Larger Sellers Account for 51% of Square’s Gross Payment Volume as ‘Ecosystem’ Takes Root

Square Inc . saw gross payment volume increase 28% year-over-year to $23 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018. The payments processing company said growth was driven by larger sellers who accounted for 51% of that volume, which is up from 47% a year before. GPV from larger sellers grew 39% YOY, easily outpacing the overall rate. Sellers with annualized volumes north of $500,000 were responsible for 24% of the GPV for the quarter, while those between $125,000 and $500,000 were responsible for 28%. Smaller sellers, with annualized volumes south of $125,000, accounted for 49% of the quarterly GPV, down from 53% in 2017 and 57% in 2016. However, it's worth noting that Square's new CFO Amrita Ahuja said during the company's earnings call Wednesday that 40% of Square's larger sellers started as micro sellers. CEO Jack Dorsey said he wants to focus on strengthening Square's omnichannel offering and getting more sellers using more products across Square's "ecosystem," which he believes to be a core differentiator for the company. Asked what products are best positioned to lead growth in 2019, Dorsey said people are "finally starting to see the power of our ecosystem, and they’re not just seeing us as separate parts and separate tools, but the entire ecosystem." He said the biggest drivers for growth will be a result of more connections and more integrations, leading people to see Square's offerings as "one unit." "One of the real strengths of the developer ecosystem for us has been an ability for a larger seller to take the parts of our ecosystem that they want custom-fit into their shops or their restaurants, connected with legacy systems that they may have, so it’s not disruptive to their business," Dorsey said. "We think it’s a really powerful equation and you’ll see us continue to add to the ecosystem equation, to continue to strengthen that as a unit, rather than just, like, the individual parts. So, that gets me super excited this year." Ahuja said 30% of Square's larger sellers sell through multiple channels with the company. She said over 50% of larger sellers use two or more products, and "that’s obviously something that we can continue to grow." She said the company will be "focused on launching and scaling new products as ever" in 2019. "We’re focused on serving all of our sellers," she said. "And many of the things that we’re doing in terms of products and services to serve larger sellers also matter for micro sellers." Dorsey said Square will also be looking to push self-onboarding as much as possible. "It’s easier for our sellers, obviously much easier for us, and then it speaks to the simplicity and elegance of our interface," he said. Ahuja said over 80% of Square's larger sellers already self-onboard. Other efforts Square's Cash App had more than 15 million monthly active users as of December 2018, more than double the number reported a year before. "We're seeing mainstream adoption and we're seeing appeal with people aged 18 to 34," Dorsey said. "We’re seeing a lot more increased engagement through higher average transactions per customer and we’re increasingly seeing people using the Cash App as their primary spending tool. He said all the tech built for the Cash App powers other product ecosystems as well, including Instant Deposit and Square Card. He touted Square Card, in particular, as a way for the company to reach underserved and unbanked sellers, adding 40% of beta sellers for the Square Card didn’t have a business debit card before. "You can start a business without even having to go to a bank, which is pretty powerful, pretty profound and really cool," Dorsey said. "And we don’t think this is just for small businesses. We think this can scale and we’re really excited about adding more functionality on top of the card." Dorsey was tightlipped on the company's most recent attempt at applying for a bank charter. "We don’t have any updates on the timeline," he said. "We’re working closely with the FDIC right now, and Utah DFI, as they review our applications, and we’ll give you updates as soon as we have them." Shares in the company dropped about 6% in premarket trading on concerns about a lower-than-expected bottom line forecast and increased spending. The stock was down about 1% shortly after 11:30 a.m. ET. Square's market cap is $32.88 billion. Join us at FinAi News Ignite 2019 , March 11-12 at the Hyatt Olive 8 in Seattle. Register here .

Larger Sellers Account for 51% of Square’s Gross Payment Volume as ‘Ecosystem’ Takes Root

Plaid Team Multiplies as Sales Model Comes into Focus

Rob Guilfoyle, CEO of Abe AI, Joins Speaker Faculty of FinAi News Ignite

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Larger Sellers Account for 51% of Square’s Gross Payment Volume as ‘Ecosystem’ Takes Root

Plaid Team Multiplies as Sales Model Comes into Focus

Rob Guilfoyle, CEO of Abe AI, Joins Speaker Faculty of FinAi News Ignite

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