Square Expands into Consumer Lending, Keeps Banking Hopes Alive

Square is no stranger to payments and is looking more and more like a bank every day. Square Capital already facilitates loans to small businesses, and now they’re expanding into consumer loans. Meanwhile, it’s been several months since Jack Dorsey’s fintech startup withdrew its application to become an Industrial Loan Company (ILC), but Square’s banking pursuits appear far from over.

“With regard to charters, Square Capital is uniquely positioned to build a bridge between the financial system and the underserved, and we continue to work closely with the FDIC and Utah DFI on our ILC applications,” a Square spokesperson told deBanked.

In the interim, Square is making a push into consumer lending, giving small businesses the opportunity to capture big-ticket sales that might otherwise slip away. After testing the feature for about a year, Square Installments has now been rolled out across 22 states with plans for a nationwide expansion.

“Historically, offering financing options for customers has only been available to larger businesses. For many Square sellers, providing a payment option like this to customers has either not been possible, or has been too complicated or time/labor intensive to set up. We are focused on expanding access to financial services for both businesses and individuals, and Square Installments sits at the intersection of both,” the spokesperson said.

Square Installments will further diversify the company’s revenue stream and build on the momentum that they have been experiencing with business loans. The new product offers customers more flexibility for purchases between $250 and $10,000, giving them the option to pay over three, six or 12-month installments at an APR of up to 24%.

“We noticed there were a lot of very high-ticket purchases on Square and sellers were saying that they might lose a sale because a national chain might offer financing,” according to the spokesperson. Over the past year, Square facilitated tens of millions of transactions for purchases of more than $250.

And it isn’t just merchant demand. Small business customers similarly are hunting greater flexibility and more financing options for budgeting purposes, according to a survey of American consumers done by Square over the summer.

Square Installments works at both the point-of-sale for brick-and-mortar businesses as well as with Square Invoices for e-commerce companies. Other fintechs that offer similar consumer lending solutions include Affirm, GreenSky and Klarna, as Reuters pointed out.

For sellers, Square Installments can be integrated into their existing Square offerings. The seller is not engaged in the credit decision process and is paid for the sale up front.

By giving customers the ability to pay in installments, small businesses can increase their sales, bolstering growth in the process. Square gives the example of Fly1 Motorsports, whose sales increased between 20%-30% while order values increased by more than 50% as a result of Square Installments.

Square has a history with the sellers on its platform, which delivers greater transparency to the credit decision process. The loans, however, will be added to Square’s balance sheet, a risk that was reflected in declines in Square’s stock price on the heels of the announcement. Square (SQ) shares are down 22% so far in October. The declines also coincided with the departure of Square’s CFO, Sarah Friar.

“From a risk perspective, we look at two types of risk — fraud and credit. At Square, we start with an advantage since we know the sellers we are bringing on to the Square Installments program given they are already processing with Square. We have visibility into what they sell, their average ticket size, and any chargebacks,” the Square spokesperson explained.

On the consumer credit risk side, Square uses machine learning and other tools to provide what it describes as a “holistic view of our borrowers.”