Block

The payments fintech announced that it has applied for a national trust bank charter from the OCC for both bitcoin and stablecoin custody.

Block added 30,000 sellers to what it calls "Neighborhoods," a proprietary distribution network that connects Cash App users with Square sellers. It is a key initiative Block CEO Jack Dorsey first outlined in 2024 as a way to meld the company's then-separate business lines to achieve network effects.

The company's Square unit has upgraded its seller-focused credit card, adding incentives and linking to digital transfers rails. This comes as Stripe may acquire PayPal and AI developer OpenRouter.

The payment company's CEO says it's developing and shipping products faster despite cutting nearly half of its staff. It's a strategy he says can be replicated at other businesses.

The payment company's Cash App Borrow has expanded lending volume by about 300% in about a year following its FDIC approval to expand lending. The company analyzes payment activity to vet loans in an effort to beat banks to consumers.

The payment company is expanding the Afterpay buy now/pay later network and offering a Cash App mobile plan as it tries to draw consumers from legacy financial institutions and rival payment firms.

Block's CEO is more bullish on bitcoin, but stablecoins add another option for the payment company's users to build their spendable balances while furthering the company's super app ambitions.

The payments company posted strong adjusted earnings following a dramatic downsizing, which management attributed to the influence of artificial intelligence.

Square, Block's merchant-focused business line, is trying to make more loans to seasonal businesses and first-time clients.

Block last week cut 40% of its staff and attributed the layoffs to artificial intelligence, leaving many to wonder whether Jack Dorsey's payments company was a bellwether for widespread AI-driven layoffs, or a one-off.

Jack Dorsey's payments company also laid off employees early in 2025 and 2024 following a self-imposed employee cap of 12,000 in November 2023.

The payment company opened a new office in Dublin to battle rivals like Adyen, Stripe and PayPal.

Cryptocurrency has traditionally been an investment product more than a way to make purchases, but fintechs are betting there's a future for digital assets at the point of sale.

The payments firm is taking another step to attract younger customers, a strategy that CEO Jack Dorsey has said will promote long-term network growth.

Circle's Dante Disparte and Block's Owen Jennings discuss how blockchain, crypto and AI can combine to open new lanes for international commerce. Payment experts say banks need to play catch up.

The payments company is expanding the transfer app in an effort to entice more consumers to use the service as their primary banking relationship

The payment and commerce company's stock fell as much as 12% in afterhours trading on Thursday after the fintech missed Wall Street's earnings estimates, despite posting growth in all lines of business and increasing its full year guidance.

The payment company increased its financial outlook, partly on the shoulders of new forms of artificial intelligence, such as "codename goose" that are making it possible to update products faster.

Block, which maintains its original Square brand for its business-focused products, is offering easier access to cash advances for small businesses. Also, Amex and Mastercard expand their virtual card strategy; and more in the American Banker global payments and fintech roundup.

Block has combined buy now/pay later with peer-to-peer payments, part of a big bet that younger consumers want an alternative to credit cards.