Kleiner Perkins Investment Pegs Square at $1 Billion

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) is a major Sand Hill Road venture capital firm, one of the most widely known in Silicon Valley.

BY MONICA LANGLEY

A venture-capital giant is leading a group of investors buying a stake in Square Inc. that pegs the start-up's value at more than $1 billion, even as it scrambles to fend off larger rivals in the fledgling marketplace for mobile-device payments.

The $100 million investment in Square by a group led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, to be announced as early as Wednesday, quadruples the value of an eight-month-old company facing competitive pressure from Google Inc., Intuit Inc. and eBay Inc.'s PayPal.

At stake are billions of dollars in the rapidly evolving payments industry, as well as the credibility

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304665904576383813592144744.html#ixzz1Qfh9L3Zj

From Venture Beat: It’s official. Jack Dorsey’s Square has joined the billion dollar valuation club. The mobile payments startup closed a $100 million series C led by Kleiner Perkins, a story we broke a few weeks ago. The new round values Square above $1 billion.

 Square

Website:	squareup.com
Location:	San Francisco , California, United States
Founded:	February, 2009
Funding:	$165M

Square is a revolutionary service that enables anyone to accept credit cards anywhere. Square offers an easy to use, free credit card reader that plugs into a phone or iPad. It’s simple to sign up. There is no extra equipment, complicated contracts,… Learn More

Big Announcement Coming from Square?

What’s the announcement? I don’t know, but according to Michael Arrington at TechCrunch, founder Jack Dorsey says it’s a big one. Does it relate to the Visa investment in Twitter, I mean Square?  Are they going to announce that they will actually "encrypt" the card holder data?  Oh it says "exciting news"...stay tuned...

Related articles

• Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey returns in product development role (mobile-ent.biz)
• Jack Dorsey Takes Over Product Again At Twitter As Executive Chairman (techcrunch.com)
• Twitter: Yes, Jack Dorsey is leading product "full-time" (venturebeat.com)
• Jack Dorsey goes "back to work" at Twitter (venturebeat.com)
• Jack Dorsey returns to Twitter as executive chairman (sfgate.com)
• DOCOMO and Twitter Plan NFC Service (epaymentnews.blogspot.com)

MoBeePay(TM) Officially Announces a Revolutionary Mobile eCommerce App.

MoBeePay(TM) Officially Announces a Revolutionary Mobile eCommerce Application

CHICAGO, March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The MoBeePay iPhone application (other versions coming soon) allows buyers and sellers to connect and transact business in seconds without having to go through a time-consuming, risky payment process. Unlike PayPal, MoBeePay removes the need for a web based store and moves the transaction anywhere a merchant or consumer desires whether in the digital or the physical world.



Sellers register their products with MoBeePay and receive MoBeeTags (data matricies) and or MoBeeCodes (product codes) from MoBeePay, which are stored in the MoBeeHive (cloud). Buyers merely point their iPhone camera at the MoBeeTag in a magazine, on a billboard, or any print ad. Once the MoBeeTag is captured by the app the data is securely sent to the MoBeeHive. The MoBeeTag is compared, verified, and then the purchase is completed instantly if the user has signed in to their MoBeePay account.



If a user has not signed in they will be prompted to either sign in or sign up for an account directly in the MoBeePay app. The seller is notified of a successful purchase and the merchandise is shipped directly to the consumer from the manufacturer or retailer to the address on file, or in the physical world, handed to the buyer. Buyers who are unable to capture an accurate image are also able to enter a MoBeeCode as an alternative. This MoBeeCode or MoBeeTag can also be sent via SMS or MMS to the MoBeeHive if the user does not have an app compatible phone.



Like Square™ or VeriFone's PAYware™, MoBeePay will soon be offering a MoBeeMerchant application with hardware (MoBeeSwipe) that will enable mobile merchants or small retailers to accept credit and debit purchases at card present rates by plugging the MoBeeSwipe into an earjack.



Utilizing the same MoBeeTags with MoBeeMerchant, merchants can avoid the need for costly POS systems while still enjoying the benefits of an electronic transaction and inventory management system at competitive merchant discount rates.



MoBeePay was developed by Kent Mages and Kenneth Mages and has multiple patents pending. All MoBee terms herein are trademarked.



To see a demo visit www.mobeepay.com and let us know that you're interested.



About MobeePay:



MobeePay is the world's first mobile commerce application that allows anyone with a cell phone to complete purchases anywhere anytime and/or instantly open a merchant account on the web or in the physical world for free.



SOURCE MoBeePay Back to top RELATED LINKS

http://www.mobeepay.com

Try the demo

Ever see an ad in a magazine for something you really want only to forget what the item was hours later? Ever walk by a store after it’s closed and see something you would love to buy in the window, but forget what it was the next day? With MoBeePay you can satisfy that need to buy with just a snap of your camera.



It’s 2010, why should you need to remember an ad, repeatedly enter your card number for different retailers, waste time filing out forms or speaking with sales people? Just log in to your MoBeePay account once and you’re done. We handle the billing and shipping so you don’t have to. Snap one of our MoBeeTags and that brand new piece of merchandise will be billed and shipped in the blink of an eye, or rather the snap of a shutter.



Use anywhere you see a MoBeeTag and pass on that cool new product to friends via social networking sites like twitter or Facebook. Check back soon to learn more and to sign up for you own MoBeePay account. Just leave your email address and you’ll be the first to know when we go live.

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Multiple Patents Pending

Square Executives Dorsey, McKelvey to Keynote PAYMENTS 2010

Herndon, Va., Feb. 4, 2010 -- Twitter co-founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey and Square chairman Jim McKelvey will be the keynote speakers at the opening general session of PAYMENTS, the annual conference of NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association. This session will take place at 9:15 a.m. Pacific on Monday, April 26, 2010, at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle.



As the financial services industry starts investing again in innovation, the PAYMENTS conference provides unmatched access to and analysis of the newest developments in emerging technologies. Illustrating this point, the opening general session will offer an in-depth review of Square, the smart phone card terminal that allows individuals to accept credit card payments.



Dorsey and McKelvey will take questions from a panel of payments industry experts and respond to real-time tweets (Follow PAYMENTS at http://www.twitter.com/NACHA_PAYMENTS ). The speakers will share their insights on the Twitter phenomenon, Square, mobile payments, and what it will take to electronify the last mile.



The no-holds-barred approach to the session with expert panel interviews and audience-member tweets will ensure that the industry’s most pressing questions are answered.



“PAYMENTS educational sessions are designed to be on the cutting-edge of innovation, and it’s our goal for sessions to reflect the latest, most-discussed breakthroughs in the industry,” said conference chair Laura J. Listwan, AAP, CCM, senior vice president, U.S. Bank.



“Square certainly has generated a wave of supporters, skeptics, and critics alike, and in this keynote discussion, we’re providing an unparalleled opportunity to hear first-hand about the product from its creators and find out what it really means for payments.”

Square was born out of necessity and frustration, according to McKelvey. He could not sell a piece of his handcrafted glass artwork because he was unable to accept the customer’s preferred payment choice, and that lost transaction resulted in Square. The dialogue at the PAYMENTS opening session will provide insights into plans for the future of Square and the role it may play in the payments industry. This session also will be simulcast, allowing industry stakeholders worldwide to participate.



In addition to the opening session, PAYMENTS 2010 offers more than 125 educational sessions and workshops and features speakers from financial institutions, companies, government agencies, consulting and research firms, service providers, and more. Sessions are organized along seven tracks — Automated Clearing House (ACH), risk & compliance, payments biz, corporate payment solutions, check electronification, global focus, and card solutions.



Hot conference topics include ACH/check convergence, IAT and opportunities in international payments, mobile, P2P and B2B innovations, healthcare payments, social media and payments, prevailing risk management and security practices, and legal and regulatory developments.



To learn more about PAYMENTS 2010 sessions, workshops, speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors, or to take advantage of early registration discounts, visit http://payments.nacha.org .



Source: Company press release.