Square
» Case study
Empowering small businesses and individuals to
thrive with financial tools that improve cash flow
Square
Industry:
Digital banking
Features:
Card issuing, tokenization, Gateway JIT Funding, program management
Empowering small businesses and individuals to
thrive with financial tools that improve cash flow
Square
Industry:
Digital banking
Features:
Card issuing, tokenization, Gateway JIT Funding, program management
Co-founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, Square is a
financial services and payments company on a
mission to “empower and enrich people” by providing
simple and easy-to-use tools. Originally focused
on payment processing and hardware that enabled
sellers to accept credit card payments using their
mobile phones as the point of sale, Square has grown
to provide myriad financial services for small
business owners.
Square quickly became the standard toolkit for small
business owners looking to do everything from
accepting payments to running payroll, invoicing,
and tracking revenue and expenses. Though its
core offering centers around card acceptance and
processing for business owners, small businesses
love Square’s simplicity, ease of use, and ability
to manage multiple key aspects of their business
operations. The Square team is always mindful that
while cash is the lifeblood of small businesses, almost
half of small business owners report worrying about
their cash flow.1 Enter Square Card.
In 2018, Square partnered with Marqeta to introduce
Square Card, a business debit card for small business
owners. When a seller on the Square platform
processes payments, that income lands in their
business balance through their Square account. Prior
to the introduction of Square Card, sellers either
had to wait days for funds to reach an external bank
account, which delayed access to their earnings, or
pay a fee for instant deposits. Square Card enables
business owners to access those funds immediately
and without additional fees, so business owners can
reinvest their revenue by purchasing what they need
to keep their businesses running. Having a dedicated
business expense card such as Square Card
eliminates the need for business owners to untangle
their business and personal expenses, as commonly
happens when they use other cards for both types
of expenses. Square Card can also be personalized
with the business’s name and owner’s signature,
giving business owners another tool to reinforce their
brands with a polished look without any monthly,
sign-up, or annual fees.
Background:
Having a dedicated business expense card such
as Square Card eliminates the need for business
owners to untangle their business and personal
expenses, as commonly happens when they
use other cards for both types of expenses.
1. https://squareup.com/us/en/l/heart-and-hustle
marqeta.com 2Square case study
financial services and payments company on a
mission to “empower and enrich people” by providing
simple and easy-to-use tools. Originally focused
on payment processing and hardware that enabled
sellers to accept credit card payments using their
mobile phones as the point of sale, Square has grown
to provide myriad financial services for small
business owners.
Square quickly became the standard toolkit for small
business owners looking to do everything from
accepting payments to running payroll, invoicing,
and tracking revenue and expenses. Though its
core offering centers around card acceptance and
processing for business owners, small businesses
love Square’s simplicity, ease of use, and ability
to manage multiple key aspects of their business
operations. The Square team is always mindful that
while cash is the lifeblood of small businesses, almost
half of small business owners report worrying about
their cash flow.1 Enter Square Card.
In 2018, Square partnered with Marqeta to introduce
Square Card, a business debit card for small business
owners. When a seller on the Square platform
processes payments, that income lands in their
business balance through their Square account. Prior
to the introduction of Square Card, sellers either
had to wait days for funds to reach an external bank
account, which delayed access to their earnings, or
pay a fee for instant deposits. Square Card enables
business owners to access those funds immediately
and without additional fees, so business owners can
reinvest their revenue by purchasing what they need
to keep their businesses running. Having a dedicated
business expense card such as Square Card
eliminates the need for business owners to untangle
their business and personal expenses, as commonly
happens when they use other cards for both types
of expenses. Square Card can also be personalized
with the business’s name and owner’s signature,
giving business owners another tool to reinforce their
brands with a polished look without any monthly,
sign-up, or annual fees.
Background:
Having a dedicated business expense card such
as Square Card eliminates the need for business
owners to untangle their business and personal
expenses, as commonly happens when they
use other cards for both types of expenses.
1. https://squareup.com/us/en/l/heart-and-hustle
marqeta.com 2Square case study
The problem:
Square found there were existing key market
insights and common pain points reported about
small business cash flow that informed a need to
launch a business card for its users. In particular,
these market insights showed that only about 50%
of small businesses survive longer than 5 years,
and around 80% of failed businesses do not survive
because of struggles with cash flow management.2
Square, a trusted brand among both small
business owners and consumers, saw an
opportunity to help business owners better
manage their cash flow. They decided to introduce
a dedicated business debit card that would not
require users to open a new bank account and
would give sellers almost instantaneous access
to their earnings to reinvest in their businesses.
2. https://www.businessinsider.com/why-small-businesses-fail-infographic-2017-8
“Marqeta’s expertise in financial services and
relationships across the payments ecosystem has enabled
us to implement a highly successful card program. Their integrations
with the issuing banks and card networks have been instrumental in
helping us establish our program, and Marqeta’s attention to fraud,
risk, and compliance has matched our high standards as we scale.
These capabilities have allowed us to accelerate our time to market
and better serve the needs of Square sellers.”
Christina Riechers, General Manager of Business Banking, Square
To launch this card, Square needed to partner with
an issuer processor that could:
1. Provide a trustworthy, proven, and scalable card offering
to deepen the existing relationship with its customer
base of millions of Square sellers
2. Integrate seamlessly with Square’s seller app as
part of its vision for the user experience of
ordering a card, designing the card, and
provisioning virtual cards to digital wallets
3. Bring expertise in management of partner
banks and payments networks, including
robust compliance and risk functionality
marqeta.com 3Square case study
Square found there were existing key market
insights and common pain points reported about
small business cash flow that informed a need to
launch a business card for its users. In particular,
these market insights showed that only about 50%
of small businesses survive longer than 5 years,
and around 80% of failed businesses do not survive
because of struggles with cash flow management.2
Square, a trusted brand among both small
business owners and consumers, saw an
opportunity to help business owners better
manage their cash flow. They decided to introduce
a dedicated business debit card that would not
require users to open a new bank account and
would give sellers almost instantaneous access
to their earnings to reinvest in their businesses.
2. https://www.businessinsider.com/why-small-businesses-fail-infographic-2017-8
“Marqeta’s expertise in financial services and
relationships across the payments ecosystem has enabled
us to implement a highly successful card program. Their integrations
with the issuing banks and card networks have been instrumental in
helping us establish our program, and Marqeta’s attention to fraud,
risk, and compliance has matched our high standards as we scale.
These capabilities have allowed us to accelerate our time to market
and better serve the needs of Square sellers.”
Christina Riechers, General Manager of Business Banking, Square
To launch this card, Square needed to partner with
an issuer processor that could:
1. Provide a trustworthy, proven, and scalable card offering
to deepen the existing relationship with its customer
base of millions of Square sellers
2. Integrate seamlessly with Square’s seller app as
part of its vision for the user experience of
ordering a card, designing the card, and
provisioning virtual cards to digital wallets
3. Bring expertise in management of partner
banks and payments networks, including
robust compliance and risk functionality
marqeta.com 3Square case study
Professional business debit cards that enable
sellers to reinvest their capital immediately
Square chose to work with Marqeta to launch its Square Card offering due to Marqeta’s ability to bring a new
card program to market quickly, its developer-friendly APIs, and its best-in-class 99.995% platform uptime.
Additionally, Square had already witnessed the success from Marqeta’s existing partnership with Cash App.
Marqeta’s modern card issuing solution enables Square to:
Issue physical business debit cards
to sellers using Square’s small
business platform
Sellers can access their Square balance with their
Marqeta-powered debit card, which allows them
to reinvest capital quickly into their businesses.
The cards can be personalized to sellers’ businesses,
with laser-etched business names and signatures for
a polished, professional look.
Instantly issue virtual debit cards
Square sellers don’t have to wait for a physical card to
arrive in the mail before using a card to access their
balances. From the Square App, sellers can create a
new, tokenized virtual card instantly using Marqeta’s
push provisioning functionality. The tokenized card
can be added immediately to the user’s Apple Pay
or Google Pay wallet to be used for spending right
away, enabling contactless payments functionality.
Utilize Marqeta’s Gateway Just-In-Time
(JIT) Funding to control authorizations
in real time
Marqeta’s Gateway JIT Funding enables Square to
completely control the authorization of transactions
based on a number of self-managed attributes and
parameters, including authorization based on a
seller’s Square balance at the time the card is being
used for payment, as well as custom fraud indicators
to protect a seller’s earned funds.
Get data insights in real time
Square utilizes Marqeta webhooks to keep sellers
up to date on their accounts, so they can see their
money movement and transaction details in real
time. Square also uses Marqeta webhooks to view
information on seller card creation, cardholder status,
and transaction status.
The solution:
marqeta.com 4Square case study
sellers to reinvest their capital immediately
Square chose to work with Marqeta to launch its Square Card offering due to Marqeta’s ability to bring a new
card program to market quickly, its developer-friendly APIs, and its best-in-class 99.995% platform uptime.
Additionally, Square had already witnessed the success from Marqeta’s existing partnership with Cash App.
Marqeta’s modern card issuing solution enables Square to:
Issue physical business debit cards
to sellers using Square’s small
business platform
Sellers can access their Square balance with their
Marqeta-powered debit card, which allows them
to reinvest capital quickly into their businesses.
The cards can be personalized to sellers’ businesses,
with laser-etched business names and signatures for
a polished, professional look.
Instantly issue virtual debit cards
Square sellers don’t have to wait for a physical card to
arrive in the mail before using a card to access their
balances. From the Square App, sellers can create a
new, tokenized virtual card instantly using Marqeta’s
push provisioning functionality. The tokenized card
can be added immediately to the user’s Apple Pay
or Google Pay wallet to be used for spending right
away, enabling contactless payments functionality.
Utilize Marqeta’s Gateway Just-In-Time
(JIT) Funding to control authorizations
in real time
Marqeta’s Gateway JIT Funding enables Square to
completely control the authorization of transactions
based on a number of self-managed attributes and
parameters, including authorization based on a
seller’s Square balance at the time the card is being
used for payment, as well as custom fraud indicators
to protect a seller’s earned funds.
Get data insights in real time
Square utilizes Marqeta webhooks to keep sellers
up to date on their accounts, so they can see their
money movement and transaction details in real
time. Square also uses Marqeta webhooks to view
information on seller card creation, cardholder status,
and transaction status.
The solution:
marqeta.com 4Square case study
Offer incentives to
Square Card holders:
Marqeta’s webhooks enable Square to identify when
a seller uses their Square Card at another Square
business, and the cardholder receives 2.75% off their
purchase as part of an incentive to support fellow
sellers and fuel the Square ecosystem.
Take advantage of Marqeta program
management services
Square utilizes Marqeta’s payment expertise and
operational services, including: integrations with
the issuing banks and card networks, compliance
expertise, risk, fraud, and chargeback management
to operate a successful card program.
The solution:
“With Square Card, we were looking to do something that hadn’t
been done before — providing small businesses instant access to
their sales earnings through a business debit card. We needed the
right flexible and modern card issuing platform, and the right future-
focused network partnerships to make this happen. Marqeta and
Mastercard were a huge part in helping us launch and scale this
program so successfully, and we’re excited to see them accelerate
and grow this partnership globally.”
Christopher Sweetland, Head of Industry Relations and Payments Operations, Square
marqeta.com 5Square case study
Square Card holders:
Marqeta’s webhooks enable Square to identify when
a seller uses their Square Card at another Square
business, and the cardholder receives 2.75% off their
purchase as part of an incentive to support fellow
sellers and fuel the Square ecosystem.
Take advantage of Marqeta program
management services
Square utilizes Marqeta’s payment expertise and
operational services, including: integrations with
the issuing banks and card networks, compliance
expertise, risk, fraud, and chargeback management
to operate a successful card program.
The solution:
“With Square Card, we were looking to do something that hadn’t
been done before — providing small businesses instant access to
their sales earnings through a business debit card. We needed the
right flexible and modern card issuing platform, and the right future-
focused network partnerships to make this happen. Marqeta and
Mastercard were a huge part in helping us launch and scale this
program so successfully, and we’re excited to see them accelerate
and grow this partnership globally.”
Christopher Sweetland, Head of Industry Relations and Payments Operations, Square
marqeta.com 5Square case study
Since launching in 2019, adoption of Square Card
has increased every quarter, enabling more and more
sellers to access and spend their earnings without
transferring funds to an external bank account. In
Q3 of 2020, Square sellers spent over $250 million
using their Square Cards, and 50% of sellers using
Square Card ordered their card in their first month of
onboarding, proving that Square Card is viewed as a
critical piece of Square’s product suite to empower
seller businesses. Square has seen an increase in
customer lifetime value as a result of sellers being
able to accept payments and spend their earnings
all from their Square accounts, keeping funds within
the Square ecosystem.
The results:
“When a client pays me, I can
keep track of my expenses by
using my Square Card. I just
leave it in my Square Balance
and spend down. That’s way
better for me and easier
than transferring money to
a separate bank account.”
Chef Andrea Lawson Gray,
Square customer and user of Square Card
marqeta.com 6Square case study
has increased every quarter, enabling more and more
sellers to access and spend their earnings without
transferring funds to an external bank account. In
Q3 of 2020, Square sellers spent over $250 million
using their Square Cards, and 50% of sellers using
Square Card ordered their card in their first month of
onboarding, proving that Square Card is viewed as a
critical piece of Square’s product suite to empower
seller businesses. Square has seen an increase in
customer lifetime value as a result of sellers being
able to accept payments and spend their earnings
all from their Square accounts, keeping funds within
the Square ecosystem.
The results:
“When a client pays me, I can
keep track of my expenses by
using my Square Card. I just
leave it in my Square Balance
and spend down. That’s way
better for me and easier
than transferring money to
a separate bank account.”
Chef Andrea Lawson Gray,
Square customer and user of Square Card
marqeta.com 6Square case study
marqeta.com facebook.com/marqetainc linkedin.com/company/marqeta-inc twitter.com/marqeta
» Additional resources
Get started with our sandbox and explore our developer guides
Learn more about our work in digital banking
Contact us to request a demo
About Marqeta
Marqeta is the modern card issuing platform empowering builders to bring the most innovative
products to the world. Marqeta provides developers advanced infrastructure
and tools for building highly configurable payment cards.
With its open APIs, the Marqeta platform is designed for businesses who want to easily build tailored
payment solutions to create best-in-class experiences and power new modes of money movement.
Marqeta built its simple, trusted, and scalable platform from the ground up to help companies design
seamless payment experiences, streamline purchase flows, and bring products to market faster,
while minimizing fraud risk.
Marqeta’s payment APIs enable:
• Card issuing: Instant issuance of physical, virtual, and tokenized
cards with direct provisioning to digital wallets
• Card processing: Real-time funding using our Just-in-Time (JIT) Funding
feature with dynamic spend controls to reduce fraud
• Card applications: A suite of applications and tools that help you build,
manage, and run your card program
• Modern architecture: Developer-friendly, modern open APIs,
cloud infrastructure and webhooks
Marqeta is headquartered in Oakland, California.
For more information, visit www.marqeta.com, Twitter and LinkedIn.
You see a card, we see endless possibilities
» Additional resources
Get started with our sandbox and explore our developer guides
Learn more about our work in digital banking
Contact us to request a demo
About Marqeta
Marqeta is the modern card issuing platform empowering builders to bring the most innovative
products to the world. Marqeta provides developers advanced infrastructure
and tools for building highly configurable payment cards.
With its open APIs, the Marqeta platform is designed for businesses who want to easily build tailored
payment solutions to create best-in-class experiences and power new modes of money movement.
Marqeta built its simple, trusted, and scalable platform from the ground up to help companies design
seamless payment experiences, streamline purchase flows, and bring products to market faster,
while minimizing fraud risk.
Marqeta’s payment APIs enable:
• Card issuing: Instant issuance of physical, virtual, and tokenized
cards with direct provisioning to digital wallets
• Card processing: Real-time funding using our Just-in-Time (JIT) Funding
feature with dynamic spend controls to reduce fraud
• Card applications: A suite of applications and tools that help you build,
manage, and run your card program
• Modern architecture: Developer-friendly, modern open APIs,
cloud infrastructure and webhooks
Marqeta is headquartered in Oakland, California.
For more information, visit www.marqeta.com, Twitter and LinkedIn.
You see a card, we see endless possibilities
Discover more insights