Payment processing is one of the most tightly regulated, and some might say corrupt, industries. Replicating the tech wouldn't be difficult. The social and regulatory part is effectively impossible for anyone who's not already in the inner circle.
Ironically Square isn’t good at anything in particular. Square fails to have a good point of sale (Toast wins) and fails for online store fronts (Shopify wins). Square is in a position where they spread themselves thin and aren’t at the top of anything in particular.
With light CRM, Staffing, and Banking tools, it seems like Square's strategy is to be best-of-suite for small businesses rather than best-of-breed.
I've never seen Toast outside of bars/restaurants (although they are ubiquitous in that segment). Every other service or retail shop has been Square, especially farmers markets and craft fairs.
i think they dont have a great moat in their individual offerings, but across square, cash app, and afterpay they offer a pretty good suite of products for the entire transaction stack.
That seems really high. Do they have such moat that nobody can move into their space?