Square looks to be ramping up in Europe
Last week, Square posted 2 job adverts in the UK, and 1 in Ireland on Indeed.com. A further move into the European market, this comes after the company’s earlier registration with Companies House as Squareup Europe Limited earlier this summer, its acquisition of a former UK Commercial Secretary to the Treasury to its board of directors and its new acceptance of payments in sterling.
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Square appears to be moving closer to its first push into Europe. Reuters reported that the company posted three European job postings — two in the UK and one in Ireland — on jobs site Indeed.com last week.

Though the company declined to comment on the postings to Reuters, it’s likely that they indicate further preparations to launch in the UK and, down the line, perhaps Ireland. Earlier this summer, Square registered as Squareup Europe Ltd with Companies House, the body that registers commercial enterprises in the UK.

This is the latest of several signs that the firm is looking to expand into Europe. In addition to registering with Companies House, Square has been working to learn more about the UK market. It added Lord Paul Deighton, a previous UK Commercial Secretary to the Treasury, to its board of directors in May. And though the firm hasn’t begun distributing card readers in these markets, Square Register, the application that merchants use to manage their business, recently began accepting payments in pounds.

Strong small-business growth in the UK and Ireland could set Square up for success. However, it must still clear at least one technical hurdle before it can capitalize on this opportunity:

Square needs to provide readers that accept chip-and-PIN in order to convert users. Until relatively recently, the firm provided only magnetic-stripe card readers, which would be ineffective in European markets where EMV has been long-dominant. But the firm’s EMV readers support chip-and-signature rather than chip-and-PIN, the more popular method in the UK, which will be required to attract UK-based merchants. That’s especially true because the firm faces strong competition from readers like PayPal Here UK and iZettle, which do offer PIN-based chip card readers.

Until relatively recently, the firm provided only magnetic-stripe card readers, which would be ineffective in European markets where EMV has been long-dominant. But the firm’s EMV readers support chip-and-signature rather than chip-and-PIN, the more popular method in the UK, which will be required to attract UK-based merchants. That’s especially true because the firm faces strong competition from readers like PayPal Here UK and iZettle, which do offer PIN-based chip card readers. But if equipped with the correct hardware and value proposition, the UK and Ireland could take off. Square draws most of its business from smaller merchants — 58% of the firm’s merchants in Q2 2015 processed less than $125,000 in annualized sales. Square could attempt to capture some of that same market in the UK, where over 99% of sellers are as small or midsize businesses, according to a UK government study, and POS terminal penetration is growing at 8% per year. And an Irish office could be appealing to Square because of a strong and expanding tech presence in the country, according to Reuters.

Thanks to companies such as Square, mobile payments are becoming more popular, but they still face some high barriers, such as consumers' continued loyalty to traditional payment methods and fragmented acceptance among merchants. But as loyalty programs are integrated and more consumers rely on their mobile wallets for other features like in-app payments, adoption and usage will surge over the next few years.

Evan Bakker, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile payments that forecasts the growth of in-store mobile payments in the U.S., analyzes the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, and addresses the barriers holding mobile payments back as well as the benefits that will propel adoption.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

In our latest US in-store mobile payments forecast, we find that volume will reach $75 billion this year. We expect volume to pick up significantly by 2020, reaching $503 billion. This reflects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 80% between 2015 and 2020.

Consumer interest is the primary barrier to mobile payments adoption. Surveys indicate that the issue is less the mobile wallet itself and more that people remain loyal to traditional payment methods and show little enthusiasm for picking up new habits.

Integrated loyalty programs and other add-on features will be key to mobile wallets taking off. Consumers are showing interest in wallets with integrated loyalty programs. Other potential add-ons, like in-app, in-browser, and P2P payments, will also start fueling adoption. This strategy has been proved successful in China with platforms like WeChat and Alipay.

In full, the report:



Forecasts the growth of US in-store mobile payments volume and users through 2020.

Measures mobile wallet user engagement by forecasting mobile payments' share of their annual retail spending.

Reviews the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Addresses the key barriers that are preventing mobile in-store payments from taking off.

Identifies the growth drivers that will ultimately carve a path for mainstream adoption.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of how mobile payments are rapidly evolving.