Square Touches Down in Canada

The mobile payment company will expand its presence outside the U.S. for the first time.

Mobile payment provider Square this week announced it will be available to consumers and merchants in Canada.

Canada is Square’s first market outside of the United States. In the U.S., more than 2 million individuals and businesses are using the company's mobile credit card reader, and Square is processing over $8 billion in annualized payments.

Square’s reader plugs into the headphone jack of an iPhone, iPad, or Android device. The company also offers a free app, called Register, that allows anyone to accept credit card payments with a transaction rate of 2.75 perent per swipe, with funds available the next business day.

According to recent research from Aite Group, Canada has among the lowest rates of consumers who use smartphones for shopping and payments, meaning this could be a largely untapped market. The company has also said it plans to expand to overseas markets.

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio