Square intros Installments feature that lets SMBs offer payment plans
Square is introducing another banking product for sellers that allows small businesses to offer payment plans to its customers. The financial services and mobile payments firm has built a small portfolio of bank-like offerings, including the profitable Square Capital lending service, Instant Deposit, and cash advances.
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Managed under the Square Capital umbrella, Square Installments gives SMBs the ability to offer their customers the option to finance larger purchases, like furniture, jewelry and home improvement services.
Historically, programs such as this have only been available for larger businesses, but with Square Installments, sellers are not subject to sales volume minimums, and setting up the program on the seller side is relatively seamless.
"We're focused on removing the complexity associated with financial products, enabling more businesses to access incredible tools that can help them grow," said Jacqueline Reses, head of Square Capital. "Square Installments delivers simple and quick financing to customers seeking greater flexibility as they make purchasing decisions."
Square said Installments is currently available to customers of participating Square sellers in 22 states for qualifying purchases between $250 and $10,000. Customers can apply to pay for their purchases in fixed monthly payments over 3, 6, or 12 months. Rates range from zero to 24 percent APR.
San Francisco-based Square, headed up by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has evolved from a pure play payments company into a full-fledged small business service provider. Square has greatly diversified its portfolio over the years, expanding into corporate catering and lending, and building tools for email marketing, payroll, and customer management.
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