Square has had a profound effect on retail since its launch in 2010. The San Francisco based company came to market with the goal of making credit card payments easier. Small businesses quickly embraced the service for just that reason. Not only did Square offer a lower transaction fee than any competitor, the transaction fee also was not dependent on card type and there were no monthly minimums or expensive equipment to be leased (which usually required a credit check of the business). Five years later, a huge number of small boutiques and independent businesses have come to rely on Square every day to conduct business. It therefore should come as no surprise that Square has filed for IPO. According to Bloomberg News the company has confidentially submitted paperwork to proceed with an initial public offering, with the plan of going public this year. The offering will be done under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act which allows companies with under $1 billion in revenue to privately file for an IPO with the SEC. Square, which was cofounded by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, processed $30 billion in payments for merchants last year and is rolling out a number of new services this year including payroll services, small business cash advances, and NFC based payments.
