Square, which was just the subject of a less-than-glowing story in FastCompany, published a blog post about the Top 10 negative myths about its service on Thursday (Aug. 14).
The post also comes a few days after Amazon launched a new card reader for smartphones that puts it in direct competition with Square, but offers a lower fee per transaction, Business Insider reported.
In the blog post, which makes no attempt to be witty, Square lists ten claims made about the company — that it’s expensive, doesn’t meet PCI security requirements, offers no phone support, is unreliable, only works on Apple phones and tablets, and five more — and then denies them. But nothing in the post directly explains why the company chose Thursday to list what it calls the “misinformation out there about Square.”
However, in the middle of the list is “Square’s business is struggling,” a suggestion also cited in the FastCompany story. Square denies problems: “Like you, we’re a growing business. You invest in your future, and so do we. We’re well-capitalized and putting our money to good use: investing in people and new products. Reports that we tried to sell the company, or of a delayed IPO? False. We’re here for the long-term.”
As New York Times writer Mike Isaac commented on Twitter, “Even SQUARE wants to be Buzzfeed now.”