Key Takeaways
“Why do you have a separate bank at all?” This is basically what Squarespace asked its customers when it released its Balance platform last week, a built-in bank account inside of the platform.
Squarespace’s product team told us that this is the next step in its ongoing suite of commerce features. As for why, it comes down to the same thing others are noticing: too many tools and too many systems.
Continuously switching between apps, also called context switching, can cost as many as 1,200 clicks per day. That apparently equals four hours a week, says an AAPL study of 137 Fortune 500 companies.
“Merchants have a lot going on,” Sébastien Theunissen, GPM at Squarespace, explained to us. “This fragmentation creates unnecessary complexity and pulls business owners away from the work they actually want to be doing.”
It Was Fine, Once
It makes sense that Squarespace is leaning into centralization and building out its own suite — it’s always been a bit more commerce-forward, even compared to platforms like Wix. Balance is essentially a built-in account where users can hold their earnings and see what’s coming in and going out, all without leaving the platform.
Theunissen predicts that others will follow suit: “As more businesses look to streamline their operations, we do expect integrated financial tools to become a more standard part of modern platforms.”
It’s not unlike what payment platforms like PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Cash App have been doing — except Squarespace is adding the actual financial account. Theunissen suggested it may be a grim future — or a good one, depending on how partnerships are formed.
“As more businesses look to streamline their operations, we do expect integrated financial tools to become a more standard part of modern platforms,” he said.
Like others in this fast web race, Squarespace has no plans to slow down. Within the past three years, the SaaSer has launched other in-house tools prior to Balance, including Capital, Instant Payouts, and Pay Links.
It’s as Theunissen told us: “Our goal is to reduce the operational complexity SBOs face every day by bringing critical tools together in one platform.”
