Square Inc. has closed its $150 million Series E funding round, putting the payments technology company at a $6 billion valuation, according to a New York Times blog.
A new investor, The Government of Singapore Investment Corp., led the funding round, reportedly at close to $100 million. Square confirmed the closing in an email to PaymentsSource.
Last month, market data source VCExperts.com had indicated Square had already raised $100 million and established its valuation, while setting a goal to eventually raise $200 million from Government of Singapore Investment and other investors.
The funding comes at a time when Square faces increased competition on the payments landscape from PayPal, split off as its own company from eBay Inc., setting the stage for PayPal to cozy up to the new partners and develop more technology.
Other competition is coming from Amazon, which dipped its toes into the mobile card reader world in August with its Local Register product, offering lower swipe fees than Square in the process.
Apple Inc. also announced its new Apple Pay mobile pay system, expected to debut next week on the new iPhone 6 series of handsets. It means another significant technology company is now playing in the payments field, but Square intends to accept Apple Pay payments, which could boost transaction volume.
In the meantime, Square has moved forward with various new services and products for its small-business merchant clients, including an EMV chip-card mobile reader, security improvements, and various business management products.
