Payments provider Square has hired an executive to lead its international expansion. The provider, whose dongle enables users to process payments with a smartphone or tablet, is currently only available in the US. The company confirmed to All Things D that it had hired Alyssa Cutright, rival PayPal’s VP of products for North America, to lead its overseas drive. Cutright, who spent 12 years with PayPal, will have the title VP of International. Square plans to launch an international service during 2012 but has yet to reveal which markets it will target first.

Meanwhile PayPal, which last week launched a competitor to Square called PayPal Here, has said in the first 24 hours of the service it received 1,000 sign-ups per hour. The figure was revealed in a blog by Anuj Nayar, the company’s director of communications. PayPal’s dongle is immediately available for selected merchants in US, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong and then available to all merchants in those four countries in April. Further launches will be announced shortly, the company says. Separately Nayar said the departing Cutright had not worked on PayPal here which was devised by other PayPal executives.