Square Opens St. Louis Office to Focus on Midwest

Square has opened an office in St. Louis, which will serve the mobile point of sale company's clients in the Midwest.

The company plans to immediately hire 40 employees, expanding to more than 200 over the next five years, covering compliance, customer support, IT, recruiting and office experience.

The St. Louis office will be the San Francisco-based Square's fourth office in the U.S. The company also has offices in Canada, Japan and Australia.

St. Louis has an active past in payments technology. For example, it was the debut market for Vibe, an early mobile wallet. And St. Louis business owners who accept payments with Square have contributed more than $85 million to the local economy, according to Square.

"St. Louis is an important part of Square’s history," said Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square in a Sept. 23 press release. "It’s an incredible city and my hometown, and we’re excited to further invest in the community."

Dorsey has remained active in St. Louis, participating in the protests earlier this year that followed the police shooting of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson, Mo.