Mobile Payment Juggernaut Square Closes $200M Series D From Starbucks, Citi, Rizvi Traverse At $3.25B Valuation

Square has announced that it has finally closed its Series D round, totalling $200 million, with investors including Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks Coffee Company. It values the mobile payments company started by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey at $3.25 billion, according to AllThingsD.

Square has been hush-hush on confirming this for months, although it did announce one tranche of the funding, $25 million, at the same time as it announced a wide-ranging Starbucks partnership in August.

Square’s primary product is a dongle that plugs into iOS and Android devices to enable smaller merchants, previously only taking checks and cash, to accept credit cards by swiping them through the dongle. In the three years since it’s been in operation in the U.S., Square has grown from $1 billion in payments processed annually to $8 billion.

In that time, Square has also widened its ambitions. It offers a merchant-finder for people to identify which businesses take Square payments; merchants can use it as a way to manage inventory; and there are now options to pay with Square that do not involve you actually pulling out your card.

Most recently, and perhaps most significantly, by working with Starbucks, where it will process all card transactions across its 7,000 stores in the U.S., Square is wading into mobile payments for large multinational organizations. That is opening the door for how it might build up that business and credibility with more, larger merchants in the future.

It also plans to announce its first non-U.S. services later this year, it says. A large part of its financing will be used to accelerate that expansion. A likely partner there will again be Starbucks, which has an extensive operation outside of the U.S., with 18,000 stores in 60 countries in total.

Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz has already said that expanding Square’s relationship to those locations is up to Square to greenlight.

In the three years since the company came into existence, a number of other mobile payment solutions, some looking and working a lot like Square’s, have started to emerge. It will be worth watching whether Square partners with any of these, or chooses to go it alone, as it continues its march.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwire – Sep 17, 2012) – Square (www.squareup.com), the company revolutionizing commerce, announced today that it has closed its Series D financing round. Investors participating in the round include Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks Coffee Company.

One year ago, Square had approximately 150 employees and processed over $1 billion in payments on an annualized basis. Today, Square has over 400 employees and is processing over $8 billion in payments on an annualized basis.

Square’s growing revenue and workforce precedes the company’s plans for international expansion later this year.

About Square, Inc.
Square is revolutionizing millions of everyday transactions between buyers and sellers with its free credit card reader for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, allowing anyone to accept credit cards anywhere, anytime. Square Register serves as a full point-of-sale system for businesses to accept payments, track inventory, and share menu and location information. Pay with Square is the most seamless way to pay, enabling individuals to pay with their names at their favorite local merchants, discover nearby businesses, explore menu listings, and store receipts. Founded in 2009, and headquartered in San Francisco, Square is currently available only in the U.S. More information is available at squareup.com.