Square is taking on PayPal and Stripe with a new e-commerce API that enables merchants to process online payments on their own self-hosted, fully developed websites.
The API is part of a new set of tools called Build with Square which accelerates Jack Dorsey's plan to create a one-stop-shop for small businesses.
The e-commerce API pits Square squarely against the likes of Stripe and PayPal, letting sellers seamlessly integrate their sites with the payments processor.
Meanwhile, for real-world payments, the Register API enables sellers - such as bike shops and wineries - that have highly specific needs customise any iOS-based point-of-sale.
Says a blog: "Independent businesses have been poorly served by existing commerce solutions, which require them to laboriously piece together hardware, software, and payments services from many different vendors.
"From payments to point of sale, financing to payroll, we believe all sellers — big or small, online or offline — should be able to start, run, and grow their entire business with one cohesive system."