Square sets up shop in Australia

Mobile payments company Square will open operations in Australia through a new Melbourne headquarters, its fourth global hub.

Square is the brainchild of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. Its arrival down under has long been expected, and will be led by Ben Pfisterer, a former NAB and Visa executive who has been named Square's local country chief.

The company launched in 2009 and has raised over over US$590 million since from a number of high-profile investors.

Its Square Register product - a free point-of-sale tablet application that provides cash register functions, targeted at SMEs - has been available in Australia since the end of last year.

The company also offers a free credit card reader which can be attached to mobile devices to accept credit card payments.

Square is yet to detail which of its products alongside Square Register will be made available in Australia.

Pfisterer said in a statement the company had chosen to set up shop in Australia based on its "entrepreneurial small business community".

"Leveraging our knowledge of the local market, and the growth of Square around the world, we are looking forward to deploying an exciting product road map in the future that will help to make commerce easier for Australian small-business owners," he said.

Square picked Melbourne in particular for its "growing reputation as Australia’s technology hub", he said.

The local operations will provide support for businesses using the Square Register app, the company said.