Payments company Square is moving into new markets by issuing business loans and will soon move to consumer lending. Its data collecting and analyzing algorithms are deciding creditworthiness letting borrowers arrange their loans in a few taps.
According to WSJ reporting, one Texan food truck owner accepted a loan offer within the Square app, then went on to borrow $150,000 to open a gastropub.
The borrower, Billy Joe Wilson, already used Square devices to process the credit card payments for his business. Square’s algorithms had been watching the transactions and monitoring sales before offering the loan which Wilson accepted with a few taps in the Square application. Wilson received the funds within a few days.
