Square Photo Studio app wants to help businesses take product shots on mobile

Square has a new mobile app designed to make it easier for Canadian businesses to get better product shots right from their smartphones. The Square Photo Studio app offers easy-to-follow prompts for taking the best photo. It can then isolate the product from its background so you can choose from the provided backgrounds, shadows, and colours. 

You can then easily link these images to your Square catalogue or create a new item for selling. But the app isn't limited to Square sellers. Anyone with products to sell can snap and style a photo and then sell it with a Square Online Checkout link. The Square Photo Studio app is available on the Apple App Store.

Square buys majority stake in Tidal to create artist-driven business

Embed from Getty Images

It might seem like an unusual deal, but fintech company Square wants to invest in the future of streaming service Tidal. Square bought a majority stake in Tidal that's equivalent to US$297 million in cash and stock. It cuts out third-party investors and only keeps artists invested in the company to hold the rest of Tidal's shares. 

Tidal's former majority owner and renowned rapper Jay-Z will also join Square's board of directors to help oversee Square's businesses, including Seller and Cash app. Square's head of hardware, Jesse Dorogusker, will become Tidal's interim leader.

Click to read more ...

Report: Ottawa goes mostly cash-less during COVID-19 pandemic

Photo by Clay Banks/Unsplash

Cash is no longer the preferred method of payment for Ottawans, at least according to a new report from Square. The payments company says Ottawa is now the country's most cashless city, with its residents preferring to pay with plastic because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, 31.3% of purchases in the city were paid by cash. But since COVID-19 hit, cash sales have dropped to 1.7%. 

Now, most purchases in Ottawa are paid for with cards at a rate of 98.3%. Montreal comes in a close second at 97.2%. The highest percentage of purchases paid for with cards includes breweries, wineries and distilleries, food and drink vendors, and leisure and music entertainment.

Click to read more ...

Square launches Square Loyalty to help businesses attract and keep customers

Square is making it easier for Canadian businesses to set up digital rewards programs. Called Square Loyalty, this integrated tool is accessible through their Square Point of Sale app. Businesses don’t need any extra hardware or software to implement this. The payments and point-of-sale company considers this an easy way for businesses to thank customers as well as entice them to come back. “We are thrilled to make Square Loyalty available to our Canadian sellers as we know customers enrolled in Square Loyalty return and spend on average two times more than other customers,” said Alyssa Henry, seller lead at Square.

Businesses pay a monthly cost, which starts at $60, for Square Loyalty based on each location’s total Loyalty visits per month. There’s a 30-day free trial for those who want to test it out first. Quick-service businesses can keep it simple and run a more traditional loyalty program where customers receive points from purchases to earn rewards points. Meanwhile, specialty boutiques can opt for multiple reward levels, which allow customers to bank their points to earn tiers or higher-value loyalty rewards. The great thing is businesses can keep track of sales as well as how many new and returning customers are participating in the rewards program through the Square Dashboard.