Square started out as a money-transfer service back in 2009, which allowed you to send money to friends and family members. But, under the leadership of CEO Jack Dorsey, it has steadily been becoming more functional. It has been trying to upgrade the facility to spend money you receive and store in your Square Cash account in real-world scenarios.
The company’s latest initiative is providing users with a physical debit card, which was first teased earlier last month. While the idea for the same was initially cooked up way back in 2014 but Dorsey may have decided to keep things digital at that time. But, Square is now looking to add another simplified process of completing the transaction to its payments service.
This is the plastic card shown off by chief executive Jack Dorsey earlier last month. The all-black debit card with the initials (or Jack’s twitter handle, in this case) on the bottom right looks stunning. I’d have surely picked one of these cards if Square was available in the Indian sub-continent.
my wallet these days pic.twitter.com/l8ug8bjpzT
— jack (@jack) April 14, 2017
The debit cards are not readily available to every Square Cash user but are instead being rolled out on an invite-only basis. This means Square is planning to test out the usage of its physical cards before issuing one to everyone who requests it. The same was first spotted by a customer, who tweeted that he’s received a notification to order the Square physical debit card. Here it is:
Remember this? Just got a push notification to order mine. And you get to customize the bottom corner! Can’t wait @SquareCash! https://t.co/2WVXmyCoe7
— Brock Delebreau (@brockdelebreau) May 4, 2017
A Square spokesperson has confirmed that the payments company is currently sending out invites to a handful of Square Cash users. You can instantly check if you’re one of the lucky chosen ones by navigating to the ‘My Cash’ section in the app. You will see an order button at the bottom of the screen — tapping which should be obvious.
Further, it has been revealed that the debit card issued by Square won’t be linked to your bank account. Instead, the company wants you to utilize their service to complete transactions, thus it connects to the Square Cash app. You can easily spend money from your Cash account, but remember that none of it is insured by the payments giant. This change has been reflected in the updated Terms of Service — included in just yesterday.
But, Square has surely included a nifty feature to the complete black VISA debit card — you can customize the front of it. When you tap on the order button, you’re prompted to provide a signature that will be laser-printed on the front of the card. This replaces the usual personal details, which have now been inscribed on the back of the card. This makes the front look sleek and simplistic — you should remember not to submit any inappropriate words or drawings as every one of them would be screened before printing.
This physical card is Square’s latest attempt to convert more into a bank-like operation while increasing user transactions on their platform. It will also come in handy for those with a budget smartphone — which are now readily available — but no bank account. They can walk into any store and pay by simply whipping out their flashy new Square Cash debit card.
Jack Dorsey is a commendable man. For more than a year, he has been spearheading both his payments platform Square and Twitter, the micro-blogging platform he co-founded. Both of the business have witnessed impressive growth over this time period. He has not only been induced growth into Twitter’s stagnant user base (and launched an online live TV strategy) but has also supported Square’s transition towards becoming an even robust and capable product. The debit card will only further serve this purpose.
A couple days ago, Square reported an impressive first quarter earnings with a 22 percent year-on-year increase in revenues. The Wall Street analysts had predicted the figure to be about $451 million, but it came to be $462 million in the report. The adjusted losses were down 4 percent a share but the stock price skyrocketed in after-hours trading. It was trading around 7 percent higher than its previous closing price.
