Payments group Square attracts $200m in funding
PAYMENTS company Square said yesterday it had closed on its fourth major funding round, an investment of more than $200m (£123.2m).
Investors include Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management, and coffee retailer Starbucks.
The coffee chain’s investment was announced last month.
The company is valued at about $3.25bn, a source familiar with the matter has said.
At the time of the company’s last funding round in June 2011, it was worth around $1bn.
Square, led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and founded just three years ago, has won kudos for helping small businesses take credit-card payments easily and cheaply.
However, detractors complain that the company is overvalued and has too many competitors.
Other Square backers include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, and Visa.
The firm was founded in 2009 with just 10 employees, growing to more than 100 staff by last year.