Life moves pretty fast, and in the world of mobile technology it moves even faster. Square Inc. is looking to keep up by acquiring Toronto’s Kili Technologies.
Specializing in mobile payment processing solutions, Square first launched its Square Reader five years ago. It plugs into to your smartphone and allows small businesses and entrepreneurs to accept credit card payments. It brought the technology to Canada in October of 2012 and opened an engineering office in Waterloo, Ont. in spring of 2014.
According to Jesse Dorogusker, hardware lead with Square, the payments landscape is fast changing, including the shift from the EMV standard (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) to Near Field Communications (NFC), and technology shifts can often leave small businesses behind.
“Our job is to continue to make the smartest and sexiest payments hardware on the planet accessible to them,” said Dorogusker.
That’s why Square has acquired Kili Technology, a Toronto-based developer of silicon, electronics, and software that helps to simplify and optimize payment processing. The Kili team will continue to operate in Toronto as Square’s second office in Canada.
Kili has developed patented technology that gives customers a solution that integrates System-on-Chip ICs, firmware, complete certifiable reference designs, IP and hardware modules. It remains to be seen how the technology will be integrated with Square’s platform.
“They have an experienced technology team who, like our sellers, are relentless innovators and never satisfied,” said Dorogusker. “Together we’ll continue to lead the way in delivering simple and affordable hardware that gives our sellers a smarter and safer way to do business.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.