As it seeks to keep pace with a market shifting to EMV and NFC, Square has acquired Canadian payments specialist Kili Technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Toronto-based Kili develops silicon, electronics, and software designed to simplify and optimise payment processing, building what it calls a 'POS on a chip' that helps merchants accept contactless payments.
Explaining the acquisition, Square hardware lead Jesse Dorogusker says: "The payments landscape is changing faster than ever -- from EMV to NFC -- and we know that major technology shifts often leave small businesses behind. Our job is to continue to make the smartest and sexiest payments hardware on the planet accessible to them."
Square has already built a new EMV card reader, although it is chip and signature, not chip and PIN. It has also indicated that it will start letting merchants accept NFC-based Apple Pay payments. Rival PayPal has already upgraded its mPOS dongle to accept contactless.
The Kili team, led by former SecureKey engineer Afshin Rezayee, will continue to work from their Toronto offices, which become Square's second outpost in Canada, alongside the mPOS pioneer's Kitchener-Waterloo base.