Apple put mobile wallet payment platforms like Google Wallet, Square and PayPal on notice this week with the reveal of Pay, but before Cupertino decided to launch its answer to the wallet, sources tell TechCrunch the company was eyeing an acquisition of Square.
Square’s simplistic payments platform seems like it would have been the perfect fit for Apple and would have added “Next Steve Jobs Nominee” Jack Dorsey to its loaded executive ranks, but after Apple executives failed to put enough cash on the table, Square walked away from negotiations.
“Apple wanted the company to come aboard, according to one source, but the discussed price was a sticking point: The tipster held that Apple wanted to buy Square for less than half of the $6 billion valuation it eventually would raise at (around $3 billion). Square, valued at the time at a firm 66 percent delta to that price point, declined to accept.”
After getting rejected, Apple went on to announce its competing mobile service, Apple Pay, that will allow iPhone 6 and Apple Watch users to pay for physical goods at retail locations with one simple tap. Instead of using Square to power the mobile payments, Apple has turned to Stripe as its partner for payments processing.
The report also notes that Apple showed Square a software register, booking services, and payment systems for iPhone, but Square’s people weren’t exactly thrilled about Apple’s enthusiasm to get into financial sector, as they felt the products would possibly outshine and out compete their own offerings.
Square recently raised a new $100 million of funding bring its valuation to $6 billion as the company is rumored to be heading for an IPO in the near future.
Update: The Loop has shot down this rumor with a patented “Nope.”
