously been receptive to bitcoin as a payment method. In March, the company added a ‘pay with bitcoin’ option to its online marketplace, Square Market.

Square pulled its mobile payments app, Square Wallet, from app stores in May. Instead, the company launched Square Order, which allows users to pre-pay or pre-order food at participating restaurants – they open a tab remotely, pay, and when they arrive their order is waiting for them. Square Order is currently only available in the US.

Square is also raising a fresh $100 million of funding at a $6 billion valuation, giving it a little more breathing space to consider challenges from Apple and Amazon. In May, Square launched Square Capital, a program to issue cash advances to small businesses using its system that would provide a cash advance for a set fee and then recoup the money through deductions from daily sales on its system. The move is one of several the company has made to diversify from its physical readers.

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