Block’s Neighborhoods Lands 30,000 More Sellers

Neighborhoods, a service launched by Block Inc. in October to connect its sellers with its Cash App users, has added 30,000 sellers since the end of June. Block, and its Square acquiring unit, intended for Neighborhoods to create a local commerce network for both merchants and consumers.

Neighborhoods provides sellers with a branded storefront on the Web and inside Cash App. This enables consumers to order, earn rewards, and remain connected to the merchant, Block says. For consumers, it is a way to support local businesses and have the same convenience of ordering and online transactions that larger merchants are typically known for. Participating merchants appear on a map in the Neighborhoods tab in Cash App.

For example, consumers can earn up to $10 per order, called Local Cash, to redeem on future visits. To help merchants with this, Cash App funds the first 12 months of Local Cash rewards.

Merchants also gain a conduit to send marketing messages to Cash App users who follow their businesses in Neighborhoods. Block says new customers who do that may also receive a Cash App-funded first-time $5 Local Cash bonus.

Block says as of June, sellers in the Neighborhoods network represent $1 billion annualized gross payment volume, up 22% from March. Block did not disclose the total number of merchants in the Neighborhoods network.

Next for the network is ramping up auto-enablement across the country and testing methods to build density in local markets, Block says.

In related news, Square says Cascadia Pizza Co., which has 17 corporate locations and franchise, food truck, and catering units, has returned to Square for its point-of-sale service. The restaurant chain is using Square’s restaurant POS and franchise applications and its hardware.

Square did not disclose when Cascadia previously was a Square merchant or which provider it switched from.