Mobile point-of-sale

Square has worked hard in the past several years to offer more than just mobile card acceptance, but not all of its efforts have paid off.

Square Inc. is selling its Caviar food-delivery app to DoorDash Inc. for $410 million, as the money-losing payments company searches for profits.

As checkout-free stores dramatically reduce — or even eliminate — the need for point-of-sale devices, terminal makers are turning their focus to multichannel services that can keep younger, digital-savvy customers coming into stores.

The mobile point of sale market has grown far beyond its roots as an off-the-shelf dongle for smartphones. The category is now driving major acquisitions, collaborations and international deployments.

ING is piloting an Android-based app that supports smartphone card payments without a connected dongle or investment in a payment terminal.

Security platform provider MagicCube is partnering with IT services company NTT Data to certify and deploy software that allows the secure input of sensitive data on a touch screen.

Shift4 Payments is giving away free payment terminals to restaurants again, but this time it's using a cloud-based approach with richer marketing tools, including links to social media.

The fintech M&A wave is sweeping over the dining and fast-food industries, with major companies like Amazon, Walmart and American Express spending on smaller firms that focus on digital food delivery and payments.

Small business owners using Square's payments platform and business tools may soon be asking "Elle" for assistance with customers.

In the wake of Zelle, Venmo and Apple Cash getting more active users and potential revenue, Square is relying on its Square Cash App and Cash Card as key drivers for its own growth.