Cashless payments, such as credit cards, have been around for decades.
But not every business had access.
That changed in 2009, when Twitter’s (NYSE: TWTR) chief executive Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey founded digital payments company Square (NYSE: SQ).
Using a petite device manufactured for US$0.97 each, Square transformed smartphones such as Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone into a debit or credit card reader.
Square’s target market: small businesses.
By driving down fees for card transactions, Square made card payments available to small businesses who could previously only accept cash.
In doing so, the company revolutionised the payment processing space, unlocking a previously untapped market.
The simple idea took off like wildfire.
Between 2012 and 2019, Square’s gross payment volume grew from US$6.52 billion to US$106.24 billion, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49%.
In 2015, the company completed its initial public offering (IPO) at US$9 per share.
This incredible growth in payment volume continued, leading to a surge in Square’s share price....
