Jack Dorsey is a busy man. Just one day ahead of Twitter's IPO, a report from The Wall Street Journal claims that his mobile payments company Square may also be going public. Square has reportedly held talks with banks including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley about an IPO tentatively slated for next year, though neither story indicates how far along those plans are or how serious the reported discussions were to begin with.
Square's ascent began with the release of Square Reader, a device that when plugged into iOS and Android smartphones can process mobile payments on the go. The small white dongle has proven enormously popular among small businesses and indie crafters; competitors like PayPal have tried to duplicated Square's successful formula. More recently, the company rolled out Square Cash, a service that lets users exchange cash — for free — over email without registering for any special account or membership. During a recent discussion with GigaOm's Om Malik, Dorsey touched on the philosphy that has guided Square's roadmap. "As we evolved, we figured out that this is not about payments. It's about commerce and the activity between buyers and sellers," he said.
If Square indeed makes the journey to Wall Street next year, it will have done so at a much faster clip than Facebook and Twitter. Both of those companies took several years to go public. But Dorsey is a battle-tested entrepreneur with a proven track record, so an accelerated IPO wouldn't be altogether surprising. We've reached out to Square for more details.
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