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LONDON — Block, the payments company owned by tech billionaire Jack Dorsey, has launched a corporate card service in the United Kingdom as it seeks to deepen its expansion in the country and compete with large incumbents such as its own. American Express.
The company’s business-focused payments arm, Square, told CNBC it opened registration for its Square Card product in the UK late Wednesday, marking the first time Block has expanded its business card product outside of North America, where it first launched in 2019. Launched in North America.
Currently available in the U.S. and Canada, Square Card is a no-fee business spending card that reduces the time between merchants making a sale and having funds available to spend. It competes with products from American Express and Citigroup.
Samina Hussain-Letch, executive director of Square UK, said the launch of the company’s corporate card product in the UK will give merchants faster access to funds and help them manage their daily expenses more easily.
“When designing this product, we went back to our mission of making commerce easy,” Hussain-Letch told CNBC. Square’s internal research found that small and micro businesses “prefer to have their funds consolidated in one place,” she said, adding that real-time access to funds is also an important factor.
In the UK, Square Card will compete with local banking giants Lloyds Bank and nativ westminster bank. It will also intensify competition for some well-funded European fintech companies, including Pleo, Payhawk and Spendesk.
Hussain-Letch highlighted The Vinyl Guys as an example of an early adopter of its company’s card products. A Stafford-based vehicle branding and emblem printing shop is using corporate cards as part of a trial phase with customers within the UK.
“We’ve received some great feedback on the benefits of immediate access to funds, which really helps our small business sellers operate and grow as we know the number one reason small businesses fail in the UK is cash flow issues,” she added road.
Merchants can personalize employee spending cards with signatures and corporate branding.
Once employees join the Square Card program, they can start using it in their own digital wallet applications. There are no monthly fees, maintenance fees or foreign exchange fees for this service.
Square is deepening its investment in the UK as it seeks to become a global destination for technology businesses.
Entrepreneurs have been warning of a possible exodus of Britons due to the government’s controversial tax reforms.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves increased capital gains tax (CGT) – a levy on investment profits. But the news comes as a relief to tech entrepreneurs who feared tougher taxes would hit the wealthy. Reeves said the lower capital gains tax rate would increase from 10% to 18%, while the higher capital gains tax rate would increase from 20% to 24%. The tax increase is expected to bring in £2.5bn.
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