Fees and Payments FAQ | Square Support Center (2024)

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What’s in this article?

Square Fees and Accepted CardsPayment Questions

We put together a Square payments fees overview to help educate sellers on Square processing fees along with a list of corresponding FAQ about processing payments with Square.

Square Fees and Accepted Cards

What are your fees?

  • The Square standard processing fee is 2.6% + 10¢ for contactless payments, swiped or inserted chip cards, and swiped magstripe cards.
  • Payments that are manually keyed-in, processed using Card on File, or manually entered using Virtual Terminal have a 3.5% + 15¢ fee.
  • Invoices cost 2.9% + 30¢ for Invoices Plus users, and 3.3% + 30¢ for Free users.

If you are processing payments for CBD transactions as a part of the Square CBD Program, different fees will apply. You can view processing fees for CBD transactions in the CBD Program FAQ.

If you purchased your Square Register before August 20, 2019, your contactless payments, swiped or inserted chip cards, and swiped magstripe cards processed through Square Register have a 2.5% + 10¢ fee.

There are no fees for recording cash, check, or gift certificate payments.

There are no monthly or hidden fees for credit card processing. All fees are deducted before funds are transferred to your linked bank account.

Note: Processing fees are deducted before each transfer and cannot be charged on a monthly basis. You can view your total fees on a monthly basis from your online Square Dashboard.

Learn more about how processing fees and rates are calculated.

Payment Questions

How do I accept payments from my laptop or desktop?

You can accept card payments from your laptop or desktop computer in a couple of different ways:

Find answers to questions about your Square account.

What card brands and card types do you accept?

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover, and UnionPay brands. Customers can also complete their payment via Cash App Pay at Square Point of Sale.

Can I accept a chip card?

Where can I see my free processing credit?

If you’ve referred, or have been referred by another business to use Square, you’ll see fee reimbursem*nts reflected in your transfer summaries and in the Transactions tab on your online Square Dashboard or from the POS app.

To view the Transfer Report:

  • Visit Banking > Balance > Transfer Reports in your online Square Dashboard > select a transfer.
  • You’ll see fees reimbursed in the Free Processing row of the transfer summary.

To view in the Transactions tab:

  • Visit the Transactions tab on your online Square Dashboard or from the POS app.
  • You’ll see the total fees reflected in the summary section.

Note: If you are using a mobile device to view the Transactions tab, use landscape orientation or view on desktop for best results.

You can also see how much free processing credits you have left under the Get Free Processing section of your Square Dashboard.

Learn more about the Square referral program.

When will my money be transferred?

You can choose to receive your funds through one of our three transfer options. By default, your sales are transferred within 1-2 business days using our next-business-day transfer schedule. If you need access to your funds faster, you can use instant transfers or same-day transfer to immediately send your funds to your bank account.

With Square Debit Card, you can take a payment and the money you earn is reflected in your balance. You can spend that money with your Square Card anywhere that Mastercard debit cards are accepted.

Check out your transfer options with Square.

Can I manually enter, or key in, a payment?

Yes. If the card isn’t present, or you’re unable to swipe it, you can manually key in card payments without Square Reader. Other available options are sending your customer a Square Invoice or processing the payment using Virtual Terminal.

Learn how merchants protect themselves from fraud and chargebacks with safety tips for manually entered transactions.

How do I provide a receipt?

Send your customer a receipt via email or SMS when you process their payment, or later on from the Square app and the online Square Dashboard. If the option to send a receipt isn’t given after a transaction, that means your customer is already subscribed to Automatic Receipts from Square sellers.

View step-by-step instructions to send and print receipts.

Can I process a refund?

Yes. Refunds processed through Square on a mobile device must be requested and completed within 120 days of the original transaction. Payments refunded via your online Square Dashboard can be refunded within one year of the original transaction date. Once this window has passed, you must issue refunds outside of Square.

Learn how to process refunds.

How do I delete an accidental payment?

While you aren’t able to delete any transactions that have been processed through Square, you can process a refund on any payment to keep your books in order.

I’m having trouble with my internet connection. Can I still accept card payments?

Yes. If your internet connection becomes interrupted or temporarily unavailable, enable Offline Mode to accept card payments. The Square app securely stores the credit card details for 24 hours until the device is reconnected to a Wi-Fi network.

Note: You cannot accept offline payments when processing with Virtual Terminal.

Why is my customer’s card being declined?

Cards can be declined by the card-issuing bank or by Square if any information is entered incorrectly. Try these payment troubleshooting tips.

Why does my customer see a pending charge?

Incomplete payments may temporarily appear on your customer’s credit card statement, but they’re not actual charges and should fall off your customer’s statement in a few days. It‘s the card-issuing bank’s responsibility to release funds from pending charges. This process can take anywhere from 2-7 business days depending on the card-issuing bank’s processing speeds.

How do I add a note to a payment?

Notes on payments are a great way of providing additional information to item descriptions and itemizing custom amount transactions. View steps for adding notes on payments.

What’s in this article?

  • Square Fees and Accepted Cards
  • Payment Questions
Fees and Payments FAQ | Square Support Center (2024)

FAQs

Fees and Payments FAQ | Square Support Center? ›

What are your fees? The Square

Square
Square Checking is provided by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Square Debit Card is issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated, and may be used wherever Mastercard is accepted.
https://squareup.com › legal › general › sqchecking-disclosures
standard processing fee is 2.6% + 10¢ for contactless payments, swiped or inserted chip cards, and swiped magstripe cards. Payments that are manually keyed-in, processed using Card on File, or manually entered using Virtual Terminal have a 3.5% + 15¢ fee.

What are the fees for Square payment system? ›

Square fees by payment type

When a customer taps or inserts their card in person, you pay 1.9% per transaction with the Square Reader. Sellers using Square Terminal or Square Register pay 1.6% per transaction. There is a lower risk of fraudulent activity when the cardholder is present.

Can Square charge the customer the fee? ›

No. Service charges and credit card surcharges are two separate types of fees. Note: Under no circ*mstances are you permitted to apply a special charge to a customer solely because they are electing to pay with a debit card or prepaid card.

Can you negotiate processing fees with Square? ›

If your business processes a high volume of transactions, it may be possible to negotiate lower rates with Square. While not always possible, it's worth reaching out to Square's customer service to discuss.

How can I contact Square support? ›

Contact
  1. Customer support: 1 (855) 700-6000.
  2. Sales: 1 (800) 470-1673.

Does Square charge a fee for refunds? ›

What happens to the processing fee when I issue a return? When you refund a payment, your customer is refunded for their full payment amount, but the processing fees for the payment are not refunded.

How do I charge customer transaction fee on Square? ›

Enable Service Charges
  1. Go to Account & Settings > Business information > service charges on your online Square Dashboard.
  2. Click Create service charge.
  3. Name your service charge. ...
  4. Select a service charge type as an amount or percentage.
  5. Select the relevant locations.

Who gets charged the Square fee? ›

Every card brand accepted has the same rate. Payment processing fees are taken out of the total amount of each transaction, including tax and tip. Square's fees apply to all business types, including non-profit organizations.

What is an example of a service fee? ›

The delivery fee charged for ordering room service at a hotel or a gratuity applied to the bill for a large group dining at a restaurant are examples of service charges. If the total bill on an order is $250, and gratuity is stated to be 18%, then the total bill to be paid is $250 + (18% x $250) = $295.

Can I pass processing fees to customers? ›

There are legal options for passing on credit card fees to customers. Credit card surcharging and cash discounting are two options for passing on fees. Adding a surcharge to credit card payments is not legal in every state, but offering a cash discount is.

How do I avoid Square fees? ›

There are no fees for recording cash, check, or gift certificate payments. There are no monthly or hidden fees for credit card processing. All fees are deducted before funds are transferred to your linked bank account. Note: Processing fees are deducted before each transfer and cannot be charged on a monthly basis.

How do I get around processing fees? ›

8 ways to minimize payment processing fees
  1. Review your statement regularly. Your statement shouldn't have any surprises. ...
  2. Switch processors. ...
  3. Try surcharging. ...
  4. Set a credit card minimum. ...
  5. Accept cards in person. ...
  6. Chargeback policies and fraud prevention. ...
  7. Offer cash discounts. ...
  8. Partner with Sekure.
Oct 20, 2023

What is Square Support Center? ›

For account issues that require additional assistance from Square, we have a Square Support team who can help assist you with your Square account. You can contact Square Customer Success through live chat, phone or email — our number is 1-855-700-6000. We're available from Monday to Friday, 6am to 6pm, PST.

Does Square have 24 7 customer service? ›

Need help? Call our Customer Success team available 24/7 to Suite Elite Members on Square at (855) 700-6000. When you call in, you will need a customer code unique to your Square account, which you can find here.

How do I get a human at Square? ›

Please choose how you'd like to get help.
  1. Support Center. View articles, guides and video tutorials.
  2. Seller Community. Connect with fellow business owners.
  3. Talk to Support. Call us at (855) 700-6000.

Is Square a good payment system? ›

Square is a standout point-of-sale system and often a good option for small businesses. Its wide range of features and hardware can be tailored to fit a variety of business types. The pricing is transparent, and the free plan is one of the most powerful no-cost POS systems we've seen.

Is Square better than Stripe? ›

The main difference between Square and Stripe is that Square is best suited for in-person transactions while Stripe is a developer-friendly platform best suited for e-commerce, subscriptions and other online payments.

How much does Square charge for instant transfer? ›

Instant transfers

Sometimes you need your money immediately – that's when instant transfer can help. If available on your account, you can instantly send funds to your linked bank account using a debit card 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a 1.75% fee per transfer.

Is Square safer than PayPal? ›

In general, Square is a better option to accept in-person payments while PayPal is a better option for e-commerce and online payments. Both Square and PayPal were rated one of our top ten POS systems in 2024, but Square received a significantly higher score.

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