Block is bringing together two of its core products to help local businesses serve their customers. On Wednesday, the fintech company unveiled “Neighborhoods” by Cash App, a new feature designed to help merchants compete more easily with national chains by removing this digital point of friction. It’s more than an app update—this offering creates a connection between the four million Square sellers and 57 million monthly Cash App users.
Alongside its Cash App announcement, Block introduced new food and beverage features, enhanced AI tools, and a bitcoin payments and wallet solution for businesses.
“Neighborhoods have always been where our purpose of economic empowerment comes to life,” Brian Grassadonia, Block’s ecosystem lead, writes in a blog post. “Where local businesses breathe character into communities, local entrepreneurs create spaces that feel distinctly theirs, and where culture, flavor, and identity are preserved. Vibrant neighborhoods don’t just happen; they’re built and sustained by local businesses that grow through creativity, resilience, and ambition.”
Indeed, small businesses are the lifeblood of Block’s Square, as I noted for VentureBeat nearly a decade ago today. And while the company initially helped local merchants and retailers modernize with advanced card readers and point-of-sale solutions, these businesses often lack the resources to keep pace with current commerce practices. After all, how can the corner store or the mom-and-pop shop near you compete with a national brand that can easily install the latest payment processing technology?
Shoppers don’t want to install another app just to make a purchase. They prefer to use software they’re accustomed to, at least that’s Block’s argument. That said, “Neighborhoods” by Cash App is Block’s effort to combat community gentrification. Here’s what the company promises:
- Pooled stored balance
- All orders made with Cash App will be charged a one percent payment processing rate
- Network-wide rewards to encourage repeat visits and drive new customers to merchants. These rewards can be earned and redeemed with any seller in the network, which Block claims will keep the money in the community, benefiting every business.
- Access to a loyal base of Cash App users. When a customer follows a seller’s profile, that seller can then interact with the shopper to offer targeted rewards or deals.
- Free marketing and discovery tools
“This is more than a product launch. It’s a commitment to the communities and businesses that shape our cities and towns,” Grassadonia proclaims.
New Ways to Order Food and Drinks
Next up are new tools that Block hopes will help restaurants never miss a food or beverage order. Helping these businesses is an incredible opportunity for the company, as it states every dollar spent in one of these establishments contributes $2.68 in broader economic activity in the community.
“We’re going all-in on restaurants because we believe in their essential role in neighborhoods everywhere,” Ming-Tai Huh, Square’s head of food and beverage, explains. “Far too long, while they’ve been serving our communities, restaurants have been underserved by tools that are too rigid, too fragmented, or not built for their reality.”
It begins with AI-powered voice ordering, enabling restaurants to handle all incoming phone calls. Think of Google Duplex, but in reverse. When a customer places an order over the phone, the bot will respond like a staff member, trained to answer the most complex questions that you’d expect, such as “What are your specials today?” or “I’d like to customize the toppings that come on my burger—extra pickles, and no cheese.”
Orders are automatically sent to the kitchen or the point-of-sale system. All interactions are logged in Square Messages, giving restaurant employees transparency into what took place over the phone.
Square is also enhancing its GrubHub tie-in, allowing sellers to manage menus, modifiers, and inventory directly within its platform. In addition, they won’t have to wait days to receive their earnings, thanks to Square’s Instant Payouts.
The addition of multichannel menu management provides restaurants with a central dashboard to control the menu displayed across online ordering, kiosks, and third-party delivery apps.
Lastly, Square is updating its Kiosk devices, making them more accessible thanks to a redesigned interface. It now includes picture-based categories, larger fonts, and always-visible checkout carts.
AI to Make Better Business Decisions
This summer, Square opened its AI assistant up in public beta. It’s a conversational bot designed to help sellers answer their own questions about using the company’s technology and gain insights into their businesses. This week, Square AI is gaining new capabilities, namely:
- Mobile access support via Square’s Dashboard app
- Customizable AI widgets that sellers can create to save answers as charts and visuals
- Industry and location context enabling sales summaries to be more detailed, complete with information about the local weather, neighborhood events, and industry trends
- Personalized suggested questions to help sellers find new opportunities
“With Square AI, we’re making it far easier for sellers to follow their curiosity and make data-driven decisions—and at the same time, equipping them with the ability to react in real-time to information, like weather forecasts or holiday patterns,” Willem Ave, Square’s global head of product, comments. “We want our sellers and their communities to thrive, and a key component of that is making sure they have access to sophisticated tools, embedded within the platform they use every day.”
Bitcoin Comes to Main Street
The final announcement involves Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency Square has supported since around 2018. Now, it’s moving to make it more accessible to sellers, helping them accept another form of payment besides cash, checks, and credit cards.
“The bitcoin tools we’re building at Square deliver on two critical needs: ensuring sellers never miss a sale, and giving them access to powerful financial tools that help them more easily manage and grow their finances,” Miles Suter, head of bitcoin product at Block, explains. “We’re making bitcoin payments as seamless as card payments while giving small businesses access to financial management tools that, until now, have been exclusive to the largest corporations. Through Square and Cash App, we serve both sides of the counter, meaning Square is uniquely positioned to make bitcoin everyday money, not just a store of value—while also helping sellers future-proof their operations.”
- Sellers can accept bitcoin directly through their point-of-sale using Bitcoin Payments, with no processing fees through 2026
- Sellers can convert a percentage of their daily sales into bitcoin automatically using Bitcoin Conversions
- Within Square Dashboard, sellers can manage their bitcoin holdings thanks to the integrated Bitcoin Wallet tool
- The integration with Square Banking connects Bitcoin directly to Square’s entire ecosystem of products, helping sellers manage their sales, banking needs, and treasury management in a single place
Featured Image: Neighborhoods on Cash App running on a Square register. Credit: Block
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