Block Adds AI Voice Ordering and Purchase Orders to Square, Cash App Grows to 60 Million Users

Block, owner of Square and Cash App, used its third-quarter report, published November 3 after markets closed, to outline AI deployments on both sides of a sale: voice ordering for restaurant guests and purchase order preparation for sellers. According to PYMNTS, the company is simultaneously drawing more shoppers into Cash App through local businesses.

What Changes for Square Sellers

The new Square Kiosk lets diners ask questions about the menu and order by voice. On the business side, Squaremates already prepares purchase orders for food and beverage sellers. Block plans to add procurement agents that will help manage inventory and order from suppliers. CEO Jack Dorsey said sellers typically start by asking questions about their data before handing tasks to agents. Block is also testing how to charge for the AI tools it offers to other companies through Builder Lab and Buzz.

Financial Results

Square processed $76.4 billion in the quarter, up 14% year over year. Food and beverage led the major seller categories, with payment volume up 20%. Retail rose 13% and services rose 8%. Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja said new sellers joining through independent sales organizations increased 90% from the previous quarter, though from a still-small share of the business. Volume from sellers who signed up on their own grew at its fastest pace in more than a decade through August. Third-quarter net revenue was $6.7 billion, up from $6.1 billion a year earlier. Shares rose 6.8% in after-hours trading.

Cash App: Users and Lending

In September, Cash App had 60 million monthly transacting users. The base grew 4% year over year, its fastest pace since mid-2024. Primary banking users rose to 9.4 million from 8.3 million a year earlier. About 28 million customers used the Cash App Card monthly. Consumer loan originations rose 40% to $19 billion. Cash App changed its Borrow product from four weeks with a 5% fee to six weeks with a 7.5% fee. Afterpay's post-purchase originations more than tripled year over year, and pre-purchase originations also more than tripled from the previous quarter.

Neighborhoods and Seller Rewards

Neighborhoods, which connects Cash App users with participating Square sellers, was enabled for about 30,000 sellers in late August. By September, participating sellers represented about $5 billion in annualized gross payment volume, nearly five times the June level. Block Business Lead Owen Jennings said Block funds the sign-up bonuses and ongoing rewards and sets the rates. He said customers brought in through Neighborhoods skew toward higher household incomes than Cash App's core base, and he sees room for sellers to help fund rewards as they gain more customers to market to directly.