Square is planning to offer business analytics services to help small businesses monitor payments more closely in an effort to boost its value to the delis, shops and restaurants that make up the firm’s lifeblood, reports StrategyEye. Jack Dorsey, the company’s founder and CEO told delegates at a conference in Detroit this week that Square is also considering offering personal finance services to its users over the next five years, indicating that it is looking to move beyond just processing mobile payments. The comments, which follow news of Square’s first partnership with a major retailer, Starbucks, highlight the firm’s ambitions in the space, as it attempts to mature its business and compete with bigger payments rivals such as PayPal.
“A company like Starbucks knows what’s been bought and sold, knows what the weather does to their day,” says Dorsey, indicating that Square plans to provide small businesses with access to the same metrics.
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