Block

At Block, we believe in economic empowerment for all. Despite progress, millions in the U.S. remain unbanked or underbanked, often sidelined by legacy systems. Today, we’re releasing a white paper that dives into the systemic barriers that perpetuate these gaps. It also highlights how Cash App is tackling these challenges to make financial services accessible and intuitive for everyone. Through technology, we're reshaping how people interact with money through transparent, low-cost solutions that empower everyone to send, spend, save, invest, and borrow—all with the goal of reshaping the way people interact with money. Read the full paper: https://lnkd.in/gvyb2NKU

What a fantastic event! Thank you Megan Gonzales, CAMS, Alek D., and Sally Frank for attending and leading our efforts at Block to prevent child exploitation and support victims, survivors and their communities.

Block is a globally distributed team, and we’re sticking to it. We empower our people to work from wherever they feel most creative. No return to work mandates here. Whether you want to join us from home, one of our offices, or somewhere in between – the choice is yours. Explore opportunities across Block: https://lnkd.in/es-i5drB

Fresh off of our Q3 Law Enforcement Summit we asked members of our team for their highlights. Block partners with law enforcement agencies on combating financial crimes, using innovative tech, and finding new ways to work together. Learn more about the summit here: https://lnkd.in/g_FmsR9f

Meet the seven-foot-tall, anthropomorphic puppet star of "Who is Bitcoin?" Our furry friend comes from our team at Spiral who are working to improve how bitcoin content is presented and shared globally. Spiral builds and funds free, open-source projects for the bitcoin ecosystem. From the Lightning Development Kit and bitcoin developer grant programs, to coloring books and giant Bitcoin puppets dubbed into Japanese. Learn more about our work to make bitcoin more than an investment (and snag your own plushie to bring home).

Last week, we hosted our third quarterly Law Enforcement Summit where we convened Block’s legal and compliance leaders with law enforcement agencies to address the dynamic landscape of financial crimes. We spent our time together discussing our commitment to combating illicit activity and the innovative tactics we’re employing through machine learning, as well as how law enforcement can best work with us in their investigations. These continuous conversations remain critical as we work to create a safer financial ecosystem for all.

Today Square Financial Services is launching the 24 Squared Grant Program in partnership with Community Foundation of Utah 🎉 Through the program, 24 microgrants will be awarded to 24 nonprofit organizations based in Utah engaging in community development work. Learn more about the program and how to apply:  https://lnkd.in/eq-BWeyk The small print: Square Financial Services, Inc., Member FDIC, is a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank and wholly owned subsidiary of Block, Inc.

Hello, Sydney! Today we opened the doors to our newest office, located in Tech Central Sydney, an innovation and technology hub that stands as the largest of its kind in Australia. We’re excited to be a part of the city’s thriving tech community and to bring all of our teams from across the Block ecosystem, including Afterpay, Square, Cash App, TBD, and TIDAL, under one roof. Situated at the historic Brewery Yard, our new space spans three levels and is designed to support how our teams work. We have areas for collaboration, innovation labs and, of course, lots of room to gather over lunch, coffee, or a beer. Block is a distributed-first team and we encourage our people to work wherever they feel most creative — whether that’s from home, in one of our offices, or a mix of both. Thank you to our partners at Tzannes, The Studio* Collaborative Pty Ltd, Generate Property Group, and Buildcorp for helping to create our new hub in Sydney. We know we’re going to love it here. Learn more about our new home in Sydney: https://lnkd.in/gFmyJ4fU Block acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we live and work. We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We’re proud to join Lantern, Tech Coalition’s child safety cross-platform signal sharing program, as one of its first financial sector companies. Lantern is piloting the inclusion of financial institutions to evaluate whether signal sharing can help disrupt the financial incentives associated with online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA). Read more about the partnership: https://lnkd.in/e4dz9ftc

What’s one way to break down economic barriers for refugees and new migrants? Training. Scarf set out to build a crash course in hospitality work training. What they didn’t expect was to build a supportive community along the way. We sat down with cofounder Hannah Brennan to learn about Scarf and how Block’s support is helping newly arrived young people in Australia navigate and succeed in the hospitality industry. Back in 2010, Hannah Brennan and Jessica Moran — two friends and coworkers in Melbourne’s hospitality industry — began to recognize barriers stopping young refugees and migrants from gaining employment in Australia. While there were jobs to be filled, especially in the hospitality and service industries, roadblocks like hiring discrimination, limited knowledge of employment pathways, and lack of local experience and references kept many in the refugee community from landing work in their new home country. Frustrated by the disconnect, Hannah and Jess launched Scarf — a crash course, of sorts, designed to help newcomers to Australia navigate and succeed in the hospitality industry. We’re honored to support Scarf and its mission to provide inclusive training and mentoring that can break down barriers to the economy. Read the entire interview with Hannah here: https://lnkd.in/gGjEWBK5