Square’s COO Keith Raboishas has made the bold prediction that nearly all retailers will be running their businesses from an iPad or similar device within 18 months.
This would be a very fast pace, given that so many merchants have already invested thousands of dollars in their point of sales machines — not to mention other hurdles, such as getting employees up to speed on new systems.
Still, Rabois, whose business relies on this happening, is insistent.
Rabios, a former executive at PayPal believes the era of “standalone” machines is over, and says everyone will be migrating to iPads and similar devices. Of course those devices will hopefully be powered by an app from Square.
Seems a little ambitious, but Square now has the money to take a run at it, as it confirmed today that it has raised a fourth round of capital. The Sam Francisco based payments company announced it had completed the round of financing, to the tune of $200 million. Sources say this now places it at a $3.25 billion valuation. A Square spokesperson would not confirm that amount, but it was reported that the company plans to use the money for more expansion.
Square has expanded their offerings over the past year, moving past supplying a magnetic-swipe card reader to anyone who requested one, to offering software for the iPad that acts like a cash register, and an app for the iPhone or an Android device that allows consumers to pay without using cash or plastic.
Others also believe there will be a quick transition in the marketplace.
In a survey taken last fall, the National Retail Foundation found that while only 6% of retailers said they were using mobile point-of-sale devices, half said they planned to adopt such devices over the next 18 months. 75% of the respondents said they planned to buy an iPad or other tablet device in the next 12 months.
Rabois says Square’s goal is to enable any merchant to offer a mobile experience similar to the one Starbucks currently offers through it’s application. Starbucks announced in August that it was investing in Square, and would start to use it to process all of its credit and debit transactions.
“Any merchant that is focused on customer service and the ambiance of their experience will be intrigued by what we offer,” Rabois said.
Square won’t be the only option for merchants looking to switch out their legacy systems for a digital one. Other companies, such as eBay’s PayPal, Verifone, and Intuit, are offering their own mobile-based solutions.
