Jack Dorsey's Payment Startup Square Tries To Reinvent The Receipt

Getty Images/Bill Pugliano

Last January, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of the payments startup Square, said in a speech that he thought that receipts were going to be one of the next big publishing mediums and an opportunity for businesses to create something that customers wanted to interact with.

People mocked the idea at the time, but turns out it was foreshadowing, because Square just launched Feedback, a service that will let businesses get - and act upon - feedback from customers through their digital receipts.

If a business decides to use Feedback, customers will be prompted to answer the question "How was your experience?" with either a smiley or frowny face when they receive their receipt by text or email. They'll also be guided through the process of leaving more details. Businesses will then be able to respond to customers on an individual basis.

The service will cost businesses $10 per month, though the company is offering a 30-day free trial. Square claims to deliver over 10 million digital receipts per month by email and text, and this move could help it boost its weak revenues, if any businesses decide to sign-up.

This announcement comes shortly after the news that the company decided to kill Square Wallet, its consumer payments app.

Here's what Feedback would look like for customers:

Square

Here's an example of what the Square Feedback dashboard would look like for businesses:

Square

Here's how a conversation could go between business and customer:

Square