Dorsey’s Square to ramp up Irish operations after Central Bank approval
SQUARE, the payments firm headed up by Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, plans to expand its product offering into Ireland after securing an electronic money licence from the Central Bank.
The US company develops payment card readers and software for businesses as well as the Cash app for users to send and receive money.
Square’s Dublin office is its headquarters for Europe — serving functions in customer success, finance and compliance — but it had not yet made its services for businesses available in Ireland.
In June, the company was granted an electronic money, or e-money, licence from the Central Bank of Ireland.
The e-money approval allows Square to carry out electronic payments and can be exported around the EU. The move comes as part of a wider push to expand Square’s business in other European countries. Square has been operating services in the UK since 2017. Its UK-registered entity already holds an e-money licence from the Financial Conduct Authority.
However, in light of Brexit, this licence would not allow the company to expand into other European markets.
By securing regulatory approval in Ireland, Square has followed a familiar route for many fintech companies since 2016 by seeking to shore up their European business with an additional licence in an EU jurisdiction.
Stripe, the payments company founded by the Collison brothers, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and UK fintech firm Soldo have all been approved for e-money licences by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Dorsey co-founded Square in 2009 and juggles dual chief executive roles at the fintech firm and social media company Twitter.