Afterpay acquired by Square, the fintech company owned by Jack Dorsey

You may recognise the name from any previous reporting on Twitter, because Jack Dorsey is not only the CEO of the social media platform, but also a fintech company called Square. While not available in SA, Square looks to function in a similar way to our very own Yoco. It’s a platform that allows small businesses the ability to receive payments. Now, it’s acquiring Afterpay — a pay-later service. 

Guess they’ll Afterpay $29 billion

The Australian company, Afterpay, is a ‘buy now, pay later’ service, and Square’s Jack Dorsey will acquire it for $29 billion in stock. Its service has been available in the US since 2018. It works in a similar method to PayFlex in South Africa, which allows customers to pay off the item they decided to purchase online. 

“Afterpay allows consumers to make a purchase in four payments that are to be paid every two weeks. The user pays 25% upfront and can take the product home immediately,” Business Insider details. 

According to Dorsey, the service would be used within its Seller and Cash app products. In addition to its small business solutions, Square also has a feature called Cash app, which lets you send money to buddies and vice-versa. We’re not sure how the ‘buy now, pay later’ model applies to Cash app, but Dorsey’s sure it’ll work. 

“Square and Afterpay have a shared purpose,” Dorsey said in a statement. “We built our business to make the financial system more fair, accessible, and inclusive, and Afterpay has built a trusted brand aligned with those principles.”