Square

If Gov. Jerry Brown signs the legislation headed to his desk, it would be the first law of its kind in the U.S. It is designed to allow small-business owners to make comparisons between offers in the often bewildering world of online business lending.

The mobile point of sale pioneer Square has done much to expand its product range to stay competitive, and a few of those efforts have made the company more of a direct threat to banks.

First-of-its-kind legislation seeks to tame the largely unregulated world of online small-business lending. It has drawn bipartisan support from lawmakers, but so far has failed to satisfy either the industry or its critics.

Jack Dorsey, speaking to a crowd of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, showed he was completely in sync with their view that digital currencies are the way of the future.

A decision by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — soon to be under new management — on Square’s ILC application could foreshadow how other fintech firms seek banking powers.