AI is having a Google moment: Square boss

Henry is visiting Australia, Square’s biggest market outside the US, as the company looks to expand its share of the market providing payment and technology services to small and medium businesses, a key battleground for banks. Square is part of Block, the US fintech giant that also owns Afterpay.

As well as providing payment-related services, Square also lends money to businesses based on the data it collects, and Henry said there was strong demand for its lending products in Australia.

The company, which does not disclose the size of its Australian loan book, argues its data allows it to lend to businesses that banks will not touch. However, Australian banks have recently sought to compete more aggressively for the lucrative small business market.

“We believe there’s still a huge opportunity within Australia to serve more businesses both in terms of serving smaller businesses … and serving businesses outside the major metropolitan areas,” Henry said.

Excitement about artificial intelligence-exposed stocks such as Nvidia and Microsoft has been a key driver of US sharemarket performance this year, with Wall Street up about 13 per cent since January. Henry did not offer an opinion on AI valuations.

Square has launched an AI-driven feature in the US that is designed to help online merchants write more compelling descriptions of their items, and it plans to roll out this feature in Australia. Henry said it was also thinking about a feature that would advise small businesses on financial management issues.

Although the AI craze has sparked fears that hordes of white-collar jobs could be wiped out, Henry said she expected AI applications used in the company’s back office would help staff do their jobs more effectively but not reduce its need for staff.

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