A woman writes a sign outside a restaurant serving only takeout due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, outbreak in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2020. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Square is making a supportive gesture to business customers going through financial pain due to the effects of social distancing in the time of COVID-19.
On Wednesday the company released a curbside pickup feature for small businesses and plans to release a local delivery feature later this week. Fees for both will be waived for the next three months. The company is also refunding March software subscription fees, which include Square Appointments, Retail, Restaurants, Loyalty, Team Management, Payroll, Marketing, and Square Online Store systems.
That's despite the fact that the company lost more than a quarter of its share value on Monday and closed down 28.6 percent on Tuesday amid government-ordered store and restaurant closures meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Square's primary customers have historically been restaurants and coffee shops. Unlike that of its competitors, Square's appeal is rooted deeply in its in-store payment acceptance offerings; whereas PayPal's is rooted in online payment acceptance, Shopify's is in the ability to help merchants create Internet storefronts, and Stripe is technology and software-centric.
Square has also created a support page explaining how to create an online store and ordering pages for customers, set up electronic gift cards to help increase cash flow, and how to disable the signature and receipt screens at checkout to limit in-person contact.
"One of the biggest problems sellers have right now is cash flow," CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted Wednesday. "We're working hard on short and long-term solutions. Here's a start, more to come."
Square shares finished the day Wednesday down 11.69 percent.
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
