Timeline of Square

This is a timeline of Square, Inc., a payments company that was founded in February 2009 and became publicly traded in November 2015.

Big Picture

Time period	Key developments at Tesla
2009–2012	Square raises over $300 million of cash through rounds ranging from Series A through Series D. It unveils Square Reader, Square Wallet, and Square Register. 2012, Square has over 400 employees and is processing over $8 billion in payments.
2012–2014	Square increases its number of employees from 300 to 600, and moves to a larger HQ. It expands beyond its original smartphone readers and payments software into other areas of commerce, like Square Stand and Square Market.
2015	Square IPOs, but its valuation is now down from $6 billion (in October 2014) to $2.9 billion. It still has yet to make a profit and has lost $420 million since 2012, but has decreased its losses in the 6 months leading up to its IPO.

Full timeline

Year	Month and date	Event type	Details
2009	February	Company	Square is founded by Jack Dorsey on February 1, 2009. [1]
2009	November	Funding	Square raises $10 million in a Series A round. [2]
2009	December	Product	On December 1, Square unveils its website (squareup.com) for the first time. [3] The first device that Square launches, the Square Reader, allows people to easily accept physical credit card payments from their mobile phone, but without contracts or monthly fees. It is compatible with both iPhone and Android devices.
2010	November	Product	After ten months of a private pilot limited to just 50,000 users, Square opens its doors to the public. [4]
2011	March	Product	VeriFone claims that Square is insecure and a "reasonably-skilled" programmer could use Square to skim a credit card and return its details. [5]
2011	May	Product	On May 23, Square announces the release of two new apps, Square Card Case (later rebranded as Square Wallet[6]) and Square Register. [7]
2012	March	Competition	PayPal launches PayPal Here on March 15, a competitor for mobile payment. It has a small dongle that can be used to accept credit card payments. [8]
2012	August	Product	Starbucks invests $25 million in Square and makes Square its exclusive processor of debit and credit card payments. [9]
2012	September	Funding	Square closes $200 million in Series D financing. [10]
2013	May	Product	On May 13, Square unveils Square Stand - which turns an Apple iPad into a more complete point of sale system. [11] [12]
2013	May	Product	On May 20, Square announces Square Cash, which allows people to send money to their friends via email. [13]
2013	June	Product	On June 26, Square launches Square Market, which allows sellers to create a free online storefront with online payment processing functionality.[14] [15]
2013	October	Company	Square moves out from its cramped office in the San Francisco Chronicle building and into new 150,000-square-foot digs in the SF Central Market district. [16] By now, it has 600 employees.
2014	March	Product	Square announces it will start allowing sellers to accept bitcoin on their own storefronts through Square Market. The seller will take no risk on bitcoin value fluctuations.[17]
2014	May	Product	On May 12th, Square launches Square Order, which lets people order from nearby eateries, pay for it, and then get a ping when it is ready for collection. [18]
2014	May	Product	Square launches Square Capital on May 28, which offers business financing to merchants using Square.[19] [20]
2014	July	Product	Square announces a card reader that accepts chip cards. It supports both traditional magnetic stripe card transactions as well as chip-and-signature transactions. [21]
2014	August	Product	On August 4, Square acquires Caviar, a startup that delivers meals from high-end restaurants. [22]
2014	August	Company	Square secures an investment from Victory Park Capital, an asset management firm, to extend "hundreds of millions of dollars" to small businesses via Square Capital.[23]
2014	August	Competition	Amazon launches Local Register on August 13th, a competitor to Square with lower transaction rates. [24] Amazon later shuts down Local Register on October 30, 2015. [25]
2015	March	Product	In March 2015, Square introduces Square Cash for businesses, which allows individuals to use a username to send/receive money. [26]
2015	March	Product	Square shuts down Square Order.[27]
2015	April	Product	Square launches Customer Engagement, a set of CRM tools that allows email marketing services. [28]
2015	May	Funding	Square secures additional outside investments for Square Capital, with Victory Park Capital tripling its initial investment.[29]
2015	June	Product	Square launches Square Payroll in California, a tool for small business owners to process payroll for their employees. [30]
2015	June	Product	Apple announces that Square will release a new Square Reader that can accept Apple Pay and other contactless payments. [31]
2015	September	Competition	on September 1, PayPal launches PayPal.me to compete with Square’s Cashtags. [32]
2015	October	Funding	Square Inc. files an IPO to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.[33] Shares were priced at $9 on November 18, 2015, and on November 19, 2015 Square officially began trading. [34]

References

1. "Jack Dorsey - Co-Founder & CEO @ Square". Retrieved November 21, 2015.
2. "Square". Retrieved November 21, 2015.
3. "Jack Dorsey's Square Is (Almost) Open For Business". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
4. "Square Now Processing Millions Of Dollars In Mobile Transactions Every Week". Techcrunch.com. November 9, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
5. "VeriFone accuses Square of offering an insecure card skimming device". Geek.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
6. Harrison Weber (June 13, 2013). "Square Wallet for iPhone gets redesigned with a visually-driven UI and streamlined payments". The Next Web. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
7. "Square 'Register' Aims to Squeeze Out the Cash Register". Wired.com. May 23, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
8. "PayPal unveils 'PayPal Here' Square competitor for mobile payment". Theverge.com. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
9. "Starbucks' deal with Square is a giant money loser - Oct. 15, 2015". CNN. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
10. "News and Press Releases". Retrieved November 28, 2015.
11. "Apple iPhone - Square Unveils 'Square Stand' for iPad With...". Https:. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
12. "Square unveils Stand for Register merchants - CNET". Cnet.com. May 13, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
13. "Square Cash Will Let You Send Money To Your Friends By Email". Techcrunch.com. May 20, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
14. "Square Market".
15. "Square Market launches, provides easy online storefronts for small businesses". Engadget.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
16. "Square doubles in size in a year; now boasts 600 employees". Gigaom.com. October 7, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
17. Protalinksi, Emil March 31, 2014. TheNextWeb "Square now lets sellers accept Bitcoin on their own storefronts"
18. "With New Food App Square Order, Square Wants A Bigger Bite Of The Restaurant Industry". Techcrunch.com. May 12, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
19. "Square's cash advance: Don't call it a loan". CNN. May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
20. "News and Press Releases". Retrieved November 28, 2015.
21. "Square Bets Big on Next-Gen Credit Card Tech". Wired.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
22. "Square Acquires Food Delivery Service Caviar". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
23. "Square works with Victory Park Capital to extend hundreds of millions of dollars to independent businesses". victoryparkcapital.com. August 19, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
24. "Amazon Launches Local Register, A Square Competitor With Lower Transaction Rates". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
25. "Amazon Shutting Down Its 'Register' Credit Card Processor". The New York Times. August 13, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
26. "Square Introduces Square Cash for Businesses, With a Low 1.5 Percent Processing Fee". Re/code. March 23, 2015.
27. "Square Order on mobile is also getting the axe - SlashGear". Slashgear.com. March 16, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
28. "Expanding Its Services, Square Launches Email Marketing With A Twist". Marketingland.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
29. "Square secures funding from new and existing investors to expand its popular small business financing program". squareup.com. May 12, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
30. "Square debuts payroll service - San Francisco Business Times". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
31. "Square Will Launch Its Apple Pay-Compatible Reader This Fall". Thenextweb.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
32. "PayPal launches PayPal.me to compete with Square's Cashtags". Venturebeat.com. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
33. Soper, Alex Barinka alexbarinka Spencer. "Square Files for IPO as CEO Dorsey Juggles Twitter Revamp". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
34. "Square shakes off weak IPO with first-day trading pop". New York Post. Retrieved 19 November 2015.