Square Announces Official Launch in Spain After Successful Early Access Programme

By STS News Desk On Jan 25, 2022

Square Sellers across the UK Can Now Offer Buy Now, Pay Later Through Clearpay

Starting today, Spanish entrepreneurs will have access to Square’s wide range of software, hardware and payment solutions to help them start, run or grow their businesses

Square’s Early Access Programme, which started in September 2021, allowed Spanish businesses to test Square’s integrated omnichannel solutions

Square, the company specialising in software, payments, and hardware solutions for businesses of all sizes, announces its arrival in Spain following a successful Early Access Programme. Starting today, Spanish entrepreneurs, freelancers and business owners will be able to use Square’s ecosystem of tools; the only end-to-end solution of its kind in the country.

“Spanish businesses of all types and sizes will now be able to use our integrated ecosystem of products and services to grow, adapt, and run their businesses.”

“We’ve been trialing Square’s suite of products both in-store and online and we love it,” said Miguel Gil, owner of Hop Hop Hurrah, one of the first businesses to use Square’s products in Spain. “Having a point-of-sale system with integrated payments and omnichannel solutions has transformed the way we’re able to run our business, making it an easy and seamless process. We’re pleased we were able to switch to Square and feel much more confident in our ability to grow, ensuring we never miss a sale, as we look towards the future.”

Square is part of Block, Inc. a global technology company focused on financial services, founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco. Square is currently present in nine countries, with Spain being the fourth European country and the first launched in 2022, after landing in Ireland and France last year and the UK in 2017. Square seeks to help entrepreneurs in a country where SMEs account for 99% of businesses, so that they can easily sell their products and services, both in physical shops and online, as their needs evolve. Square will also be rolling out support in Catalan over the coming months.

“We are thrilled to expand Square’s solutions into Spain, helping merchants to run their entire business end-to-end with integrated software, hardware and data analytics, while making it easy for them to take card payments,” said Alyssa Henry, Head of Square. “Spanish businesses of all types and sizes will now be able to use our integrated ecosystem of products and services to grow, adapt, and run their businesses.”

Xiana Méndez, Secretary of State for Trade commented: “For a quick economic recovery, SMEs and fintech industry must go hand in hand. SMEs must evolve at the same speed as the market and thanks to fintech they can do so in an easy, swift and convenient way. The technology provided by these technological financial firms guarantees them innovative solutions in terms of payment management that can be decisive in supporting their growth. In Spain, Square will find a very thriving market!”

Integrated solutions for multiple business needs

With a suite of products that fully integrate with each other, Square offers one-stop solutions for a variety of business needs: from creating an online shop, accepting physical and online card payments, or managing a retailer’s inventory; to keeping a busy restaurant kitchen under control, scheduling appointments, invoicing clients, managing employees, and selling electronic gift cards, among many other time-saving services for businesses.

Square’s full offer in Spain includes:

Point of sale and payments software and hardware to suit any business: Square launches with three point of sale (POS) software products and three versatile payment terminals, offering both mobile and brick & mortar businesses fully integrated POS software, reliable and secure payments acceptance, and one transparent processing rate. With no long-term commitments or subscription fees, the systems are designed for businesses and their employees to get started quickly.
- Square Point of Sale is the trusted solution used by business owners around the world to process payments, sell anywhere, and manage their customer base. With fast checkout flows, built-in customer management, and intuitive sales reporting, Square Point of Sale makes it easy to run a business customers love.
Square for Restaurants harnesses its POS expertise with an industry-specific integrated set of tools for food and beverage merchants that would ordinarily require multiple vendors, all under one umbrella.
Square Appointments is an all-in-one POS for booking, payments, team management, and more. It’s built for beauty, personal care, and wellness sellers who benefit from online scheduling, automatic reminders, and payment processing to run everything easily from one place.
Square Register, Square Terminal, and Square Reader are versatile, easy-to-set-up devices. For a limited time, new Square sellers will be able to buy their first unit at a reduced price: Square Register will be priced at 299 € (usually 599 €), Square Terminal will be 99 € (usually 165 €), and Square Reader will be completely free (usually 19 €) – all available on Square Shop.
eCommerce and online payments: No matter what you sell, Square makes it easy to start selling it online.
- Square Online is Square’s fully integrated e-commerce platform that automatically syncs inventory and orders with any Square point of sale. Square Online supports sellers across a variety of verticals: from easily enabling click-and-collect for local business, to a QR code ordering platform allowing diners to order and pay from their mobile device, to a full ecommerce website with social media integrations for retail. Square Online offers a feature-rich free plan (just pay for processing when you make a sale) as well as a variety of paid subscription plans and payment processing is competitively priced..
- Online Checkout to quickly sell online via embeddable buy buttons and payment links.
- Virtual Terminal to use a computer to take payments remotely.
- Square Invoices to help businesses send professional, digital estimates and invoices and get paid faster.
- E-Gift cards that can be sold online and in-store, to help boost sales and attract new customers.
Robust business tools to power operations: Square manages the behind-the-scenes details, giving time back to merchants to focus on running their business. Tools include:
- Team Management, to streamline timecards and staffing.
- Kitchen Display System (Square KDS), to expedite kitchen operations – including managing delivery orders.
- App Marketplace with seamlessly integrated apps to unlock even more functionality: Square integrates with ecommerce tools like PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Wix and Ecwid, as well as accounting platforms Quaderno and CommerceSync, and ordering platforms such as Deliverect.
- Suite of API’s enabling developers to create solutions for sellers: Our APIs and SDKs enable developers to build custom applications that can seamlessly integrate with the rest of our ecosystem of products.

An Early Access Programme with applications from a broad range of industries

The company’s Early Access Programme, which started in September 2021 with limited places for beta testers, saw registrations from companies and self-employed people across multiple sectors including restaurants and hospitality, professional services, beauty, retail as well as health and wellness. Some of the Spanish establishments that have already been able to enjoy Square’s services in advance are Pastelería Tallón, Valentine and Hop Hop Hurrah.

“At Square, our growth is directly tied to our customers’ growth – when they succeed, we succeed,” says Jason Lalor, European Executive Director at Square. “Our Early Access Programme has been very well received by Spanish business owners and now, with the official launch, we’re excited to partner with all types of businesses across Spain and continue to help them grow.”

Write in to psen@itechseries.com to learn more about our exclusive editorial packages and programs.