Square Overview
Focusing on Square for Small Business Owners
Unlike most Square reviews (squareup.com & square.com), this Square Up review primarily covers the topics that matter to most merchants and small business owners rather than Square’s technology. Square is often called “Square up” or “Squareup” because of the domain that Square uses for its website; however, the official name for this company is “Square.” For the purposes of this review, the two names will be used interchangeably.
Is Square Holding Your Funds Right Now?
Thousands of merchants have had their payments frozen by Square. If you’re one of them, then you might find these resources helpful:
Started by the Twitter Guy
Founded in February of 2009 by Jack Dorsey, who is also the founder of Twitter.com, Square has grown into a large, publicly-owned company (NYSE: SQ) in a very small amount of time and spawned tons of competitors. Much of the company’s success can be attributed to the fact that Square has ingeniously broken the mold of credit card processing by removing the traditional barriers that restricted processing services to actual businesses, thereby bringing credit card acceptance to the individual, or essentially anyone and everyone.
Quick Sign-up and Intuitive Design
Signing up for the company’s payment processing service is simple: iPhone, iPad, and Android users simply purchase a square card reader, fill out a quick online form, and download the Square app. They can also purchase the reader at several nationwide retailers. The Square credit card readers plug into the headphone jack (original Square swiper) or connect via Bluetooth (contactless card reader) to the merchant’s phone or tablet, thereby turning it into a mobile credit card terminal. In fact, Square’s model has been so successful that it has inspired numerous Square competitors both from big-name competitors and fledgling startups.
Related Post: Square Alternatives for iPhone
Other Square Services
Since the launch of its card reader and mobile app, Square has rolled out several other payment services for both business and personal use.
Square Register (see review) is a point-of-sale (POS) device that is intended as an all-in-one payment terminal for retail businesses. The product, which can be purchased for $999 upfront or $49 per month for 24 months, also comes with a lower Square transaction fee. Users can also purchase the older “Square Stand” which acts as an iPad mount and card reader in one unit.
Square Terminal (see review) is a wireless point-of-sale (POS) device that is designed to replace your conventional countertop credit card terminal. Square Terminal costs $399 upfront or $37 per month for 12 months and comes with a swiped fee of 2.6% plus $0.10. It can accept EMV and NFC payments and has a built-in printer.
Square Online Store (see review) is an online store directory for Square merchants. Merchants with an existing Square account can create an online profile for their store within the Square marketplace for free. They may then sell their products through their Square online store for 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.
Square for Retail (see review) is a point-of-sale system specifically designed for brick-and-mortar retailers. The service is similar to Square Register but includes a revamped checkout process as well as additional features such as enhanced inventory management, employee accounts, cost of goods sold, purchase orders, vendor lists, and more.
Square Cash (see review) is a direct peer-to-peer cash transfer service that is linked to a user’s debit card. Square Cash sends payments via email and smartphone and allows for free transfers of funds between users. The service is not targeted at business owners, but they may use it to make payments outside of a business setting.
Square Capital (see review) is a merchant cash advance program that can be activated from the dashboard in the Square Register. Square Capital allows merchants to receive a large upfront cash amount and then pay that total back to Square over time with a fixed percentage of their daily credit card sales.
Additional Square Offerings
Square has also recently launched a virtual terminal, an order-ahead app called Square Order, an online invoicing feature called Square Invoices, an online scheduler called Square Appointments, and an offline processing mode that enables merchants to capture payments even when their internet is down.
Square Review Table of Contents
- Sales & Marketing: Square is extremely transparent about its simple pricing model, but merchants may not receive proper advance warning during the signup process that they are at risk of having their funds held.
- Costs & Contract: Square charges only 2.75% per swiped transaction or 3.15% per keyed-in transaction with no monthly fees, annual fees, or long-term contracts.
- Complaints & Service: Square has received more than 2,300 public complaints and offers only limited phone support.
- BBB Rating: Square has an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received 1,930 complaints in the past three years.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With Square
Related Post: Square Alternatives for Android Devices
Square Statement Analyzer
Find hidden fees, pricing errors, and overcharges in your Square merchant account. Not with Square? That's ok, we can find excessive fees in any statement. In fact, We've found $725,402 in total hidden fees in 2019 already! Submit a recent statement to try it out for free.
Our unbiased reviews are supported, in part, by helping you find highly rated merchant accounts. You can learn more here.
Our Opinion of Square
Good for Entry-Level, Questionable for Real Businesses
Square is definitely on the right track with providing an easy credit card processing solution with no long-term commitments and no monthly fees. The service is proving to have some major drawbacks for higher volume merchants, though, because of murky fund holding policies and poor customer support. It appears that Square is best suited for individuals who have an occasional need to accept a credit card payment, such as babysitters, flea market vendors, or small retail and restaurant businesses. The service does not appear to be a good fit for merchants that either have a high volume of credit card sales or that sell high-ticket items.
We rely on your feedback about Square to keep this review accurate and up-to-date. Please take a minute to tell us about your experience. We and the small business owners of this world thank you!
About Phillip Parker
Thank you for reading my review. I hope that it has helped you with your research.
My Qualifications
I'm a former credit card processing sales director who left the industry to start my own a small business. From the time that I starting working in the merchant services industry to when I left to write about it, I've been on the pulse of payments for nearly 15 years. It didn't seem fair to keep this insider knowledge to myself, so decided to build this website to help you research which providers to use and how to save money on rates and fees. I've reviewed hundreds of companies, read thousands of user reviews, and learned the pricing tricks of every provider. If you have questions about credit card processing, you can find the answers here. Simply scroll to the top of the page to find the search bar. You can also message me if you need any guidance.
Need help understanding your rates and fees? Submit a recent statement and I'll take a look at it for free.
You are right about the hold on the funds until you reach your minimum. But when you have a problem, you have no one to call. You get the run a round. NO PHONE numbers to call.
1877-417-4551
Square is a good invention, but needs to improve tech support. It is a shame there is no one to talk to when you need help. With the money they been funded there is no excuse not to have better Support team.
They did not disclose up front about the $1000 hold..They also say that you get your funds by the end of the night. I am still waiting for the funds and an email response. DO NOT USE if you charge over 1000! better yet, go with a company with a customer service number!
Its in the terms of service! easy to find and read. I knew about it before I ever signed up. Its also a rolling 7 day $1000 limit which you can apply to have raised and they generally grant it that request!
I am debating on whether to go with Square. I am starting a small business where most ticket items are anywhere from $25-200. What is a “rolling seven day $1,000 limit”? Does that mean if within a seven day period my store sells more than $1,000, I won’t get that money for 30 days? Or is it per transaction, meaning a single transaction has to be over $1,000 and that money will be held?
Thanks!
Hi Linda,
The limit applies to your total transaction volume within any rolling seven day period. So whether it’s one $1000+ sale or more than five $200 dollar sales, Square will hold anything over $1000 for 30 days. It appears that Square recently changed the policy so that it only applies to card-not-present sales and that any transaction swiped through the reader won’t be held, but I have not been able to get them to confirm this. Also, there is a link in my review that will take you to a page where to can request to have the limit raised or removed.
Linda,
I’d also like to add to what Phil already explained. . .
First of all, if you’re going to have a “brick & mortar” based business, as you indicated by saying “my store”, you will NOT want to use Square since it is designed more for mobile business owners, consultants, hair stylists, etc.
Square is designed more for an individual, more than a business.
For a physical store front, you will likely want to go with a traditional merchant account, since Square imposes limitations on your transactions that wouldn’t be imposed if you had a traditional merchant account.
While Square did indeed change their policy to not hold funds on card-present transactions (meaning those swiped by your reader), it will still limit you as a business owner with a physical store front location.
Consider the following:
– If your iDevice or Android Device is unavailable, you will not be able to process credit card transactions, whereas a traditional merchant account only requires a computer or stand-alone terminal which is usually provided by the processor.
– If you hire employees, you will have to leave your iDevice or Android device at the store in order for your employees to process credit card transactions, whereas with a traditional merchant account, your employees can simply use the store’s computer or stand-alone terminal.
– If you lose your square dongle you will not be able to process credit card transactions through the reader, whereas with a standard merchant account, your stand-alone terminal will always be in the store and bears a significantly lower risk of being lost since it doesn’t travel with you each time you leave the store.
Just some ideas for you to help you make the appropriate decision about your credit card processing needs.
I personally have both, Square and a traditional merchant account, since I do meet with clients face-to-face on occasion (Square) but the majority of my transactions are over the phone (Traditional Merchant Account with no “holds” on my transactions over $1,000).
For people who are frustrated with the $1000+ hold, have you tried splitting your payments in $999 increments? Since Square does not charge a per swipe fee, they would charge you 2.75% of your entire amount anyway. Would make sense if you want to bypass the $1000 hold, right???
Hi Ace,
This actually would not work because the hold is based on the entire processing volume that occurred during a rolling seven day period. For example if you did two $999 transactions in one day the total volume would be $1998, which would mean that $998 would still go over the $1000 limit for the seven day period and be held. It appears that Square has recently changed this policy to only apply to transactions that are typed in, rather than swiped through the reader. However, I have not been able to verify this change yet.
Phillip,
Have you been able to verify the change in policy yet you discussed with Ace? (Square changed their hold policy to only apply to typed-in transactions, not swiped.)
I have read through information on their site and this site that leads me to believe the hold *does* only apply to typed-in transactions and all swiped payments regardless of their amount will not be held, but I want to verify with another person before I sign up with Square.
Thanks.
I haven’t gotten a response back from Square yet, but it does appear to only apply to card-not-present transactions based on everything I’ve read. If you experience otherwise, please let me know. Thanks!
Dont use these guys. They hold your money much longer than their policy states. Yes , they now state that there is NO hold on deposits regardless of amount..states it will deposit in 1-2 business days..But at their discretion they may hold it even longer. Personally I am on day 4. I own a small business and my $11,000 is crucial to staying open and making this weeks payroll. Called and a rep. Said sorry, it will process tomorrow.. then tomorrow came and they said by end of day March 22nd. Even confirmed with email..22nd.. tonight they say [email protected]@[email protected] I will not use them again.. too risky
by the way… ..there are several class actions lawsuits pending for this same issue. Wish we had known before they burned us.
This post will help: How to Avoid Fund Holds With Square
-Phillip
They process your deposit quickly, but understand that your bank then has to receive it, and that could take up to 3 days, depending upon your bank.
LOOOOOOusy customer service.
Did not answer emails after one week of numerous emails.
NO customer phone line is a deal breaker.
Intuit rates are better and has the same Iphone functionality.
No Hold on funds at intuit and great customer support line.
Square should be renamed zero.
Hello customer service where are you? Nobodies home. They should tell you about the $1000 they will hold of yours from the jump but I guess they wait and surprise you with it when you lest expect it.
Best way to handle support is calling 415-375-3176.
Its called .. reading the fine print people .. sheesh .. better yet do your homework before signing up or better yet … look at reviews and such …Ive had no problems so far and i made sure to read the user agreement before signing up .. If you would have read the agreement instead of skimming through and bypassing it ..then you would be well aware of the $1000 hold. I’m just saying .. do a little reading before jumping the gun. =0)
Here is the thing about Square. They have no customer service, no tech support and no checks and balances. They are brilliant marketers but at some point there has to be more than that. Anyone can get an account (so you can imagine what anyone means) Also the card readers they put out are not encrypted. It just seems like they have done the least amount of work to make the most money.
Sounds like the American way.
Be weary of square
*wary
The reader does not need to be encrypted. The transactions are transmitted via SSL, and no information is stored on your phone.
Do not use Square! I followed the directions online and NEVER received a reply. I followed up with three more emails to the email address on the Square website but they did not answer any of my requests for an answer. The rate is too high for absolutely no service. I do not recommend this service to anyone.
I’ve been using square and have found that it is just the opposite of what you describe. They are very communicative and jump to find solutions for any issues!
Square up seriously lacks “CUSTOMER SUPPORT”! When dealing with money it is imperative thaat they have a support team that is accessable 24/7/365 by PHONE! I feel confident that the more customers file complaints with their respective States Attorney’s the Square up people will be forced to accomidate. If annyone from Square up is listening…..wake the **** up!
In my opinion, while having a phone support line would very handy at times I’m sure but personally I’ve always received a quick and helpful reply over twitter (the fastest way) or via email. I have been using Square since it first came out and have not had any issues that have needed a call in to fix! I believe that they are avoiding the cost of having a call center to help keep the costs down and to keep what they charge us down. I would assume that if they had a call center they would have to raise the percentage and honestly having dealt with the outsourced merchant services call centers I think I would rather just communicate with US based Full English speaking support staff via e-mail rather than bang my head against the wall while on the phone with a person that I can barely understand who reads a script to me and can’t help me anyway.
It am trying to use the square service.Prior to my running my first charge I contacted them about the HOLDS of over $1000,00 I was ASSURED that they would not hold my funds for anywhere near the 30 days. Well I have several thousand dollars being held now and customer service, via email is thanking me for my @#[email protected]$%^ patience while underwriting investigates my request. I am in a business with fairly large tickets,usually in the thousands of dollars.I am not sure they are equipped to handle companies with larger transactions, maybe they should concentrate on small ticket businesses. By the way they took their fees out IMMEDIATELY (I wonder why they did not have to wait on that), GOOD LUCK TO ALL. And it sounded like a great idea.
Call this number! 415-375-3176 – This is their customer service!
@Laruel.. Um, this is what I get when I call that number..
“I’m sorry, but the person you are calling has a voice mailbox that has not been set up yet”
I have had nothing but POSITIVE experiences with Square.
I did read the fineprint, so there were no surprises for me, but I do understand how some people feel that certain things weren’t disclosed if they didn’t read the fineprint.
Back in late 2010 I had a merchant account with a company called iPayment who when I processed a credit card payment using an app on my phone when I met with a client in person (majority of my business is for clients that I don’t meet in person, or “card not present” transactions), closed my account suddenly and labeled me a high risk!
I have now been processing with a company called Cynergy Data for the majority of my “card not present” transactions, but I still do meet with clients face-to-face on a number of occasions and am usually presented with a credit card to process payment immediately. It is for this reason that I have found Square was a great alternative for these transactions specifically.
Since signing up with Square in early May of 2011, I have had nothing but positive experiences with their customer service — the signup process was a breeze, I received my card reader in less than a week, and for the transactions I have processed (all sub-$1,000), I’ve had the funds in my account within the time-frame specified (24 hours or so).
I think Square is excellent and have since referred many of my clients to using Square to help augment their existing credit card processing.
I have also found that for one client specifically, Square was literally a life-saver.
This client is a limousine driver and he used to carry around large amounts of cash for his services (since that was all he accepted at the time). I set him up with Cynergy Data (same company I use to process online transactions) so that customers can pay him online, and for the customers whom he meets face-to-face with, he uses his Square card reader to process the transactions directly on his cell phone. This eliminated the need for him to carry cash, and he (and I) feel a lot safer since he is no longer carrying cash that can be lost, misplaced, or robbed at gunpoint since his limousine attracts a lot of attention.
Square is a great alternative to a traditional merchant account for most individuals as well, as I know that a Dog Trainer friend of mine appreciated the convenience of being able to process credit card transactions without setting up a traditional merchant account.
All in all. . .Square is pretty damned good in my opinion, and I’ve been processing credit cards for about 10 years now with a traditional merchant account. =0)
It seems like Laurel Redd is in on the IPO
With such bad customer service this seems like a bad idea as a business person.
There is definitely greener grass out there.
Actually I am a small business owner, I own no stock in any company.
My business website is http://www.OpinicusSoaps.com if you are interested in verifying who I am rather than making random accusations and voicing incorrect conspiracy theories. I also dislike your inference that I don’t have good judgment when it comes to making business decisions. Honestly Square was the best decision I have made for my company yet – and I have a 3 year old growing business that has seen a 300% growth in a bad economy just this year so I think I know how to make sound business decisions.
Why I support Square: I have never had a deposit missing, I have never had it take long to get to my bank, I have never had monthly fees, statement fees, my reader was free, the 2.75% I pay per transaction regardless of the card type was the lowest as an average that I could find, and I have never had anything but pleasant surprises from Square as a company (one of those surprises was a removal of the $0.15/swipe fee in I think it was Feb which lowered my over all costs). And while yes I wish it had been easier to find a customer service number for them (but gee there is one available and I have verified that it works!) yet I have had no problems getting answers to any questions that I have had via email or Twitter.
I find it sad that people can’t take the word of a person who has had only good experiences with a company without accusing them of being an insider or a mole.
Thank you for your clear, concise and unbias evaluation.I am a new start up business owner and I was reading thru and trying to evaluate squareup services and I think you helped me a lot.I now know which way to go.Thank you Laurel.
Thank you, Laurel. We have started a small business of home repair & preservation and I think this will be a great addition to our company per YOUR comments, opinions, knowledge, and intelligence!!
I’m in full agreement with you Laurel.
I have been accepting credit cards with a typical merchant account (Authorize.net) for about 10 years now — I even installed an app on my phone that would let me process the credit card when I meet with clients in person.
Square was a welcome addition and I feel it helped to *AUGMENT* my existing account since I now use Square solely for in-person transactions (due to the lower fees involved for the card present transactions). I have found that Square is more than capable of processing my transactions even if the card is not present.
Since I have had my other account forever, I still default to that for the card-not-present transactions, but Square has had me re-thinking my strategy on this for awhile now.
I agree with you that people make a big stink when a company has done them wrong, so when people have actually had a positive experience, it seems like the person is a mole, or somehow is associated with the company in a financially beneficial way, which is not the case for either you or me. =0)
I’m happy to give a positive review to any company that gives me a positive experience, and also content to give a fully honest review for a company that gives me a negative experience.
In my experience with most of the companies I’ve had interactions with, I think ultimately it depends on your attitude, and the person who you actually speak to (via e-mail or phone) when discussing your issue/concern/problem.
I’ve come across people who have had nothing but bad experiences with a company only for me to have a completely positive experience with the same company.
I’ve also come across companies people rave about, where my experience was bad.
That said, I think ultimately it is the human factor that determines a person’s experience with any particular company. =0)
After taking all things into consideration we will be moving forward with square up. I mispoke about Laurel and i appologize for that.
I look forward to using the software so please dis-regardless my previous comments.
Good luck to everyone.
THE PHONE NUMBER FOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS:
(415) 375-3176
I just got Square. I have used it so far 5 times, and every transaction my customers got charged 3 dollars more on top of the original transaction.
Some thingis not right here. Square does not have a number for customer service to find out why they took 3 dollars more on top of the original transaction. My customers are upset and I need some one to help me in this.
I saw a recommendation to use Intuit GoPayment instead of Square on this forum and decided to give GoPayment a try. What a difference! Intuit actually has real live Customer Service Support and they are very good. The GoPayment swipe device actually works a lot better than the one Square sent to me. Hard to believe, but Square still has not responded to the three emails that I sent asking for help. And forget about using the Square phone number – no one ever answers or returns a call. I do not have any interest in Intuit, other than using QuickBooks, but I cannot stress strongly enough to dump Square and make the switch to GoPayment.
Honestly when I called Square I got someone on the phone immediately who sincerely was glad to talk to me. Intuit on the other hand swore there were no fees and that they could beat the $1000/wk limit I was under from Square at the time I applied. I had Intuit as a back up method until they decided to charge me a high yearly “security fee” which defiantly goes against the “no fee” information that Intuit had told me. Oh and I only got $1000/month limit with Intuit – defiantly not what they had claimed. Also I was charged more for certain card types than others and more than what I was quoted for “reward” type cards etc. Intuit – not worth the hassle and broken promises I have had to go through – I dumped Intuit and kept Square. With Square I have had no issue with getting excellent customer service via Twitter, E-mail or on their customer service number which is 415-375-3176.
Defiantly? Really?
You have been lucky. I tried to contact Square because they kept my funds for 30 days and their web site says to contact them so they can review the hold. But that does not work if they never answer the phone or return messages. It has been two moths and still no response to multiple emails asking for assistance. Square’s customer service cannot be that good if there are so many complaints.
I see that Kelly had her issue resolved by calling, I have talked to them with no problem, looks like Jason has been able to contact them, Eric Gillette seems to like them… 99% of the people who I know who use Square give the same high praise that I do… I see a few complaints here but I also see resolutions, I see positive comments here as well – and the word of mouth I’ve heard on Square is a much higher percentage towards the positive.
You may just need to keep trying to call them – I personally have had no problems getting through to them, nor it seems have other people. Have you tried calling during business hours?
What a great idea! Calling during business hours. Now why didn’t I think of that? Oh wait, I did. I guess I am not that stupid after all.
You need to turn tips off in the settings menu – its charging automatic tipping.
THE PHONE NUMBER FOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS:
(415) 375-3176
I am with Pay Anywhere and they have an exellent service. Customer service is excellent.
Review for this PayAnywhere link
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380589,00.asp
Square is rated higher, works on more phones and has no per swipe fee on non keyed transactions.
PayAnywhere Review
This one has some interesting things to say about pay anywhere and their hidden fees.
I got a chargeback notice from Square via email. I believe the cardholder has forgotten the purchase. I replied immediately to Square with the information on where and what the cardholder has purchased. But within a few hours, I got another email from Square that the fund has been withdrawn from my account. I cannot find any phone number to discuss the issue and I have sent another 2 emails requesting the conversation. But so far I haven’t heard anything back from Square yet. Very frustrated! Be aware you are at the risk of losing money when you use Square.
Thank you Jason for the customer support phone number. I was so frustrated not being able to find one.
The customer support is very helpful! They are working on my chargeback issue.
My bank recommended square just signed up today i assume that if a bank recommends them It must be good tell me more about the 1000 dollar hold and how does that work
Square is the death of large ticket transactions. Like paypal they not only take the percentage you agree to but then on the backside use your money for as long as possible. I had a customer pay for a 2500 dollar job and take the vehicle by cdt card threw square, now 4 days later still haven’t seen hide more hair of the elusive funds, you need your money to invest in the next job or you cant buy products to do it. So the fee was 60 dollars the float has cost me 3000 dollars this is no way to do buisness in 2011. Loose square, or loose your buisness there is no third choice. I can assure you they will break you to make an extra 10.00 for themselves.
Square sent a receipt, generated by a test purchase I made on my account, using my own credit card, to an old vendor instead of to me. Random, and annoying, if not stupid.
Nothing in my settings indicates this one obscure vendor should be getting my Square receipts. So I emailed Square’s help address for an explanation.
I got a reply within 48 hours, but it was a dumb, non-helpful reply, full of techspeak and, in any case, didn’t offer a solution, just explained how it could have happened.
Bad service from Square. I won’t use them if I know receipts are going to previous transaction clients.
Is the customer charged a fee from square also?
Hi Jack,
No, the customer is not charged a fee if you run a sale through your own Square account. I have heard of Square users accidentally turning on a tipping feature that automatically adds a tip to the customer’s total, which is sometimes mistaken as a fee charged to the customer.
Hey Phillip,
Have you re-reviewed Square since the recent article showing that the dongle when connected via the headphone jack is hackable and thus compromises the security of the processed payment? I am follow your reviews and am interested in your view on this recent discovery.
Thank you for your time! Have a wonderful day!
Warm regards,
Shaun
Hi Shaun,
I am aware of the stories that surfaced in August about Square’s dongle being used for fraud, but I’m not overly concerned about it. First, I believe much of the concern is over-hyped just because of Square’s huge popularity and buzz right now. Secondly, nearly any device (even the terminals at your grocery store) is hackable if the right people want to hack it. The difference is that when a security hole is found with Square, it turns into a firestorm of press simply because it’s Square – which is a company that also happens to be founded by the same person who founded Twitter. See what I mean?
With that being said I would like to see Square take a tougher stance on security. I believe they are moving that direction because they have stated that they will be issuing new dongles that encrypt the data. Not only that, they can push out updates to the software to add other levels of encryption. Even without encryption, Square does a pretty good job of mitigating fraud through it’s identity verification process during the account signup. Add to that the 30 day hold for transaction volumes over $1000 within any rolling seven day period, and it is difficult for any fraudster to do much damage. In my personal experience as a former banker, consumers are at a much higher risk of being defrauded when using pin-debit cards at big box retailers because of fraudsters that install skimming devices and keyloggers on the machines.
Thank you for the question!
Well said Phil. . .couldn’t have said it better myself.
And I’m a guy that works with PCI Compliance, and server security.
The “Security Issue” is no different than the “Security Issue” you have with any other processor or processing method available today.
I use Square to augment my existing business.
Most of my clients are in other states, and as a result we never meet face-to-face as the majority of our work is done online or over the phone.
Square works nice when I meet with a client who happens to be local.
Am I concerned about the security with their dongle??
Heck no, simply because no data is stored on my phone after the transaction is processed (I have made sure of that).
I think the “Security Issue” is more a misnomer than anything else.
Did their $1000 a day policy change? Here it says they only hold it for 30 days if it’s card not present sales. I expect I would be using the square to swipe present cards. I have a merchant account for non-show sales.
https://help.squareup.com/customer/portal/articles/11863
Can anyone confirm this?
Hi Angie,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It does appear that they made a change to the policy on 8/31that states that the hold is only for card-not-present sales. I will dig into it this week to confirm the details and respond to this post. With that said, you can request for the limit to be raised here even if it still applies to swiped transactions.
FYI no you can’t: I have emailed twice and called the “customer service” number and left a message and it goes nowhere. They’ve been holding almost $2,000 of my money for several weeks now and I realize now after having read the “fine print” and millions of complaints online that they put an up to 30 day hold on funds above $1000 but this is ridiculous. A friend of mine told me he emailed with the same complaint and someone got back to him immediately with a link to an application to raise your limit but no one has done any such thing with me. I think everybody ought to file a complaint to the Better Business Bureau as this is just bad. We all know they get to make millions off of our money that “floats” for 30 days while they keep it from us, it’s just fraudulent. Oh but wait, silly us, we didn’t read the fine print…
Sarah, Call them back. Sometimes calls go to message but most of the time it’s answered. Once you get someone on the phone they are courteous and accommodating. Messages left were not returned.
Let us know how it goes after talking to them.
I got a call back from someone there today, in fact. They promptly sent me an email with a link to an application to raise my limits and release my held funds and they claim it should be addressed within 1-2 business days so let’s see! Funny though, I asked the name of the person and (she hesitated and) the name was different on the email than the one she gave over the phone. Not a big deal I suppose, just funny disconnect.
To circumvent this this potential problem of having funds above $1000 held I have applied for a Gopayment account and will use that for sales above $1000. This way I can also see which service I like and want to stick with in the future.
Sarah, can you share that link for the limit rising application? I think people need to apply for it ahead of time to cut down on the hold time.
I’ve been using square since it started. I just recently dumped authorize.net.
I’ve had no issues what so ever and occasionally I had transactions totalling more than 1k in a rolling 7 day period. Did i get all my money? No. Did I freak out? No.
Why not? I READ THE FINE PRINT.
Poor planning on your end and lack of educating yourself on a product does not constitute an emergency on squareup end. I find the support is adequate for the fees I pay. If they begin to add more Infrastructure to deal with dumb business people who cant read T.O.S. then we all pay higher fees.
Jennifer:
While most of what you mentioned is true, you also have to realize the following things:
1) Authorize.net is only a processor, not an actual merchant account provider, so “dumping” them in place of Square doesn’t do anything except make it impossible for you to process transactions online — it does not cancel your actual merchant account. I only mention this, because you could be leading new merchants to believe erroneously that Authorize.net is somehow worse than Square or that a Square account could indeed replace a bonafide merchant account and processor like Authorize.net when that isn’t the case.
2) In lieu of what I just mentioned, let me say that I use both a standard merchant account which makes use of Authorize.net as my processor (I accept online payments from the majority of my clients, and Square simply doesn’t allow me to do this, nor does it allow recurring payments which Authorize.net processes for me with 80% of my clients, since most of them pay recurring fees to me each month, functionality Square simply doesn’t have yet as of 9/15/2011). I also use Square as a way to augment my existing business, when I meet with my clients face-to-face (majority of my clients I *do not* meet with face-to-face).
So the moral of the story here is: Square *DOES NOT* replace a standard merchant account if you have one, but it does allow you micro-businesses (or sole propietorships, which is the case with most individuals [i.e. barbers, hairstylists, dog trainers, etc]) to get started quickly and easily and with the least amount of overhead possible, which a standard merchant account typically has some kind of overhead fees associated with it, but then before deciding to accept credit cards in the first place, a merchant should probably already have a customer/client base, otherwise accepting credit cards can be a costly expense in the beginning, with PCI compliance, and other things to be concerned about.
Also, Square cannot replace a merchant account for online payment processing or for recurring billing situations, since Square doesn’t yet produce an API that can be used to integrate with your website to accept payments directly on your website, nor does it offer automated recurring billing at this time.
Further to this, what should be understood is that a merchant account is considering a “line of credit” for all intents and purposes, and this means that if you process more than $1,000 in most cases the funds will be deposited to your bank account within 24-48 hours (depending on your merchant account provider), while with Square the “fine print” says that won’t happen (and let me postfix this by saying that Square *DOES* offer an opportunity for most merchants to increase their $1,000 limit, which I’ve done, and I would suggest you do if you expect to process $1,000 or more in a single transaction consistently).
However, all in all, I completely disagree with you that merchants should have to read fine-print in the first place, or have to “educate” themselves on a product. I think Square should offer a more straight-forward way for new merchants (and individuals) to understand how their depositing process works.
Let’s not forget that what drives our nation and economy ultimately is the ingenuity of Americans to create services and products that they can then accept payments for using something as simple as their smart-device (Android or iDevice).
Square in itself is representative of the same ingenuity I describe, but making the process of understanding their deposits schedule works to help merchants, and our economy overall, since the more people understand, the more they’ll be able to make a decision as to what is best for their specific situation; meaning a standard merchant account where they have access to everything over the $1,000 mark immediately (within 24-48 hours typically, depending on your merchant provider), or something like Square where they can process sub-1K transactions and receive those funds in the same timely fashion, but causing Square to absorb less risk, based on the amount (smaller transactions), or both as in my case.
I also have clients who use both as a way to augment their businesses.
One of my clients for example is a limo driver, who also uses both.
Before he and I started working together he wasn’t processing online, and only accepted cash payments in person for his services, due at the time he met with his customer.
I helped him setup a merchant account so that he can accept payments online (initial deposits for reservations), and also accept payments at the point of contact with the customer (if they didn’t reserve online).
This suits him in the following ways (as per what I told him):
– He’s no longer putting himself in danger of being robbed by carrying around large amounts of cash, since he no longer carries large amount of cash (typically around $50 or so, compared to the $1,600 or $1,700 he used to carry around in the course of a night).
– He’s allowing his customers the flexibility of paying for his services online through his website, or paying him in person when he picks them, by using his Android-powered cell phone to accept their payments through his Square account.
– He’s always got instant access to his money, since the majority of his transactions are sub-1,000, so whether his customer books online through his website, or they decide to pay him in person through square when he picks them up, either way, his funds are in his account within 48 hours. For customers who will breach the 1,000 transaction threshold, he asks them to make their deposit on his website, before he picks them up, and this typically drives them below the $1,000 threshold when he processes the balance of the transaction through his Square account.
That’s just one ideal example of how both accounts can be beneficial.
But again, my only argument here is that with a traditional merchant account, the merchant provider usually informs the customer of what they can expect as far as fees, deposit schedule, etc — Square has the same fiduciary responsibility to its customers.
For years, PayPal didn’t have a phone number for people to contact them at, and eventually their hand was forced as well, because in this day and age, especially when people need answers immediately, sometimes an e-mail or “support ticket” just won’t do — just imagine if your bank did business that way, and told you that each month they won’t charge you a fee for using ATMS outside their network since they don’t have a phone number. Saving on the occasional fee wouldn’t replace being able to call them to get your balance, or even talk to them when you have a problem with your account right?? Imagine if you had to e-mail them to do something like a wire-transfer. That would be totally unacceptable right? The same is true in this case.
Anyone who handles money for a customer, has a fiduciary responsibility to make their policies, and procedures obvious — you shouldn’t have to “read the fine-print.”
I think a bank who has underscored this is Ally — if you’ve ever seen one of their commercials on TV, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
Here’s one that involves two little girls and pony:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qb0vquRcys
Jennifer,
When you didn’t get your money for transactions (but you didn’t freak out), were they “swiped” transactions or were they transactions where the card was not present?
Thanks. I want to get Square, but only if the money is held for strictly card-not-present $1,000+ in a 7 day period. Your feedback and history will help determine my decision.
Crystal – I don’t know how many were swiped. It didn’t matter as I knew I was not going to get all the money until 30 days. Of course that policy has since changed.
I am a consultant, so I don’t get to always swipe the card. I also have a contract on hand if there is ever a dispute and I keep meticulous records to show I’ve delivered a service. I’ve been charging cards like this for a 9 years.
Unlike other people, I’ve never had a client dispute a charge. I think when people run a business that is prone to disputes – customers not recognizing charges, then it may not be the best avenue to use. I work with my customers anywhere from 6-9-12 months… They recognize my charge and it usually the same amount each month.
In my opinion, if you follow the rules and keep good records as you should regardless of how you charge a card, then you should be fine. Since the change in policy, I’ve staggered my charges that are over 1000 so that very little is held if I have a card not present… so it doesn’t delay my payment.
Jennifer,
I too, like you, am a consultant — you should consider opening a traditional merchant account.
I also keep very good records, and have my clients sign a billing authorization agreement since my charges, like yours as well, are usually recurring.
Just a thought — I only use Square when I meet clients in person, since typically I swipe their cards (I have never done a “card-not-present” transaction with my Square account, although I have with my merchant account).
Since you obviously have a smartphone with which to use Square, it’s a good idea, since you’d be able to use your merchant account the same way on your cell phone (I use the “Merchant Pro” app from the Android market).
If you decide to go that route, you can use the same company I used when I got started about 10 years ago:
http://www.freeauthnet.info
Now it’s free — back then it cost me $600. LOL! =0)
The way my business runs, square is the best options. I have months and months with no credit card processing because they pay with a check and then I will have a run on credit cards. Paying a monthly fee just wasn’t worth it anymore. A traditional merchant account just wasn’t necessary anymore. But thanks anyway.
I have read most of the complaints against “Square” and I firmly believe 99.9% of them are all full of S–T!!!!!!
My wife and I are computer and smart phone dummies!! We use an Android 2.2 phone and Consumer cellular WITH NO RIP-OFF CONTRACTS!!!!
As for “Square” they are a terrific set-up!!!! we, who know nothing, were helped to get started via their e-mail help AND PHONE SUPPORT, THATS RIGHT,PHONE SUPPORT!!!! The couple of times I was told to leave a message, and THEY CALLED US BACK AND HELPED US WITH OUR QUESTIONS!!!!
I will recommend SQUARE to everybody, except the “brain damaged” who do not READ!!!, as well as the crooks, thieves, and other “beat the system” scam artists!!!!
THREE CHEERS FOR “SQUARE”!!!!!
I am a small vendor who does about six antique and garden show a year. Square has been a Godsend to taking cards in the field. I was very satisfied until two transactions from my last show have yet to be credited to my bank account.. It has been 9 days and I am out over 800.00. Customer help from Square has been very slow and finding a phone number is next to impossible. I am waiting for another email back from them. They say they are investigating. I have verified email from them saying charge was accepted and authorized-but still no payment.
Thanks for the comment, Tony. Please keep us posted on how this situation resolves.
The phone number for square customer service is 415-375-3176.
I’ve had no trouble contacting them on this number.
Another question – did you go over $1000 in credit card sales in a 7 day period – especially if they were not scans or had no receipts sent electronically? They may have held these – check your square account to see if the money is there even if it hasn’t transferred to your bank account. The worst that would happen in that case is that they would hold for 30 days. There is in the agreement for square information on about this scenario.
Tony,
About the $800 two transactions that you have yet to be paid for – did you swipe the cards for those transactions? Or, were those transactions card-not-present transactions? I’m looking into Square and things like this will determine if I go with them or not.
Thanks!
I was finding Squareup so convenient, I’ve recommended it to several small business owners. Now I’m finding myself sorry – and frightened – about what I’ve gotten myself into by working with Squareup. Square has taken over $1,000 from my account and I cannot get in touch with anyone in customer support (I wonder if there is customer support???) to explain why. I’m very frustrated. The email they sent me just said to go to their website, but there is no explanation there. I keep sending them urgent emails as they said I had a limited time to respond to them. I have to figure out how to cancel my contract with them and use another company. What should I do? Who can help me?
The phone number for square customer service is 415-375-3176.
I’ve had no trouble contacting them on this number. Dont leave a message, keep calling until you get through. Most likely this is chargebacks and you should be able to fight it through the credit card issuers.
Also try tweeting them at @SqSupport
Thank you, Laurel. I called the number but was told he couldn’t help me and he’d pass my request to someone in “customer service” LAUGHABLE!!! There is no customer service! I am leaving SQUAREUP as soon as possible and am spreading the word about their lack of professionalism. I have been emailing them for 4 days now and all I got was what seemed like an automatically generated email saying “someone will respond to you soon!” HA!
Katherine,
I’m sorry you are having such a rough time with this. Anytime that I have called that number they were able to help me with any questions I had and resolve any issues that I had. I am sadly confused as to why they couldn’t help you. My guess is that you are dealing with a charge back from a customer. Do you have any documentation? Was it a card present sale with a receipt sent? Have you sent square all documentation?
Laurel,
There has to be more to your story. I have worked with Square and have had to contact them and every time I have had an issue it has been very quickly resolved. As long as you have all the documentation to support your claim, Square is very quick to fix or correct an issue.
Joey,
Actually I am singing the praises of square and have not had any unresolved issues, Katherine is the one that has had issues.
Katherine,
Odds are if Square removed $1,000 from your account, and sent you correspondence about having a “limited time” to get in touch with them and so forth, it means you’ve experienced what the rest of merchants have come to know as a “chargeback”.
This is a situation or case where your customer contacts their credit card issuer, and says: “I don’t recognize that charge” (potential fraud) or “I didn’t make that purchase” (fraud) or “I’m unhappy with my product/service” (customer dispute).
Either way, at the end of the day, you now will have to provide documentation demonstrating your case to the customer’s credit card issuer (meaning proof that you provided said product/service [side note: much harder to do with services, which is why you should get a signed contract from your customer before providing said services], or a signed receipt/contract from the customer).
If you accepted this transaction as “card-not-present” meaning you typed in the customer’s information into your square terminal, your case will be that much harder to prove, and odds are unless you have definitive proof the customer received a product from you (i.e. like a UPS tracking number, etc) — odds are you will lose the case (and the money), as well as be subject to chargeback fees and so forth from Square.
If the transaction was “swiped” meaning you swiped the customer’s card through your terminal, than a potential fraud or fraud case will be a lot easier for you to prove (since the card issuer will check and verify the customer’s signature obtained through your square terminal) and will likely be dismissed (meaning you’ll get the money back), but if it is a customer dispute case, you’ll have to prove the customer did indeed receive your product or service.
If it was a product, you’ll have to provide proof the customer received it (delivery receipt signed by customer) — I hope you didn’t give the item to the customer in person without signing a receipt that says they received the item — in this case you’ll lose and lose the money as well.
If it was a service, you’ll have to prove the customer “consumed” your service (tracking logs [hosting companies], odometer statement [taxi/limousine services], before and after pictures [beauticians/hairstylists], etc).
If you have none of the above, you can basically kiss your money goodbye.
We live in a world of “zero fraud liability” (“I don’t recognize that charge”, “I didn’t do that transaction, I lost my card.”), and “customer is always right” (“I’m unhappy with the product or service”, “I didn’t receive the product or service”).
And to accommodate these sometimes erroneous or customer biased policies, guess who’s left to pick up the slack??
You guessed it! The merchant.
The credit card issuer earns money from fees and interest on the charges the customer makes, the bank processor makes money of the “float” on your money while they “process” it for submission to your bank account, in addition to whatever discount fees they may charge you. The payment processor makes money on you each month you pay for their services (Authorize.net for example), but in the event of a chargeback, despite you being out that money already, you are still left “holding the bag” when you have to pay chargeback fees on TOP of already having lost money (and product in most cases or having provided services in most cases).
So the customer gets the product/service and their money back in some cases on top of that, while you’re left holding the bag and being out product/service AND the money for that product/service. Now imagine having that happen with say, 2-3 customers per year (for some businesses the number is even higher).
Is it any wonder why most (90%) small businesses fail within the 1st year??
Now some would argue there are a lot of shady businesses out there, and while this is true, it hardly addresses the fact that 95% of small businesses are not shady, but instead honest, hard-working people who want to provide a genuine product or service to the world at large.
I learned all these things the hard way – a site like this one didn’t exist to educate me on such matters when I opened my first merchant account back in early 2001.
Now, wiser and charging MUCH more money in transactions each month (my monthly volume is around $20,000 per month compared to around $500 per month in credit card transactions when I first started in 2001), I’ve written up contracts that my clients *MUST* sign before doing business with me, which protect me in times when needed.
Ironically, since writing up these contracts, my chargeback rate has disappeared completely (I don’t get chargebacks at all anymore), and the majority of my clients do business with me over and over again.
I went through all the trouble of writing these contracts to protect myself, and yet I have never had to use the contract to prove my case in a chargeback dispute.
But this doesn’t mean that it can’t happen to anyone who processes credit cards, either through Square or anyone else — protect yourself!
1) Clearly Define Your Service/Product Offering.
2) Establish your return/refund policy clearly. This is so that your customers are aware of what their recourse is in the unlikely event they are unhappy with your product/service, or decide they no longer want it. This alone will protect you in a chargeback case. I had a chargeback through PayPal back in 2004, and just providing them with my refund/return policy was enough for the credit card issuer to hold the customer responsible for the charge, since they “didn’t return the product within my defined refund policy period.” The industry is heavily baised towards the consumer, but if you can clearly prove your case, the credit card issuer will side with you and hold the customer responsible for the charge.
3) After the customer has received, get them to sign something that shows they received said product/service (and are happy with it, and don’t need anything else).
4) Provide good ‘ole fashioned customer service. In most cases, a customer only disputes a charge with their credit card issuer after having tried to contact you, and getting voicemail, or no response by e-mail, etc and so they do the only thing that is left for them to do; dispute the charge.
That’s all for now folks! =0)
And there must be more to yours, too… You must work for Square or be some kind of spokesperson, as my experience is clearly NOT UNIQUE. “nuf said!
I posted previously that I had the same type issue with Square back in May. I called several times a day for a week, I left messages, I sent numerous emails. It has been over 4 months and I have still not received an answer, or for that matter any reply at all from Square. Consequently, I do not use Square any more but I did learn about InTuit’s GoPayment option on this site. I use both QuickBooks and Quicken so I called to ask about the service. GoPayment customer service is actually real. Not a voice message, email or (worse yet) a Twitter. An actual person politely answer all my questions to my complete satisfaction. I signed up and have been using it without ANY issues. GoPayment sent me a swiper for my iPhone, plus I can enter transactions on my Mac screen. GoPayment works better than Square and they even have a Risk Management Department. My first transaction was $2,400 on a corporate card. GoPayment called me to confirm the transaction (they said they only call on the first transaction) and it went right through without holding any funds. The fees are the same as Square but GoPayment actually answers their customer service phone, albeit after spending a minute on their phone tree to reach customer service. Great service! No problems! And GoPayment does not hold on to your money for 30 days to get the interest income. InTuit is a real company. My advice, dump Square and use GoPayment.
Thank you. I do have clients sign a “NO REFUND” policy. I’ve told SQUARE this in my emails, but still haven’t gotten a response from SQUARE. It’s really awful and feels like I’ve been violated as it’s been 4 days and no response from a real person. I tried a phone number, but the person who answered couldn’t comment on my case and said someone would “hopefully” get back to me soon! HA! I’m fed up!
Then, I got a second email from squaring saying in quotes:
“We just initiated a debit in the amount of $377.33 from your SunTrust account. We are debiting your account because you have a negative Square balance. The funds should be withdrawn in 1–3 business days.”
WHAT THE HECK DOES THIS MEAN? I sent SQUAREUP several emails asking for an explanation and telling them they have no right to take money out of my account without an explanation. No response! I am investigating getting another credit card processing company. This non-response is impossible to deal with.
Katherine,
I totally understand your frustration.
However, in your express agreement with Square, unfortunately you do agree that they can deposit and withdraw funds from your account to cover any outstanding balances you may owe, or to furnish you with any amount they may owe to you as the result of a transaction you may processed.
The same is true for standard merchant account — I speak from experience as I have both a Square account, and a standard merchant account.
I have to ask though. . .have you considered going to the source of the problem??
Your customer??
Obviously you know how many customer transactions you’ve processed in the last few weeks — now would be a good time to contact your customers and find out which of them charged you back and/or are unhappy with the product/service you provided.
In the payment card industry, you offering a “No Refunds” agreement means nothing if the product/service you’re selling the customer is egregiously over-stated, or doesn’t deliver on what you promise the customer, and that’s how the customer’s credit card issuer looks at it.
Would you mind sharing what it is you sold, and what the “No Refunds” policy covers (i.e. how you worded it)??
It’d be much easier for me to point you in the right direction if you provided a little more information about the transactions you’ve processed.
Call 415-375-3176
Can anyone tell me if they’ve used Square successfully when they had more than $1,000 in “SWIPED” transactions within a 7 day period? Meaning, did all of your $1,000+ funds get deposited in the 12-36 hours?
I am considering getting Square for a one-time art show and it would be nice to accept credit cards. I’m expecting a few thousand dollars in sales in one night. Each sale will definitely be a ‘swiped’ or ‘card present’ transaction.
The Square website https://help.squareup.com/customer/portal/articles/11863 says that there is no limit to swiped transactions, but I really need to hear a success story from someone who actually experienced and can verify this before I jump in with Square, despite all of the negative feedback on this forum.
I have had times that this has happened – I have received all of the funds within a reasonable amount of time (usually 2 business days at the most 3). Make sure you require that you can send receipts to the clients via text or email (that’s part of it). Also make sure that you have activated your account (enter the deposits/withdraws that equal each other that square puts through your account to ensure that the transactions will work with your bank in the activation area).
And about the negative feedback – remember for each 1 person complaining about Square there are probably 100+ users that are very happy with Square that don’t think to post reviews. Remember unhappy people are very vocal, happy people usually aren’t. I’m one of the few that posts when something is excellent – and you will see a few people that do post good things here as well.
Not one single time in eight months. This comment will not be posted. Every other comment of mine is still “Awaiting moderation.” I have had no chargebacks, nothing. Just a continual line of unwarranted holds, no contact and non existent customer service. :(
Square is fine to run an occasional $5-10 charge if you are desparate.
If you notice, the primary supporters of square in this forum are Laurel and Eric. I would bet every dime that Square is holding of mine that they are affiliated with Square somehow. That’s a lot of dimes. And three weeks of no answered emails and consistently non answered phone calls.
I dislike being irrationally and incorrectly accused by you of collusion with Square. I am in no way whatsoever affiliated or connected with Square in any other way other than I have used the service since it came out.
I have had ZERO holds placed, no chargebacks, and NO problems with customer service. I am able to help others here simply because I understand how Square works because I use it and AND have talked to them about issues that can come up and how to handle them using the number that is posted in the original article and re-posted all over this site. I support Square because I have had ZERO problems with them!
Hi there Laurel,
Thanks for accusing someone you do not know of being irrational. I never once said you were in “collusion” (what a dark word) with Square.
I just have read through this forum and you are a very resounding voice for Square. You will not ever give that they may make an error at any point and that in itself suspicious. I apologize if that is offensive to you. It is at the very least suspicious to the outsider. There is no other person on this forum who comments a vehemently as you do in their favor.
To add to what I said earlier about Square, I just received an email from square about a chargeback on SOMEONE ELSE’S ACCOUNT. Not even my information, my name, nothing! So they are ramdomly emailing out account information about someone else to people. The person had the same last name as I do, but not the first. This is exactly what I mean. They do not know what they are doing. And they are holding my money (AGAIN) for no reason.
This is the first email I have had from them in three weeks and it does not even pertain to me. If you have a defense for that, go for it Laurel. I am not irrational Laurel, and I think that the shoe may be on the other foot if you can provide a defense for Square doing this.
I would not tell a young artist that they will get their hands on their money quickly from square if they are large funds. It simply does not happen. Small funds, maybe. Large funds, nope.
Best……Kris
I just got of the phone with them.. I had a small I mean small issue and they worked it out! Reading these reviews can get scary, but rest assured “Square is There”
I was concerned as the fact that there is no easy way of getting a hold of them till I Found there # on here and that # again is: 415-375-3176 The phone rang 2 times and it was answered! The guy was Nice, and understood what I was asking..
It was Easy.. And now I’m ready to sell!
God Bless You All
George
Squareup not only is not doing a good job at processing transactions, they are also keeping the money for way too long (most likely they are using it) and they could cause great damage to companies that need that cash flow to keep afloat. I sympathize with all those people that lost alot of money, I hope they get it back. I will definitely not be using squareup even if I get my money($400.00)….it’s too much of a risk.
I will remove any money from the affected account to prevent any illegal withdraws from upsquare…do not trust them at all!!
I should of checked them out before using their service. I SMELL SCAM…BIG TIME!!
I personally have always gotten my money within 2 business days from transaction initiation which is pretty much industry standard.
I know many many people who happily and consistently use square without any of the problems talked about on this site because they follow some basic security guidelines and have read the fine print and the instructions for activation in contracts they sign.
Some things to think about that cover working with ANY credit card processor.
-I do not believe withdraws for charge backs or fraudulent transactions are illegal, basically ANY credit card processor will do that and square is no different in that respect.
-If you have the documentation (I take a picture of the person with my phone at time of purchase which attaches to the square charge, also I am looking at getting a knuckle buster as back up documentation (these cost all of about $20) charge backs should not be an issue if its a customer either doesn’t remember the charge – there is the picture of them attached.
-Having a solid returns policy posted helps with customers who want to return an item or is unhappy with an item if you have that documentation and require the return of the item prior to any refund that can be helpful. Also if you can try to work with the customer. Another thought – on large sales (over $50 for me) I always get a name and contact information for the purchaser just in case of an issue like this. That way you can contact the client and work with them directly and resolve any issues they are having directly. They can cancel a charge back more easily than you can fight one.
-If the charges were fraudulent than honestly the person’s credit card who the charges were made on should not have to pay (put yourself in that person’s shoes; the one whose card or identity was stolen and you will find that you agree).
Unfortunately the laws and regulations place that blame on us for not checking the IDs and we have to pay the money back. (I always check IDs with credit card sales and will not take a CC sale without a valid and matching ID – this keeps me from having stolen cards used and thus protects me from almost all fraud charge backs ). The only thing it can not protect me from is stolen identity fraud since that person’s ID will match the credit card they fraudulently obtained and unfortunately for us as small business owners in the unlikely event that this happens we take the hit.
Hope this helps you in the future, I also hope that you understand that if you are dealing with a charge back that it is not square’s fault. I know that it is frustrating but I know people who have had the same issue’s with mainstream CC processors and could do nothing about it due to not having instituted proper security steps.
Laurel Redd
Trinity,
Square is working on getting a full time call center up and running from what I understand but they are still a new company with limited resources. And there is a phone number available that they do answer. If you need to get them through electronic media, they do in my experience respond best on Twitter but they do respond via email if you send them specific detailed information and information in a coherent manner.
These are my specific questions to you:
Have you contacted Square and talked to them at the number we gave you yet? Has your problem been resolved? Was it a charge back or fraud issue? Have you contacted the customer in question and found out what you can do to resolve their issue?
And finally as I stated above: If its a charge-back or fraud it’s NOT Square’s fault or a trust issue all that information is in the details of the contract you agreed to when you started to use the service (did you read it carefully when you signed it – including the small print?). If its a charge back or fraud It would be the same with ANY merchant service.
I fiiiiinally got a hold of Upsquare on Tuesday (10/11/11) and they told me I had to verify my bank account which I did the same day. to this date Thursday 11/13/11 @ 11:30 a.m. there’s still NO funds deposited in my account!!!
Like I said, I WOULD BE FOOL IF I CONTINUE USING THIS COMPANY.!!!!
I can understand the simplicity for which square is banking on, literally, but I don’t understand why anyone would pay such high rates. Especially since as of Sat Oct. 1st 65% of debit cards dropped to .05% due to the Frank.Dodd bill. At 2,50% which Square is now, that’s an incredible amount of money a merchant would be throwing away to square.
Also, square is not under the Industry guidelines, and there’s no real recourse should you have a disagreement with them. Basically same as PayPal.
the only reason I could see why anyone would go with Square, is one, as your article states, if you’re low volume sales, and just want the convenience, or maybe your credit isn’t stellar. Other than that, you’re throwing money down a hole with Square.
Also, as your article stated, Interchange Plus pricing is the one to beat. You can’t get more transparent or lower in rates. As of last Sat. Oct. 1st, I’ve set some as low as .10%, which means they’re paying .26% on over 30% of cards accepted. Since I got into this Industry a couple of years ago, I’ve always tried to talk everyone into Interchange Plus. I even give them the option to try it, and switch to another type pricing if they like. I’ve yet to date have one business switch off the Interchange Plus pricing.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the comment. The Durbin Amendment (part of the Dodd-Frank bill) put a flat fee cap of 21 cents on debit card transactions plus a one (1) cent “fraud prevention” fee. The 0.05% figure you mentioned is actually an “ad valorem” tax that is also collected at the time of sale. I’m not sure how Square is affected by this, but since it’s not a bank it doesn’t have to pass the savings onto the app users.
Also, none of your customers are only paying “0.26% on 30%” of their transactions. They are paying the Interchange cost, plus Visa’s or MasterCard’s Dues & Assessment fee (0.0925% & 0.0950% respectively), plus your markup fee. Since Visa and MasterCard just raised all Interchange debit processing fees to the maximum 21 cent limit, your merchants are paying $0.21+$0.01+0.05%+0.0925%+0.10% on there Visa debit card sales. On a $10 sale that would be roughly a $0.46 fee, or 4.6% of the transaction. Obviously the higher the sale amount, the more merchants benefit from the new debit rates – if they are on Interchange-plus pricing. However, Square actually costs merchants less in small dollar debit card sales now that this legislation has been enacted.
I’m a little confused on your calculation here. It looks like you are adding regular interchange+ assesment fee with debit interchange+ assesment fee together?
The calculation in my example is: (Debit Interchange Fee + Fraud Prevention Fee + Ad Valorem Tax + Dues & Assessment Fee + Provider Markup). It should also be noted that the Dues & Assessments fees for Visa and MasterCard are now 0.11%.
so….0.05%+.21+.35% would be an example for a debit transaction correct?
Well, sort of. It looks like you are quoting it as Debit Interchange + Provider Markup, which is a simplified quote. Since the other fees are tiny and non-negotiable, I believe that it is fine to quote it this way.
so is this a good rate?
It’s reasonable depending on your processing volume. If you process more than $15,000 per month you should be able to get it lower. If you haven’t already, I recommend downloading my ebook, “Fee Sweep.” Currently, you can get it for free by “Liking” my Facebook page.
I was just checking. This is based on an avg ticket of $50 and an annual vol of about 1 mil mostly debit transactions so thats about 1% if converted into fixed or blended rate.
Tim,
Of course you would push the product of the company you work for and dis the competition. I am a user of square not an employee. I actually dislike seeing competitors come on here and push their own products. I agree with Phillip that you are mis-stating what the fees on your own product comes out to be. :( Bad on you man! At least Square’s fees are honest and never vary from what they claim!
You are still a competitor (offering a similar service to another entity and don’t go off on all that tosh about not being a competitor because you are), and you are still trying to steer people away from Square to your business by badmouthing them. You still didn’t put all the information in so that it was misleading. Still BAD ON YOU man. Please go proselytize elsewhere.
Hi Tim, you might need to clear your browser’s cache to see the new comments.
I was comparing apples-to-apples. Yes, the effective rate drops the higher the transaction amount, but you claimed that your customers are getting a transaction fee of 0.29% on 30% of their transactions. Show me the math or some sort of proof of this. There is simply no way that it is true. If you are telling prospective merchants that they will get such a rate, you are misleading them. I see that Visa and MC raised their Dues and Assessment fees in April, but that only proves my case further that low dollar transactions are more expensive with the new debit Interchange rules.
I agree that Square should not be in business as they have no reliable, attentive, or accessible customer service. I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint. I’ve also recently found out that the transactions may not even be secure and am mortified that I may have put my clients at risk. I am getting a new merchant service.
Katherine,
Actually the transactions are quite secure. There were a couple competitor companies out there spreading bad info about this. Visa has just recently put something like $40 million into Square as investment capital, banks are recommending it to their small business owners, etc. I think that this should show the confidence the industry has in Square is quite high.
I hope your complaint gets resolved with the BBB’s help. It saddens me that Square was unable to resolve it for you and it also surprises me that this happened as they have always been able to help me immediately with any question or issue that I have had.
Have you tried contacting the customer directly to see what happened and work things out directly with them? Was it fraud or a charge-back due to something else? What have you found out so far?
I have a question. Laurel, since you seem to be quite familiar with Square and their customer service and other company profferings, perhaps you can help me.
I have been using Square for a while without problem. I have a small business and do shows every weekend incurring charges Friday through Sunday. A deposit from Square shows up on Tuesday or Wednesday of every week.
This week, no deposit. It still shows as “next deposit to be made” in my Square account profile. It has not even been sent.
I have emailed five times (only automated responses) and called to only get the answering machine.
Do you have an extension of a person that I can speak to? Or any other direct contact ideas to actually initiate verbal contact with Square immediately.
I too have filed a complaint with the BBB. Being a small business owner this is a perfect solution for me, as I do indoor and outdoor shows where internet connectivity is not always available. However I am now nervous.
Thanks for any input you may have.
(415) 375-3176 is the only customer service number. Another really good way to get them is to Tweet to @SqSupport. Email is the slowest way to get a hold of them. With the phone number it can take a few tries, never leave a message just call until you get someone live and they will help you! It can take a few tries but they are really good about it once you get someone on the line but since its not an “official” number its nt always manned.
Do remember that it was a holiday weekend this week (Columbus Day) and that can add 1-2 business days to the transaction time over all but it should have been sent to you already. (as of Tues or Wed for sure, so something may have glitched).
I would ask that for Square’s sake (not mine lol) that once its resolved you update the BBB complaint to show as resolved to your satisfaction so they don’t get dinged for non-resolution.
Laurel, do you work for Square?
As I have stated multiple times before in this very forum, no I do not work for Square. If you click on my name in this forum you can see my business website. I simply help people because I believe in the product that Square puts out.
I highly recommend this device. Very easy to use and fast payments. Beats the hell out of using Intuit Merchant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Terry, I am trying to learn more about Square what Square gives beyond the payment guidelines etc.
What information do they provide you about each transaction? What do they give at the end of the month, some type of statement?
Trinity,
Again, you have to realize that since your experience doesn’t represent what the majority of people experience in working with Square, you cannot make the erroneous assumption that “Square has minimal risk. . .”
In the end, remember that credit card processing done by Square or a merchant account is privilege and considered a “line of credit” for all intents and purposes.
You may not realize this but some of the very things you take for granted right now are subject to the same kind of scrutiny — for example, if your bank suspected you of depositing too many checks that may bounce, they’d freeze your account.
So I hope you don’t think that your experience is limited to Square.
I also would like to implore you to explain to us why Square would hold your funds in the first place. . .that is the one thing you haven’t indicated to any of us yet.
There has to be a reason, something that Square considered to be “high risk” or “high risk activity” — while some processors have been known to flag transactions at random (PayPal) just to verify authenticity in a “blanket format”, Square doesn’t seem to be one of those kinds of processors.
So would you care to share with us the details of your transaction:
– What was it for (the payment)?
– Was it swiped, and manually typed into your phone?
– Did your customer/client contact their credit card issuer to put a hold on any other transactions that were unrelated to yours (I’ve personally seen this happen before when a card issuer just blocks ALL transactions when a customer indicated they only had an issue with a specific one)
– Did you answer all of Square’s questions (probably very similar to mine above) thoroughly and completely and provide proof of the product/service you provided?
I’ll wait to hear back from you on that. . .
Laurel, I am considering Square for occasional credit card payments at craft shows etc. You mentioned you take a pic of the customer with the transaction to help if there is a charge back. Is the picture of them then transmitted on the email receipt sent to the customer? I would think this step alone would help with potential charge back issues. It appears that most complaints here involve chargebacks which is standard with any credit card processing. I’ve researched other options but they want me to pay for the credit card reader and that is just nuts! They are already receiving a processing fee. Those of us who run online stores and use paypal have the same chargeback risk. The only way to guarantee no chargebacks is to deal in cash.
Lori,
I would assume that tier picture is attached bu I have never received a receipt via Square. (I tend to pay cash at shows lol). I know that Square will have a copy of it though and it should help to make a case if there is an issue.
The majority of the complaints are yes, charge backs it seems but there is also the oops I forgot to validate my bank account, and the $1000 rolling 7 day immediate deposit limit for card not present transactions. But everything and all the instructions are there. I have not had any issues with charge backs but I strictly I follow the steps I outlined for Trinity on how to avoid charge backs – my results – 2 year / 0 Charge backs (crosses fingers).
Lori,
I agree with what Laurel said — the only thing I’d add is that the 7 day rolling $1,000 limit imposed is easy to resolve if you simply call Square and ask them to remove the limit. They typically will run a credit check before granting you a higher limit (mine is $10,000), but if you’ve processed with them long enough without any chargebacks, they may waive the credit check as they did in my case.
I don’t take pictures of my clients like Laurel does (that was a good idea though for new merchant Laurel! Excellent on that!), but then my clients pay me after I’ve done the work for them already, which is why I haven’t had a chargeback either with my Square account or my standard merchant account in about 6 years.
I have been using Paypal for a year now with absolutely NO problems. I pay a $30 fee per month and 3% transaction fee. I was looking to trip my credit card costs so I tried Square this weekend. As someone said earlier I would be a FOOL to continue. When they linked my bank they deposited and withdrew .49 with 6 hours of signing up. Now, they only sent partial payment to my account (which was charged Thurday) and Friday/Sat $$ has not been sent. My bank has nothing pending as of 11:30 Monday morning even though the email went through on Saturday (NOT the Friday 10pm like sold to me and reinforced on website).
I have emailed, called, left messages, and called back…no response.
Anyone CONSIDERING this product should look into PayPal Virtual Terminal. $30/month is absolutley worth the security and customer service!!
I will update to see IF my money arrives and WHEN that happens…also IF anyone calls me back concerning this account! I will be calling the BBB next.
Square INITIATES the transfer in 12-36 hours from sales – sometimes it takes 48 hours – never in my experience longer than that once your account is set up properly – and as far as I know they don’t initiate transfers on Sunday and I don’t remember seeing one go on a Sat either.
It takes time to get the money to your bank sometimes up to 2 business days, especially on weekend sales. It’s Monday. Have patience. I got my email this morning for my Sat sales. I expect to see the money on Wed as usual.
You should as well. Square has NO control over how long the money takes to transit through the system to your bank. This is not something to blame Square about. Also the first transaction usually takes longer to go through. The time frame you are dealing with is well within the norm.
I hate to see someone jump to calling BBB just for something tiny like this. This in my opinion is a severe overreaction. What would happen if your customers started calling BBB if you shipped something to them on time and because it took time to mail it to them (just like money takes time to get through the system). That’s about what you are dealing with.
Laurel are you an employee of Square?
Your weak defense of them sure makes it seem like you are.
It is Square’s PUBLISHED POLICY that your money will be deposited by Square within 36 hours… When they fail to make this deadline (and they VERY often do) they are failing to meet a commitment to their customers, and having no way to contact them to ask questions or initiate complaints is simply them ignoring the voices of their customers.
This company has a nice little product here, but if they cannot meet the service level obligations set forth in THEIR OWN policies, and refuse to hear feedback or complaint from customers, they are history within a year.
I personally know 6 small business owners (7 if you include myself) who tried this service and left in disgust after absolute non-response from Square to concerns and complaints.
There are other services like this one, until this company can get their collective act together, I would RUN away.
Heidi,
I’ll have to agree with Laurel on this one.
I don’t think you reviewed all the information Square has made available to you.
In addition, you’re giving people erroneous information about “PayPal Virtual Terminal”, and that I’d like to correct here:
1) PayPal Virtual Terminal is *NOT* the same as a bonafide merchant account or Square account — they are simply a “middle-man” processor, and you lose most of the benefits you have with a true merchant account (such as being able to dispute a chargeback directly) or Square account (card-present transactions).
2) PayPal Virtual Terminal is *NOT* a consideration for merchants who want the best protection since ALL PayPal Virtual Terminal transactions are considered “card-not-present” transactions.
3) PayPal Virtual Terminal is for merchants who are not processing a significant volume or expect that the majority of the transactions will be from trusted sources — so this isn’t for merchants who are taking credit cards at tradeshows, or selling art for example, since you will be processing every transaction as “card-not-present” even if the cardholder is standing right in front of you and hands you their credit card for payment.
That said, PayPal Virtual Terminal isn’t even in the same category as SquaredUp or a true merchant account — it’s comparing apples to oranges.
I would be a little more patient. Such a strong complaint and you haven’t even completed a transaction yet.
Depending on the time of your transaction on Thursday, I can see the EARLIEST they would initiate a transfer is Monday.
I just had an event where we sold tickets at the door on a Thursday afternoon / evening. They didn’t initiate the deposit until the following Monday. Saturday is not a business day for Square.
Please let us know how it goes and understand that paypal Virtual Terminal is NOTHING like square. Totally different.
No phone number, no email.
If these guys are trying to look like a scam, they are succeeding.
They ask for my company’s bank account number, routing number, all kinds of info, yet they don’t provide such innocuous info as a phone number.
Fortunately, I found this out early on. I tried to enter my routing number for my Chase account, and their webform wouldn’t accept it. Then tried to call them – no phone number posted. Tried to email them or click on some sort of help link, and just get a bunch of faqs.
On the humorous side, I’m sure “What is your damn phone number” is a frequently asked question, but the answer wasn’t there.
Good grief. I’m shopping around for another service. Can’t even contact them to send their little do-dad back, so I guess I’ll use it as a keychain.
Well my first time worked, thank heaven. Swiped $ 660 on Friday and got $ 641.85 on Tuesday.
Last July I swiped a total of $ 106 with Card Data Services, Inc., and they charged me $ 130.46 (75.46 + 55.00 “annual fee”). Had to place a stop payment on my account for that company.
My company tried Square as a convenient addition to our regular merchant account for such things as trade shows and occasional outside sales. To date we have processed only small transactions ($20 each), but have been very pleased with the results. The payment has been transferred to our bank account within 2 or 3 days, which is standard for any merchant account.
We are currently filling out the paperwork to raise the transaction and transfer limits. I have talked with the customer service reps at Square twice. Once before signing up, and once to get the aforementioned paperwork started. Their reps have been very courteous and helpful.
The company is very young, but has a lot of potential. I always start new business arrangements in a slow and careful way. This one is no exception. So far everything is good.
Anyone have experience using square in a restaurant setting? I am thinking of using multiple ipads linked to the same account. Obviously, there would be a LOT of transactions. Haven’t used the square yet for end of the night reports, how good is square at that? Not sure if this $!000 roll-over thing would affect us. Our current merchant service rate is 2.9, so this is better since there aren’t transaction fees. Are there any other fees that I am missing with square that I should be concerned about? Any feedback from restaurant guests who have used them?
Thanks for your help.
– Aaron
Aaron,
With the recent changes due to the Durbin Amendment your rate on average should effectively be much lower than 2.9%!! The company I am with charges 2.75% as its highest rate only if it is a Non-Qualified transaction.
I’m shopping for a mobile CC processing solution.
Most of the transactions are in $75-300 range on average 2 -3 times a day. Can anyone recomment a particular company for that? Since I’m new to this it surprises me a bit that my SSN#, Tax id etc need to be disclosed … is it a standard procedure
Hi Thomas,
Considering that you can have either option, will you be swiping the credit card the majority of the time or typing it in?
Thomas,
As for the SSN# and Tax ID any reputable Merchant Services or Bank working with you to set up services for Credit Cards will ask you for the same information to process cards for business accounts. They do need to check your credit and verify that you are a legitimate business.
As to the transaction volume – Same Question swiped or keyed cards – it will make a big difference if your transactions tend to be over $1000 a week.
Thanks you Laurel for your feedback.
Most of my transactions will be entered manually
i.e customers will call and provide CC information. Far fewer transactions will be through the CC reader. At this time having a CC transaction volume over $1000 is more of a goal than reality, lol
Thomas
If you start out at under $1000/week it should not affect you. Make sure you get a receipt sent to them via square through text or email as well as sending them an email receipt for your own protection. You can always apply for a higher no hold limit once you have a history of no chargebacks etc for when you hit that $1000/week mark. Try it out ans see how it goes is my advise :)
Be aware that you will pay a slightly higher percentage (3.5%) and a 15 cent transaction fee for non-swiped cards though.
Thomas…
The info is fine…..any reputable cc processor will ask you to provide it.. BUT…
IF YOU ARE KEYING IN YOUR TRANSACTIONS don’t expect to see them on any type of regular basis. I have had a square since they started up. Half the time the reader does not work. I have an Iphone, Ipad, and two Androids and use them all, so I have to key in the transactions.
They place random holds without informing you all the time. I am on my third hold in five weeks. They DfO NOT inform you when or why they are placing these holds and do not respond.
Sure they do answer the phone one time out of every 15 calls, but that person usually cannot answer your question or transfer you if your question concerns a depsit, a funds release increase, etc. He can just tell you that he will give someone a message.
If you have lots of money to spare, and aren’t a small business who needs the money that they are collecting for their goods, feel free to use square.. If you like giving stuff away for free on the whim that Square may someday reimburse you, go with them.
Best of luck.. Sign up with a bank, or GoPayment.. Much more reliable and the fees are worth it to have reliability…..
Thought I would share this with all of you – Square is now hiring PHONE support Customer Service – I found a new job posting for that position on their website under jobs – Looks like they will finally be having full-time phone support shortly!
I just called square via the number on this post. I got through immediately to someone. He seemed very laid back and not very professional. Although he did help me with a payment that wasn’t be deposited. Before getting this phone number, I sent a few emails via the site with no answer and was getting very upset!! But the phone number does work….call away. I don’t know the hours of operation….FYI
So I have just ordered Square for a charity event I am putting on this next
Friday 11-11-11. I will be charging $15 at the door for 500-1000 people. Will this be an effective tool for the event or should I just send people to an ATM?
Your thoughts
Hi Shawn,
In my experience, the card reader doesn’t always show up as fast as Square claims that it will. It takes significantly longer to type the credit card information into the phone than it does to swipe a card. Not only that, but if you type in more than $1000 dollars worth of sales, Square will hold everything over $1000 for 30 days as a fraud prevention measure. If it were me, I would strongly encourage people to bring cash. Not only that, but cash won’t cost you a transaction fee.
With all that said, Square is still a great option as a backup for those who don’t have cash.
Shawn,
You can get a reader at Best Buy or any Apple store or immediate use. If you do so you will have one immediately rather than having to wait for it. It should make things much easier. You should always encourage cash but hope that this will help you make an informed decision. I try never to send people to ATMs since it is a much bigger hassle for them, generally costs them a fee and sometimes I don’t see them come back. I’d rather take a card then send someone for cash.
Shawn How did the Squareup work? I am doing a similar event but also with Auction items?
Square cut my fees in half.
My check average is $15 and I get a lot of corporate cards. I do around $10,000.00 a month on credit cards.
My merchant account was charging me from$440.00 to $500.00 and square is $275.00 it’s almost half , I’m saving a little less than $3,000.00 a year.
Thank you square
I cannot believe this company. I signed up and verified my account. All was fine until I ran my first two transactions. They were keyed in. One for $100 the other for $500. This was a Thursday. Friday..no deposit…Monday no deposit. That Wednesday I decided to send them an email.
I received an email back stating they needed an invoice, tracking number etc.
I was highly upset, but sent the information in. It has now been two weeks and I am still waiting on a reply and the deposits.
I offer Google Checkout and begrudingly Paypal on my site. I thought Square would be another viable option.
I am NOT impressed.
I’m considering Square, but my big concern is, and no one has thus far reported on this, can we email our customers a receipt of the transaction?
Yes, and you can text it too.
Thanks, Dena!
The Better Busniness Bureau says it all for those of you who so strongly support Square. They give the company a solid “F.” Right now I think they have 19 complaints, with several unresolved because of lack of response against them for false advertising, lack of payout, unfair business practices. you name it.
The idea is good. They are holding funds illegally, customer service sucks and they need to improve in a lot of areas.
K,
While I would usually agree with you, the BBB has become more of a “pay to play” system than in previous years, and lacks the transparency and honesty it once had years ago.
That said, I will not, and wouldn’t advise anyone else to take the BBB rating at face value.
I will also continue to point people in Square’s direction since I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with them, and know many others who also have. =0)
Eric,
I always take things like reviews with a grain of salt, however when you go to the BBB’s website and see the multiple amount of complaints filed and the variety of types of complaints, it gives you reason to believe that there may be a problem.
I do understand that the BBB is a way for people to “vent” against companies, but in this case, it is not just venting. Go read and check out the complaints.
I am glad you have had positive experiences with Square. You are one of the few people that I have heard that from. I know no one who consistently runs large transactions that has had NO problems at all.
Nineteen reviews? That is a mere drop in t;he bucket compared to the number of clients they have. If they only have 19 bad reviews then I don’t think anything of it. First the squeaky wheel gets the grease and there are always complainers and rarely do the happier people go to BBB to post! Just some food for thought.
Understand that out of the hundreds of thousands (there are over 750,000 Square readers in use at this time) of Square users there are only 19 BBB complaints in 36 months, most of them were marked as resolved to user satisfaction. Only 2 were not resolved to the customers satisfaction. I am assuming the other 5 are charge-backs or something similar that Square has no control over. I will point out to you that PayPal has over 6500 complaints in 36 months and 1800 of them were not closed satisfactorily and yet since they have paid for an accreditation which Square has not they have an A+ rating I think that says a great deal about how the BBB now functions.
I have spoken with many people being perfectly happy with this service, they just are not the ones that are posting here. People who are dissatisfied tend to complain loudly and often and those who are please tend to just keep using the product.
Laurel…
You may want to check on the dates of the complaints. All nineteen fall within the last couple of months. The blanket statement is “36 months” on the BBB site.
Square has not been around for three years.
Paypal has NOT paid for accreditation. That is illegal and NOT how you gain accreditation. You may want to watch what you write.. Remember when you write something it is defamation of character, speaking it is slander.
Paypal also has a clientele in the Billions.
Square cannot gain accreditation because it has not been in business for a year with a satisfactory rating.
Compare Apples to Apples. Square is good for some things, but not for large purchases, customer service, and keeping it’s promises. It has undisclosed policies that are seemingly made up as the weeks pass by.
I know you love Square, but not everyone on the planet does. Just take it with a grain of Salt. It’s not all you make it out to be.
Laurel is correct that (among a few other requirements) the only way to get BBB accredited is to pay the BBB’s enrollment fee. It has also been proven in several reports, including this one, that the BBB will raise a company’s score after it pays.
That being said, this comment section is intended as a place for readers to tell others about their experiences with Square, offer tips and advice, and help each other – not for debating the validity of others’ comments. Please adhere to this to ensure that your future comments are approved.
I am considering accepting credit cards via Square for used electronics/camera sales advertised on Craigslist. Usually I would only accept cash payments via an in-person transaction, but I think that I would sell items quicker if I accepted credit cards. Money is tight in the current economy…
My only fear is that I could face a chargeback once the buyer has the item in his/her possession.
I am wanting feedback on my protocol for accepting credit cards:
1. Swiped transactions only with a photo ID.
2. The buyer signs a printed receipt acknowledging the item has been personally inspected and is in the condition described in my advertisement. The receipt states that no returns or refunds are available for the item and the buyer agrees to abide by my policy. (I already do this for cash sales.)
3. I retain photos of the buyer with the item and signing the receipt.
Have I thought of everything? Or am I taking an unacceptable risk going this route?
Greg what you have there for precautions should be fine :) I posted a list of ways to protect yourself earlier on this forum – you might want to check that out :)
The only other thing is that – I would also suggest only taking credit cards in person and not ever via email or by phone when dealing with Craig’s list. Other than that your list looks pretty good!
Hi there…
Keep all records you want. However, if a customer decides to dispute the bank (square or any other) will always decide with the consumer first and then you have to prove them wrong.
Square does not give you a paper receipt. It is all electronic and self maintained in their system.
Keep detailed invoices and shipping records-SIGNED BY THE BUYER.
Do not ever utilize Square without swiping the card. Period.
Thanks for the feedback Laurel.
One thing that I am still wondering about: if the buyer signs a detailed receipt that acknowledges that there is no return or refund option, how can their credit card company justify a chargeback?
In a dispute it would seem to me that a buyer accepting a no return/no refund sale would not have grounds to expect a chargeback in their favor.
Greg,
You are setting up some good backup methods for protecting yourself when charging items that you are selling.
Apparently even though Laurel has a website, she must not use Square to procuess sales that are made outside of her physical location, as she is advising you not to run any credit cards that you do not swipe, as am I.
I would tell anyone that same thing. DO NOT MANUALLY RUN A CREDIT CARD WITH SQUARE. If you want to see your money in a reasonable amount of time it is not wise. It is faster to request a check, have it mailed to you and wait until it is processed by the bank. :(
As for chargebacks, all a person has to do with their bank is state that they are not satisfied with their purchase, i.e., that it was not as described on the sales receipt and the bank will automatically give their client, the cardholder the benefit of the doubt. The funds are then immediately deducted from your account and you will have to defend your charge. If you have signed documentation stating that the purchaser accepts the items in the condition they are in and no returns are accepted, you may be fine. You just never know. If you have a credit card, or even a debit card call them and ask.
The burden of proof lies on the merchant with chargebacks. If you can prove that you sold the product as is, which may be hard if you are doing internet sales and not meeting the people you (in your described situation) should be ok.
But, you will be out the money until you prove your case and the merchant processor (Square) agrees. It is nice to have a merchant processor who emails regularly, has multiple phone contact numbers and open lines of communication.
Read what you will into what is written in this forum, however, Square’s biggest problem is their customer support and not following through on their promises with deposits. They have also had problems with privacy issues and other things that are not good for a merchant processor.
They are great for people who need a merchant processor that do not have great credit, and cannot utilize another and they sing a great tune, but their follow through is not good.
Many people have commented about the complaints on the Better Business Bureau about Square. First, you do NOT pay to become a member of the BBB. It is illegal and against all of the Fair Trade and other compliance laws to pay for a rating by the Better Business Bureau. You have to meet a very strict set of standards, which Square does not (part of it has to do with company ethics.) Second a couple of other companies were mentioned and the amount of compliants that have been filed agains them. Paypal has been in existence for over 20 years and had 3500 complaints. Square has had 19 complaints in one month. At that rate….??? A business also has to be operational for one year before they can become acredited by the BBB. Square has not.
Do a little more research Greg, do not rely on the voices of the people on this page. You will wrong yourself. The BBB has been around for years for a purpose.
By the way, you cannot file a “compliment” on the BBB site. It is there so that people can see how a company behaves ethically in its business practices.
I wish you the best… and the same to the employees of Square, who may soon be out of jobs….
Phillip Parker says:
November 12, 2011 at 11:14 pm (UTC -8 )
Laurel is correct that (among a few other requirements) the only way to get BBB accredited is to pay the BBB’s enrollment fee. It has also been proven in several reports, including this one, that the BBB will raise a company’s score after it pays.
That being said, this comment section is intended as a place for readers to tell others about their experiences with Square, offer tips and advice, and help each other – not for debating the validity of others’ comments. Please adhere to this to ensure that your future comments are approved.
Wow! Interesting commentary!
Here is my two.cents on Square. I just received an email.from.a.stranger ststing that square had contacted them about a chargeback on my account.
How about that one? I have been waiting to.hear from them for three weeks now about why my money hasnt been deposited and a complete stranger writes.to me and tells me they have information on my account.
I sont care much about the better business bureau, but i am a member, qnd i paid the “dues” to sign up, but if i do not keep my customers happy i wil not remain happy.
So, Phillip to shut people off from speaking their minds is offensive to some, FYI.
Perhaps one of you who thinks that Square can do no wrong can give me a suggestion aabout how to get in touch with them, how to get them to respond to me, and how to.4solve this without tye help of the better business bureau-since according to you Square is oerfect and the better business bureau is a mob tyoe company run only by those who pay their oriper dues!
I dont want my info given to strangers and i want my money!
Hey
I just started using square for my vacation rental business, that requires me to charge security deposit that is usually refundable. Can i hold the charge without depositing money into my account?
Hi Barbara,
As far as I am aware, Square does not support such a feature. You will likely need to go with a traditional merchant account provider that supports the ability to “authorize” a sale amount instead of charging it.
Thanks for the informative and objective review.
I have one question that I haven’t been able to find the answer to. What are Square’s chargeback fees?
Thank so anyone who can help.
Beth,
From talking to Square this morning they appear to have no charge back fees!
You can call them and verify this at (415) 375-3176
Over the weekend took a customer charge for $17. Both her receipt and mine noted $17 and $17 was deposited to my account. Howver the customer was actually charged $1700 and the money was taken out of her bank account.
Square has no customer support. No one replied to email over the weekend. I am now waiting for the West Coast to wake up and start business in hopes I can actually hear back and they will resolve this problem.
Have you called this number yet? (415) 375-3176
Any response of resolution yet?
They claim to deposit the money the next day if you have a business account. Well I just did a small transaction of $150.00, had to wait one week before the money was deposited, I’m glad I didn’t closed my merchant service account.
Join the crowd Willie Rae. Try this one out for size..
Just got a letter saying that I am “associated” with a high risk customer so they are holding my last four weeks of charges (over $2000-swiped and keyed) for 180 days as a “reserve.” in case my account ever goes delinquent. They have the “right” to do this randomly according to Section 19 of their Agreement.
WATCH WHAT YOU AGREE TO!
They did tell me I could refund all of my latest charges to my clients and guess what??? Instead of giving me the money they are holding, they tried to withdraw it from my bank account!! They are HOLDING THOSE CHARGES!!! omg!
They are crooks. I have never had a charge back, never had anything go wrong on my account in any way. They will not define who these “customers” are that I am associated with. I have a bunch of friends who use square.
I AM SO SO SORRY THAT I REFERRED THEM AND TELLING THEM ALL ABOUT THIS.. we are having a square smashing party this weekend. It will be posted on YouTube along with all our horror stories.
Square can kiss off. I am pissed, as are a lot of other people. We have all gone to the Better Business Bureau (which means nothing to the people who wrote this blog) and are hoping that enough complaints will get the company shut down.
Square is the worst company on the planet!! They accept funds from customer credit cards, then say there is a limit, then take forever to refund. Then you call them, having to go to site first for a stupid code, then they lie and say they are calling back. Then they don’t call and you go to try to call and it says THIS CUSTOMER IS NOT ELIGIBLE TO CALL!! THE INVOICE PLATFORM IS A JOKE, THE WHOLE COMPANY SUCKS!!
They INITIATE the deposit in one business day – it takes time for the money to transit between banks and to post to your banking account. It usually takes 3-4 business days longer if holidays or weekends are involved.
All of my deposits have gone smoothly. We switched to a credit union last year and they are very efficient with the transfers. We use to do business with a local bank until we discovered that they were holding onto our own account to account transfers for several days which caused numerous problems. Our credit union has been excellent. Perhaps your bank is like my old one use to be and they want to have some extra use of your funds for a few extra days. Wouldn’t be the first time.
I am happy to report that I had a significant mischarge issue yesterday in which I inadvertently butt dialed a whopping cash transfer. The Square people returned my phone call and the issue was easily rectified. Without this discussion group though I don’t know if I ever would have found their phone number. I was happy that they were more responsive than Paypal has ever been. I am still happy with them
No 800 number published, or any number for that matter to reach customer service (which does not exist by the way). That should have been my first sign to stay far away from this product. Waiting, or better said my customer is waiting on a credit/refund. I can’t believe I got suckered in to this product. No helpline to get through to and no response from their joke of e-mail support.
Going back to Paypal, but my first stop will be the BBB. I think I will join the Square smashing party on Youtube. –
The customer service number is (415) 375-3176. Try calling them?
Great news folks! When I called Square today to ask about the validity of Ms Butcher’s (aka Kris, Kristine, K. Butcher, etc – not sure why she is using so many variations of her name) complaints as I was curious to see what they would say about this reserve thing she is talking about as I have never heard of anything like this happening to anyone else. They seemed perplexed as to what she was talking about as they generally only hold funds on charge backs or on non-swiped transactions over the $1000 rolling limits. Perhaps there is something she is not telling us about (perhaps multiple previous charge backs or other extenuating circumstances?)
They seem to have gotten phone customer support set up and have a phone option menu to use to get to the right person at Square to help you rather than just having a phone with an answering machine or sometimes a live person.
I have also given Square the web address of this forum to see if they can get a rep to monitor this site and give us help as we need it. They rep that they will get someone to look at the forum and see what they can do.
I really hope that this comes through.. It probably will not. But I would like to defend myself.
My IP address has been marked as spam on this site because Laurel R and the site owner feel what I say is offensive. I am Kris, and K. Butcher. I am also a HE, not a she.
I posted on accident at first as two different people, but using the same email address, in error. Oops.
I do not like Square or its lack of policies. I have not attacked Laurel personally as she did in the above statement. I have not called Square and asked them about her, and whether or not she is employed there. I have tracked her on Twitter however.
I do not have time to waste. This will be my last post.
I am going to attach the email she is accusing me of not receiving below. It is from square.
Jeanette
NOV 14, 2011 | 02:46PM PST
Hi Kristopher,
Thanks for writing in. We have exercised our rights under section 19 of the User agreement (https://squareup.com/legal/ua) to hold your funds in reserve. They will be released back to you once we have determined that your risk exposure has been mitigated. This review process may take up to 180 days. If you have outstanding order,s you are more than welcome to refund the associated transactions processed by following the steps delineated below.
Refunds must be made within 60 days of the transaction.
Follow these steps to issue a refund:
1. Log into your account at https://squareup.com/payments
2. Click on the payment you would like to refund. In that window, you will see more information about the transaction along with a “Refund this payment” link directly below the last 4 digits of the buyer’s credit card.
3. Click on the “Refund this payment” link and provide a reason for the refund in the window that appears.
4. Click “Refund” and the payment will be credited back to the buyer’s account in 2-4 business days.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions about this process.
Thanks,
Jeanette
Square Support
help.squareup.com
So Laurel and everyone out there. After three weeks without word one from square, I got this. Checks bounced, no chargebacks had been made, NOTHING. I was able to refund all the money to my clients and checks are on their way to me now.
HOWEVER, it took almost a molnth to get this response and there is stil no explanation as to why they did it.. I did nothing wrong. My account has no chargebacks, nothing. I do not need to prove anything to square. I have done so in my 9 month relationship with them.. I will not go so far as to say that I have had a two year relationship with a company that has been in business for only a year.
I certainly hope that people read all comments on this board, realize that they are filtered to the extreme (Willie has made a comment that has been removed as have a few others-I still get the emails.)
By reading through it you can see who’s comments are filtered and whose are not. My bet is that this comment will not be posted.
Best of luck to those of you who stay with square. As I said earlier… if you run a small business with small charges that are swiped, go for it. (Less than $25) Otherwise, get a real merchant account or you will be in the same boat as all of us looking for a free ride. No such thing.
As stated in the comment policy below, this comment section is reserved for user reviews and helping others only. This user’s I.P. address was marked as spam because he was trolling and hurling insults at other users, which is a violation of the policy. Laurel R. is not affiliated with this website and had nothing to do with Kris’ comments being filtered out. Comments that contain insults and name-calling that accidentally become posted to the thread will be removed because they are not helpful to other readers, which is why a few other comments have been deleted. Despite Kris’ false accusations, we have allowed the above comment because it contains an actual experience that some may find helpful.
Just as an FYI to all, the only reason I called Square was to find out about the situation with the reserve hold was to find out about the hold policy in case it affected myself or others at some future point. I like to keep informed with issues that others are having and I do call Square when I see something that I have not encountered before as I want to be able to help and clarify information. I never asked Square about K. Butcher’s account information or gave them his/her name. I asked about the situation and for clarification on reserve policies. The customer service person I talked to said that they do not require reserve amounts unless there were serious extenuating circumstances, thus I asked if there were other circumstances that we were not being made aware of. The reasons shown in the quote of section 19 of the user agreement as shown below are the only reasons they require a reserve.
“We may require a Reserve for any reason, including if you have a high rate of Chargebacks (described in Section 27), refunds, or other indications of performance problems related to your use of the Service. The Reserve will be in an amount as reasonably determined by us to cover anticipated Chargebacks, returns, unshipped merchandise and/or unfulfilled services or credit risk based on your processing history or such amount designated by our processor.”
**However what I was more excited about was that Square seems to be gearing up to have full phone customer support soon as evidenced in the menu options on their phone number when you call.
Also just as a comment I am not affiliated with Square, cardpaymentoptions.com or any other business other than my own which is http://www.OpinicusSoaps.com. I simply want to help those who are having issues or need clarification on Square because I sincerely believe and support them as a great credit card payment option.
BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These guys will hold your funds indefinitely and never even tell you when they will be released. I have had my funds 20,000+USD held for nearly a month and after numerous calls and emails they still have yet to personally contact me to resolve the situation. These guys take 7+ days to answer a query and the sad part is YOU HAVE TO CONTACT THEM FIRST. If there is a problem on your account and they decide not to pay you your clients funds then that’s it. They don’t reach out to you to tell you so and they don’t even try to resolve it beyond auto generated responses. I have incurred massive bank fees and lost customers b/c of them. Again STAY AWAY as they are not reliable and cost you far more in lost business and bank fees than any other competitor out there. Try SalesVU and Google Checkout as I have switched since and don’t have any of the nightmares and worries about getting my funds that I did with square………….oh and yeah im still trying to get “my” funds back as they have just completely stopped replying to me at this point!
Call this number please. (415) 375-3176 This is Square’s customer service number. They can most likely help you there.
Also were the funds swiped or keyed in? If they were keyed in yes they will hold those funds for 30 days – that is part of the contract that you agreed to. It would be considered a high risk transaction and they have the right to do that.
Nope they were swiped and I have called that # for 2 weeks straight and get a rep EVERY time but they always say the same thing ” I cant do anything as I am not in Finance dept” Funny enough you are not allowed to “talk” to the finance dept. Shady and run around is all I can say…..still no “real” email replies vs cut and paste responses and money still being held up.
Some say, you may as well ask your cable company to process your merchant services for you. Everyone seems to be getting in on merchant services. Why would you trust your money to any institution that is not a bank in the situation of holding on to your money. At least you will have a live person to talk to or you can go to that bank if it is a local bank you are supporting. Also, make sure you UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY about interchange rates and fees before you choose which bank or institution you want merchant services with……very important!!! The more you know the better, not the more you think you know.
I hate to say it but you do get what you pay for. It’s not always about the best rate…..service is a large part of it right? It seems like there is a huge customer service issue with square. But everyone has customer service issues. Maybe Square should charge a little more so they can have a larger customer service team to take car of all of your complaints……or maybe Square should hire Laurel because Laurel is very knowledgable about their product and they could use someone like that who absolutely believes in the product. That’s part of having a great costomer service team…….believing in the product
I’m sure Square is great to use if you don’t process a lot of transactions. Hell I would use it just because the concept is cool but there are flaws :( But for the majority of small businesses this would not work. I’m sure over time, there will be a system similar to this one that will put everyone out of business in the future.
And yes I do work in merchant services so it is pretty funny to hear what people think they know about it… I cant fully disclose which bank but I can tell you that Forbes rated us the #1 bank in the country………..2 years in a row
I’m certain everyone knows this already, but I feel need to restate it anyway; if you are not 100% sure that
your custmers CC card will be billed correctly why would you even take a chance ? I have been reading all these messages posted here about Square and even if there is 1% validity to these complaints, I would not
risk pissing off a customer.
I personally have never had an issue with a billing from Square.
Hi Laurel,
Did it take you a while for your first payments to enter your bank account? Mine was under $100 and while the transaction fees came out immediately, I’m wondering if it takes up to 30 days for the actual deposit to take place?
Just started using square this week. I love it. My credit card processing was about to put me out of business since I am such a small business I was incurring fees for not meeting minimum’s. Plus the cost of the machines was crazy. I love that I can take this app on my phone to farmer’s markets etc.
So far so good.
Reading these comments, I have to lend my experience and points of veiw. I’ve heard about the Square and i’ve seen many of the “new” “buy/sell” vendors who are now flooding the craft markets with it.
I’ve been in the Craft Show biz for over 18 yrs and with all of the “new” technology, I’ve seen so many “fads” ‘gizmos” and “fly-by-nights” come and go.
Like most, I didnt accept CCs in the beginning. Though after some work, research & growth, i was referred to one who deals mostly with professional Craft show/Festival exhibitors and for 16 years i’ve had the same CC merchant account without issue. They have a 1-800 number and someone to trouble shoot at all times (even on a Sunday) and my customers (and I) always feel secure to receive a physical paper copy of their purchase receipt (as I retain my signed copy).
As far as “charge-backs” I haven’t had one in say 10 years. Prior to the wireless hand-held, we used to use the old “knuckle-buster” system and would key punch the numbers after a show. Back then, once in a blue moon would i get a decline, but i’d run the numbers again a few days later and receive an authorization. Back then, I’d also periodically get a charge-back, (especially for an out-of-state transaction) from a customer who would see my state listed on their statement (thinking, “i’ve never been to NJ!”). An easy fix to that (suggested by my carrier) was to add into the business listing on the customer’s CC statement, “craft shows” or “Ornmts” (which is my medium). Since then, i can honestly say that i haven’t had a charge-back since (and we’re talking over 10 yrs)
Another point to the “charge-back” subject, back when I did get one, I was ALWAYS notified prior to a any bank account deduction. Never “a hold” on my $$, just a simple task of sending a copy of the signed physical receipt by a certain submission date (7-10 day response time, if i recall) and never a problem.
As far as deposited funds, like clock-work I receive my money without issue. For the 16 yrs that i’ve been accepting CCs, i know that the sales from the weekend are in my account on Tuesday morning (most times, even with a Monday holiday).
Now, as far as the Square goes, (Again, from personal & professional experience) Its just another, “New,Now, Next.” I know some that havent had problems , but there are some that have (I get them even running to my booth asking me for help. I dont know why, but they do. LOL) and most of those issues are along the line of the previously mentioned complaints.
First off, the security factor for both merchant and consumer. I know as a middle-aged consumer, i want a physical trace of my transaction such as a paper receipt. Plus as a merchant, i want physical proof of the swipe and the customer’s signature as well.
Second, with all the “personal” smart-phone gadgets, how do i know that my CC info is kept secure? We always hear about busts on gas station attendants & waiters swiping cards into other devices when given a card.
Third, If I make a sale, I want to know that I receive my money within a reasonable time frame. Not random “when-evers.” Plus having a “hold” on accumulations of $1000? Hell, if i’m giving a percentage of my business to a financial company, I want to know that even if i pull in $10,000 over the weekend, Tuesday morning my account reads +$10,000. (their share is taken at the month’s end and is verified with a statement (online and/or on paper)
Fourth, To have someone at my fingertips whenever i need. I want to be sure that whenever I call the 1-800 number, a person (sometimes the owner of my carrier company) picks up.
What if there was even a simple question? Here’s a funny example. About two months ago, an “extra” deposit showed up Tuesday AM in my account for roughly $128. I called the 800 number, the owner picked up, we searched for the “problem” only to find that it was a transaction from my website (which he also handles) at which ironically, the order popped into my email while on the phone. (come to find that it was a delay from the web site while a test was being conducted by my web-designer that weekend) LOL
Over-all, like i mentioned before, Its a world of “New, Now, Next” How do you want your business to end up? Remember, your customer’s trust is key and it takes just one bruised apple to start the rot… (think about it)
Now as far as the bickering, name calling, and such on this comment page…
Its extremely unprofessional and only reflects upon you and your business (which i linked onto). If your not associated with the Square, why do you have nothing better to do then to “swipe” at any legit complaint. Let people speak and let others make decisions. Your priorities should be focused on marketing soaps.
All I know that a “fast growing” financial service company with ill customer service and vague contact information sure tells me a lot. Especially in these times.
Successful decisions to all!
Keith, many thanks for your excellent post. It certainly offers a good perspective on Square vs. standard merchant accounts. Would you mind sharing with us who you use for your transactions?
Greg,
First off, i’m laughing to myself because this is the first time that i’ve actually taken the forum in commenting on an article on-line. So hold my hand while i do this LOL.
The company that I use is called Teamac, Inc. (based in PA) Like i’ve mentioned, they deal mainly with the Arts & Craft Show community. I’m sure you can Google them for more information.
The CEO is Guy McDonald and he and his staff are wonderful and don’t be surprised if Guy answers the phone.
As a courtesy, you can mention me, Keith R. Huettemann of Birch & Burlap. (Mention that i’m the “blonde” who wanted to know why there was an extra deposit two months ago! LOL)
I’m only mentioning this because of their 16 yrs of personal and professional one-on-one service. Like i mentioned, when i was a new to accepting CCs, we started out with the inexpensive “Knuckle-buster” system. Eventually we grew to having the wireless swipe terminal. Guy and his people have gone above and beyond for many of us.
Just like long-time friends, thats how you keep long time clients
Happy Thanksgiving!
I second Greg’s notion about how things “should” work.
I have a standard merchant account, and my chargeback history is like Greg’s — not a single chargeback, and I’ve been processing credit cards since 2001.
I’ve never had an issue with Square, but I have an exemplary track record with them as well, and have had transactions that have been deposited to my account within the promised time frame, so I can’t complain, but anyone who is considered using Square as their SOLE means of accepting credit cards on a daily basis is probably not being realistic. =0)
Would you be willing to share with me the name and contact information of the CC vendor you are using? We, too, are crafters–doing this as a “2nd job” so do not have huge volumes or sales. We still are using a “knuckle-buster” and want to update. We were led to the Square, but after reading the comments, I don’t think this is what we want. We have done some research, but the price quotes and equipment costs have prohibited us from making a change. There are often some months where we do not attend any shows, so hate to make a big leap.
Anyway, I would appreciate it if you could give me some insight on what you are using and if it may be a fit for us.
Donna,
Google Teamac, Inc. Great people who deal mainly with artist/crafters.
I have added the square for my small craft business. I am unable to contact anyone at square do to the fact that they have no numbers to contact them. I recently had a craft show this past Saturday and used the Square system. All payments were confirmed but as of this date there is nothing showing in my payments account, my deposit account or anywhere. We are talking about $345.00 in sales for the day that is lost in cyber space. I really would like to get this problem resolved but have sent numerous emails to Square with no results. I am very frustrated at this point and would like to know what to do next to collect my funds from my craft show. Please help.
Hi Susan,
Square’s customer support number is: (415) 375-3176
Please keep us updated on your situation.
I seem to be having the same problem as Susan…I sold some books at a Holiday Book fair using my iphone…the square transaction fees are showing up on my bank account, but I don’t see the actually sales revenue???? I’m having trouble even finding the square email support.
I’m having the same problem! have you gotten a hold of anyone or got your problem fixed?
This company (Square) should be avoided by merchants who wish to actually receive an income via credit card processing. Square has organized itself in such a way as to hold onto the merchant’s income for periods of time far surpassing that of other companies we’ve experienced. Additionally, their system of communication is atrocious and nerve-racking. They offer no phone contact information, they use only e-mail, they make it difficult to even send them an e-mail, and even when e-mails are submitted they are answered on Square’s schedule, not the merchant’s. In particular, when customer disputes are made over a transaction, Square provides little information to the merchant about the details of the dispute and virtually no communication in regard to the settling of the dispute. Meanwhile, they lock up the amount of the dispute in their system, so that until the dispute is settled (the possibility of which is unlikely through Square), the merchant has no access to the money, even when that money was earned for goods and services actually rendered. Square is terrible. They are a business venture formed for the purpose of making as much money as possible while offering as little service as possible in return, in an age when the internet makes the potential for such ventures more expedient. They are an opportunistic company in the darkest sense of the term.
Eric, thanks for the info!
BTW, does anyone have experience with GoPayment? http://gopayment.com/
I didn’t even know it existed until I bumped into it on a photography forum… Square appears to have a monopoly when it comes to press coverage!
is pretty good. We stopped using them about a year ago because, frankly, they screwed up on a couple of fronts. But, after experiencing Square, we’re going back. Talked to them today and I was very pleased. As before, their customer service is pretty good. You actually get to talk to people! On the phone! And they’re not in India sitting in front of a product manual! What a concept! One more bonus, they’ve been in the business a long time, so they’re organized and know what they’re doing. Yeah. Go Merchant Warehouse.
I use GoPayment and really like it. They have a free headphone jack card reader but I bought a Mophie card reader case for my iPhone that works much better than the headphone jacks: more stable on the phone and swipes correctly each time. Rates are pretty comparable to Square and no contracts. They have 2 plans: one with $12.95 monthly fee and lower-than-Square swipe rates, one with no monthly fee and Square-comparable swipe rates. Call them, they have great customer service.
I looked at intuit but the charge a yearly security fee of about $40
Here is our biggest complaint against sqaure and I am going to file a report with BBB, although I know just found out they have an F rating with BBB, If you process big transactions they hold your money for 30 days, ( did not know that until could not find over 3000) since they will only process a 1,000 a month. Then their underwriters need to determine how soon they will let you have YOUR money. So, for a small business where cash flow is an issue, a limit of !,000 a month and then hold the rest in an account!!! for 30 days is a big issue. We are going to go thru the process with the underwriters, since they have our money, and then decide if we stop using square. That is something they should have told us up front, not something we find out when they have our money, and now cannot have it for 30 days, and only will let us process 1,000 a month if it is not run thru, but instead called in. ( which alot of our business is) REALLY DISAPPOINTED
Laurie, if you did card not present transactions (non swiped transaction) that is fully disclosed in the agreement. You can however apply for an increased transaction line. Just contact Square at (415) 375-3176
How long does it usually take for them to respond to emails, twitter, facebook, phone calls? I’ve done all three hoping to get a call ASAP. They are holding several deposits of mine…I had NOOOO idea when I signed up that they held deposits if you did more than $1,000 a week and didn’t swipe the cards. I do photography and 90% of my customers pay by credit card by phone. Being that this is Christmas time, it’s my busy season…and now I”m learning that they are going to hold my money till JANUARY! I was hoping to use some of that money for Christmas shopping and would love to get it deposited asap! But after reading everything I’ve read…I’m worried I’ll never get a reply and just have to wait 30 days to get my deposits.
I read and understood the payment agreement. What I don’t understand is how others could not have seen this? I would think merchants would be very careful about agreeing to terms when they haven’t read everything. It’s not fair that square would get a negative rating because the merchant neglected to read fully the terms. We’re all business people just like square. Would you like it if one of your customers reported negatively to BBB about you because they misunderstood the terms they agreed to?
Melissa..my husband and I both read EVERYTHING we could find about square before signing up (SEVERAL months ago). We are both business owners and don’t sign up for just anything without reading everything we can. I found on here some where that the information about the hold was not really put where it was easy to find on their site. Only now is it made more noticable. Once i got back on their site…it might as well screamed it. When I signed up..it was not. As far as the BBB….the only thing I read on that was from here. Guess you are replying to the above comment. ??
as far as my experience…i did get a hold of someone the next day…finally. They sent me a request to raise my limit…I filled it out, sent it back and had an approval in 2 days. my deposit was sent the same day. Since then, no issues. totallly happy here. But when they are holding $955…which is a lot for a small business..AND saying they are gonna hold it for a month. I was pretty upset. Not to mention, you would think that a company that is dealing with credit card transactions would have someone available 24/7…at least that’s my opinion.
trying to run a card for the first time after receiving email saying my account was linked and the money transfer times out with no explanation and their customer service mailbox is full. WTF!!
Sorry to intrude on the verbal volleyball games, but I actually have a serious question.
I’m looking for a way to process CC payments in the $15/item range, with expectations of 20 – 30 transactions once or twice a week.
I would have to get either an IPhoe/IPad or an Android phone, but won’t change my existing cell plan, so I’d only use the WiFi.
Is Square a good option for me?
Oops, I have a 2nd question; am I correctly seeing that an Android Tablet won’t work with Square?
Sorry, but their web site is not terribly user friendly.
According to this page all that you need is an Internet connection, which includes WIFI. And you are correct that Square does not support Android tablets, according to their website. You might also want to consider GoPayment if you are accepting credit cards on a regular basis. They have an additional account type that suits higher volume merchants better.
Hi Phil,
I just saw responce U made to someone and U said Square does not support Android tablets. I’m using mine on an Android phone and considering getting an Android tablet for Square. What is the prompt that comes up when U try to make a transaction on a tablet?
Hi John,
I have not personally used it on an Android tablet, but when I wrote that comment Square’s website was saying that the app didn’t support Android based tablets. I’m not sure if that is still the case, but you can find the answer in the help section of the the company’s website.
I have a question, but don’t know where to find the answer: How do customers “sign” the cc transaction when I’ll be using my Android phone?
I never had any problems with square up, but I have a couple suggestions: make the square to slide the card a rectangle, some times it takes 4 times to read the card.
Where the customer signs it is to close to the continue line, so many times the customer touches it before they are done signing.
Other than that I don’t get the problems that other people are talking about.
I am a crafter and I attend over 35 shows a year.
Sorry to be a bother, but I have a question for those users who access via WiFi rather than cell;
When you send a receipt via email or text message what method are you using?
Thanks
I ask my customers if they would like a receipt. Most say no, so I skip the receipt. But when someone wants a receipt. I just email it to myself. As soon as I switch to from square to Safari ( with my email already open) it is there. I open it and print from my iPad. This takes less than 10 seconds to do. :) All this is done with wifi ( I use the airport extreme from Apple for my router and I also have an Hp pro 8500a which supports AirPrint.
I am brand new to Square, so excuse my freshman question. If a customer wants a receipt e-mailed to them, can I get a copy of their e-mail address for my customer service records/follow up thank you note/etc.? Thanks
Hi Marilyn,
I tested this on my account. It appears that Square does not allow access to the full email address. In my case, I see the addresses like this; “m****@gmail.com” and cannot find a way to see the actual email. It looks like you would need to keep track of them separately. Anyone else know of a way to see the full email addresses that were used for the customer receipts?
I drive a cab so many people when asked for a receipt just want a sms, only a handful email but most of them just want to skip it.
Phillip,
My wife and I may do 3-6 trade/business expos per year. Sale dental related products/services/gift certicates. Feel like we lose “impulse” purchases without a POS system in place. Transactions could range from $10’s to $100’s per. Some shows are 2 day events. Have iphones and ipads but currently no wifi on ipads.
Low volume with potential for high sales makes me wonder about the $1000 hold clause in the contract. Could you explain in more detail and adivse of you opinion. Thanks
Alex
Hi Alex,
Here is a link Square’s deposit policy. The only issue that I can possibly foresee, which have been reported by other similar merchants, is that you might experience holds simply because you are doing occasional large sales. Square has its own risk and fraud prevention policies, and it appears that they handle “unusual” transactions by placing holds and investigating them. Generally speaking, the merchant is given no indication as to how long the funds are going to be held. If the transaction is legitimate, they will get the money eventually. You will also want to make sure that you have customers opt-in for the email receipts so that you both have proof of the transaction.
You might also want to check out a similar service called GoPayment. They are little more transparent about transaction limits and have a dedicated customer support number if you have questions or issues.
We’ve been happily using Square for several months for our business. It’s changed everything for the better, allowing us (a high-end photo studio) to charge our clients’ credit cards in the middle of a field or on a beach or wherever we happen to be doing the shoot. That’s all great and we love, love, love the freedom it allows us, not to mention the straight-forward accounting compared to our old merchant processor. And yes, we applied and we’re granted a higher non-swipe weekly deposit. So even the one major gripe–the 30-day issue–has become moot.
But there is an issue that Ir rarely see discussed anywhere. It seems that AMEX has issues with Square transactions and often declines large amounts, swiped AND un-swiped, as a knee-jerk fraud prevention practice. This then places the burden upon our customers to call AMEX and tell them that the transaction was kosher. We are not allowed to call AMEX and it’s a pain and embarrassment to have our clients do it on our behalf.
I wish there was a way to become a “certified” AMEX business, thereby avoiding this frequent hassle. Our clients don’t spend $342 but rather $3,420 and it’s a pain in the neck to have the transaction declined in front of them, even though they nor us did anything wrong.
I just received my card reader today, and had already downloaded the Square App to my android tablet.
The card reader does not seem to be reading during the swipes, I must have tried 30 times with one of my cards to test it, then tried another card and after the 14th swipe it read the strip. I tried the second reader that I had ordered to give to my daughter for her little business, to see if a different reader would work better. Nope, not really.
Is there another reader available that is if better quality and more reliable? I will be completely embarrassed at shows if I have to attempt swiping a card numerous times while the customer stands there watching and thinking I am charging them numerous times.
I am able to manually process a card no problem, but I want to avoid the potential for holds on the money, hence need a reader that works.
i’ve only used square once for a summer art fair at the end of august. imagine my surprise when i got a notice of chargeback a couple of days ago. they said they put a hold on my account and wanted details about the transaction which i sent off promptly. so i was really pissed when i checked my bank account online today and saw that the funds had already been withdrawn from my account even though the dispute hasn’t been resolved yet. i did enter the card number manually because the card reader hadn’t arrived yet. but how is it legal to with draw the funds if the dispute is not resolved? really thinking about sending hate mail to square and looking into other options for taking card payments. first time i used it and i get screwed, suck it square.
More of a theoretical point but if the charge is being disputed you shouldn’t have access to the funds.. Nor should the person disputing the charge. If you were a fraudulent business the customer would be “FOL”(Fresh Outta Luck) and vice versa.
Credit card reader has only worked one time. “Help” is endless questions with no way to access a real person. Live help responds by email within 24 hours.
However, my other merchant services company hits me with as much as $139 in unknown fees that have to be argued constantly, then reminded that the credit wasn’t issued and negotiated again. However, they have immediate help to deal with staff members who don’t look in the manual.
By comparison, Square is far less expensive, but has been very frustrating in that the numbers have to be manually entered and there is no real help line.
Anyone processed a refund yet? I am trying to provide good customer service but square is taking way too long to give them their money back. Refund initiated over a week ago, funds deducted from my account more than five busines day ago.
Also, square holds your incoming funds until refunds are.complete. Not usually problem as I dont need funds immediately, but it is over a week now.
Let me know your refund story. If it is going to take this long, I should have knwn so I could have informed client.
One other point: TOS state refunds larger than $1k could take up to business days. I do not fall into this category.
I accidently charged a customer $3339.77 while I was swipping the card my pinky finger hit the 7 on my iphone. The charge was supposed to be $33.39. I immeditley cancelled the charge. The card was AMEX and they reported within 5 minutes that the charge had been placed against the card and then removed and then recharged again. I reported it to square on the 19th of December. The $3339.77 was deposited to my account on the 20th. On the 23rd The funds were removed from my account . My customer says he has not got a refund to his account yet (Jan.5,2012)
Did they refund finally go through? For mine it took longer than stated on the website and it wasn’t an amount over $1k. I know it will go through eventually, just email customer service.
Square is great in theory, and works well for the small business owner as long as you have no need to for customer support. If you are looking for a way to take credit card payments, be sure to look into all of your options. The customer support with Square is non-existent, and if there is any question over a transaction they will hold the money; not return it to your customer, not try to contact you, just hold it. You can work with your own bank to accept credit cards for lower fees, with more immediate turn-around and much better customer support.
A lot of people don’t like to read the fine print. And supposedly some did not by7the references made concerning square financial tool. All of these americanized companies must pass “check point charlie” especially financial institutions.
Example: for iphone users, everytime you buy a .99 cent app. there is a 56 to 63 page “updated” terms of agreement. Does anybody read them?
Then secondly it seems to me that it is a business standard for square to hold up monies for 30 days. If you have 3 million in a holding escrow, and the daily a.p.r. is .0031 within 30 days you shall have roughly 239k. It only seems that the held monies when released should come with interest also?
Then lastly, if so many people are unsatisfied or feel they have been wronged, it sounds to like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I love this service. I got my money right away and was able to do away with $45 buck a month plus fees on transactions. If you are a small business and handle a few transactions a month this is the service for you…hands down
I have been using Square for a little over a year now. I use it mostly for AMEX because of the rate. My general experience has been good so far, except on a customer dispute with American Express. Square place funds in hold to cover that charge back and I understand that. What has taken place over 2 months now is the customer has recanted his dispute with AMEX and has paid the bill. My problem is I can’t get Square to release the funds back to me. I have called AMEX and They unlike Square will answer there phone. The have told me that they have sent notification to Square of being resolved with this issue. Like stated above it took me forever to find a phone number to Square and there support team is no existent. I have e-mailed them probably a dozen times on this issue and have not yet got a return e-mail. Like stated above I have left messages on their phone system a dozen times and the same result. I still continue to use them but at this time based on how they are handling me, can not recommend them.
I just called Square at 415-375-3176 and got right through to a customer service rep who was very knowledgable. This is the second time I have called and have gotten through both times. I have had no problems with their service, I just wanted to ask questions to be sure that I understood what I have read.
Hi, I want to post my comments. I had a pretty good experience with Square Up, until they hold almost 2600 for more that 10 days already, amount were swiped, no keyed, as their agreement says all amount swiped will be in your account within 24 hours. I was doing business as Sole Proprietary, I created a business, I sent articles, invoices, EIN number, and still no money yet. the worst thing is that clients already start complaining about the merchandise, because they are from a foreign country they paid me in advance, but I can release merchandise until money is completely into my bank account. this service is so good, no credit check, or other questions about, (just the beginning) a and with this money holding they put down to earth all the good thing of service. any ways, still waiting for my almost 2600, hoping my clients keep understanding why their merchandise hasn’t even make to the ship yet. IU wonder if I can file a complaint with State of Florida?
A trick to use the phone swiper for me is to have the phone laying flat on a table to swipe the card, for whatever reason, it really only works for me like that. I eat at a lot of food trucks and those guys never have any trouble swiping my card, but I have trouble with all kinds. My volume is pretty low, so i don’t mind.
Square held about 500 of my funds for unswiped amounts over $1k in a 7 day period. I just recently asked for a lift and they obliged. You have to fill out some paperwork, just email them and they will get back to you in about 24 hrs with a link. It is essentially a credit check.
Otherwise, you have to wait the 30 days. My 30 days just passed and they deposited the money on schedule.
i drive a taxi, for me square is a great way to do business. where people don’t want to use cash the card is always available. if you don’t have a way take card payments you are losing out, square up bridged that gap for me. i linked a bank account and e-mail just to use with square up. went on line filled out the information asked. down loaded the app from the apps market. was up and running that same hour. the reader i got at a Walmart store, plug the reader in my phone punched in the code that came with it, next thing i know they put the money back in my account i paid for the reader. set it all up for free. the easy set up is awesome. just read and follow the instructions to set everything up and you will not have a problem. two thumbs up for square up, woohoo.
Hi carl,
I am a cab driver here in chicago who just started using sqaure. My main gripe was the cab companies here were charging 5% out of my sales which average around $1200 a week plus the hassle of going to the cab company & waiting in line for one hour to get my money. Is there a way to increase the limit? My account was established in october 2010 however did not really use it until now.
Hello, EJAZ WAHEED when ever I turn in my money at the end of my day, the cab companies money is always there.
I don’t know how it is don’t there, but here we split the meter and gas. I take there money out of my half and give it to them, square puts the money from the charge in my account. the cab company has nothing to do with my card charge, that is on me. I just make sure all the money they are due, gets to them when the money is turned in. Here we are all independent cab drivers. I hope this answer your question.
It’s not that I need Square to have a 1-800 toll free number. Almost all merchants have cell phones with free national calling included. I just need either someone to answer the phone. Also, a choice to order a replacement card reader device should be one of the recorded choices. I followed the directions online but it didn’t work.
My experience with Square was great for the first week. I signed up on the advice of a client (I’m a photographer), and because I had a trade show coming up, I went out and bought two swipers from a Best Buy (the free one Square sends wouldn’t get here in time for the show). I wasn’t sure what to expect for the show, so I wanted to be prepared. Until then, I’d manually entered three different transactions and all were deposited the next morning into my checking account.
The day of the show arrives, and although I only had three transactions, the amounts totaled over $5,300. The swipers didn’t work. I tried them forwards and backwards, unplugged and replugged, two different android phones, etc. Nothing worked. I was disappointed because I know the percentage that Square takes would be larger, but not that big of a deal.
The real freak-out came when I got home and looked at my account to see how much the charge would actually come to, and saw that my funds would not be released until 2/14/12. So I dig through the website, and find the clause about the 30-day hold on transactions over $1,000 within a 7-day period.
Okay, so they’re covering their risk of chargebacks or whatever. I’m irritated that the clause isn’t a little more obvious to people like me who are in a hurry. Sure, I should’ve read the fine print more clearly. And that’s my bad.
However, I’m outraged at the fact that I’m being penalized for a shoddy product. I have to say clearly now that I only discovered this last night, and wrote to them this morning – so I haven’t gotten an answer yet. Also, I’m on Central time and they are Pacific, so they still have a chance to work it out with me. So while I wait, I get online and look for reviews/complaints and find this forum – and now I’m sufficiently freaked out. I’m terrified that I won’t get my money, or that I will have to explain some awful thing to my brand new clients – which could easily make them change their minds and cancel their contracts.
I’m really anxious to hear if anyone’s gotten a resolution from Square regarding an issue like this. Will they release the funds if there was a mechanical problem, or am I potentially screwed out of thousands here? Does anyone know how they’re handling faulty swipers?
Again, I can’t say anything too awful about them yet, but I am really afraid after reading this forum, and I am wondering if anyone’s encountered faulty swipers and what the outcome was… Any advice is appreciated!
Update: I called Square at 11am (my time) and got through to a live person – THANK YOU, by the way, for posting the phone number! The man told me that he could see that I was approved for a $2000 limit/release, but that since today is a bank holiday, it will probably be released tomorrow.
As for the other $3300, he emailed me a link to apply for an accelerated raise on my limit…? I sent the info through and am waiting to hear back. He didn’t really address the issue with the readers, but after the suggestion of using a flat surface to lay the device down on in order to swipe, I will try that for next time and see what happens.
I will update on the status of my funds release as soon as I get an answer!
YAY! Okay, now I can officially say that my experience, while a little uncertain for a small window there, was overall good. Square contacted me just now through email, approved my limit increase and is releasing my funds. Thank goodness…
I am happy to report that I did not get the bad customer service others have reported here. I got a quick response that left me satisfied with the end result. I will continue to use them, and take the advice about using the card reader/swiper on a flat surface and see if that makes a difference on future transactions.
Hi Jessica,
We are vendors at a major show and are experiencing the same issues. I wanted to ask if you had any additional numbers that you could post. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Best Reguards,
Anna Horn
Hi Anna! I haven’t tried the flat-surface plan yet, so I don’t know – but I heard confirmation from yet another person that this helps. Also, I found out that several vendors in the trade show I was at had the same type of trouble – and I wonder now if any of it was related to internet or wifi connections being sketchy?
The end result is that Square did release my funds, and increased my limit (amount that won’t be held) to $5,000 in a 7-day period for all transactions (swiped or manually entered).
All was in my account the next morning after my original post.
Jessica,
I am having the exact same problem do you happen to still have the link to the limit increase form?
To Phillip Parker from a budding entrepreneur: Thank you for writing such a great breakdown/review of the services out there! Very timely and exactly the information I needed.
Hi Jill, thanks for the kind words. It makes my day to get this kind of feedback. Best of luck to you in your new venture!
Hello all, Carl again. I’m on my second swiper, the first I lost due to an unfortunate mistake on my part. I went to Walmart got another one. I drive a taxi, don’t have the high volume swipes I hear about in the trade shows but I due use the swiper often. I’ve never had a problem unless something was wrong with the persons card, swipes up or sideways both swiper always worked anywhere in and around the city I work at my phone gets service. I use a straight talk android, the only place I can’t get service is the area around the airport about 15 miles outside the city, so I swipe before I go there. Been using Square over a month now, no problems to report and still, two thumbs up for an awesome system. Where you can use square, your sales will rise.
This company is holding 15,000 of my money and giving me the run around and now have stopped returning emails. They have no address or phone number, i have contacted the attorney general as well as my attorney to get my funds. they have held my money for over 2 months now and i can not run my business please do not use this company,. I have found several other companies with a customer service and contact numbers of real people!
Carlr here, Your taxi driver lol hello again, I hate bad press and love the truth. I’m reading some crazy stuff about square, but I wonder if people did some research before joining or saw something good and just jumped in. Everything is up front as for $1000.00 or more in 7 days I believe you should have money set aside to cover times like this, different business, different amounts set aside if you run a business, at least I did before I joined square. In your account section it is all explained, click on I have funds waiting to be deposited. It even tells you where to write to increase the limit. One of my friends complained to me about square when they first joined. Turns out he didn’t do all that was required of him, once he got it squared away he thanked me for telling him about square. We love Square up in our business 4sure.
Still, and running two thumbs up for Square up .
Great article. Thanks for the research. I have not read all of the posts yet but I am curious if any other small merchant which has multiple items in inventory has encountered issues with the “item” portion of the program in the sales history tab. I have taken photos of each item and assigned written descriptions of each item yet when I look at the “sales history” or the downloaded “excel” file all that appears on the report is ” item, item, item”. The totals are correct, the tax has be calculated but there is no way to track inventory.
Anyone else experiencing this? Do you have a solution? I emailed “help” and was advised that the programer was working on this.
This is a great program but service and attention to its customers is its Achilles Heel.
You will have to type in a description at the time of the transaction in order for it to have an item description available.
If you have an iPad, you can keep photos and inventory. But, this is not supported on either iPhone or Andriod devices- you can’t access the photos or descriptions. I only use an iPad for sales, and iPhone to track deposits and access other information on my account, never use iPhone for sale…and my inventory, item descriptions and all are correct. If you use the phone app, you have to enter descriptions for each item and you can’t track inventory. Hopefully they will create an unified app for both phone and tablet devices.
I just was notified that my account was closed for ‘high risk’ I have not used the account much .. a couple of charges $1 charges to demo it.. I demo the acount last week and then get a email aksing ‘what kind of customers” and couple other question I get a reply today saying that after the investigation they closed the account as higb risk.. never a disputed charge or any large amount on it… Am calling when they open..
Bill-
Just so you know, Square has some stringent rules with regard to who they will do business with. They do not allow telemarketing, MLM’s and a number of other businesses that are hard to verify become merchants. That is why they limit the number of “card not present” tranactions with the new merchants as well. They simply can not verify each and every charge, so there is a blanket rule that all must follow. Once you establish yourself you can appeal to raise the limit of your card no present charges, but only after months of verified and secure charges. About your transactions, I have had my credit card skimmed at gas stations three times now, each time the thief charges $1.00 to test the credit card to see if it works. My personal credit card company (Citibank) said that the $1.00 charges have become suspect with all services, so each time I had a $1.00 charge on my credit card they CANCELLED it and gave me a new card! I think that without knowing it, you made yourself a suspect! You can probably appeal it with them by letting them know the $1.00 charges were made with your own credit card.
I very much regret signing on for this service. I have still not received a deposit that was made quite some time ago, nor have I received any response from the company regarding my complaints. I will certainly not be recommending this service to anyone, as it seems to have quite a few issues to resolve with their lack of customer service.
Loved the idea, but hating the experience so far…. Square originally sounded like a great idea to me. Take credit cards anywhere, and send it straight to your account. Trouble is i still haven’t received my free reader. They sent it through mail innovations (a ups / usps mish-mash) so i called them, and got a standard “Call somebody else. Call the post office. Call your shipper.” Well, first thing i did was look up Mail Innovations online. Reviews for it were terrible. Many people said it took 2 weeks longer than if you did one or the other! One Strike.
So after contacting usps, and giving them the shipping number, i find out that they have no record of it being recieved. Had a lot more hassle with Mail Innovations, but that’s another story.
Next I decide to call square, the shipper. No phone number on the site, and i couldn’t even find a place to email. Strike Two.
Google the phone number and i get 415-357-3176. Give it a try, and the phone company says it’s been turned off!!!! So I have no way to contact them. That’s strike three, four and five, for me. Haven’t even been able to use the product yet, and already I’m quite pissed off. Reading the comments here and elsewhere, it sounds like my experience won’t get much better. This is a terrible, terrible terrible company!
Does anyone know of a phone number that actually works? or could you give me the email address?? I’m sure i couldn’t figure out where their building is either, as hermit-like as they are. If i did i’d want to burn it. (just kidding, not a threat, just an illustration of my mental state right now.)
(415) 375-3176 is the correct number :) its still working
When I ordered my first one, it did take a long time. But I chopped it up to the demand being greater than they anticipated and they weren’t ready for the demand. The second one I ordered came in about a week. In the meantime, I would manually input the information need for the transaction. Also, you can now get the readers from Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy for $9.99 and the purchase price is deposited into your bank account. That’s how my husband got his for his business.
When I first initiated Square back in July, I thought it was great. My sales are all phone/email based so I do not use the swiper. I did get them to lift their deposit limits and it was annoying that it had to be done via email, but it all worked out. One time they did hold $3000 for 2 weeks, but I did get my money when they promised. In fact, I was a huge fan until I got a chargeback request in Oct. The customer is absolutely shady and waited 3 weeks to file a chargeback even after sending back final sale merchandise to a shipping agency- not me! Square notified me- I took time to research the issue and send them all the information. I never heard back so I thought the matter was closed. Wrong. Yesterday, yes, 3 months later, I received an email stating they were withdrawing $3500 from my bank account because of a dispute…. yes, the dispute from 2 months ago. Their phone number goes to voicemail. They have no reason or excuse as to why this was not handled 2 months ago and the emails sent to me seem robotic. Unfortunately, my business has gone under. The bank account I used is closed and my employees/friends doing favors are no longer working for me. I wish I had gone through paypal or anyone else at this point so it could have been handled 2 months ago when I did have a business.
Square has no idea about customer service! My account was labeled as a high risk account because I did large transactions but never had a refund, did anything fraudulate, or misrepresented my company. I did over $700k in 8 months and they never had a problem with me plus i was getting valued customer emails all the time! Then they dropped my account because I questioned why they need documentation after every transaction from the same individual I had a transaction last month? I gave them the documentation and They cancelled my account per paragraph 42. Which say the can cancel you for any reason! Then when I tried to get someone to call me to explain why the just dropped me, they gave me the run around. BE CAREFUL! It can happen to you!
Square—very easy to use and to sign up. Acceptance requirements not as strict as your traditional merchant payment options. As others have said, GREAT to use if you’re doing low-volume/cost business. At the birth of my business I had a few transactions per day. Their 2.75% seemed fair until I started processing nearly 100 transactions a week (maybe that’s still small)…and when you volume around 30-40K a month, the fees can add up.
One of my requests for the service would be a tiered pricing model that allows us businesses with decent sales to not lose our shirt while paying their fees (my fees were $700 last month!)
Wow! Congrats on a SUCCESSFUL business! Those kind of problems are GOOD problems ;) I agree! Square should have a loyal customer tier, where if you grow your business with Square, they award loyalty discounts! It would be the best business move they could make!
do not use this company they took there fee and stole my money and now they do ot want to give me my money
I normally don’t write reviews on websites, but after seeing this post and all of the negative comments i had to say something.
firstly square is for people who need to process a low volume of cc payments and who either don’t meet the requirements for a merchant account or don’t want to incur the cost of a merchant account.
secondly for anyone who fits in the categories i said above, square is credit. are you serious? mobile crediting processing? do you know how much that costs with authorize.net?
i am a DJ and i have been using square for about year since my wife put me on to it. i have processed about 100 transactions between $5 and $1000 and have not had an issue. i use it for DJ service deposits/balances, equipment rental and merchandising.
the reader works flawlessly on my iphone.
my only issues with square are the lack of customization on the email receipt.
i give square an A-. and if you are low volume and in need of cc solution that can be used anywhere, then i recommend square. if you are amazon.com than you should look elsewhere.
So, Square seems like a great idea. I agree with the review above. The issue for me specifically is, they did not discliose that they cannot handle transactions over $20k, and actually let you process the transaction, then deny the funds transfer and make you refund the transaction, all the while having no chance to discuss the reasons why the transaction is denied. It’s not that their customer service is bad, it can’t anything as it is non-existent.
Square stinks! I am still waiting for a reply from last May – over 6 months ago. I sent numerous emails and left countless phone messages, but never even got a response from Square. If you need this type of credit card service using GoPayment from Intuit is a far better choice. GoPayment works every time and they actually have customer service with real people who actually know what they are talking about.
I started using Square in the beginning of this year and liked the simplicity and ease of it. I did not have a problem until I needed to issue a refund. Their refund policy states that it takes 2-3 days, 7 at most.
After day 8 of my client waiting for his refund, I sent an email through the website; I got a response “we will get back to you shortly.”
On day 12, my client suspects that I am intentionally stealing his money. I finally locate a real telephone number for them when I Google “Square merchant complaint.”
I am told that the person who authorizes refunds is backlogged. I voiced my dissatisfaction with that response. They assured me that the refund would be processed by the end of today and that my client will see it within a few days. This is pretty unacceptable to me. Prior to Square I had a QuickBooks Merchant Account for many years and refunds were issued in a professional and timely manner.
I thought I had worked the bugs out of this thing. Far from the truth. In fact everything with Square is far from the truth. Their primary business is not credit card processing. It is interest generation from deposits, deposits you provide with your charges. They engage in institutional banking overnight funds and other high balance short term funds. This is why if you have charges with over a thousand dollars you don’t get them for weeks. I think they are using an auto-capture for amounts over that to fund those interest accounts I listed prior. These funds range from overnight to 30 days, paying higher interest the longer the term extends. It is for this reason I believe it is time for a class action suit against Square. They obviously are defrauding the account holders who have trusted them for millions of dollars in interest they take by holding your money and using it for their purposes. The losses we are suffering from being shorted our legally due funds are also retrievable in a court of law. I will check this site regularly and if I see enough people who would enter a class suit I will provide a website and contact a legal firm well versed in these kind of matters at this income level based in New York. Square is really a criminal organization engaged in racketeering practices. I believe after discussion with a local District Attorney there may be RICO violations as well. I have been waiting on $5,000.00 for more than two weeks. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Mark,
These are pretty heft allegations you are making. Do you have any evidence to back up these claims?
Oh I almost forgot. The seven day hold over a thousand and no card deal. What really tips you off to the issue is when you try to use a card for over a thousand it usually won’t take the card, forcing you to enter the no-card-present game. So I started making little charges first, like $20.00, then trying to use the very same card to take the payments over $4,000.00 since most of mine are over that amount. Guess what? Do you think it can read the same card it just read? I am not just doing what I am doing because I’m mad, it is because of those type of experiences. I am a business man and I expect people to follow through with their claims and not scam me with little tricks like the no-card-present game. I suggest those of you who take large amounts like me start the same tactics to help create a case for the DOJ.
Reader does not work and there is no phone number to contact. This company is not a legitimate business.
the reader works, actually if you use it backwards & swipe from the left it works great. I do 8000$ as a cab driver on square & money comes by midnight except for saturday which is cool.
Got a payment from a customer who then days later complained. We agreed to give a partial payment back. They contacted SQUARE who WITHOUT SPEAKING TO US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Refunded the full amount, $1775.00
We are leaving this poorly run company if I don’t hear from them TODAY. If somethings seems to good to be true, it usually is.
Try another card who appreciates THEIR clients
I’m so sorry I signed up for this service! A recent chargeback was resolved quickly on the part of myself and my client as it was a simple case of the client’s accounting dept not recognizing the charge. Square withdrew over $9000 from my account without so much as asking for proof of service and then re-deposited the funds 24 hours later only to withdraw them AGAIN the next day!! So far I’ve written two emails and left one message and they still have MY money!
What I do not understand is how a company valued at $1 billion does not offer live customer support!!
The CEO should be arrested!
Bryan
I have found Square a great relief from high fees that were sucking me dry but I have recently been contacted by someone who identifies them self as a rep of Square asking for detailed info “by email” about my company and my customers and that if I don’t comply they will continue to hold funds. First off I don’t think any of the funds have been withheld? And secondly I am not giving detail to anyone by email that cannot guarantee me that they ARE from Square….it could be someone trying to defraud me or my customers…..this goes to security.
I would like to thank you for the phone no of Square….hopefully they WILL call me back…..if not then I will cancel my acct and just get my client to mail me checks.
I can only hope that they come thru.
Thanks for your article and wish me luck!
Kath
Hi Kath, good move on calling Square to verify that they are indeed the ones contacting you. Thank you for the kind words and I’m glad that the review was able to help you!
square up, two thumbs up, are you a low volume business and in need of cc solution? If the answer is yes then square is right for you. Square can be used anywhere, I Drive a taxi, I use square often and other taxi drivers I know also. The only time the reader does not work is when there has been a problem with the card, I can’t thank Square enough and very happy to be able to use Square.
I recommend square for anyone in a low volume business needing a cc solution.
and remember, two thumbs up for Square up.
As a contractor, I have large payments regularly. I thought the concept of the mobility of square was a great idea so I signed up. Bad idea. If you take payments larger than $1000 regularly, they will hold the payments. I had one transaction of $1400 that deposited within 24 hrs and then a transaction of $7500 from the same client thats been held for over a week now. It took me emailing for someone to even contact me to tell me that the account has had “suspicious activity”. Two transactions cannot show enough of a pattern to see ANYTHING suspicious. Now that I have been reading through reviews and the BBB, I will not be using Square once these last couple transactions post.
My wife uses square for our coffee stand and it works great with lots of small transactions.
Also, the fact that square has no phone number on the website is the biggest red flag to me. It took me an hour to find their phone number (415.375.3176). The first time I got through to Erik, and he transferred me to another “department”. I kept calling and havent been able to get to anyone else. Their initial disclosures are dishonest and their customer service is NON EXISTENT.
RATING – D
I have recommended Square Up to several people because I have had great success with it. It is frustrating, however, when I can’t get an internet connection and have to manually enter the card number later. That is not Square Up’s fault.
kira scott
a few seconds ago
I purchased this square device and linked my bank account as required, I even did a test transaction for a nominal amount just to confirm this was a legit operation. Everything went well even the $10’s they issue for signing up went through. I went out of town to condct business and on 2/8/2012 had eight purchases that totaled around $1,800 and it was prior to 12pm PST. The following day I had one transaction for $800 and was made prior to 12 pm PST. again. Mind you EVERY transaction was made with a physical card swipe (I see it notes transactions without a card swipe than run over 1,000/ per week or during the intial 30 days will be subject to a thrity day hold. My transactions did not fall under this catagory) So day three (rather 36 hrs. plus) still no funds deposited. I went to the website…..then realized theres no phone number for the company…..so sent an email as they requested, no response as expected. I then searched for message boards and found tons of consumer complaints about how horrible the company is and how they hold your money to throw in short term investment accounts to profit off of the interest. I also found a phone number which I called from 9-6 EVERY HOUR to get a hold of the same woman DEBBIE every time I call. Only to be told they only allow you to speak with “technical support” and that account services only responds to emails and voice mails (which will still be responded via email) I spoke with DEBBIE over 4x’s which she continued to transfer me to voicemail even when I asked to speak with her manager. So in short they have my money and I have nothing! They try to make it seem as if its a major company yet their all sitting there in the same suite 104…..901 Mission Street San Francisco, CA. Morese when do you ever call a customer service or tech support line and get the same person every time. Most important since when can a “bank” or processing agency hold your money, not give any reason as to why, and then not allow you to contact them…..”dont call us, we’ll call you” So in short I got robbed via SQUARE DOWN!
square is holding 1000.00 of my money. after we were told there were numerous chargeback on our account. we asked for proof. they sent one chargeback to us email. we sent them back invoices and proof and the customers signiture. this was not good enough. after many failed attemps to get info on other chargebacks. i emailed them 6 times. they never produced any other evidence. finally i received a email saying we are high risk. we will hold your funds for 180 days. until this is sorted out . and whatever is left we will send it to u. this is crazy. never experienced such a unprofessional company.
I am a stylist that booth rents. I thought it would make my life easier but it has been nothing but a headache ever since. I keep being told that my checking account hasn’t linked up yet they have deposited money into my account. To this day I still cannot accept credit cards and all I keep being told (when they bother to answer an email) is they don’t know why. I have since signed up with intuit-go Which is what I should have done in the first place!
I will never do business with Square again. In fact, at this point I will do whatever it takes to make sure no one does. Sure, it’s convenient, but there are other companies offering the same convenience and they couldn’t possibly have the utterly dismal customer service that Square has.
I’m dealing with a chargeback from a customer who apparently had been a victim of fraud and disputed my legitimate charge along with the fraudulent ones on accident. Square asked for documentation and withdrew the funds from my bank account. I submitted all the evidence anyone could possibly hope for, including the customer’s signature on an invoice. I even called the customer who then assured me he’d cancelled the chargeback of our transaction with his bank.
That was SIX MONTHS AGO and I still have not received a resolution to the chargeback. In that whole time I’ve had many dozens, maybe hundreds, of emails and phone calls ignored. Only once have I received an email reply from Square which was over three months ago when an employee named Jessica replied to one of my MANY emails assuring me that the chargeback would be resolved within seven days. Since then, I’ve resorted to calling and emailing DAILY. No one ever answers the phone or responds to messages or emails.
One time someone at Square accidentally answered the phone and had to deal with my complaint directly. Guess what they did…put me on hold for 15 minutes then came back to say that someone would call me back shortly. What is shortly to Square? It’s been weeks.
Forget these clowns. Go with a company that actually wants your business and shows it.
Square has the absolute worst customer service of any company I’ve ever dealt with in my entire life. Avoid them at all costs since there are now viable alternatives. I couldn’t possible be more pissed and if anything remotely unusual happen with your money and Square, you will be pissed too.
Square does not publish their phone number because they don’t want to help their customers but here it is: 415-375-3176. I found it on one of the many Square complaint websites.
I have been reading a lot of stuff on this site and do have something to say about it. I have been using Square for about 1.5 years now. It has been really not to bad. I use them primarily for AMEX because of the rate I get with Square and the fact that they deposit it overnight instead of 7 days. I do have a problem with them on a charge back that has been resolved that has been taken care of. It was because a customer saw my name on his statement and not my company name. We resolved it with AMEX and I have a letter from them stating that its fixed. I have e-mailed the contract with my customer and the resolved papers from AMEX. It has been 4 months now and still they have $325.00 of my money. This is not breaking me. I would like to get it off my books. For the most part I am good with how it works but like many in here there customer service is absolutely awful. I guess I don’t understand how a company that is worth over one billion dollars can live like this.
I guess if a class action suit was brought against them it might change their way of thinking. It seems to me there is enough BS on this site that it might be worth investigating. Just saying.
Can’t risk it. I’ll pass. One can not risk a reputation especially when you are dealing with refunding someone’s money. Customer service is so critical especially in this tight economy.
We used Square for about the last 4 months of 2011. We had no trouble with it at all. I know a lot of people want a phone # to call, but I can tell you 2 things;
Square responds right away to the e-mails.
2nd…I have another visa company we used before getting Square and I would spend no less than 30 minutes “on hold” every time I had to call. Now that’s frustrating!
If Square has to add personal to field phone calls….expect the rates to UP!
I do mostly debit transactions for my business, will I get the same 2.75% also?
I LOVE Squre! I’ve only been a member for a short time but so far so good!! Such a pleasure not to have any hassels espeically with some Merchant Service Companys.
Keep up the good work….also…try to figure out a phone number for some questions if needed.
Sherman
I signed up with Square for a nonprofit I am associated with.
Received the swiper within a week.
Have used it couple of times for amounts lesser than $1000. Amazed by the effeciency. The swipe worked exceptionally well. We requested an additional swipe that we received within a week.
I see concerns from other users for transactions not swiped for $1000+ – thanks for the red flag.
As of now, I see myself using the Square for all our transactions.
Thanks!!
Signed up with Square a year ago, or so. Did not make first charge until last month. ($225)
My customer did not recognize the charge on his statement and disputed the charge. I contact customer and he then acknowledge the charge was legitimate. He called his bank to withdraw the charge.
I opened a support ticket with Square 12 days ago and have YET to hear back ANYTHING. Just a generic “thanks for your ticket; we’ll get back to you in 24 hours”… that’s it. Left a few messages on their non-toll free number, but no on has called back.
Needless to say, their little swipe thingie is already in the trash.
I’ve mentioned their site and service to quite a few fellow small business owners over the last year., now I wish I hadn’t. I’ll be sure to recommend others to stay AWAY from Square, because when things go wrong, you can not count on them.
We have been using square since it’s inception – first on a trial basis now as our primary CC acceptance units (I own 2 computer/cell phone stores, and have techs who travel the midwest with onsite work) We were using Chase bank, but they (like most CC companies) hold high dollar transactions as well, and we had to run a min. of $3,000/month through to meet the min fees, plus a monthly service and gateway fee, with square it is cheaper since half our transactions are in the field, and half are at the stores – We initially did have to wait a couple of weeks for some $$$ when we took over $1000 in within 7days, but that was clearly state in the ToS from DAY 1! so no surprise (READ, READ, READ), no issues yet, we can get new card readers whenever we need them (right on their site in your account), we run about 10,000 through a month regularly, most transactions are about $400. All money is in the next day – we do run refunds as well – most are done within 3 days, out of over 50 refunds in the last 6months only 2 took more than 4days to go back to the customers account.
most complaints I see here must be coming from people who’ve never had a normal merchant account…… and the stupid ones who think they should make interest make me laugh!! For those who have/had normal accounts square is great!
We usually replace every reader once a year or sometimes faster if they break – but we use a lot of them, occasionally some issues with swiping, but most are phone related.
Oh and if a customer disputes a charge they NEED to pull the money from your account and hold onto it – it’s the law folks!
Just my $0.02!
Good job Square!! – now allow us to resell them! We’ll sell hundreds a year! :)
YES – I would love to be able to get a referral fee – I’ve turned on a number of other quilt show merchants to Square and they LOVE it.
I have a question about the $1K hold limit: is this per transaction that’s over $1K, or if you take multiple small transactions that add up to $1K? Where can you find this info on the Square site?
We signed up our high school booster club with the square payment option to accept credit card payments at our annual fundraiser. We had a great experience collecting over $5,000,00 in credit card payments in one day. We believe that our collections doubled from previous years because we offered the credit card option. We had our money deposited in the bank the Tuesday after our event ( it clearly states that deposits are made each business evening, except Saturdays). Our event was on a Friday evening, we did not close out until almost midnight, that meant our deposit would not be placed until Monday night. Which seemed reasonable to us. Sure enough, on Tuesday morning the treasure received confirmation of the deposit from our bank! The service has a learning curve, especially for those that are not tech savvy, or who shy away from new technologies, but within 15 minutes even they were comfortable to use the app! Great experience and this app has helped our boosters increase our donations in some very difficult times! The only negative that I can think of is the inability to include names on each individual charge, or view the email receipt. I am sure this is some sort of security measure. But we use the app instead of writing up receipts and cross referencing names and payments would be nice.
Why don’t you just type the persons name in the description before you type?
Like
Candy Bars – John Doe
Im a craftter I never had a problem until the last 2 weekends, the processing time was not working, taking too long and having to retry forever. The message said that Square was having trouble. It was terrible for 2 weekends Square was totally unreliable. I learned that I need a back up. What is happening?
I was very happy when i first got square about 6-7 months ago. I’ve only done 3 transactions using cc most of my business is done with cash. I’ve never had a problem until 2 days ago I recieved an email stating a withdraw was made and to contact customer support which is almost impossible after emailing them to find out why I was charged i received an email stating they will contact within 24 hours well 36 hours later and no response. Ive called the number and got a voicemail and emailed them again with no response. Ive contacted my bank to dispute this and when I get this situation taken care of I will be deleting my account. Square has no customer sevice so beware if theres a problem you will see NO results. And I do have proof as i have copied the emails ive sent. You’ve been warned.
They are holding a large amount of my money for 3 weeks now. Do not use this app.
The money they are holding, is it from “no card present” sales”? Where they from several transactions or one or two large transactions? I’m trying to do my homework and figure out how this company works. Thank you…and I’m sorry for all the problems!
I received a text message stating: “You paid Marshall $200.00. Receipt: squareup.com/r/rpedpmsrkwqodd_at5ro. Reply w/APP to get a free Square Card Reader.
Well, of course I did NOT reply but checked my bank account and there was a $200.00 debit on my account!!! as follows:
CHECK CRD PURCHASE 02/23 SQ *MARSHALL CROSB Stockbridge GA 473702XXXXXX6923 282054636688362 ?MCC=7230
I have closed this account…and there is NO phone number on the transaction to follow up!
FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD!!!!!!!!
I have been using Square for a bit less than a year and have NO complaints. I have been a mobile merchant for over 20 years and had the usual set-up through the major credit card processing companies. I can’t tell you how much those companies cost me over the years with their hidden fees, changing fees, price of a processing machine, etc. etc. In addition, calling on the phone for help often was difficult and made more difficult by trying to explain to someone in a far-away country that I was doing a show in the middle of a field and needed help – they just kept telling me to go to a phone line and download an update.
The couple of times I had issues with my Square processor (which always turned out to be something stupid that I did or didn’t do), I used the e-mail and got a reply within a few hours. My deposits go in to my bank account withIN 24hours without fail. I have had no disputes from customers because in the “description” section, I type in the name of the show rather than the item they purchased. The only negative feedback from customers is that they are leary of my sending them their receipt by e-mail because they think I will use their e-mail for advertising or to sell a customer list (it is actually hidden from me, I get no record of their e-mail).
I am tickled pink with the Square, which I use with my iPhone – I’ll stick with it. It works for me!
There is no way to contact anyone at Square. They missed deposits into our account and we cannot get a hold of anyone. It take 6 months to cancle the thing. DO NOT USE THIS. The swiper wouldn’t work. Good luck if you use it, but we are so out of here.
I have been using Square for 1 year now. I am an accountnt and have looked at many credit card processing systems. I do tax prepartion and thier are months with no credit card processing so monmthly fees just kill me. The price is very fair. It works well and if you are going to porcess more than $1000 per week you can work with them to get your limit increased. My only problem is the few times I have a credit card to scan I have trouble on my Ipad
I have had them for about 6 months now and had NO PROBLEMS at all! I have it for our booster club for my child’s sports team. We just had our annual fundraiser and we collected a HUGE amount of money- about $20,000.00 at one event. Many credit card charges were over $1000.00 (I mean like 6) as we have a silent auction, where items had to be paid before we gave them to the winners. We had no problem at all with making the large credit card purchases. Our event was held on a Saturday, and the funds were ALL in the bank by Tuesday evening. The deposit from Square is done every evening (except Saturday and Sunday) so the funds could not be deposited into the bank until Monday evening. But I checked Tuesday evening and sure enough the deposit was there. I had to issue a refund, and it was done on the spot, and I am told that they credited it to the account in just a few days. I am sorry for everyones problems on this blog. I guess I am a lucky one. I have had to reach them on occasion, once I emailed and was given a direct number to call. I was able to reach someone, but I did have to make an appointment to call them. I do know that if you make $1000.00 in “card not present” charges they will hold the funds for up to 30 days. It is more of a security issue as anyone can open a Square account so they have to protect themselves, many people out there are capable of running fly by the night businesses that take money from clients and run. That is costly to a business like Square, that $1000. no card present clause was the contract. But all of our charges were swiped through the square reader. So, I can’t speak to that side of the deal. Anyway, that is my 2 cents. I hope everyone gets the money they deserve in their bank accounts!!
Square.com is something i was hoping to be able to brag up, but im sorry to say when you go over the thousand a week limit for manually entered transactions, its been since 20 feb 12 and my funds are tied up and the card owners card is tied up for a total of aprox. 6000 dollers. When requesting refund it took less then 6hrs to take money out of my account heads up if you hit the refund button, you get no funds till it clears even if you slide card
I am thinking about getting Square. I plan to do shows on weekends and maybe once a month.
1. Is this the product for me?
2. Do I need WiFi to make it work?
3. Does it work over 3G? I have an iPhone4.
I am considering using Square in during art fairs that I participate in during the summer. When I asked another vendor about the service they were using she said I should choose one that is PCI compliant, not sure what all that entails but from what I gathered it has to do with certain security measures that have to be met. That does concern me. Are the transactions encrypted, how safe are the transactions from interception? Thanks
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements designed to ensure that ALL companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Square is PCI compliant. Therefore you (as the merchant) are PCI compliant. Here is the website page that directly discusses PCI compliance (both ways).
https://squareup.com/security/levels
Much of the negative reviews I read are based on old information, or hearsay. If you check out the Squareup.com site you can find many of the answers your looking for. I have used this company with great success, for our sports boosters. I am actually considering getting rid of my old merchant account with my business. I find that the deposits from my business merchant account are taking anywhere from 2-4 days. When I call the company they tell me it is my bank, but the same bank that hosts the boosters is my business bank. So that is not accurate. Plus the fees they charge are becoming outrageous.
Stay away from this company! I was trying to sign up with their app, and got a phone call while signing up. The phone call lasted about 15 minutes. When I was done with the call I tried to finish filling out the sign up form, and it said it timed out and that I’m penalized for not filling it out fast enough. They are making me write them a letter and then wait 3 days to see if I’m approved again. Don’t let a business that is supposed to be providing YOU a service treat you like a criminal for not filling out a form fast enough, and not even giving you a warning that you have only 10 minutes to fill it out. I do not support being treated like this, and I not only want my $10 back, I think Square owes me a written apology at the very least. No company should treat you like you’re a prisoner or a criminal and they are the police, that just isn’t right at all. I hope this company goes out of business tomorrow, because being treated this way is a horrible feeling.
Im sorry that you had problems setting your account up. Unfortunately they do not tell you but most websites that deal with personal information – like your online banking, paypal, or square which has you enter your personal information in to setup an account, only keep an inactive page active for so many minutes until they time out. This is actually a security measure that is common. They do this to protect your information and make it difficult for someone to mess with your financial information. Just know that if you did have an account – its not going to be as easy for someone to hack into your account and mess with your money! Everyone is getting smarter about trying to prevent identity theft. There is security and convenience – I would rather be inconvenienced and have my data secured that a company be careless in securing my financial information. I have been using this company since they were in beta and love it. Since I set my account up a couple years ago – I have had 0 problems and I love it.
Hiya all,
Just an update from my corner of the world. The following are my reasons that I rabidly support Square:
I have been using Square since it came out and have never had a problem.
I get my deposits within days just as promised, the deposit is always initiated within 24 business hours (weekends are not business days).
My deposits show up from my weekend sales usually on Tuesday which allows for the transfer time from Square to the bank.
I’ve had no issues with the $1000 limit on non-swiped cards because I take almost no card-not present transactions.
I always have my customers send them selves a receipt and have never once had a charge back.
The one refund that I had to do went trough within a week which is better than most credit card refunds which can take from 30-60 days to return to the card.
I am pleased with the lack of additional fees such as statement fees, batch fees, and I like the fact that ALL cards are the same rate whereas with most merchant services it costs far higher percentage to take Amex, Discover or any rewards cards.
As long as I have signal between my iPhone and my hotspot (different carrier than my phone in case of poor coverage) I have not had issues with transaction not completing.
My customers love the fact that I have this product and get a huge kick out of signing on the screen.
A couple of notes: As added protection I require a photo ID on all transactions (for my clients protection).
If I have a larger transaction (over $100 I also have a CC manual slammer that I use to ensure that I have a paper copy with the clients actual signature, phone number and address as well as CVV code in order to protect myself from fraud. Also if I am taking credit cards in an out of state function I let the client know upfront that the charge will look like it originates from MN and that no they have not traveled to MN nor has their card been stolen, it simply is where my business is from.
Thanks!
I love using Square and I haven’t had any problems getting my money until now. I recently had a chargeback issue. Three months after a purchase I had a customer file a chargeback with their credit card company. The sale was a little over $100. Square claims the customer’s signature didn’t come through. Because of Square’s poor customer service response I had a very diffucult time getting through to anyone. They don’t have a published phone number and when you do call you often have to leave a message. They did respond to me at first but kept telling me to email them. Well their email wasn’t working. I spent hours trying to get a hold of them. Finally back in November 2011 I was told the dispute would take 30 to 60 days. I waited 4 months, emailed them twice in the last week, didn’t hear anything from them. I called today, March 5th, 2012 and was able to speak to someone. After this I finally received an email that they weren’t able to resolve the case in my favor but they had told me 4 months ago that they would tell me if this happened. Their customer service SUCKS! Although I still prefer using square to my old expensive clunky credit card machine. I am going to try Gopayment instead and see how that goes.
The lesson I learned here if you’re going to use Square make sure you get all of your customer’s contact information and a copy of their signature. I now require customers to sign a handwritten receipt as well.
Sarah, you don’t need to have them sign a paer receipt.. Simply send yourself a copy of the receipt from your app. It has the signature in the attached receipt.
I have been trying and trying to get a phone number, and to get in contact with the Square Up Company. I found nothing to even help me on line either. I have found no way in which to get in contact with any kind of verbal support. How are you to trust a product, or find out anything, when there is no one to talk to. I am taking this purchase back to the store, Good luck for the next person!!!! Francis Howell
I have sent for one by mail, never got it, I bought one can get it to down load because my e-mail has been used before by me trying to get the first devise, because my email and passwords have never worked together. I can’t talk to you, this is the first time I a have even found anyway in which to make some sort of contact. It seemed like a great idea, my friends device work, but no matter what I do, just can’t seem to get anywhere. So what’s a person to do?????? Got any ideas??? Or would it be better that I just return the device to the store??? Francis Howell
I bought something from someone using SQUARE as their CC processing company. The cost was substantial, about $2100.00 They authorized the account, and the payment posted to th vendor, and he received the money the next day. I was angry to learn that the authorization, which holds the money, was NOT RELEASED within the same amount of time. I understand authorizations, and charges, and postings, however, when they rec’d the funds, the authorization should have been dropped also, so in effect, they posted the original charge of $2100, AND HELD AND ADDITIONAL $2100, totally 4200!! Multiple calls to them from the vendor went either unanswered, or he was told my card (AMEX) has control over the authorization WHICH IS TOTALLY FALSE! I called them myself and was met with an answering machine and no call back. Here, a week later, and I still do not have access to that additional $2100 THEY HAVE LOCKED UP!
Their customer service is horrendous, and their outright lies make this company some cheap CC company with no regard for the end purchaser OR the vendor whom I purchased from.
If they think they are going to tie up more of MY MONEY through this vendor, they are NUTS and the vendor is looking for another CC company to do business with as the release time on the authorization is absolutely unacceptable.
Square. Huh, where do I begin? First of all their payout schedule kept changing so I was not able to manage the business finances with ease. Simply put, as a business owner when you’re depending on large sums of money to be deposited by a certain time and Square changes the deposit dates over and over again, it becomes difficult to not to feel the strain financially. Secondly, they have a serious lack of customer service skills. Sending e-mails to them gets you an automatic response of someone will respond within 24 hours, which is a complete and total lie. I have sent e-mail after e-mail and what I received was nada. Oh, and God forbid you have a customer try to do a charge back and you attempt to fight it. That’s what they tell you. What I really think they do is sit at a desk and laugh at all off the people who fell for their gimmick. Yes, I had a customer accuse me of falsely charging her card and when I contacted that customer and told them that I had proof that service was rendered, suddenly she admitted to using the service but said she wasn’t aware of the costs (yah right) . What did Square do for me? Square has held my funds since then, gave her the full amount of the refund even though she admitted that service was fine and received and won’t return my e-mails. This entire nightmare prompted me to investigate further into my account and what I discovered was that refunds and charge backs were given in favor to the customer, not one time but multiple times for one transaction for services received. Ex., you want $100 back for not using the service and you do a charge back, Square puts it through against the merchant account not once but twice and now you’ve just refunded/reimbursed $200 for service that was one way. Is the customer really putting through 2 charge backs or is Square pocketing a $100 of my money? I found this it be true several times and listen people, if you are smart enough to read this and know that I wouldn’t have wasted 15 minutes of my precious time writing this comment, then you will consider as what I am saying as true and NOT USE SQUARE.COM. For the luckier folks who haven’t had any problems YET, well my friends, cross your fingers and toes and light a sage stick every time you process a payment because you’re going to need it. Eventually you will be on the side that I am on. That side is pissed off, frustrated, owed money and ready to file a class action lawsuit against these bogus people. Reply whatever you would like. Just do me a favor please, before read up on others negative experiences and ask yourself, is this a coincidence? Nope! Have a great day. I will have a great day when I get my money!!!
I agree with you. This same mess just happened to me. I had a customer do a chargeback square took it out 2 times leaving my bank account in the negative now i have funds in squre that they havent released to my bank yet. Ive emailed them and received no response as of yet. Im really getting frustrated because i need to put in an order
I recently spoke to 2 business owners who had their accounts closed by Square for no valid reason. Then this company told the one business owner ( via email) that they would hold the funds in his account for 180 days before they would release them. They wrote in their email that the decision was final to close the account. How is this even legal? If you terminate someone’s account, then you return their funds in a timely fashion. You say this company has made over 1 billion, why would it hold someone’s business profits for 6 months? The credit card transactions were already approved by the customers who provided the card. I don’t understand the poor customer service by a billion dollar company.
I have the same problem, my bank account was link to automatic payment that they didn’t go thru because this Company(SQUAREUP) don’t want to release the funds which they are holding for over 2 weeks. I say we should get signatures and take them to Court for fraud. I have a great Lawyer in NYC.
Hate hate hate hate hate this company.
What a runaround. No way to contact them and they flat out LIE on their site. It states you will find a link to contact support in each article and there is no link. In addition, no articles actually relate to my problem.
I had a photography client scam me. I shot the wedding. They got a divorce. They disputed the charge 90 days after having received their portraits.
So why did Square refund the money? Because the client said they did not recognize the charge. When I finally threatened to take the client to court by sending them a collections letter.. what did they say? They did not recognize the charge because it came through from the vendor NAMED SQUARE. Now, why in the hell did Square refund based on the fact that the vendor named SQUARE was unrecognized??? Completely ridiculous.
They pulled $1000 out of my bank account then gave me the runaround for 90 days as I tried to contact them and dispute this.
In the end, I’m left with a negative Square balance to the tune of $984 that I have to come up with. I’d like to pay them.. but oh, I can’t call them to set up payment.
Odd. I too am a photographer and when statements show up to the client’s bank they say “KEVIN GIBBS – SQUARE”. Both names in the account statement.. I’ve never had one problem with the company.
I am excited to start my new business and decided to use Square. I have a iPhone 3G phone and was able to download the Square application and apply for the card reader. I notice that the reader is compatable with 1Phone 4S, 4G. Do you think I will still be able to use the reader on my iPhone 3G??
square works with any android OR iphone. dont worry & just go for it, make sure that you use business name instead of the personal name, set a nice logo & do a couple of trial transactions. Good luck & don’t listen to the negative comments here
The square reader should work on your iPhone 3g without any problems.
Never had an issue. As a small independent contractor, it has been a life saver, A++++. Use on Andriod, no problem, I get all the readers I ask for….
Square doesnt return emails or calls. Service has been out. No communications not even on my site account. Book! Bad business when you need cash to work with!!!
It’s been a great asset to my small business! I process about 200-700 a day, and I’ve been extremely satisfied with the service. I do however you MiFi (wireless motem) to keep secure incripted safe transactions.
I do think they should have a better customer service, but I haven’t had to use it and am just going by the article above. I sent an email and was responded to within 48 hours.
How were you able to sent them an e-mail? I have been trying for the last hour and haven’t been able to.
I recently signed up for the Square but have yet to use it for business transactions. I wish I would have read these reviews prior to signing up. I can’t believe they do not have a customer service number.
I am a mobile nail technician and signed up for the Square to provide my clients with the convenience and ease of accepting credit card payments anytime and anywhere. I currently sell gift certificates for services but wanted to switch to selling gift cards to clients that can be purchased in any amount. I would like to know if I can use the Square to pre-load the gift cards when purchased with whatever amount the client chooses? I would also like to know if I would be charged a fee when the client redeems their gift card?
I couldn’t find anything on the Square website and I called and left a voice message on their “customer service” number but am not so sure I will receive a call back. Based on the previous reviews, I won’t hold my breath. Any information anyone has to offer would be great! Thank you!
Look elsewhere for payment processing.
Their customer service is barely in existence.
They will hold your funds indefinitely.
Very unprofessional.
Cute logo and reader is all they have going for them.
Phone number is useless.
Contacting BBB in SF.
I have heard about paypal releasing something similar very soon….think I will wait and see how that works out. I’m not willing to have Square keep MY money!
WARNING***********FRAUD *****ALERT********WARNING*********> Who knew that this company whom is able to sell its product at Target Stores and have banking relationships with JP Morgan Chase Bank is a fraud. If you think I am kidding, go to their website. There is no phone number!, Anywhere. The ” Contact Us” tab gives you a auto reply that someone will cont you with in 24-48 hours. They never do. I sent over 30 email requests from Feb 28th through March 20th. I have made several calls through my bank to one of Squares internal ph#’s listed. It just goes to a Voice recording with options. You can’t speak to a live operator. I used Square w/o a problem for a few weeks. Without warning and without response as to why, they have been holding $462.00 in transactions since Feb. 25th. Now, multiply that tiny amount by thousands of small businesses and the interest earned on that tiny amount. Process at your own risk people. A company w/o a ph#? how is that possible?
Robt. –
Same problems I’ve had. No resolution, no way to contact the company and the “Online Help Center” is nothing more than a users manual. Don’t know how they can launch a half-baked product and get to a $1b threshold so quickly. My guess is they ‘re a shell company and will file CH11 when the heat is turned up, leaving us to stand in line with a paltry claim that will be settled for pennies on the dollar.
I am having the same problem with them. They are holding $7800.00 of my business money. After processing 3 credit card payments I received an email from them stating that they have “suspended” deposits going into my account until I provide them with a bunch of documentation. I have provided them with the documents and got the famous message about them replying in 24 hours. I still have not received anything from them and they will not answer any emails. I still do not know why my account was suspended and have no idea when it will be opened back up. In the meantime, I have unhappy customers who want product and money tied up with SquareUp. They either need to release the money or refund the customers cards back so we do something different.
I have filed a complaint with the CA AG and the BBB
Just had an American express card approved and the guy signed and everything yet money was not sent and no record of it anywhere….just emailed them and waiting to hear back
Square says that there is no limit to how much you can process when swiping the card through the reader. In reality, there are limits but they just don’t tell you what they are. Instead of being upfront about it, they determine if they should hold your funds based on secret “risk factors”. After experiencing four long and random holds on transactions that seemed legitimate in every way, and receiving absolutely no communication on what was happening with my money, I had enough. I signed up for GoPayment, which is basically the same type of service as Square, based on the recommendation from this site and couldn’t be happier. They are upfront about the limits and actually have a number where actual customer service people answer calls. Just thought I would share since I’m sure there are other business owners/Square users that have the same problems that I had.
I recently had a transaction with square and amount was $75.00.guess what I was waiting 5 days to for them to deposit amount to my bank account.it didn’t happend,finally I e-mail them and I got respond e-mail next day,they told me their customer services will respond me in 24 hours,after a day I didnt got a respond.then I send second e-mail,just got respond;they canceled my account due to high security risk,what the h*** is this.when I sign up I was approved!!!where is my deposit deseppear?guys stay away from square,as other said they don’t even have a real customer service phone number to talk!!!
How were you able to sent them an e-mail? I have been trying for the last hour and haven’t been able to.
hey! Marco, you are not alone.They are holding $1,150 for over 3 weeks.I collecting signature to take to BBB and also talking to a Lawyer next week in NYC. Here is my E-mail address for anyone that is getting SCum with this fake Company(SQUARE UP) a billion dollar company with no customer service. [email protected]
I will no longer accept Amex cards using Square. (I’ve been using Square for a year now, with mostly good results.) Amex’s fraud protection sniffer basically thinks all Square transactions must be suspect and declines them on behalf of their member. I’m all for good fraud protection but they’re making my life miserable. These are all SWIPED transactions and yet they still get declined for no reason than Amex thinking they must be suspicious.
Since I, as a vendor, cannot call Amex and get certified in any way, or even speak to them on behalf of my customer, I can only do the next best thing and ask my customers for a Visa or Mastercard, which always go through on the first try.
I had posted an informative comment back on November 22, 2011 about this subject. (feel free to scroll down and to the next page for it).
I am only posting this because I have seen an increase in advertisements and use of this “gadget” and unsurprisingly seen more and more aggravating complaints.
According to the above article, Square’s Sales and Marketing tactics receive the highest marks. For example; I just today saw another Square advertisement on Facebook. Thats wonderful for the company, but think about this, McDonalds is also the best in Sales and Marketing, but how do you rate their product?
The article also gives high marks to the Cost and Contract Terms, but it seems that Square’s contract terms outweigh (in their favor) the less expensive cost.
Customer Service reputation should always be the key to any business’ success. Square obviously does not do well at all in this category.
Think about it. If you were to run a business with hard to reach, poor service, how long would you actually last? (especially in the financial transaction confidence. People greatly fear the lack of credit card security and it takes just one slight falter to set off that alarm in their mind)
I personally have a seasonal small business (just celebrated 19 years) with no storefront (I sell a craft shows and website sales). I have my own merchant account, which consists a wireless credit card machine that gets immediate authorizations, provides physical paper receipts (signed by customer), flawless 48 hour deposits and several 1-800 CS numbers (with live people 7 days a week). For the few months that I dont conduct much business, the cost runs me roughly $50/month (and that ALSO INCLUDES an Authorized.net account for my website). I can absolutely say that in over 10 yrs, i have NEVER had an issue. LOL
What I’m trying to point out is that in this fast paced “New, Now, Next” world, how do you want your customers to perceive your company and its service? A short fused firecracker? or an eternal flame?
Remember, it takes months to attract a repeat customer and only seconds to lose one. (especially in financial transaction confidence)
*Please note that I am not affiliated with anyone or any company. I am just a regular independent professional with a common sense approach towards business. I will give suggestions only when asked. Again, scroll for my November 22nd post.
Thank you and good luck out there!
KRH
Fantastic post and GREAT perspective for a new business owner. Thanks!
Stephania
Think Pink Vintage
Ferndale, MI
Can you tell me what you use??? I am looking for something dependable…
Hi Rebecca, you can find a list of recommendations here: Top Rated Providers
the first two transactions i made two weeks ago has not been deposited in my account and the sad news is that i dont have any contact phone number for square. i am afraid
Subscribed to squareup. Used it once! Would not scan customers card, so had to enter number manually, which takes time, aggravates the customer, and nets squareup bigger fees. Bought another scanner, same problem. There is NO customer service. Cannot resolve problem, company is unresponsive and many, many unhappy customers out there. Is this any way to run a financial services company?
Disgusted in Texas
That is one of the problems they have besides the cutomer service,I have the same problem with the card reader,most of my customers are in remote locations and swiping it does not work,I have to key it in and get charge a higher % and then pray that I will get me money…….not good……. looking into gopayments sounds like they maybe a better company.
go payments scanner has same issue. Try running square card with the square part away from you & run the CC with magnetic strip facing you. I find that almost 99% of cards scan right away.
How do you delete Square from your account??
Here’s my experience and recommendations.
Do your dilligence before signing up for any merchant services.
Asked face to face, other merchants that were already using credit card devices of all kinds.
Square is probably best suited for transactions under $1,000.
Fees are perfect if you have low volume.
Reading the terms and conditions, answered a lot of my questions.
Check with your bank to make sure they don’t charge a fee for incoming funds.
I recommend setting up a bank account just for Square transactions.
Device received within a week of completing my order online.
While waiting for the device, complete the bank verification.
The app downloaded in about a minute on my iphone.
Practice first. It’s easy.
The money shows in Square account online within minutes and in my bank account that night.
If device doesn’t work, order another one online. Takes less than 5 minutes. Better than waiting on hold or wasting anymore time.
Personally I love it and recommend it to all my clients who’s business fit into this Square.
A company contacted me recently to use their swipe machine instead of Square.I told them the good reasons why I chose Square but they told me that Square sends its customers 1099 form at the end of tax year while they dont.Is this true?
Starting in 2012, all merchant account providers are now required to issue 1099-K forms to their merchant customers and to report credit card processing earnings to the IRS. If someone is telling you that they do not do this, then they would be in violation of the new IRS requirements and could possibly put you in violation as well.
I assume this also includes PayPal?
A PayPal account isn’t a merchant account. They do offer a “merchant services” account for larger volume needs but it’s unclear if it’s considered a traditional merchant account that falls within the IRS reporting requirements. I recommend inquiring with PayPal if this is a concern.
Phillip:
wondering why none of my comments over the last couple of months have made it on to this forum? Something offensive I said??
Hi Rick,
I show three comments published under the name “Rick” this month. You may want to click “refresh” when you are on this page as your browser may have cached an older version of it. If any of your comments are missing, they may have been filtered as spam if they contained at link. Otherwise, I would have published them if they don’t violate my comment policy, which can be found above the comment form. Another common reason that comments get denied is if someone is trying to leave numerous comments simply to “bad mouth” a company. I do not allow this because it is unhelpful to other readers. I’m not saying that you are doing any of these things, but those are the most common reasons. If you type “crtl + F” on your keyboard and then type “rick” while on the review page, you should be able to find the comments that have been approved.
Hi Phillip,
I think you’re responding to the wrong Rick. My two comments were posted as submitted.
By the way, thanks for your service. At first I was leery of your site; it appeared potentially slanted toward firms that may have been advertisers or sponsors. As I continue to follow the conversations, I can understand some of your rankings. I do question whether Square is actually holding funds from some accounts for 180 days, though.
Also, in my case I’m charged a discount rate of 3.5% for card-not-present transactions, and not the 3.15% rate you state. I believe that’s the universal card-not-present rate.
Best regards,
Rick
Not sure where things are going wrong with the other Rick’s comments, but thanks for letting me know.
I can understand how you might have initial concerns about my site. Most other sites that cover this industry are heavily biased by advertisers or run by providers themselves. My goal with CPO is to add a level of unbiased transparency that currently doesn’t exist with this industry. In order to cover costs I do accept advertising, but only from providers that have already scored well in a review. I never let advertising or bribes of any kind influence my reviews or ratings.
I believe that Square is holding some merchants funds for 180 days as this is a standard practice throughout the industry. In most cases, however, they only do it if a high level of risk of Chargebacks or potential fraud has been identified, which is usually based on the type of business the merchant is running. As for Square’s card-not-present rate, it was 3.15% when I originally wrote this review but it looks like they have recently raised it to 3.5%. I have updated the article to reflect the new pricing. Thanks for your feedback!
I wonder if this is appropriate for high volume (150/mo), low dollar (<$30-60 per transaction sales. Is there a better option? The multi-day hold is big, but not insurmountable.
you will be fine.
Our company used Square, which turned out to be a monumental mistake. The company offers terrible customer service…actually it offers zero customer service. Trying to connect with a human being is virtually impossible. Our company held a fund raiser for a family that recently lost a loved one. This caused a lot of activity on our Square card reader. Square’s risk department stated that because their was so much activity, they were classifying our company to be “high risk”, shut down our account and froze our funds for 30 days, (it has been 30 days and or funds, over $400.00 are still being held) They profit by fees, that are not returned and interest while they hold your money. This is not a company that I would recommend. GoPayment is much more professional and has a much better rating. Our company provided our neighbor that lost their loved one with a check for the amount received from the fund raiser, Square has yet to provide our company with what is ours. Mind you, we were using Square as it is intended to be used, no complaints were lodged against our company and we did nothing wrong or illegal, they simply choose to deny us what was rightfully ours, with absolutely no justification and no due process! Beware of Square.
I use Square for low number of relatively small (up to several hundred dollars) transactions.
Works well for me. I had one issue come up and after several times back and forth by email I got frustrated and asked them to call me. The customer service rep called me the following day and we resolved the issue in 5 minutes. And I now know how to avoid that issue in the future.
Will continue using Square. It works for my needs.
This is the worst company do not use this if you want to keep your hard. Earned money they owe me 9600 dollars will not reply to emails no number to call someone email me a good number to talk to a person [email protected]
Their 800# is listed in this article jr.
I have used Square for over 1 year now and have only had 1 issue, which was my doing. It was resolved quickly and have not had any more issues. I like that there is new competition in the market place, everyone should like that. If you don’t like square go somewhere else, but don’t blame square for your ignorance.
Read this article…..it explains how to avoid the “card not present” situations being described….if it confused you then read it again. It’s quite simple if you are processing more than 1K in “card not present” transactions per 7 days then provide them with more company information in order to increase the limit or start swiping the cards in the customer’s presence.
Square helped our small “made in America” business get off the ground with low cost, mobile credit card processing, when my bank wanted to charge me 2.4%+monthly fee+setup fee+plus .29/trans fee. Square saved us thousands. It gets an A+ from me.
Would like to use square for $1.00 transaction for soccer games(about 1500 transactions per game). Square would cost .03(.0275 rounded up) cents per $1, debit cards predominantly used. Does Square pay the .22 cent fee required by federal legislation for debit? If so, Square would pay .22 cents to the bank that issued the debit card ? Our account would cost Square $285.00 (1500 transactions per game x .19cents). Why would Square do this ?
The 22 cent fee is the maximum of which banks are allowed to charge, not the fee they are required to charge. Therefore, Square has probably worked out a deal to pay a percentage fee that allows them to make a profit on micro transactions.
Phillip, thank you for your fourm, but I disagree – Below are the interchange rates for Visa
Were does it say they are the max ? What bank/ISO would agree to a .22 cent risk on a small ticket item ?
Please double check your facts !
http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/visa-usa-interchange-reimbursement-fees-october2011.pdf
Hi Mike,
You may disagree, but it is indeed a fact. The link you posted is prior to the passing of the Durbin Amendment, which is part of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Amendment caps Debit Interchange Swipe fees at 21 cents plus a 1 cent “Fraud Prevention” fee and a 0.05% ad valorem tax, so roughly 22 cents. This cap only applies to processing banks. Therefore, ISOs are still allowed add a profit margin on top of the cap and may collect a much larger fee depending on a merchant’s rate pricing plan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodd%E2%80%93Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_and_Consumer_Protection_Act
Hi Mike,
In a case like this, you would get charged $0.0275 if you were only charging $1.00 transactions. If you ran a $100 trans you would be charged $2.75 if swiped. If the savings is passed on to the merchant which it is not you would get charged less than $0.23 for the same $100 trans. Since you are on a fixed rate with square, the debit interchange fee of .05%+$0.21 applies only to visa not to square. So square does not pass the savings on to the merchant. And if I am wrong I challenge anyone to show me a statement that shows me otherwise.
Mike;
Here is the updated Visa April 2012 interchange from their web site. It clearly states .21 cents plus .01 cent for fraud and .0005 discount. Are you saying that each Visa/Mastercard ISO can negotiate around interchange?
http://usa.visa.com/merchants/operations/interchange_rates.html
Think of Interchange as the wholesale cost of credit card processing. In order for ISOs to make a profit, they have to markup the cost by building on their own rates and fees.
After running transactions in the past couple days i was wondering why i was only seeing very small amounts of money coming in my business account it was a huge surprise to learn that Square has placed a 30 day hold on the funds that was collected its totally up to well over $6,000.00 which I would need that to cover bills, rent payroll. So Square has single handlily mananged to put my company in financial trouble with their shady policy. Granted they have already taken out their fees from the transaction before placing a hold on the funds im due.
They can sure expect a legal letter, they have not clearly displayed this fact and as a result
Have been decepitve the reason why they would hold the funds when getting paid is totally suspicious.
Its no wonder they dont offer a direct customer service line to have things addressed.
I’am sick after reading all the emails of how horrible the square is. We are a small landscaping company and they are holding our funds for over 10days $2,000.00 I WISH I had done my homework and this would have never had this happened. They are messing up are funds as well now insted of getting a head we are behind Thanks to the Square DON”T EVER USE this devise for your business it S____
Aaron
This Company is some kind of a SCAM.
I am so sorry I signed up for this during the height of our season.
They are holding over 50K of our Companies funds and some payments have been held for over two months. Can not speak to a human and the only e-mail response I got was that they were investigating Suspicious activity. We rent vacation homes and do transactions of $5000 ~ 10,000 each. All of my customers say their credit card was charged long ago and some have even paid their bills. Why is my money being held?
i just home I get my funds before they go out of business!
BUYER BEWARE! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.
Did you contact them immediately or were your funds being held for a while before contacting them?
What responses did they give you?
This is exactly what they are doing to me. I think it is some kind of scam to make float on your money.
HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. If they decide not to release funds, they tell you they will get back to you within 24 hrs. B.S. They have my money, haven’t released it and it has been five days since this mess began. NO ONE EVER GETS BACK TO YOU and NO phone number!!!!
HORRIBLE!!!
When it comes to my had earned money, I need to know when it is available. NOT worth the tiny savings to have to worry about my money and if they are ever going to get back to you… Get a company that has decent customer service! Pay the extra fees, it is worth it.
I am in the middle of a huge mess with this company. It involves a chargeback that was made against me by mistake. The customer who make the chargeback has voluntarily reversed it. Square says it still is going to take up to 60 business days to get my money back!
It seems very much like they are working a scam involving float money being held. The customer support, by the way is terrible.
I’ve documented customer support communication and plan on turning it into an article on Examiner.com watch for it soon. Feel free to leave your comments there when I do. I’ll post a followup here when that article is live. Perhaps we can get some movement if we join together.
Hi AuctionWally,
How about publishing a guest post on this website instead of Examiner?
Same thing is happening to me. Jan.2012 a customer did a chargeback after a misunderstanding . The customer contacted the issuer and did a reversal. I recieved the chargeback notice after the reversal date.Sent all documention to Square (signed reciept from customer and reference number for issuer). Still 4 months later still no money. The customer has been charge and my account still show the balance owed. Square will not answer my e-mail and have left many voice mail. Not sure why they would want to treat me this way, just make no sense. You can have the Examiner contact me. If there is a lawyer out there looking to make a few bucks this woukd be a good class action .
We are also experiencing a similar situation. It is very frustrating. It’s been going on for a few months and we have not gotten any resolution except for a couple of what looks like automated responses saying that it will be another 30 days or so….
Very disappointed in their service.
I’ve been using Square for about 18 months. As a company that sells primarily through our network of dealers, we only process about $1500 or so per month as credit cards. Every couple of quarters I check to make sure I wouldn’t be better off returning to a traditional merchant service. Not so far. I never pay more than 3.6% (the 3.5% percent keyed-in rate–not 3.15% as erroneously noted in the article–and the $0.15 per-transaction charge). Compare that to my previous payments of, at best, 6.5% of revenues and on up to as much as 40%, when including the panoply of fees the merchant service charged every month. I agree it’s frustrating having to deal only through messages to Square, and sometimes not receiving a response, but so far this is the best cc processing method I’ve found.
I did have one other issue with the company, which is that they will not process credit cards from holders outside of the U.S., including Canada. I had to find a third party to process it for me. They said at the time they were thinking of adding Canada, but so far, as far as I know, it’s only a thought.
I have been using square since it was in beta. Previously I used a company called Approval Payment Solutions which proceeded to jack my rate up after I told them (after having just 3 months left) that I would no longer need their services once my contract was over. Square is great for a small business and unless you run credit cards without swiping or you process large transactions $1000 and up per transaction. However since I run small $40-$50 transactions here and there this has worked great! I have been running my own small business for 5 years now and using square for about 3 years without any problems.
thank you for this feedback. i am considering using Square for $25 – $100 priced services.
Thanks Kevin
I too have recevied the reader. I have only used it once (myself to test) and it worked perfectly. Your review helped because I am a small organization (football team) and my transactions are normally cash, but always in small denomination.
thanks
I have been using Square since last July for selling my teaching CD’s etc.
When I first started it took about 3 – days for monies to appear in my bank, but now
they are usually there within 48 hours. When I started the reader did not work on
Android 3 which my Samsung Galaxy was, but now the reader works. I have
processed over $1500 with the largest payment being $160.
I love it, just want to see them develop the ability for internet transactions.
Square has frozen my account and although I have sent them ample documentation regarding the validity of my business- they have not responded and you have NO ability to speak to someone. They have failed to reply to 10 emails and two messages.
They have over $1500 of my funds and will not deposit them. Is this a scam????
I have had two problems with Square. One was at an exhibition where a customer charged a $10 item with American Express. The sale went through with no problem. The customer then decided to buy another identical item for the same price, just a few seconds after purchasing the first item. The sale was declined. He then used a Visa card. For the rest of the exhibition, all American Express cards were declined.
Just yesterday (April 5, 2010), a customer tried to make a $1,000 purchase with a MasterCard. The card was declined by Square. I then took him to the physical location of the business, and the sale went through with no problem using the wired terminal in the shop with the same credit card that Square declined.
Square seems to be unreliable in processing cards and a person could potentially loose sales by using square. I am thinking of going back to the wireless remote terminal (Hpercom) that Ihad used previously to Square.
Square is holding over 35 thousand dollars on our Company account, they say for 90 days. Who knows if we will EVER get it.
There have been 70 complaints file with the San Francisco BBB alone in the past 12 months.
YES, use this company if you can AFFORD to HAVE YOUR FUNDS HELD INDEFINITELY AT THEIR WHIM.
They just assume this is O.K. No problem, we don’t need the 35k that we worked so hard for to pay our bills. PLEASE! I have heard from MANY customers who have experienced the same thing.
If you are reading this, chances are you too have had a problem. Report them to the Following: States Attorney General in California AND your own State (do both), and the BBB.
They need to be STOPPED!
Square is holding over $1700. I just purchased a business 1 month ago and now I have no money to pay my bills. I sent in requested documentation of the validity of my business, but today I recieved e-mail stating they are holding my money for 180 day and that I cannot run any more transactions. I have several clients scheduled this week, but will not be able to collect payment. I don’t know what to do! This company has made it impossible to run my business. If anyone is reading – please advise!!!
Hi Troy, there may not be anything you can do about the hold but you might want to checkout GoPayment to replace Square. The service scored well in my review and seems to be scoring well with merchants that use it.
Is it legal for Square Up to hold payments for 180 days, or for any additional time beyond what is stated in the policy statement? Has anyone else had a problem with this or with deposits not being made per the policy statement? Square Up may have a great idea and a concept, but the customer service and the handling of attempts to contact them are unprofessional.
You’re being too kind, calling their handling “unprofessional”, Richard.
I don’t know about the legality of how they do things, but holding customer funds for 180 (half a year!) for completely arbitrary reasons WITHOUT appeal process and no way to actually speak to a human being seems the worst way for ANY business to handle customers. It’s a miracle to me that they’re still in business.
Guess it’s great for small time merchants who have small payments, and not a whole lot of them. As soon as payments get a bit bigger than a few dollars, it seems many merchants are are experiencing problems.
There are other players in this field that have rates just as low as Square, and way better customer service.
This is the worst $1 billion company I’ve ever worked with – sorry – tried to work with – I try to call 415-375-3176 and leave emails but I’ve never received a response.
THIS IS VERY BAD and some sort of a movement should be done because this may be a scam of sorts.
What company like this can’t afford to offer an 800 number.
Square is a total ripoff and a joke. You swipe the card and then it does not go through so you have to manually put the card information in the reader. Once you manually enter the card information these jackasses say that they will allow me up to $5000.00 per week. After the $5000.00 finally goes into my account the last $4000.00 is held for 30 days. If they allowed $5000.00 last week the difference should be put in the following week, but guess what you are screwed for 30 days. I am filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau which already has over 70 complaints on file.
Has anyone had any problem with Square stealing money from your bank account? I’m probably being paranoid, but just in case it’s merited I’d like to know. Someone email me and tell me if this has happened! Please!
I have been using Square for about 9 or 10 months now and I have not had a single reason to even think of dialing the customer service number much less something crazy like unauthorized withdraws from my account.
I run a roadside assistance company providing light roadside assistance like Unlocks, Jump starts, Flat Tire Changes and Fuel Deliveries. Aside from the OCCASIONAL card that wont swipe properly and I have to retry a couple times I am so happy with my square service. My customers like it too being able to see that I am just swiping the card and not writing the number down on a piece of paper (invoice) that could entice theft or misuse later on.
For the low volume of transactions and my base rate of $24 each 24 hours a day I could not even begin to afford to use another processor with all their fee’s.
Chad,
There are many other options out there similar to square including Paypal Here, Intuit GoPayment, and PayAnywhere. There fees are competitively priced and their customer service has a much higher rating. The reason why Square is so user friendly is because they don’t collect enough information to know who their users are. It is a security issue they are frantically addressing.
The lack of customer service is extremely frustrating. I have sent three emails and still not got any response. I paid my contractor with his square and it was charged to my credit card 5 days ago but it has still not showed up in his account. I will not be using this service again
Does anybody know how to get the account unlocked. I changed the password snd every time I go to use it says I have tried too many times and to wait ten minutes. I have been waiting about 8 hours with no luck. Sent email but no response.
I have had nothing but problems with Squareup. In the last 2 weeks I have tried to process over $18,000 through their service. I am closing my account and will be using a different service. I can not afford to wait 8 days for a deposit!
Did you tell that you are processing such a huge amount. That will alarm their fraud alert, who knows what you are selling. I know a drug dealer that uses sqaure for his dealings, but he was smart & emailed sqaure that he is door to door salesman for some direct sales company & emailed the paper work to them, When i started using them for taxi paymemt. I emailed them my chauffeur licence & also amount of my each sale. They replied in 3 business days & all was sqaured away. Trust me i have used other services & they are so freaking horrible.
Are you able to print receipts, and how do you handle adding tips? I run a barber shop so adding the tip after the customer signs is our normal routine.
many people like electronic receipt which can be sent via SMS or e-mail. However i recommend that you get blank CC slips & and a imprinter for people that want paper receipt. You don’t need their signature twice, just put date of service & authorization number that can be found in the sales section of the app & in your email that comes right after sales. I use android phone with gmail & the email comes instantly. i hand over the customer the phone where they have option to add tip in %age amount & than let e know to enter either their SMS or email themselves as many people are scared of privacy. its not that hard just takes practice.
I’m beginning to feel like my husband & I have been scammed. We are a small intervention company and we recently purchased SquareUp at Target to use to accept payments from our clients. We work with people all over the country and it sounded like a great alternative to the high fees we paid through other services. We only work with 1 family per week & the deposits are all made over the phone or through another service. After waiting for 4 days for our 2nd payment to go through I decided to research and now I’m floored that all this information about “card-not-present” transactions was not available to me…as well as the toll free number. So now we are going to have a negative bank account because of Square. BUT more frustrating than anything is the lack of communication or even care & concern. Our client even offered to email them to let them know that they okayed the transaction…I understand holding off a few days if the card isn’t able to be scanned BUT 30 days is completely unacceptable. Shame on Jack Dorsey & Square for making tough times even tougher on small business owners! I can’t afford to wait on $1000. Has anyone had a good experience with customer service…like received an answer to a question or anything other than a “standard response” email? It is also confusing that our 1st “card-not-present” transaction went directly through…why would we feel there would be an issue with the 2nd payment. Is this misleading for a reason?
Deceived & Peeved Customer
I just saw that SquareUp in NOT accredited with the Better Business Bureau but complaints have been filed through them. So would I be correct in assuming filing a complaint through the BBB is the best & quickest way to get a resolution to our problem? Since it is glaringly obvious that the actual company has no regard for their customers & clients.
Don’t use Square credit card payment. Your money maybe delayed without any reason, Square will hold your money without telling you. They holding hundreds dollars from our company for more than one week. We tried to call Customer Service but they don’t have any phone number you can call. Very poor services, we are so disappointed.
Square Inc should know your company are not the only one provided mobile credit card payment.
JC
04/13/2012
Honolulu Airport Express, LLC
Square is okay but I have had it with no customer service. I had an email placing my charges on hold where square wanted me to show proof of the charges. They requested that I reply to the email with the proof of documents. When i sent over the documents to the corresponding email, I kept receiving an error message saying that the email was failed to send. The email address was not valid.
No phone number to call, no main address, no main email address. I have had it, and now I cannot tell my customers that I have to recharge their credit card because square did not release their funds to my account. This is Bullsh..
I drive cab and have been using square since launch. Initially they did freeze my account, but i gave them all the documents. It took 2-3 business days, so please be patient. Its a great company if you use charges from $5-$100. funds are transferred by 3 am in my account
This product has awful customer service. They say they offer 24 hours service yet there is absolutely no way to contact them. My bank showed verification of my accounts, but Square is not showing it and will not let me proceed. I have searched the site and topics and there is no answer even close to my issue and no way to contact Square. Please someone develop a product to compete with this company so I have an option!!!
your best option is gopayment.com. It’s intuit company and has real merchant account. it took me 15 min to open an account with them and they have real live support and way better and more trustworthy company.
I am wait for 2000+. Emailed with no reply. I had 2 chargebacks and they pulled the money out in January. No problem but they still have not released the money to the card holder. I guess the are drawing interest on it I don’t know. They will not release my money going on 3 weeks! I switched to gopayment and see if they are better.
Something needs to be done about square.
7 days ago Square received a payment from my customer of $12,000.00 This being my first transaction with them I was hopeful for a quick turn around as promised in all of their marketing. The idea of starting to take credit cards was to increase cash flow and broaden our customer base. This is not the case. It is not until you are wondering where your money is that you find out their real business plan. I have not seen any account activity, I have been unable to contact anyone via their phone # that you have to track down or their auto reply BS from Michale K. They have basically taken my $12,000 dollars and disappeared leaving my company in a big mess. If I do not hear back from them today my lawyer and I are going to file a police report in San Francisco. This is not good business, it is thievery.
Did u fixing your problem with them? U can see your 12k on your square account?
Its a week they been keeping 10k from me, and 5 days trying to get in contact with somebody with no
Answer
I am extremely disappointed with their customer service (they don’t seem to have one), We have been trying to resolve a charge back issue for several months now and we have only gotten 2 emails that you can’t even respond back to because it comes back as “delivery failure notice.”
What can we do to get a live person to respond????
We picked up a Square reader at our local Wal-Mart to use with our small company. Generally an online store, we sometimes needed a card reader for walk-ins. We signed up to use it, and started taking credit card orders through Square. There were issues with the money being transitioned into our account. After sending emails inquiring about the issue, with no replies for 3 days, I began looking at Square reviews online. What I found were horror stories. I was very nervous, and couldn’t afford to lose the money that was suspended indefinitely in a cloud. I started emailed Square every hour. After doing this for several hours, they returned all the money. Not ONE personal reply, no acknowledgment of my frustration, no explanation……. The worst customer service, and a very sketchy way to take credit cards.
BUYER BEWARE.
I am fet up with Square. First use and a deposit of $1,200, seven days later still not in my account. All I get are emails from them saying they are looking into it. As a small business starting out, I have paid workers based on this income and now overdraft fees because of it. No offense but paypal is way more reliable.
If a costomer’s credit card is invalid or has no money in it, will it go through and notify me later or will the transaction be denied immediately?
Square is holding $7000.00 from us for 30 days. This should be illegal,they have all the documentation they need and have charged my customers credit card in full. They don’t have a customer service department to even ask if I can refund and recharge my customer after I swipe their card. I will never use this again
Used square a few times and they suck! It has taken me weeks to get any kind of reply, other than an auto reply, to find out where my deposits are. THEY HAVE AN -F- RATING WITH THE BBB!!!!! And for very good reason. After finally finding a phone number online for them someone had posted I called and left multiple voice mails with NO, yes NO return call or email. FINALLY heard from someone after randomly guessing extension numbers, which starts at ext 200 if anyone needs them moving forward, only to be hung up on! So after calling literally time after time after time after time until someone answered they then told they needed to hold my $5,700 for 180 days to make sure it wasn’t a scam???? I have been in business 5 years longer than square has been, or will be if we are all lucky, I have an A+ rating with BBB, unlike square, and they STILL wanted to hold my funds even though I could provide 50 times the prior transactions through another very reliable company that I never should have left. THIS IS THE BIGGEST SCAM that should be illegal!!
Foolishly, i was just swept into the $1000 non-swiped limit, and they are now holding over $2600 of mine.
Considering this seems to be a massive problem for everyone, AND Jack Dorsey of Twitter is the founder; the greatest pressure that can come to bare on Square can be social media. It is time to saturate all outlets, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., and especially Twitter alerting everyone of this shameful business and their unethical practices. ACT NOW MY FRIENDS! THIS IS WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA WAS DESIGNED FOR!!!
I use square to my frustration. they have not made one deposit yet. i expected 24 hour deposit. they requested company documents to verify our government authenticity. we supplied it in one day. THEY DO NOT CARE. THEY WILL KEEP YOUR MONEY FOR AS LONG AS THEY CAN. It is frustrating that we can not speak to then EVER! Please tell every one that you know. Post it on all websites. Square is a scam. I have accepted small dollar card transactions and still not one cent has been deposited. they do not reply to emails. I have requested a phone call from them. They have not responded. Has anyone started a class action suit against them? Robin
Ed,
I did a Twitter blast abt (hashtag) #SquareUp & #JackDorsey…I was sure 2 make note their BBB rating is an F….the only reason it’s better other places is because of the manipulative sales tactics they use. We found the cust srv number here…THANK GOODNESS! And after 2 VM & another call that was rerouted many times until my husband just guessed an extension…And when they answered they were obviously surprised to have a consumer on the line! But after 2 wks of steadily keeping after them thru phone calls & SOCIAL MEDIA our funds were released!!! These are things that HAVE to be brought to social media’s attn…that’s what it’s for; and I firmly believe you reap what you sow in all facets of life! Thanks to this outlet and review from Philip Parker or I would still be ill-informed!
AWFUL COMPANY! This is a great company for garage sales but NOT for a real business. They suck when it comes to fighting charge-backs too. They only correspond through email which is insane! Do not make the same mistake as me! Use a solid bank merchant service NOT SQUARE
i hve used Square for several months and have had no problems. In Florida we have seasonal sales from November thru April. With the old companies we had to pay fees each month we were not doing business that amounted to about $70 per month for a wireless terminal. By the time we paid wireless access fees, batch fees, non-qualified card rates, high rates for American Express, etc; we were paying much more than the quoted rate of 1.69%. The 2.75% across the board rate for swiped transactions from Square computes as a better deal and since we sell at Craft Shows it is much more convienient than carrying a bulky wireless machine. Also, since the customer is right in front of us swiping a card is not a problem. We also get our money deposited so it is normally available the next buisiness day for transactions done before 3 pm est.
I am very happy with Square for the volume of buisiness I normally run through on swiped charges is about $1,000 to $1,500 per week during “season” and we do no charges that are card not present.
DO NOT USE SQUARE !!!!
We have used them for a few times only but they are very bad.
They have several of our payments for over 20 days. It was a $300 and a $500 charge. They do not respond to emails and never return voice mail messages. Their only response was a generic email. I sent them a letter from my customer that they are happy with my services and they want the money to be released to them or to us. Nothing happening.
Never ever use them!! I used other merchant services and never had this problem, I will tell to everybody to stay away from a company which is irresponsible. Everything can be worked out with good communication, it is frightening that they are in business and nobody stops them. Now it seems like I have to take them to court to get my money. I am in business for much longer than they are, our corporation was founded in 2001, never one complaint against us. Why Californian tech. companies think that they are so HIP, that they are above the law?!?!
Not sure why, but they have sold or just gave out my email address. This is my finnancial email, I don’t give it out to ANYONE, but since I signed with Square, I get almost 100 junk/spam/phishing emails A DAY! What a waste of my time.
F- = Get a paypal reader, they may charge a larger fee, but they don’t waste your time!
****WARNING****WARNING****WARNING****
DON’T NOT USE SQUARE for large transactions!!!!
$1000.00 MAX per week!!!!
I use them on my small transactional retail business and they are great.
So I decided to use them on my larger transportation business, that requires larger payments. They ARE NOT MEANT to be used for LARGE transactions. They have been holding my money (an amount well over $5000.00) for almost 2 weeks. I have sent all their requests for documentation, with NO RELEASE of funds. I understand their need for safety with fraudulent transactions. However, they assured me that once they recieved the documents they would release the funds. I’m STILL WAITING.
SQUARE has a good concept, and is great for small transactional type business. Hopefully they will rectify these larger issues and become and even greater company.
However USE CAUTION ON LARGE TRANSACTIONS OVER $1000.00.
I’m glad I use them for small transactions, or I would think they are a scam.
Truth is, they are not. I don’t like their customer support reaction time on the larger issues, but they have served me well on the smaller transactional business.
IM PISSED!!!!!
But I understand.
SQUARE, PLEASE FIX THIS ISSUE. You’re a good company!
If you would like to call them on their 415 number, the extension is 202 and I got a hold of someone. I’m currently on the phone with them right now trying to sort out the bs they put me thru.
CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER (415)375-3176…….Wait for the shpeal and then it’ll prompt you to press #? for this, and # for that….Just press 7 and you’ll either geta LIVE PERSON or a voicemail directing you to leave a message……If you get the voicemail just keep calling back and with a little luck you’ll get a person but no matter what happens they will not be able to assist you and will simply read their script for complaints which goes……………..”I strongly recommend that you contact account services by email and provide the documentation that was request”…….>EVEN IF YOU GAVE THEM WHAT THEY REQUESTED…….This service sucks!
Just notice a transaction was’nt put in my account
From April 7th a it’s now AprIl 24th.
No way to contact these people.
Square up is not all it’s cracked up to be. When things don’t go well, tell your customer you’ll get back with them in 24 hrs after square up is in touch with you! See how that goes over. It didn’t work on my android, as they claimed, even though it’s listed as. Kudos to those that claim it works well for them. I’ll seek a better, effective alternative.
I did a test charge of $11.00. No problem. I SWIPED two charge on April 20. One for $4000.00 and one for $25,000. On Friday night I was asked (via email) for a number of supporting documents for the $25,000. Scanned and sent them Monday AM. Today is Wednesday and I got another email asking for one of the ones I sent Monday. Cannot talk to any one. Neither payment is deposited. My reply today to look again at mondays documents received another “you are important and we will get back in 24 hours” They did not get back in 24 hours on Monday and I can’t find why they have not deposited my funds. The cards were swiped. nothing in their promos or agreements indicate that they will ask for copies of contracts, tax forms or business licenses, copies of my print ads and my website address. That could have been set up ahead of time to avoid these delays that are going to last who knows how long.
The phone # doesn’t even allow a message. says to send info via email.
No wonder they have a lot of money. Its mine.
Don’t Look for your funds anytime soon….I am going through the same thing and they finally told me they would hold almost 40k for 120 days…Sent them all docs as well!
i can assure you , you willk not be satisfied with square . you will NEVER get a human on the phone EVER and email response is poor at best . You will be sorry you did if you do signup . STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS .YOUR SANITY IS WORTH MORE .
Overall I have had a good experience with Square up, until recently. If you get a payment over $1,000 they will hold the amount over $1,000 for 30 days. This I did not know until I had to figure out why our funds were not fully deposited in our account.
Why would any business hold funds for 30 days? This is a bad business practice and I am not new to Square up. We sure wish they would give our money back.
Sid Smith
SQUARE has NO customer service. I have had funds on hold for over a month. I have sent emails with no response and phone calls with no response. Seems fraudulent to me. I have dealt with our merchants and you can always get someone on the phone. NOT SQUARE. NEVER using them again.
Have you ever gotten your money from square? I dont want to wait the 30 days to find out its not coming.
This company is a joke. They do not have any staff to handle verbal communication. They have stolen money from me. They have received money from my customer’s credit services and have refised to dispurse the funds. The individuals that correspond via email do not know how to spell nor do they use proper grammar.
I have provided them with the requested documentation several times over the past month. I still have not received the remaining $2000.00 of my funds. This is THEFT. I WILL SEE HOW FAST THEY RESPOND TO THE FEDERAL AUTHORITIES.
Been using it since last year on and off. I finally started using it every week for my company with an offsite transactions and BOOM… I get the email asking for documents right when I should of had the deposit into the business bank account. Yup, the client credit card was CHARGED ( not pre-authorized) but fully charged. Now, what if I was a stylists or ran a company or just a small business that required the me to use the funds immediately to provide a service? How could I? Wouldn’t that result in a charge-back BECAUSE OF SQUARE? They clearly are not thinking. Why do a final charge and the “suspend deposits?” Let’s see exactly how long it will take for me to get the $2000 (minus fees) used during a SWIPED transaction.
Its just really stupid because they have the business tax ID and they could of pulled a DNB report, or any other business credit report at that.
Same situación, it just happen to me and it was only 5k transaction, they asked for all the documents and them only 2k on the account, it’s been more than 10 days and NO RESPONSE. Does anyone has a phone number where they can be reach? Definitely I won’t be using their services any longer.
The only telephone number they have is 415-375-3176. You will NOT get hold of a person unless you are super lucky. I left at least 10 messages and never got a return phone call. They held $16000 of ours for a long time. When I finally sent them our Articles of Incorporation and our business license they released our funds. But it didn’t happen without serious stress. One thing is for sure, saving the percent we were saving was not worth what we just went through and we will certainly go back to intuit. I would rather pay the extra fees and KNOW my money will deposited and KNOW I can call on the phone and get someone on the other line. This company won’t be in business a year from now.
How do you delete your bank account info if you no longer want to use square ??
Brianna have you had any luck ? thinking about this myself from my account,don’t want a 3rd(Square) party mingling my business and that is exactly what they do. !!!
I am closing my bank account per my attorney and my accountant.
Square is AMAZING, Use it for all our street fairs and craft shows and not a single problem. When we first started using them it would take a 3-4 days to get funds now if we are at a show on Saturday or Sunday we have the funds on Monday. Square is for the SMALL Businesses… If you can do charges over $1000 you don’t use Square that would be throwing money away.
They verified my bank account, then when I had to use them (for a substantial amount) they then needed information I do not have, and will not deposit money into my bank account. They are pretty much unresponsive, and I have hired an attorney to sue them for MY money they won’t give me access to. My attorney is also going to sue for damages since my business is being hurt by this company. If anyone else needs the company information it is here:
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT INFO
Square, Inc.
Domain Admin
901 Mission St
Suite 104
San Francisco
CA
94103
US
Phone: +1.4152813976
Email Address: [email protected]
Good luck.
Hi Pete,
I also have a big privacy issue with Square as an user. Can you send me the contact information of your attorney?
Tom
Hi, Guys,
Me too. Square was a huge mistake! They are holding our money and they do not answer our emails back. If you can send us the information of your attorney we will appreciate it. My email is [email protected].
Thanks
Please post your Attorney info. Square is holding $5k of our and will not refund my customers.
This is fraud they need to be procecuted.
I havee been using Square since 2010 and love it – wish I had an e-mail address or phone number I agree poor customer serivce but I have never had issues with payment.
When you sign up it seems great when dealing with small sums of money. They are holding a substancil amount of my money and are asking for alot of information that I cannot provide. I cannot talk with anyone and they answer any email with please reply – never answering any questions. I don’t know if they have a history of keeping people’s money but am afraid I will lose my money. It was a terrible mistake for me to use this service.
Do not use this company they have no phone number. I was told that if my customer swipes the card my funds will be in my account the next business day. I have done two payments and funds were released now I made a 25,000 payment and they won’t release my funds until I send all my business information. Are they crazy they have no phone number to call and they want my information. I called that number and they lady is a robot saying over and over give them the information and then they release the funds. My business as a small business owner has been shut down because of this last payment. If anyone has phone numbers to them please please give it to me. This company is not god, they are breaking the law not sending me deposit from my customer to til
I give up all my private business information. DO NOT USE THESE GUYS!!!!! Who does business with no customer service number. Now I do not get money from them. I plan so suing the hell out of these people. My customer is being charged $250.00 per unit due to no fuel that was stopped because square will not release funds. I plan on calling the FBI on this crazy business they call e-mail customer service and they respond within 24 hours. I do not know of any company in America that you can’t discuss your money that they are keeping from you unless they get what they want. SEND MY CUSTOMER A REFUND THEN!!!!
I am a small business that does not accept credit cards and I don’t plan on it any time soon. I am looking for a very simple POS system to use with an ipad. Could I possibly sign up for Square Register, never accept a credit card and essentially use the POS for free?
Possibly wishful thinking but just thought I would ask.
Square has absolutely no idea of customer service, I have $26,000 worth of “swiped” card transactions that I can’t seem to get deposited even though the money has been taken from my customers credit card already. I strongly suggest the use of a traditional credit card processing company. I am a small business and cannot afford to not have these funds
Excellent Customer Service today…
Perhaps they are improving?
You mentioned “Excellent”.
How did you get the service? Did you get e-mail reply on time?
We have kept sending e-mails for the last 10 days.
They just ignore, no reply.
Square is holding over $1,000 dollars of mine since April 11th. I own a small tree business and a customer paid $1,200 on her visa. They held funds questioning my account. They asked for further info. I gave it to them. Still no money. I have been back and forth with Better Business Bureau who just act as mediators with nothing solved . Now they have closed my account so when I log on they show the money there but they have blocked my account so I can no longer email support. I don’t know what else to do.
Square “Pay with App” has issues finding my company in the Square database. When I put my company in the search window, it displays the first 100 closest business only and mine isn’t listed, however there are businesses listed that are thousands of miles away from mine. Also, there are companies listed that have no match to my search criteria. There is no mechanism for sorting by distance or alphabetical by company name. Although I like the flat-rate model, the overall product is very weak. I can see why it receive a “C” rating.
Do NOT use this company. Aside from the fact that they never get back to you, they hold onto your money and never give you an idea when you can get it back.
I have over $18,000 owed to us and there is no one who will say when I will even get it. Over a week I am waiting for funds!
Did u receive your funds yet?
This company realy sucks they keep holding my transaction up . No customer service at all
My home repair business was growing. Many of my customers are folks having their new home remodeled before they move to my area. In order to do the work requested, customers called in their CC information so I could get the money for materials and supplies. My first charge was for $1796.00. It went in on a Monday and was in my bank on Tuesday morning. Hurrah!
That afternoon, my own mother asked me to take over repairs to her rental unit and requested I accept payment for materials in the amount of $1100.00. I ran the amount, it was accepted and then,……absolutely nothing! Having expected the deposit to go through like the previous one, I went ahead and purchased the supplies out of my own funds. Two days later, with 50% of the work done, my subcontractor finished his part and asked to be paid. Problem: They still hadn’t cleared my payment.
Only after searching all over the place did I even find the “holdback” crap about swipe versus non-swipe transactions. That’s ridiculous. I purchase things on line all the time without swiping. I order pizza and have it delivered without swiping. I buy stuff over the phone without swiping. Now I can’t finish the job and my parents are going balistic as they need to rent the place so they can cover the payments. I have workers ready to kill me because I can’t pay them now. I stand to lose my business. After multiple emails, I get one back from some dim bulb who signs it “Derek” and all he says is go on the site and request an increase in the non-swipe amount limit. I immediately did so and its been two more days without any response.
When I first went online and ordered the gizmo, filled out the info on my business, and eagerly began looking in the mail box for it to arrive, I got several calls from SquareUp. I even backtracked my caller ID to those calls and can’t get through to anybody. Those numbers are apparently one-way only.
Thanks SquareUp. You’ve destroyed another small business. If I ever see my money back, I’ll be only too glad to run and not walk away from doing business with you. I can already see several UCC violations as you have accepted payment of the non-swipe fees from me without concurrently fulfilling your obligations. That is called fraud plain and simple. I paid the higher fees, you accepted them, now you are just holding my money so you can earn interest on it from your bank. SquareUp, please square up accounts. Don’t penalize the consumer any longer. You are ruining their finances, too, not just mine.
How can any company be so horrible at customer service? Fool me once!
I should have read these comments before I relied on this system. I used it for the first time at an International Conference in LA and on day 3 after a $5,000 purchase, my account was frozen. Of course I didn’t know that, all I new was my password & user name was not recognized–I could not long on to the system. For 7 days I didn’t know where my money was–I figured this was some “fly-by-night” business and my money was gone!!! I was sick, I didn’t sleep for days. I kept emailing the “Help” center and would get an email back to expect a 24 hr response from Square–not so, that took 5 days. I’ve had Paypal for 2 years and have had no problem. They now have an app for a smart phone—which I will be getting. How can a company like Square get away w/this. Are they pocketing all this money for a week–making money on interest/or short term investing? I can’t believe w/all the complaints they haven’t been investigated.
OMG!!WOW!!! I wish I had seen this site earlier!! My wife and I own a sale business, we do estate, moving, down-sizing, liquidation and demolition sales. We had several customers who wanted to use credit or debit cards, so in an effort to appease our customers, we signed up for Square. We used the service in December for a few transactions at one sale with no hitch. Our business has grown dramatically this year. We had a sale for a very important client a few weeks ago and advertised that we would take credit and debit. We used Square for over 50 transactions. We were swiping the cards as we need to then our reader broke. I had to manually key in the cards. Square has only paid us for a portion of the cards. I have sold a dining room set that is in Chicago now, and have not been paid for it. I have e-mailed Square DAILY and was asked for more information. I called my accountant and my attorney. I answered their questions as they pertain to my business per my attorney. The funny thing is that I was in banking for many years and dealt with credit and debit cards both on the merchant and the cardholder side. Also I worked for 6 years for the largest aviation credit card in the world who also does processisng for other card labels both on the merchant and consumer sides. Also, I was a VP of Client Services in the banking industry. These people think we are all either stupid or blind. I used the swiper they provided and it broke. I had no option but to key the cards in. In all my years in this industry if a merchant had to key cards due to faultly equipment we supplied we paid them as normal and apologized for the inconvenience. I had to cash in a CD and take a HUGE HIT, just to pay my client, also I have accounting and attorney fees associtated with this matter. I called tonight after getting their number and left a messsage that I am sure will go unanswered. I have contacted the Attorney Generals office for the State of Missouri and they informed me that a reputable company would have a number to call especially when dealing with credit cards. They are sending me the paperwork to complete a formal complaint and ask for an investigation. I am also filing a complaint with the State of MO division of finance, and have contacted the Missouri Bankers Association for help and guidance in this matter. There are so many of us who have been victims of this company that I think we should open a forum and form a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT maybe that would get their attention. We all know what they are doing… using the float on our money to line their pockets. I am closing my account and closing the associated bank account per my attorneys advice once this matter is finally resolved. The truth is that untill these guys have to pay for thier crimes it will continue to happen. IS THERE AN ATTORNEY WHO WANTS TO TAKE ON THE CASE? CONTACT ME PLEASE!!! I will be filing a suit against them.
I will join you in your lawsuit.
I have an attorney that I believe will take this case.
There are hudreds or thousands like us.
I will contact my attorney right away.
I am with you! I am starting a social media campaign to warn people about this company! I will do whatever it takes!
Teresa,
Can I have the information on how to get involved in the social media campaign and the lawsuit?? I can’t believe I didn’t research this company first… someone had recommended it. Ugh.
I’m IN !!!!! please count me in and need more info. thanks!!
Had another reader sent to me.. Seems it never makes conection and I have to key in card number and the charge is higher,,,,
Its technology and never perfect. You can always get a new reader from retail location. If you don’t like square than get PayPal launching at the end of the month.
square started out great until they began holding funds , the most annoying part is not being able to get phone help promptly. keep in mind if you process a refund they will freeze your funds for over a week. if you process 1000 manually withing in 7 days they will freeze funds for 30 days. who does that ? need less to say i am quiting square for now it causes more damage than good.
Square has taken a payment of over $10,000 and held it for going on 6 weeks with no reason as to why except for their “internal policies”.
They refuse to give me an answer as to why they are holding my money.
They refuse to pay my partner on the other end.
They have no phone support.
They do not answer their customer service emails.
Run Forrest Run! Do not ever use Square.
Do not use Square!!!!!
We are a HVAC company. So, we handle very large transactions. Any transactions over $1000 are held by Square for 30 days!!!! This was not clear to me until after we processed the card. Now they have $5000 dollars of mine that I need to pay my techs and the creditors for equipment. Square promised if I supplied certain documentation they would up my limit. Well, I have provided the documentation twice!!! 5 days ago. They promised to give me a response within 24 hours….Todate, there has been no response from Square. So, Square may be fine for small transactions, But do not use it for large ones. I don’t know if I will ever get my money to pay my people and creditors. But, I do know I am done with Squareup!!!!!
The customer service is horrible: Replied to 3 emails and no answered and tried sending a direct email and got a email back right away saying I would have a response within 24 hours. When that 24 hours passed and still no response I finally found this web site with a phone number. Finally got to talked to someone and they had no reason for the emails not being answered. It sounded like I was talking to a robot that was picking up on one word and giving the same answer but not answering the question. Poor customer service.
Wow I should have read these first! They are holding over 20,000 and I can’t get ahold of anyone! Has anyone s lawyer been able to do anything? This is definitely fraud. Can the fbi actually do anything? Help!
The customer service at Square has been horrific. I am a physician and exclusively key in credit cards rather than swipe them. I have no intentions of ending a session with them by asking them to take out a credit card and swipe it, etc., it’s inappropriate. I bill my credit card patients altogether 1x/month for clients/patients who have requested to billed by credit card and have signed authorization forms. Wow! They are holding back a lot of $$ for 30 days! I contacted Sqare by e-mail (via their site) requesting the increase the limit I can process at one time without having funds held back for 30 days. They responded promptly–it said on their site they would always do so within 24 hours–telling me if I wanted them to review my situation they would. I responded immediately saying, yes please, send my request on for review. It’s been nearly a week now and I haven’t heard a word. I sent them a second request two days ago, reminding them of their promise to provide prompt customer support, but nothing still. Meanwhile, they have my funds and collect their fees up front. Despite searching everywhere I could not find a phone number contact them. What kind of a way it this to run a business? I’m rethinking using them and looking for alternatives.
I hate this company and am glad that there are options. My reader has never worked, I ask specific questions to their suport team and get form letters back that do not answer my questions, They withhold my money for 30 days, Now I am having issues with the rolling seven day pierod which is not seven days but 8 days. Every possible way that this company can take extra money from its clients, it does. Also the fact that they do not have a customer suport number and that they do not even give there name when they respond by email is really poor buisness. They were the only company for a while and they could make there own rules but they are not now and I am leaving.
We run a co-op on the weekends, and do an average of 1-200 in credit sales. Switched to Square because all other services require a monthly fee that was out surpassing the benefit of credit sales.
Have not had one issue yet, with average transactions of $10-20. Money is always in my account the following monday.
I think square is excellent for small volume, which I believe is it’s original intention.
When I whip out my iphone with the little swipe reader, my customers are amazed at the new technology. When I ask them if they’d like a reciept mailed ot them, it is a new feature they’ve never encountered before.
Again, I can not speak for high volume/high total sales, but for the average small business who processes the occasional credit sale, this saves me tons of money. I have not encountered a single problem, so I can not speak of their customer service.
My only qualm is with the reader, as it takes a few swipes to be able to read some cards, but I have yet to have to manually enter a card.
I saw your post, and had an idea to help your card reader issue. Believe it or not I learned the following idea from a store cashier. The customer in front of me could not get her card to work after several tries and the cashier did it in just one try. If you take a plastic bag like that found at your local grocery store and place the card into the bag then swip it while tightly inserted into the bag it usually works. I would not try anything other than a Grocery Store Bag, simply it is so thin, anything else might be to thick. Good luck.
I actually really like Square. I am a new Mary Kay Independant Consultant and just used it for my first customer. I agree it seems that the people having the most trouble are those with HIGH volume of sales. For super small companies like mine it is great!! Still waiting for my card reader can’t wait for it to come in!! Good luck.. Oh PS yes the plastic grocery bag trick does work at the grocery store. So try it on the reader and let me know if it works.
I never really write anything good or bad about companies on review sites and places like this but this time around they pissed me off enough to add my own two cents!
I have a couple different businesses that do about 3 million a year in sales each. In both cases, most of the funds come in by wire or check so we never had a need for credit card processing. When we found out how easy Square seemed to be, I got a reader for both. On one account which is still ok, we have charged over 130k from different cards without a hitch. Yes they do hold it for 30 days if the card is not present but that was not an issue for us as we have enough cashflow to cover it.
The other account, however, after having charged about 40k over a period of 3 months gave us trouble. We charged 10k for one order and 2 days later received their email asking for more information. Again this was a keyed order and we have no issues waiting a month or responding to the email that requested more information. I sent all the information and an automated email came back saying they would review everything within 24hrs. That was b***s*** as 4 days have gone by and not a single response! I have tried the 415 number and tried multiple extensions. (220 works sometimes, and a couple of other ones do too but ultimately, when a human transfers you to the support group, you end up in a the voicemail trap)… Basically 0 support….
I know that with that kind of business volume I should be processing it with a proper company and in fact we have since established a relationship with a major bank to do that. Regardless, this is no way to treat a customer. If you accept customers that do large transactions you are responsible for accommodating them!
I would not recommend square to anyone else at this point. Even small transactions. No company has the luxury of shielding themselves from very basic customer service. No matter how large or small, specially dealing with money, they have a responsibility to provide very basic lines of support and reachability.
I have since also refunded that particular customer’s card and will get a check from them. But what about all the small business owners out there that do not have the luxury of tracking down a customer and getting them to pay by a different means!? I know myself if that had been me when I first started my business it would have nearly put me out of business so I do feel the pain of most on this list.
If they do not respond before the end of this week I am seriously thinking about funding google ads to point to some sort of “The truth about Square support site”
Good luck to all of you !
This company is horrible and I would say borderline fraud! My first transaction was for $7600. The reader did not work on my Android although the company advertises that it does! I was forced to make a manual transaction and key in the information. After I left, I tried to contact customer service and found they don’t have a phone number. I went through ther troubleshooting and discovered that my phone doesn’t work with Square! The reader was not compatible with my phone jack. Then I discovered that the manual transaction cost me 3.5%!! I immediately emailed the company. No one has contacted me yet. But to my horror today when I went to call the company, I found out that they are holding the funds for one month! DON”T DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!!!! They will take your money and run!
If this company does not resolve the issue by the end ot the day. I will be reporting them to the FTC and BBB. I will also start a social media campaign to warn people not to do business with them.
I just filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. They track the number of complaints against a company to see if there is a pattern. PLEASE file your complaint to get some action here is the link
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en
I also just saw that Richard Branson is part of this company. I am starting a complaint chain to him and all of the other investors in this company. Use your social media contacts on Twitter and Facebook to pass on the information to boycott these companies until Sqaure Square up!
Here is a link to all the news agencies that are talkiong about square. I am sending a press release to each of them. If you want to be included in this please let me know.I’m n!ot putting up with this fraud
https://squareup.com/news
I am disgusted – we should have researched this company more prior to signing up. We run a small business and work payment to payment, as we are still growing. In order to pay for an install next Monday, we receive 50% of the total job cost on Tuesday (the 8th) and it’s not even in the list of transactions on our Square account. Did I get lucky? Maybe it didn’t process? I’m afraid to ask our client to see if there’s a pending charge – for fear he’ll be double charged! Can anyone else tell me – the funds that were being “held” – did they at least show as pending transactions on your Square account? Of course, I haven’t heard back from their “customer service” yet……
Square is great for my business. When I’ve contacted customer support, I’ve been happy with the result. The first point of contact with support is through the website. If the problem cannot be resolved though email I get a call. Everyone I’ve talked to has been very helpful and professional. Our charges are typically low volume and low value so I can not speak to some of the complaints of those with large value transactions. I’ve been using it for more than a year. I’ll also add that we sell antiques so the ability to take cc transactions on phones at our shop, at shows or upon deliver at a customer’s house is very helpful.
I have no confidence in Square or any financial service that does not provide telephone support when my bank account is involved. I signed up on line and received the square device in the mail a few days later. After I signed up Square was supposed to put a test deposit and withdrawel to my bank account . They keep “emailing me” that they did , but two months has gone by and there has been no test deposit to validate my bank account. Worse, takes them 3 or 4 days to even respond to an email and even though in every email I ask someone to call, I have never received a phone call., . In every email, I asked the question “do you offer phone support?” The question is ignored. I am mailing back the square device today.
I do not recommend this company that provides no customer service.
Joan,
I couldn’t agree with you more! I moved to GoPayment by Intuit and very happy with them. Always get a live person on the phone. The discount rate might be a point higher on manual or non-qualified swipes, but that’s a little deal to me. I have another consultant friend who tried Square and had one transaction well over $1000 and they put a big time hold on the money. He also the same issue with e-mail support versus phone support. I also use QuickBooks and they have a service where you can download your GoPayment mobile transactions directly into QuickBooks ($9.95 /mo and well worth it). They also provide you a free card reader as well.
What number did you find to contact support? I am anxious to see, if my customer service experience is as pleasant as you stated, thank you
Sincerely,
No Faith
Awesome app. First charge 80.00. 2nd charge 1588.00 not a prob. $ is in the bank next day.
I have not received payment from Squareup – and believe they are using funds for personal use. Who do I contact for assistance?
The only number we have is 415-375-3176 or try [email protected]
We have not had any luck trying to get to return a charge back for over 6 months now. Good luck to you.
DO NOT USE SQUAREUP! They are AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!
Do not use this company!! We decided to use this company because the rate was good and no monthly fee was even better. We ran our first transaction (over $1000) a week ago and nothing has hit our account. Let’s see here…they used the “24 hour deposit” as a great selling point. This is a bunch of BS! There is a phone number that I had to search the internet for (nowhere on their website) and EVERY option you choose gets you to an answering machine. We have sent multiple emails, phone calls, messages…any way to get in contact with a live person… and guess what….NO LUCK! DO NOT USE SQUAREUP! They are AWFUL!!!!!!!!!! There number is (415) 375-3176..GOOD LUCK!
I sit back and I read all the complaints that people are having and I’m saying B.S.!!!! I have been using Square now for a year and a few months and have had zero problems. I have not experienced a non-swipe $1000.00 Plus transaction so If for someone reason people are having problems with that area than just make sure you swipe the card! I can honestly say that my biggest swipe was $12,300 with no problems. I swiped on a Monday and had funds in account before Tuesday 6am!!!! I first receive an option to send an instant receipt. It records my destination where the swipe took place. I can take a picture and match it up along with the transactions. It tells you right away that square has charged their account. Just so you people all know that it really depends on your bank and how long they get to their deposits!! FYI Bank of America works like this. If All of my square swiped transactions are done before 8:00pm than All of my money will be their the.next morning usually around 6 am.. It works.. The people who have problems I wish you better luck and you also might want to check you local and state banking laws because that could be a Reason as well. Some banks without you even knowing it will have security limits on purchases and withdraws. So when they see a big transaction they accept the purchase but wait for the funds to be verified. Any questions send to email.
I really have to question any positive reviews on this company.
First of all why is someone who is Soooo HAPPY with them even checking out the background of this company? Most people don’t do that until they get burned and definitely not when they have been using them for over a year with NO PROBLEMS. I know that some people make money writing positive reviews for a living. That would be the ONLY reason I could guess as it is obvious how awful this company is. They have an F RATING at the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
They held over 50k of our funds and it was THEM who held it. It had nothing to do with our bank or state banking laws as you suggest. We refunded as much of this to our customers as they would allow us to and recharged using another merchant account. It has been OVER 90 DAYS AND THEY STILL OWE US OVER $10,000.
We we e-mail and ask the status their reply is “Check your old e-mails to see the status”
Yes ~ great company ~ NOT!
Pete W,
I applaud your good fortune! However, the good folks who have commented here, myself included, are not idiots as you seem to imply. I do not know where you are located but I am an hours drive from Square, I also have a merchant account with B of A, and in 20 years of business have never experienced such blatant disregard for others, particularly customers, in a business setting. They have been holding a mere $2500 of my money for the past 30 days (today is the moment of truth) and repeated attempts to resolve this issue and communicate with this company have been futile. I am furious with Square, but particularly myself for not carefully reading their legally questionable contract. I am sure that had 90% of the folks who signed up for this service made themselves aware of the details of this unscrupulous company, their contract, and their customer disservice, Square would no longer exist.
Don’t use square ,after I lose my job ,lose my home I make jewelry to sale at art fair,it’s only way I can survival,I have one son learn hight school. And my husband have no job. My friend told me to use square ,I very happy because no free every month. After I used with my customer. They hold my money ,I tried to contact someone but no phon only email.i email them manytime they said my account risk and I email them back ,ask what do you need me to do ? It’s silent , I need cash flow for buy my show and my food my supply.
I’m cring ,strain ,no one can help , give up for everything .
,if someone have attorney please tell me I want to joy .my email [email protected]
I ran a credit card purchase for $6926.
they Deposited $1905.95
they said they have to hold $4777.49 until June 16th
Who does that ? This is CRIMINAL ACTIVITY !!!
I tried to issue my customer a refund and the website said they will take the full amount of the transaction out of my bank account even if the full amount has not yet been deposited.
SOMEONE START A LAWSUIT – I WILL JOIN YOU!
I AM DEVASTATED. NEVER BEEN TREATED LIKE THIS IN BUSINESS BEFORE.
Did they fix the problem ? I am dealing with a similar issue, They have yet to deposit a single dime however from a 3650 charge. They claim they are going to deposit 2002.00 and the rest will be deposited on June 25th. I run a leasing business that charges peoples leases much like that of a Hotel stay for a weekend of week. In my case the renter will have stayed, rented, left. I refund 500.00 of their money as deposit as long as they dont mess up the beach house. I am now forced to pay the 500.00 out of my own pocket. Since I own this house and run this business to support my retirement I felt using Square was a secure method making my clients think they had security in using their credit card for a nice weekend or week stay on my beach house. I have tried to look thru all that I agreed to as I printed it down,, and you cant find this so called HOLD. Holding your money for 30 days, is fraud as far as I am concerned, the person whom you charged has been billed and WE have not been paid. I dont know what to do at this point. NO customer service I found the number called it but is merely voice activated BS no one ever answeres its a joke. I could never run a business like that and not be in jail.
Square up is a company that “STEALS MONEY”. They are “FRAUDELENT” and find ways to hold on to money that is large and not pay. They use the “PRETEXT” of verifying funds. We are going to file a lawsuit (Class action) at the Attorney General’s Office immediately.
They are the WORST PAYMENT PROCESSOR. PLEASE BEWARE
I love my Square and have highly recommended it to artists who exhibit with me.
One problem was taken care of quickly (before I was aware that a customer had been double charged) and I received a quick response when I sent an email and tweet.
I do wish they had a dedicated live phone person to talk to. That would have been easier than emailing and tweeting to get a response to what could have been a problem.
I will continue to recommend the Square to all I deal with…..and my customers think this style of credit card reader is very cool.
If you’re even thinking about using Square Up – DON’T. This is possibly the most frustrating service I have ever used. They have held my money for 7 days and there is no number to call. When you write them they will send you an email saying they will respond within 24 hours. It’s just a robot response. The support staff doesn’t even read your question. I wish I had done my research sooner on the internet ,Square Up is absolutely the worst company ever. Out of frustration i signed up with Intuit GoPayment – there is a NUMBER you can call and talk to someone. GoPayment is .1 percent higher in transaction fees and guess what, that is well worth the money to me to be able to talk to someone when there’s a problem.
Do NOT use Square UP. Worst Company Ever.
In reviewing the reviews for Square, it seems as though many others are having the same issues that I have encountered. At first, I thought Square was great…my business is small and I liked the quick swipe of the customers credit cards and then deposit to my business checking account.
However, out of the blue, Square put a hold on a deposit. It has been many emails back and forth, submitting ‘proof’ of my business, documents…and still no release of funds that have been charged over 2 weeks ago.
Poor, poor, non existent customer service. No published phone call to reach anyone. Emails go into cyber space. I would not recommend this company or service to anyone. There is too much competition and other services that are glad to help out and provide customer service. Rating: F
Square sucks. They just keep on billing me for the same chargeback from Amex even though it has been credited twice without a single explaination. Of course you can’t get hold of anyone. Why doesn’t San Francisco have a law against bad businesses like this, they have a law against everything else? Grade is F
I’ve been processing through Square problem free for 6 months without any chargebacks or customer service issues. One day I received an email that my account will be deactivated and funds frozen for 90 days. Only now I come to find out what everyone else seems to know already – nonexistent customer service! Tried calling the number on the BBB page (415) 375-3176 like 20 times, cant get through to anyone! My business is at a standstill and I lose money every day because I’m not able to process payments!!! I want the whole world to know that if you go with square, the livelihood of your business to depend on some “voodoo magic” and you’ll have no-one to complain to!
DONT USE SQUARE. Square is holding $1000 on my very first transaction. I haveprovided them with my tax EIN, business license, signed invoices, signed contract agreement, 2 months of bank statements, business website, and they are still holding my money. I used the swipe method to process the transaction too which is supposedly “unlimited”. It has been over a week and there has been no response and there is no phone number to call. I just get robotic emails back saying they will take care of my request in the next 24 hours.
Has anyone told their clients/customers to dispute the charge with their credit card, and that way, they get there money back? That way the credit card company disputes with the merchant, square. I was suppose to get our money today, and no luck from it being deposited by Square. I can’t believe I didn’t read enough information.
Hi Alicia,
I would advise against doing this because it may cause more problems for you than solve the problem. In most cases, the best course of action is to wait out the hold.
Square is the most difficult system I have ever encountered to get a problem solved. Been at it since Sunday, today is Wednesday and still no resolution
I made a deposit on Sunday and my money has not been deposited as of yet. Is this a legitament company. I starting to think not. Good luck to us all
I just have to comment, after reading all the other comments, but you people who are using Squared for $1000+ transactions are being really naive. Squared is for little charges, not $1000+ per week in transactions. You use Squared if you are selling a little bit of jewelry at the local “Farmers Market” not charging multiply $5000 transactions for your construction company. When you start charging over $1000 a week on credit cards, you go with a real credit transaction company. And if you have to manually type in a credit card, you don’t use Squared!
Think of Squared as the corner liquor store of credit card transactions. You get little things there and if you start doing big business, you go to a big grocery store and if you even need bigger than that, you goto Costco, Sam’s Club or a Whole Saler. Would you buy $25,000 in product from a corner liquor store? No! So why would you run $25,000 in credit card transactions in Squared?
Thanks for the comment, Jason. I agree with you that Square is best used for small transactions and a low volume of sales overall; however, the issue that is becoming apparent is that Square does not market the service this way, nor do they do a good job of educating users about the types of transactions that will cause holds. It could be as simple as popping of an alert to warn a merchant that the transaction will be held before they finalize the sale. This way, merchants would have a choice before moving forward with the transaction rather than being surprised by a hold later.
SQUARE has NO customer service what-so-ever. So, things may happen, and if for example your money get lost, good luck. Square support is nowhere to be found and neither is your money. Their customer support is literally non existent / zero / none.
Honestly, the stress is not worth it. There are plenty of other payment systems out there that stay there for their customers. If you are thinking about trusting your money to Square, think again. You will save yourself many, many hours of stress and anguish. After they get your money you are totally left alone. Not worth it AT ALL. Technology is great, but still humans are better..
I agree with the easy of use for aa occasional merchant such as myself but the very first transaction I ever accepted with square got a charge back 4 months after the transaction and none of the documentation got me my money back. I had the persons card in front of me but no card reader so I input it manually. If it was a fake transaction how did I get their CCV code from the back of the card? I also think its crap that square hides the email address where I sent the reciept for the transaction, so I will now have to copy all email addresses in case someone tries a chargeback 4 months after the fact next time. What really pisses me off about square is that in the past couple of weeks I have seen them on tv advertising their “service” ( more like lack of service ). If they can pay for national tv commercials why can’t they pay for real people to man their help line? Or outsource it to India? They have to be making millions but they are still cheaping out on customer service. Total corporate greed in my opinion.
Hello,
Just because you send in “documentation” does not mean you will win a chargeback. Visa, MC, AMEX, and discover all have different ways of dealing with chargeback’s. Even if you send in all of the information so that you can win the chargeback, the cardholder can still dispute it. A chargeback is initiated by a Bank or a cardholder; this has nothing to do with Square.
After they dispute it again it turns into a second chargeback (or rebuttal). At this point you can still win the chargeback, but just in case you don’t you can always pressure the card holder directly. As per visa and MasterCard regulations, any time you take a credit card manually, you must also have a signed imprinted sales draft. Without that draft you are almost guaranteed to lose your chargeback. An imprinter is about 40$ and sales drafts are very cheap, spend the money to save your money.
The CVV code means that the CC number is correct to that card, but that does not mean the person using it was the correct person. This is why a signed sales draft is important. The bank wants to know that SOMEONE was there and used that card, without that sales draft there is no proof the card was there.
But what if you can’t get a signature such as a telephone or internet order? When the item is shipped or picked up, always require a signature and ID and confirmation upon delivery.
If you would like to learn more about chargeback’s, please visit this visa website:
http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/chargeback-management-guidelines-for-visa-merchants.pdf
TERRIBLE COMPANY…their cardreader never works which makes it nessesary to type in number. They charge more and then…. last week we used it for $2300.00 and they emailed to say the money would be held for 30 days. Now they are saying $2002.00 will be put in our account in the next 3 business days. This will be the last time we will use this company.
I was thinking of it, but now have many second thoughts. The lack of service and holding back my funds are bothersome.
But my question for those of you using Square is, with American Express charges do they come to you directly and separately from American Express or through Square? Do you still pay Square, 2.75% on top of the American Express interchange fee of 3.50%?
I was told that with Visa and Master Interchange fees, about 80% of those cards being used are below far below 2.00% and debit cards below 1%. Leaving a lot of my money in Squares pockets, but I am just building my business.
Bottom line. Can any one confirm if Square’s 2.75% fee is on top of Visa, Master, Dinner or AE interchange fee’s?
Thank you,
Kenny
Hi Kenny,
Square’s fees are not charged in addition to any other fees. Here is Square’s help page regarding its fees.
Phillip,
I have to ask this question. Are you employed by Square? Really. Read there help page. They make no direct comment on interchange fees.
How is it that with American Express, everyone complains that their fees are 3.50%? Are you telling me I can accept AE all day long and only have to pay 2.75?
If this is true, I believe you made my decision very easy. 75% of my clients use AE cards. I am saving 0.75% on every transaction.
Besides all the other horror stories that I keep reading, only charging 2.75% on AE or Dinners is a good thing.
Anyone else out there?
Thanks
Kenny
Kenny,
No, I do not work for Square or any other processor. This is my website and I knew the answer to your question. It appears that Square has special pricing with AMEX, which explains the low rate.
So how does Square handle the cross boarder and Visa ISA, International, NPF CP and CNP, Discover ISVC and Data Usage surcharges as well as the Acquiring Fees such as NABU, etc…
Hi Howard,
Square does not disclose this information, so it is anybody’s guess how they handle them.
I had been using square since January with no issues. Money was in the account the next day. Then, in one seven day period, I took payment of two $1000+ purchases. The first one went through. Then I got an email telling me they were holding my money for 30 days. Then they said they needed me to supply more info. I supplied every thing they asked for. Next day I got an email telling me they were cancelling my account because my business was “high risk.” Most merchant services have a list. If you’re on the list, don’t sign up. Square has no such list that they make available. I’ve been with paypal for two years and never had a single chargeback. My volume should be near $100,000 this year. I will never do business with Square again, I am building a website to show what a scam they are. I want to drive as many people as I can away from this rip-off.
I went through hell with square, Their e-mail customer service sucks a ton!!!!…. I lost money and customers thanks to this “Square” bunch of misleading dirty tactics filled company. I think a class action is on order. shall we?
We got an enormous amount of power against this companies, lets use it wisely!!!!!!!!! anybody? please let me know!
Let me know when you know, Their parking suspended funds for lengthy periods of time and making tons off the interest……….
Let me know when you all are ready. [email protected]
Fully a scam. They hold money to play monopoly like banks.
Hey the same thing just happend to me they just re- enabled my account after sending in documents they requested and later that night they said they were closing my account due to high risk and I hat two options refund customers and ask for a different form of payment or wait 90 days and the will deposit the 22,000 that my event made into my account how do I confirm that this is legal and if I have any rights for lawsuit . This is putting me out of business. How did your matter end up ? Email me direct at [email protected] please
I recently opened up an Espresso business at a Food Pod in Portland, Oregon. Being a new business I was searching for ways to increase sales without too much added expense, such as monthly or added transaction fees. My fellow “Pod” members highly recomended the Square as a great option to accept cards. By my second week I was ready to roll and started accepting cards, it increased my sales slightly but it was a major selling point for those whom never use cash, which in turn brought me new customers that were searching for a new coffee place with good coffee, since they have been severly limited. Since it’s nearing the end of the month I was reviewing my Banking account(s) on-line yesterday and noticed that ther was a major descrepancy with my deposits. Despite having been sent numerous emails that Square has deposited monies into my business checking account there was no record of such in my account. Next I called my Bank and they did a search of my account and had found no attempt to deposit money into any of my accounts, business nor personal. So then I got back on-line to the Square website where I reviewed my banking information, I noticed the last 3 digits they had listed were not my account, or even close. I could understand if I had made a mistake, such as entering a wrong number or out of order, but these were not even close. I then contacted my bank again to have them research this even further (I bank at a CU therefore when I call I speak with someone whom I know), The lady at my bank found the account with the same last 3 digits, Now here’s where it gets interesting, This account was NON-EXISTANT until last Wednesday. With all these “Safeguards” they say they have in place how could this happen? How did my account information get changed and why would they even set up a clear line of transfer when something at the other end doesn’t even exist. I still have had no response from them even though they said it would happen within 24 hrs. It is now Hour 26. UNTRUSTWORTHY, HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE, DO NOT DO IT. There are others out there and they maybe slightly more, they still work on your mobile phone and are long established companies with a proven track record. Square is taking advantage of the people at the bottom of the chain, they do not deserve your business. I’m going with Intuits “Gopay”, The company that developed Quickbooks.
It is unbelievable that a financial company with such popularity and with very high prospects of growth could be doing business with no telephone support team. I just learned today that square will hold my funds for 30 days after I’ve been trying to contact someone for the past 5 days about why my funds were not released to my bank account. Initially, I was asked to furnish all sorts of documents to prove that a credit card payment was authentic; and even after all what they requested were sent in, I still got no reply from anybody. I gave them my phone number in two of my emails asking them to call me; … I am still waiting for that call five days later. I would highly encourage this company to establish a good customer service support system in place if they want to continue carrying out business with its current customers and prospective ones. There is competition out there already. Intuit Go Payment is awesome…!!!
I signed up with Square on the recommendation of my IT guy. My first swipe was $12,500.00 and the money was immediately transferred to my Square D account but the next day I got an email from Square that the swipe was suspicious and they were holding the money. I freaked out and went to the reviews here AFTER I used the account. It seemed to me that they were possibly a scam and I had lost my money at the most and would have to wait a long time at the least for my money. I called the phone number that is on some of these reviews and got run around, no phone customer service. Now to be totally truthful here is how it went. May 5, 2011 signed up, May 8, received swiper in mail, May 15, swiped for $12,500.00, May 16, account frozen and request to go to my account on line and Verify questions, May 17, a request for my bank statements last three months, copy of agreement with customer and previous processor info, all sent that day. May 21, money released to my bank account and an email saying my company is approved for the large amounts. May 28, swiped $45,000.00, went into my account the next day, I swiped at 730pm, money in at midnight. I am convinced they are a legitimate company that may have some startup issues but in my case they really needed to check the validity of my company and my track record with my customers. I believe this is fair considering the large amounts I am processing in the first few weeks. I highly recommend this company.
UPDATE:
Still using Square, no problems
Problems with this company and a recent change in my account has them holding funds all prior reactions were paid in full with no problems
Trying to solve it with their customer service….impossible
You get canned generic reply and it doesn’t address your issue
Done with this provider going to Intuit
I can only echo all of the complaints that have been written. I run a design and event management firm. Many of the events we manage take a least a year’s worth of planning and during that time we process multiple charges from the client. We have been working with a client on his event now for 7 months with no problem, and then the other day, without cause, the funds are on hold. I have provided them with more documentation than necessary and invited them to just contact the cardholder directly. That was five days ago. Now with the money in limbo, I may have to pay for contractors out of my pocket. I can’t look bad to my client and stuff like this has to stay stay transparent to my customers.
In the meantime i was able to open an actual merchant account with Phone Swipe. (Phone Swipe also has a service much like Square except it has legitimacy call Pay Anywhere). If paying a monthly fee and having a credit check is what I have to do to avoid this BS again. I have no problem.
I have never heard of anything even similar to how Square operates it’s customer service. And after being victimized by Square I realize that their disclosure almost suggest that I was in immanent danger of a compromised relationship between my clients and myself from the very beginning. Reason being, they took my clients money without warrant and left it up to me to figure out what to tell them.
I used my Square account with a Square reader on my Ipad once in December of 2011 and than again in may of 2012. One week after the 2nd transaction I received an email from Square saying,
“Hello Albert, Thanks for using Square. The safety of your Square account is very important to us. Due to unusual activity, we have temporarily suspended deposits to your bank account until we confirm some information about your account. During this period, you can still accept payments using Square. We realize the difficulty this may cause and we want to resume deposits to your bank account as soon as possible. With your co-operation, we hope to resolve this situation by the next business day. In order to resume deposits to your account, please log into your Square account on our website and click the “Verify account” button in the banner at the top of the page in order to confirm some details about your account. We appreciate your help resolving this issue. For questions about this process visit our Help Center. Sincerely, Sunny”.
I then sent them a copy of my 2010 government Tax return, a contract between one of my clients and myself and my government EIN authorization. I also included this text. “I’m finding it difficult to understand why “Square” would allow a payment to be approved and than not forward the funds after. Why not just disapprove in the first place. And Where does this interest go while in escrow or limbo? I’ve only used my square account twice. If there has been any additional activity other than the Bose transaction and the transaction done on 5/25/12 please let me know. Also, your customer service is questionable because of the inability the communicate with a human being. I can be reached at (212) (my number)”.
Square responded 24 hours later with this. “Hi Albert, Thank you for providing Square with further documentation. However, we see that your company is Inactive in the state of New York. Can you please provide us with further details in regards to this? Can you please also provide us with more up to date 2011-2012 government documentation. Thank you, Sunny “.
Know that Square had already approve me months ago and had all my business information as well as my commercial bank account info, I then sent Square and /or it’s representative this email.
“Hello Sunny, Your emails and actions present an enormous cause for concern. You have not provided me with an explanation of what “unusual activity” prompted the suspension of deposits to my account. Nor have I ever been informed that there was a suspension. It is unclear to me why you have not honored the present payment made on 5-25-12, to my account with Square. As stated in my earlier email, you approved the payment but failed to forward the funds. I am not obligated to provide you with any additional documentation. Furthermore, you have not addressed any of my prior questions in the correspondence I sent to you via your website yesterday. Please forward the money to my account immediately. Your efforts to hold this payment in limbo seem to suggest that you intend on delaying the process indefinitely. Your request for unnecessary documents, your inability to provide a number where I can reach an actual Square Representative, and holding money you are not authorized to keep, indicate that there might be a major problem on your end. I can’t conduct a business this way. I expect you to resolve this matter within the next 48 hours. Again I may be reached at 212 (my number), Respectfully, Albert”.
At the close of that same day, Square sent me this.
“Hello Albert, Our Account Services team has concluded a review of your account and has determined it to be high risk. For security purposes, we have elected to deactivate your Square account. You will no longer be able to process transactions using Square. To learn more about Square’s Merchant User Agreement and terminations, please visit: https://squareup.com/legal/ua
Any funds currently in your account will be held for 90 days before being released to your linked bank account.
If you do not want to wait 90 days to receive these funds, you may consider refunding the payments back to the original cards and seek an alternate form of payment. To learn more about processing a refund, please see: How to refund a payment. Thank you for understanding. Square Account Services.
I still have no idea why any of this has taken place. I contacted both of my clients to make sure there were no discrepancies with payment and both had no clue as to why Square would have an issue with their authorized payments. Which led me to believe that Square keeps a large number of clients funds in suspension and forwards those funds to account where it accrues interest. Square then with no excuse to their customers make a great deal of profit on that interest. And just as soon as enough people come to the realization that this is in fact their truth, Square will become an illegal memory equivalent to past ponzi schemes. And their immanent failure will be our sweet revenge. Problem is, because nobody’s monitoring their business practices, their gonna make tons of money before they get caught.
So in conclusion, my rating for Square and their customer service would come in at a Z………………..
Thank you Albert for posting your comment. It helped my husband and I to come to a decision about this product. I am sorry you are going thru this experience. I hope it is resolved in a positive way.
Hi Albert, this just happened to me yesterday. They are holding my funds as well. I processed a refund today and it’s pending….did you do a refund and did it go through if you did so?
Wow, I am soooo glad I have researched this new company. I was all set to upgrade my phone (more expense) and to read of these enraging practices by Square have convinced me that you and all the others are correct. Several business I know are using Square and some are coming into their busy season as am I. I am going to direct them to this site so they can decide whether to keep it or not. Thank so all so for this enlightenment.
Can Square be used on transactions with out the credit card in hand, such as phone orders?
Yes, but you will pay a higher rate for keying the card into the phone instead of typing it. The rates are mentioned in the review above.
Has anyone retained an attorney to sue them? I see mention of it but would like to join the suit. They took me for 3k, and I lost my biggest client. Please email me if you have retained counsel.
A one-time enthusiastic user of Square, I was forced to switch to an Intuit account today, and me and my customer are still out $13,200. Any business processing more than $1,000 per month or handling large transactions should be warned! Square accepted my large transaction only to later ask that I refund my customer’s money. Note: my customer did not request the refund. I’m out of product and Square has charged my customer $13,200 but has kept the money. Worst of all, they have not returned my phone calls or emails. This is the MOST disturbing aspect. Totally unacceptable and possibly illegal business practices. Anybody have a direct contact or know where complaints should be directed?
I am trying to find the phone number as I am having a similar issue! Have you had any luck?
The phone number only puts you into a voicemail loop. They do not have people answering the phones!!!!!
Square is not delivering as advertised. Sales made on Saturday are not processed according to the schedule they say in their FAQs. The wait for the deposit takes far too long. I am talking about a small amount under $25
very disappointed here
Update… still too many days late. No deposit to my account. Have a big crafts event this weekend and between a rock and hardplace. Geared to being mandatory to take credit cards. I did get an automated response with “Case #” but still cannot talk to someone. I looked into paypal and when it is launched another 7-14 days I was told yesterday. Paypal said it would not be tied to my bank account but go directly into my Paypal account. Problem I have is accessing the cash. IF I want to deposit to my bank account will take 2-3 business days to transfer those funds. Paypal does have a no fee debit card, so will have to get one of those too. So remains to be seen if I either will be a satisfactory deal!!!???!!
I have used Paypal for years and really HATED the 3 – 4 day wait to get the money into my bank account. But that is NOTHING compared to the hold that square puts on my money. AND when I have questions about paypal, I am able to talk to a person….Yes, sometimes I have trouble with what sounds like an out sourced accent and they have problems with my southern drawl….but they are friendly and helpful. I also have the Paypal debit card that I can use to access my money immediately. Paypal is FAR FAR FAR more efficient than Square. It wouldn’t be so bad if they offered a way to actually speak to someone.
UPDATE…. I must be fair about this. I still have not heard from Square. But found out today.. the posting to my account did take place on the monday after the sale (a Saturday). In my case MY bank did not post it where I could see it on my online bank account. After I called the Bank this morning … surprise… within minutes the monday posting showed up.. Was it Square NO… my BANK… Now you have to wonder when they actually do what they say the are going to do… and then dont followup to let me know… Check with your Bank… well.. they are not even defending themselves if they are right?????
The concept is great but the service is terrible. There is almost no way to communicate with Square once you are a customer. They are terrible about resolving chargebacks. They will let you know they are removing money from your account but they will not respond once the money has been removed. DO NOT USE SQUARE!
I have to be honest here. I have read with fear all the stories and was sure I would be lending my voice to the chorus. I will, but not in the way I thought I would. Square just answered my email and cleared my account. I sent them the info they requested and called and left a few messages and sent some more emails, all in one day mind you. And sure enough they figured it out and go my going again with just one day down. I am not saying all the others aren’t having these problems but it gives me hope that Square is just going through some growing pains and will likely catch up with the astounding growth they have experienced lately. I hope they do because I do like the way the system works for the most part. I am a general contractor and don’t take more than a few transactions a month but they are usually bigger than a small business might usually take and Square makes that pretty easy. I hope they get it together and keep offering the service.
Please don’t hate on me for this comment I do not work for Square or anybody else for that matter. I build stuff and just want to make a living. I was going to flame them if they did not come through, tis only fair I give them this comment as it is due.
Joe
Joe how did you call them? There is no way to leave a voicemail? Do you have a number? Mary
I was able to get through the menu once and I left a message. The best communication I had with them was the email. I replied to the email they sent back confirming my submission of the information they wanted. I also sent a note through their system on the site. I dumped all the information about my business in that note. Once that my information they acted pretty quick.
the number is 415-375-3176
If I did not read all of these stories I would think square is the best thing ever.
I’ve used it for 6 months without a problem.
I read about all the problems on the Iphone app when I got this thing and I decided to try it anyway as a secondary solution to my online cc sales account that I use pro pay for. Pro pay limited my per sale to $500 and so square looked appealing to me because of the no limit part. I did read the $1000 rule on their site and I use it mostly at my auto detail shop for small “upsales” for $10 to about $100.
I have never had a problem yet and I think after reading all these comments, it’s because of my small transactions.
About a month ago I was hurting for cash and needed a short term fix while I was waiting for some money that I was expecting. My girlfriend was nice enough to help me out by letting me swipe $1500 and it was in my account the next day.
I guess I just got lucky but after reading all these horror stories I would never run a large transaction again until they get through this growth problem or whatever it is.
I hope that these issues are growth related but after thinking about it I started to think about the demographic that square must appeal to. Me…..business owner with bad credit and they don’t care?!! and I was desperate to accept credit cards at any rate. It seems like I’m the perfect target to be taken advantage of in this area.
Food for thought
Scott, I wouldn’t mention any more that you swipped your girlfriends card to obain cash, this is not a legal transaction. You should just be lucky and let it alone.
We have had 2 transactions with Square since acquiring our cell phone swipe gadget. Needless to say, both transactions were not satisfactory. The first took over a week to get our funds credited. The second was a card not present transaction and was keyed in manually which cost us $344 on a $2344 transaction, almost 15% charge! This is totally a ripoff. We also have PayPal which we are happy with but they don’t take transactions when you do not have the card security code available.
Unless Square makes this right with us, we will never use them again.
Contact Morgan & Morgan Law firm in Florida even if you do not live here. I am implementing a class action lawsuit. As I have read 546 comments. Mine is the same story as the rest. Forward this on I will contact NBC News next.
I am thoroughly frustrated with this company. They are holding $3000 of my money and I am unable to get anywhere with them. I have left many messages via e-mail and phone to no avail. I would like to get in contact with anyone from California so we can take our complaints to the state attorney general. In addition, we can also contact ABC’s 7 on your side. I’m sure they will love the story. I can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
As a note the BBB has updated rating to -A.
I own a small business (salon)..After seeing the advertisement for Square I thought that it would be ideal for my business. I was actually in the process of signing up with Square when I decided to find out information on the company.I am soooo glad that I read these reviews before making that commitment!! Thanks to all for having the courage to post your experiences with Square it helped me dodge a bullet..
In case anyone is wondering, the BBB updated their rating and gave it an A- … this post is over a year old, so I’m really glad that the BBB had updated it since then. Thanks to this post, though, I’m on the fence about using Square.
This review was actually updated on 5/9/2012, but thanks for the update regarding the BBB rating. I’ll make sure to change it on the next revision of this review.
Yesterday I received the “canned” email from Squared that everyone seems to be talking about. I do not use this for business purposes….I utilize it for personal use….I seel/swap/trade Pandora, Trollbeads, etc. with friends, coworkers and family and have them pay me using the card reader. I then transfer the money from PayPal to my checking account. I did not register as a business, I registered that it would be for personal use. They are now holding $350 and I have no way to go through the “verification process” since I’m NOT a business. I responded to their email, but based on what I’ve read here I probably won’t get anywhere with that. I also “refunded” the money in the hopes it will reverse back to my PayPal account….. am I out of luck? If this was ONLY to be used for “businesses”, I had NO idea….since I was able to say it was to be for “personal use”. Does anyone have any suggestions, insight, advice, anything they can offer to help me or direct me in this huge mess??? I just want my money back, and I’ll trash the card and never use it again if it’s not meant to be used as I was doing.
Hope to hear from someone, would greatly appreciate any information or help from anybody who can give me some advice.. Thanks in advance!!!
I had no idea they were going to hold my money. I am a business and have vendors to pay. Let’s just say it’s not just a couple hundred bucks. And they don’t get back to you with in 24 hours. They said they are holding it for a month! Are you kidding a fricken month?!! Lame, can’t conduct business this way, a big mistake on my part using Square.
Square is a JOKE. It sounds innovative and clever. And it may work for teenagers with after school jobs earning pocket change. BUT THE $1000 hold that is not in plain sight is RIDICULOUS for small business owners. I would rather pay the fees with my bank’s merchant account than to have my money be held HOSTAGE.
VERY BAD BUSINESS!
I was sold on Square by their very smooth sales tactics. What i was not informed about was how they HOLD YOUR MONEY FOR 30 DAYS!!!! This is absolutely ridiculous. No word on anything like this when your signing up. Plus it says they will deposit the first $1000.00 within 36 hours TOTALLY FALSE INFORMATION!!! IT HAS BEEN 20 DAYS AND STILL NO DEPOSIT.
Good luck trying to get someone on the phone to even discuss this. They have a very nice automated system that will ring 4 times and then tell you that no one is available to take your call. Leave a message. So i did, over and over and over again. 4 total messages and THEY STILL HAVE NOT REPLIED IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS!!!!
Use your bank, pay a little extra for a wireless terminal and dont get yourself involved with this bullsh** service.
I thought square was pretty good until I made a transaction for $5000 ( I have an A/C company, this is a common amount) and they held it for two weeks while asking for a plethora of proof that I exist. They said there was “unusual activity” but thats bs. I think they hold money (as does paypal) to collect the interest. If they were really wanting to validate I am who I say I am, then do it before I get paid, not after. To date they have only released $2000 to me and are holding the rest for whatever reason. ( and they wont answer calls or emails, either). In the meantime, my bills are overdue and this puts a bad credit rating on me. Screw Square. I will not use them again.
SQUARE IS HOLDING MY DEPOSIT HOSTAGE! I have been trying to get Square to RELEASE MY LARGE DEPOSIT THAT THEY HAVE HELD ONTO FOR 8 BUSINESS DAYS! I have complied with their requests for information about my company. Interesting, as I have been using Square for about six months, now they need additional information. What? I already gave them my information!!!
You can imagine my frustration. They are holding a large deposit of mine to which I have seemingly no resolution but to contact my clients and ask them to repay me. Ya, like that’s a great option.
I have sent numerous emails to Square, no reply. I actually found a phone number (thank you) however, I can’t get anybody on the phone live. I have simply messages which have not been returned. ‘Customer service’ is an oxymoron.
On a lighter note, they did offer to continue allowing me to accept charges/deposits from my clients while they are “resolving” my issue. My only issue is I want my money. Yes, my money. Money I earned and they won’t even communicate with me about. Ugh
If anyone has any advice, I incredibly open to it. I just want my money.
Until this past week, I have been very happy with Square. Now, my advice is RUN….after you get your money of course.
Terrible the worst. Do not use they will keep every dollar you charge to them. I cannot believe this is legal for them to do this. No phone number and High fees They will change rate and not tell you. Then hold all your funds for 30 days or more. With out a reason..DO NOT USE!!!!!!! I HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE MANY OTHERS WITH THE BBB.
I completely agree with all of the other negative comments other merchants have made. This company is terrible, has no customer service, and is completely misleading about their business practices and methods of releasing payments to merchants. Currently, they are holding nearly $5,000 from our business in one of our busiest time of the year and we can no longer fill orders. I collected funds today from a client that I am not able to access for a month? In the meantime, I’ve had to use money from my personal bank account to fill client orders??? Absolutely ridiculous. I cannot even believe that this is legal. Does anyone have ANY advice on how to close your account and receive your funds? Future merchants DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.
Take it to Twitter. It worked for me. State your case and accuse them of the fraud and malpractice that they engage in! They are @SqSupport and @Square
I gave them a public verbal lashing and had my refund processed in hours.
I had read the horror stories from this board and knew i had to take drastic action.
Dan please call me @ 1-248-506-7493. I am have problems with the square getting my funds.
I can see why Square has a C- rating. YOU GET NO HELP FROM THEM!!! I have been trying since last week to contact them get some kind of answer from them. NADA! Nothing! I was trying to switch from Intuit to Square because with Square your money is deposited the next day. I think I can be inconveinanced with waiting a extra day. Intuit is so much more easier to navigate and when you need someone you can actually talk to a warm body!! Saying goes why fix something that isn’t broken. I’m staying with Intuit.
Strongly discourage anyone with $1,000 or more per week in transaction from using Square as a credit card processor. The company does not provide clear information about their policy of up to 30 day holds on release of funds to Merchants They do not provide direct contact for problem resolution. Very dishonorable company!
OMG
This is my first review
This is the worst company I ever had to deal with
NO phone support ???????
They ran my customers card and won’t transferoney to my account
Going through hell to refound my customers.
DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE. Since May 21, 2012, I’ve been waiting for these folks to release my funds. They are currently holding $2275.00 . Square contacted me with a lame excuse they were concerned about fraud and asked me for all this information: IE: Business license, picture of my business location, and how long I have been in business, and a signed contract from buyer and his CC info, stating that the charges were legitimate. .
I sent all that with the following: A BANK LETTER FOR CREDIT for $250,000. A BANK LETTER OF GOOD STANDING WITH ENDORCEMENTS FROM BRANCH MANAGER, ASKING ANYONE TO CALL HIM TO VERIFY. A COPY OF MY CURRENT CREDIT REPORT, SCORE 854. A LETTER FROM THE CITY STATING THAT I WAS A BUSINESS IN GOOD STANDING FOR OVER 10 YEARS.
I am currenly considering sending them my FIRST BORN, with an American Birth Certificate, but that might not work.
The only other alternative I have is to go to the District Attorney, and have them do a retail theft investigation on Square.
PEOPLE DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE…..BEWARE: YOU GET NOTHING FOR FREE: They send out that little swipping machine, so they can STEAL YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.
Has anyone been contacted by a sales rep named “Sunny” and had success answering questions and getting money deposited? We’re having this same issue all are writing about. We’re tempted to answer the questions and cross our fingers, but we’re fearful this Sunny isn’t a Square rep and is, in fact, fishing…
Don,t even think about doing business with this square credit card . They are the worst i have ever seen. They hold your money for weeks ask you for all kids of unnecessary paper work that shouldt concern them. they r holding my $5150.00 for 3 weeks now . i will newer ever do any business with them again.
Terrible customer support. I have been waiting for a response to my email for over week. I keep receiving automated emails that make it appear that they have not read my email.
I was not aware of the $ 1000.00 rule until it was too late.
I am trying to make sure that they do not withdraw funds from my customer’s account. It has been a week and I still do not know if they have done so. I guess I will have to call my customer to find out.
I wish I could talk to a live person so that I could get this resolved.
I do not like doing business with a company I cannot talk to in person !
Square is a joke. no customer service and when i called it told me to use the online customer service which doesnt answer my question at all. Read a report just now that they have had over 120 complaints filed in 36 months. I will be deleting my account and bashing them on my website. Im a clothing designer and thought it would be easy to do transactions when im on the road. Another Scam here folks. dont get it
BEWARE OF SQUARE!!!
It is my personal experience – and my suspicion that this is the company’s true “business” – that Square freezes customers’ money with dubious arguments.
I have only made 3 transactions with Square before the trouble started. A friend paid her contribution to my rent because she stayed in my apartment for over a month. And I swiped my own credit card to transfer money from my European bank account to my US one. This was actually one of the reasons why I got Square at the Apple store. I am always interested in new gadgets, and this one seemed handy and useful. When they sold the device to me, and when Square took my money, noone told me that I have to be a business, that all transactions have to have goods and bills – at the Apple store Square card readers are sold to naive customers like me without any explanation.
However, I immediately followed the request to undo the transfer of my own money. I had no idea this was against the rules ofSquare. But despite my immediate compliance, now the real action of the Square Security Department started:
First, an investigation that even for someone from Europe where privacy is not such a sacred good as here in the US, went much too far. What are the transactions for? How will I use Square? Scanned documents of my business (who told me ever that I need to be a business to use Square??? In fact, I have businesses but that’s not the point here.)
And second, “For your security, we have temporarily suspended deposits to your bank account. ” I have over $ 1,500.- in my Square account. For over a month, Square is profiting from the interests of my money, and causing a predicament for me, their customer whom they should serve instead of restrict. To me their statement not only sounds sarcastic – the only security risk to MY money is Square who has been withholding MY MONEY for months now!!!! – but like malversation.
Correspondence with the Square Support Team gives the impression as if these were virtual characters. They don’t even have full names.
The only thing I ever want to have to do with Square again is to get my money deposited and to close my account with them.
If there is, as I suspect, a large number of victims of this company’s malversations, I would be happy to find a way to take legal action against them. At least, I want to warn everyone to stay away from this system.
Let me know what you find out, I’m desperate to get rid of these square crooks and get my money deposited as well…
WOW! I am so upset that all of you have experienced these stammering issues! I am so glad my issue is less than $20. I am so thankful that I stumbled upon this before my business started getting in the thousand dollar range. This is sheer madness! Due to all of these comments I will be ceasing the use of Square as soon as this last payment is deposited. Its really sad that they have no regulation for companies like this so they would be required to have live customer service. I kept searching the site trying to find a number for my issue of my bank info change being declined and came up with nothing, which led me to check for Square reviews….Thanks for sharing your plights! Just know that there is such a good thing here with these comments, you are saving new business owners a world of headache. I will be posting on my facebook page and tweeting this info Shame on you Square and I wish all of you the best in your outcomes!
I have been using square for about two months until about 1 week ago when I received an email stating that my account showed unusal activity and therefore all deposits have been suspended. The funny thing is that it also tells me in the same email, i can continue to charge my clients credit card but no deposits will be made to my account. This is RIDICULOUS…. They are currenly holding over 8000 of which 5k was due to me 2wks ago
I have sent several emails and the will not respond to none of them. I have contact the district attorney, and have a meeting on Jun 21 with my lawyer and telivision station about their behavior.
We have to take this further, than just emails and lawyers, this needs to be a national campaign for just, since they have started also advertising on major televisions as well.
Anyone wants to join this, please call me 201-364-4577.
B. I will be calling you this upcoming week. I got my reader from the APPLE STORE, here in Philadelphia. I am contacting Apple’s corporate on Monday morning too. I am going to be making a lot of calls about this. I see u are in northern NJ. I am no too far. My number is 267 639 9400 (business line). If no answer LEAVE A MESSAGE, I WILL CALL YOU BACK FOR SURE.
Thanks for your reply…. I actually have a North Jersey number, but I live in south jersey. Only about 20 mins from Philly.
I wait to hear from you.
Apple will do nothing for you, it’s not our product. We didn’t make it, so your call will be futile. Don’t waste your time, I promise that’s all it will be.
Square has shown itself to be no responsive, unavailable, and dishonest. There is no voice communication available with Square personnel or management. Count on lots of boiler plate form answers.
Most of our transactions are by phone so the card is rarely swipped in the transaction, and that concerns them. The transactions are B to B. We had $3,000 of a $3,600 transaction held for 30 days without prior notice. Over the period of 10 days I explained the nature of our business, how fees are collected post transaction, and that we have not had a chargeback with our current processor in 7 years. We added Square as processor for convenience as I travel.. They agreed to move our unswipped transactions without hold for up to $5k per day. YET, less than a month later they are holding $2,600 of a $4,000 transaction for 30 days without explanation of hey have not responded o correspondence in three business days.
I have reached to the State Attorney General for support for actions that should not and will it be tolerated.
AVOID THEM!
I don’t want you to hate me either, I did so much research on a merchant service provider before I selected Square. I had read all the negatives, but had a friend who had used it in the same venue without a problem of any sort. So I took the plunge. So far, so good. Here is what I think makes it smooth for us….we are a private physical therapy practice, 90% of our patients pay with cash or checks and 90% are in the range of $100-160 per swipe. So for the 10% who do use a card there are no charges nearing the $1000 mark that appears to be causing so much havoc for folks. Additionally, for us, we had a low volume of people wanting to use their cards Square worked for us because we did not have to have a minimum amount volume per month and thus avoided the monthly fees. We also tag the 2.75% on to the client and therefore it is merely a vehicle of convenience for them. I simply have not had any issues…….. (yet !??#@!) I did email them regarding a status for FSA (flex spending accounts) and have not heard back from them, however, it hasn’t even been 24 hours. Who knows I may be back on here with a different story in a day or two. As a small business owner I hate to see folks in this predicament, lack of cash flow can kill you.
please let us know an update on the FSA charges. We are a sleep center and just about to sign up and most of our charges will be from FSA cards. Thanks for the info
as a seasonal small business owner, I have to say, over the past two months of using square card reader and square register, I’v been very shocked. No problems, almost all of my payments the CC is present. the next day the funds are transferred to my account. It doesn’t matter is if its $45 or $1500, If the cards present it’s transferred. I feel bad for people who didn’t read the information or are trying to use it for active internet businesses for which it wasn’t designed. All I can say is smarten up. It’s designed for small store front or walk-up businesses. I absolutely love square register is made it easier to train employees and reporting is a breeze. if any has questions please feel free to call and ask, i’m not an expert, but it works for me with less hassle.
@Pete Abele what’s the percentage of business that you made by using Square vs. solely taking cash?
Would Square be suitable for a non-profit fundraiser for one night, with charges between $40,000 and $60,000? Should we swipe or does it make a difference, other than fees, for recording these charges? Where do you read all this information about square’s policies? Thanks so much
Hi Velmaa,
If you have no history with Square and charge $40,000 to $60,000 in one night as your first set of transactions, it is very likely that a large percentage of it will be placed in a hold. In fact, just about any processor would do the same. You should definitely swipe the cards if you can, but Square may still place holds on your funds. You can find Square’s User Agreement here: https://squareup.com/legal/ua
what are the TOTAL charges? I.e. are there interchange charges over and above square charges. We’ve found that the traditional firms charges get to about 5 to 6 % split about 1/2 each.
thanks,
A cardmember questioned a charge in mid March from her Discover Card to my Square account. When she realized she questioned it in error, she immediately contacted Discover and Discover contacted square requesting that they re-issue the charge. Here we are in mid June and they have yet to do so in spite of numerous calls from my the cardmember to Discover and my numerous emails to Square.
The really disgraceful thing is that there is absolutely no way to call Square. They pretend that there is, but the number directs you to their web site and then promptly disconnects you!
Ive been waiting for square to deposit $40 dollars into my account for over 30 days. I sendo more than 20 emails, nobody answer!!! I dont know what to do anymore. Please someone help me!!!
This is the SAME exact thing that PayPal did to me a few years ago. It seems that they question a transaction and PERMANENTLY put your money on hold. PayPal still has over $6000 of my money — since 2004. Never released to me.
I complained to several states attorneys general, the FTC, the BBB and fraud.org. NOTHING was ever done. PayPal still has my money. I’m guessing Square is heading down the same path. Question a transaction and take your money — FOREVER.
It’s the same scam, under a different name. There is NO oversight and NO regulation of these businesses.
Hello before you get involved with square try to educate yourself about them as much as possible they let you charge all your clients and then never make the deposites into your bank account!! Then after you have that problem you literally can NOT get ahold of them by phone because the number never works!! you even try emailing them and they dont respond!! So before they steal your hard earned money in front of your eyes read up on them as much as possible!!
I was initially thrilled with Square card reader. My first transactions were relatively small, so there was no problem. I got my deposits quickly and the fee was as stated. Recently, a client paid a large bill over the phone. Her card was not present; however, the charge was authorized and legit. First Square made me verify my account by providing documentation I didn’t need to open the account. Then, they authorized the transaction, and put about 15% of the funds in my bank account and are telling me I have to wait another month for the remainder of my payment. I have reviewed all of the advertising I received prior to opening the account and there is absolutely nothing said about withholding portions of my funds (especially, not withholding 85% of it!). I was promised that the funds would be in my account the next business day. Unless I get some resolution quickly, it’s going to be more like 6 weeks! That’s going to make my life pretty darn difficult until Square decides to let go of my money. There’s no phone number to call, so you can’t get a quick response (sorry Square, waiting 24 hours for an unhelpful email is not going to be enough for me). Unless I can come to some fast resolution with Square, I’m going back to my merchant service provider. They’re more expensive, but I’ve NEVER had to wait for my deposit from them AND I can call them 24/7.
My only advice to you is to stay far far away from this card reader! I have funds that have been on hold for over a month, and I cannot get any customer support. The only way to reach them is via email and you only get automated responses back. “Yada Yada we care about our customers…..blah blah blah”.
From the looks of it, they bit off more than they could chew. Our firm has decided to cease using this service. Don’t be surprised if you hear about them getting in a class action lawsuit. That is the direction they’re heading if you ask me!
I also plan on reporting them to the better business bureau. Save yourself the headache, I wish I would have read more about this before I got myself into an accounting nightmare. I thought this card reader was too good to be true when I got it, and I was right!
This review was a huge asset to me. Thank you so much. After seeing other reviews, yours rounded out exactly what I needed to know and was straight to the point. Choosing square vs. other credit card readers was a big decision for the future of my business, so thanks again.
I’ve never had any serious problems before today, I lost alot of sales today because no matter what I did it would always time out, if it keeps happening I will have to go with someone else.
SCAM, SCAM, SCAM!!! Do not waste your money or time with these fxxxxx guys!
They have had a review of my account for the last 3 weeks, meanwhile my funds are being held.
I had processed several transactions until they decided they would like to hold on to my money for a while.
They sent me an email requesting EIN, Articles of Organization, Delivery Confirmation, Company Ads, All because of supposed unusual activity.
They claimed review process would take a day and my funds would be released accordingly. I faxed all the documents they requested and I still have not seen my money.
No phone number to call, customer response is non-existent, they hide behind fake help center on there website. You even waive your right to file class action law suit when you set up your square account and agree to there terms.
I filed a complaint with BBB today. Will post an update as it becomes available.
We were having trouble with holding the connection, so had to run the card twice. We only got the charge to show once on our account but our customer was charged twice. If I credit it back I will lose my money. At this time they were going to talk to their bank and get back to us. This was our first time with the square and we are not very happy with it. We will see what happens this week. We may look at the intuit.
After 3 mo of using Square in my motel business:
Customer support, for all practical purposes, is non-existent. I have had trouble running a card because Square decided to break old versions of apps the second a new version is released. But they did not provide any warnings of this and no error messages identifying the problem.
Could not give a customer a refund due to Square software issue. The suggested giving the customer back the money via some other means. (Such a refund violates the Merchant Agreement.)
Square transactions are not recognized as valid for some government cards.
As a merchant, I need these issues resolved in real time. Unfortunately, their side-walk sale and art festival mentality is not suited for the commercial world.
To their credit: a complete analysis of all transactions on your merchant account. Have never seen anything like this with conventional processors. Never the less, I am looking for a more responsive company.
We used this system for a fund raiser and were approved and told that all charges would be deposited in our account. The one night event goes of perfect except for Square up. Now they are holding our money and making numerous requirements, some of which are not possible. There contact is non existent. We will see where this goes
My deposit for our school has not been reflected. No number to contact after 3 email attempts, and that State will be wanting to see it deposited and we have no deposit records at the bank for $4000.00 . I need someone to call us as this has placed us in a situation that should not have happened.
While I’ve found Square to be very user friendly and innovative and have had no trouble having money depositied in my account, I have had disturbing problems with customer service. It is practically non exisitent. Beware of charge back disputes since customer service is a joke. It is donewith emails, often weeks in between correspondence, wiht no one who seems very knowlegable or who seems to care. Square sided with a customer who had no proof of his complaint. Square had little interest in my side of the story. I was appalled at how it treated me -their merchant.
I will definitly switch as soon as another competitor has a good system. For me, Intuit is not there yet.
Theres no way to contact square but through e-mail, They do not respond back. My money has been on hold since May 2012. Same here every request they want i send in information. Now when i login in to account it sends me to the dashboard. I can’t even get into my account to fill out paperwork square say is needed before square (say) funds will be released (deposited)
Now they don’t even have an e-mail address published on their website. I looked everywhere for it.
You’ve got to dig deep but it is there… https://help.squareup.com/customer/portal/emails/new
Square has worked well for me UNTIL I wanted to call customer service and found I was unable to talk to anyone. This left me frustrated and wondering why a company would not have a customer service line. I will continue to use the service and pray I do not need to contact them!!
I would suggest changing. We switched to Pay Anywhere. The only difference is we pay $5/mo, we have a customer service line, tech support line, and a specific account agent. There is also no hold or limits for our transactions. We receive all of our money usually in one business day, two at the most regardless of the payment amount. The extra $5/month is worth the peace of mind of having our $$ available when we need it and having someone to call up if there is a problem.
Square is horrible. I have written them 6 times concerning one single issue and it seems they send automated responses that do not answer my questions. They do not read my messages that are not complicated. After a few transactions they asked for allot of extra information to “verify” my account that is ridiculous. Now I have pending charges they won’t pay to me. “Iffy” refunds and…exhaustion is setting in.
I will finish this transaction and run, run, run!
Same exact thing just happened to me today also. As soon as they make my last deposit I’m gone.
Square is a rip off since I contacted customer service 3 times they put my account on hold and isn’t depositing the funds for three months!
my first experience with the Square was at a lost. I lost $51.00 because I did not get a signature from the customer on my phone but did on paper. i emailed the company and to no help from customer service, i stood at a lost for my money and help. i like the service but it really need a lot improving.
I have never had such difficulty trying to find a phone number for any company I have ever worked with…at the end of the day, we are all judged on how we treat our customers and is obvious to me Square is NOT about customer service…whatever you do, do not make it convenient for a client to talk to anyone live…that would be well, too much like customer service. I think the C- is a very genorous grade. I am taking my business elsewhere.
I signed up for the card reader on June 19th. I was able to track the package to the post office the next day through UPS. Once it was delivered to the post office there is no way to track my device. I still have not received it and it is the 28th. Being Naive, I went to the square website to try to complain or at least contact someone to help with the problem. There is no telephone number or e-mail address anywhere that I could find. I need this device for a July 4th event so I am very frustrated to say the least. I’m not sure I should use the device if the other problems stated above are prevalent.
This company has me extremely frustrated. There is NO support. It had me reset my password by supposedly sending me a reset password within 24 hours. I’ve now asked 3x via email to do this and it’s a week later and I still can’t use my merchant account! The phone number I found via google is just a voicemail that doesn’t even let u leave a message. It cuts u off referring you back to email support which as described above isn’t answered either. What a fiasco.
I signed up with Square because of their fee structure and speed of payment . My company uses First Data and Sega, but these processing companies hold the transactions for three days before they deposit it to your account, and there is a monthly fee. This is where Square is more affordable.
Everything went really well for me with the swiped cards, and I have heard of the 30 day hold on non-swipe limit over $1000.00 in a 30 day period. For this reason, as a small company, I used Square for swipe card only and there is no terminal charges.
Now, this is what I don’t get. I knew about their rules and requested for an increase in non-swipe amount due to the fact that I had over $3000.00 called in orders came in. Roberto who was the person I dealt with emailed me and said he had reviewed my account and now my non-swipe amount is now $2000.00. So, I was happy and took up to $2000.00 worth of non-swipe sales. Guess what? They emailed me and said they are holding the $1500.00 because I had exceeded my limited.
I emailed Roberto and asked why they are holding my money after they increased my limited. Roberto copied and pasted a block of answer from their website for me to read. Now, I had already read all that and requested an increase which Roberto emailed me and approved.
So, I emailed back asking why, and he said he will check into it, but never heard back from him again. I looked at my sales history and it says the money will be deposit in 30 days. Yes, $1500 is not much, but the idea that they hold your extra money after they promise you an increase is not correct.
Communication is really poor. Phone number does not work and all answers they give you if any are canned from their website. So don’t waste your time. If you can swipe a card go for it otherwise don’t.
Besides, their fees are not all that great. Today, most companies do not give any service that you paid. First Data outsources their answering service to India- have you even talked to the someone from India. I would rather not deal with it. Nothing personal, but I just don’t have the time.
Overall Square is way better than PayPal. PayPal is a thief. They can hold your money indefinitely and there is nothing you can do about it. They still have $1000.00 of my money, and no one is claiming any responsibility.
Square has no customer service, if you have a problem, lord and behold, get on your knee and say a prayer. It’s like a million to one chance that it will be resolved.
My question is does anyone know how Square would deal with a non-profit fundraiser on one single night for $40,000.00 to $60.000.00? Should we use Square or another merchant account for this fundraiser?
Hey Velmaa,
I would highly suggest you use someone else. These guys will hold on to everything past $1000.00 for what could turn out to be months. They have had my 3,000 stuck for the last 45 days, and now they said they will take an additional 90 days to put the funds in my account.
Very good sales tactics, dont fall for them and have your fundraised money stuck for half the year.
Good Luck
square has had my money for over 3 months and i cant even reach them, they are the worst company i have ever delt with!
Yes their are some complaints on PCMagizine’s website following the shining review they gave the company. In addition to never using square again, I will also never buy one of their magizines again. Shame on you PC.
Square sucks!!!!! They have cost me more aggravation, money and time then they are worth. Answer the phone people. Your customer service stinks……
Square does not deposit our money into our account the next day. If we go over our $2002 limit in payments taken the remaining amount in a 7 day period is held for 30 days! Yes 30 days! This is awful service considering one payment from a customer of ours can easily exceed $2002. We have about 10 angry customers because they have paid for their orders and its past the lead time but we have no money in our account to pay our shops for the completion of these orders. We have over $6000 on hold! We also cannot get new orders going because we cannot pay for the components of our product. To top off this huge inconvenience, When we tried to find a resolution or try to get an increase in our deposit limit I found it takes over 12 hours to get a response from their help desk. Awful Awful service! This situation has caused us to lose business and lose the faith of our clients. We will be switching to a service where we actually have an account rep that we can email directly and has a direct phone line, as well as doesn’t give us a limit of how much of our own money they will deposit into our bank account.
Had the exact same thing happen to me with my customer. I gave them a full refund from my phone and had the client issue me a payment by check. There money will be credited to their account in a few days. I’ll never use this company again and will spend much time telling the world using face book and other media about Square Up. In the long run they’ll suffer more than any of us.
ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE IN PROGRESS…….
So i was fooled into using square like many of you before me. I was unaware of their hold on anything over $1,000 on keyed transactions, which is 100% my own fault for not reading the fine print. The part that sucks is that they HELD ALL THE MONEY >>>OVER 3,000<<<
That being said i thought i would receive my money after the 30 days waiting period.
After the long waited 30 days passed, i still had not received my funds. After numerous emails, i was contacted by someone requesting a government issued ID and invoices for my sales. FINE, i was pissed off that they didn't request this information earlier but WHATEVER.
I provided the information that they requested and had to follow up over and over and over for another week, until i got another email requesting my business registration. OKAY… WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS ASK WHEN WE SET UP THE ACCOUNT?!?!? Let me remind you that its already been 40 days since the day of the transactions.
Realizing i had no chance to argue or fight these guys, i complied and forwarded them my information. After another week of emailing them over and over and over, i finally got a response yesterday (47 days from the transaction date). They sent me the below response:
Our Account Services team has concluded a review of your account and has determined it to be high risk. For security purposes, we have elected to deactivate your Square account. You will no longer be able to process transactions using Square.
Any funds currently in your account will be held for 90 days before being released to your linked bank account.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!??!?!?!? AFTER HOLDING MY MONEY FOR ALMOST 7 WEEKS YOU GUYS TELL ME THAT YOUR GOING TO HOLD IT ANOTHER 90 DAYS UNTIL YOU RELEASE IT???? THATS ALMOST 5 MONTHS!!!!!!!
THESE GUYS ARE CROOKS!!! SURE I MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN SO KIND IN MY EMAILS TO THEM, BUT WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!?!?
I HOPE THIS COMPANY BURNS IN HELL!!!!
(AFTER MY 90 DAYS ARE UP AND THEY RELEASE MY FUNDS)
We really like Square…EXCEPT customer service. It is as bad as portrayed online. Almost zero way of contacting and the phone # just gives a 20 second “Thank you for calling. Visit our website.” then hangs up.
Square has been a NIGHTMARE to deal with! I had one client who decided to cancel her website after a month, and I wrote her a check to refund her. Well, she still went to AMEX to dispute it, then Square contacted me for the dispute and asked for copies of the check that I refunded her and I sent them, along with an email from the client acknowledging receipt of the check. Guess what? They took the funds out of my bank account anyway, and still have not refunded it to me as of yet! This is going on a few weeks, and a lot of very angry emails and responses are slow, phone calls go to voicemail… Don’t do it! Square will totally rip you off!
I have been dealing with the same, for$926 every couple of days they take out.
I am a new business that accepts credit cards, unfortunately, I signed up with SQUARE. Square has been taking a $10.00 fee out of every purchase I charge, regardless of amount. I ran a card for $21.00 a couple days ago, they deposited the entire amount, then immediately deducted $10.00 from it. I will NEVER use Square again, ever. There is NO customer service, NO way to speak with a real person and NO way to get help without just scrolling through numerous other complaints…what a a SCAM! My review gives them NO STARS and an F- I am returning to Intuits GoPayment, they were AWESOME! low fees, phone customer service and free readers in unlimited amount…sorry I ever left them to begin with!
Is there anyway we can all come together and lawyer up against this company . They are also holding my money . I did everything I was supposed to and still I’m denied access to recover my money, they got there’s so they could care less to give me what is mine:(
Quit simply this company sucks. They screwed up My VERY FIRST TRANSACTION! Because it was $3200 they sent a message saying that because of suspicious activity my account was on hold till they obtained verification from me. I sent them numerous items and none were good enough. They finally sent a reply saying that after review they decided that I was a high risk! AND you cannot contact them! They cost me the account and I am in the process of suing them.
Please ..Do You people actually read any of the disclosures…This system is not meant for large transactions, but Mom and Pop shops like deli’s, bake shops, and face to face businesses, not online businesses. just look at the commercials they run..and the type of business they’re showing .. really stop trying to make out its the company fault for doing what every one wants online protection for on face to face transactions… I process 10-30 transaction a day and never had any problems with next day deposits.
peter!! well good for you!! but Iam a smalll business..im a Hair stylist and i made up to $400 in deposits and my funds didnt hit my account!! i made sure my account was linked properly with Square..i recieved the “micro deposits so i know that my account is linked properly with Square!! they have my money that i worked hard for and SQUARE deserve to be sued!! people work hard to make money to provide for our families!! they dont even have a legit Customer service to help us out so it a fishy business!! you can continue to use them since it works for you!! but for us that has been frauded!! I NEED ANSWERS in why MY DEPOSITS DIDNT HIT MY ACCOUNT I HAVE A FAMILY TO TAKE CARE OFF!! not TO BE RIPPED OFF BY SOME SMOKEY MIRROR COMPANY THAT IS TAKING MY MONEY!!
I have used SQUARE for 2 years now….. Never had a problem I see face to face and do about $500.00- $1500.00 a day with no deposit problems…It is a breeze using them on my iPad . Love the square.
I’ve been using Square the past year for our farm. I don’t think we’ve ever had an individual payment over $100, and most are less than $30. We sell a lot at farmer’s markets and out of our greenhouse. Never had a problem, so far–knock on wood–and deposits are quick and without issue. I have to say that Square works well for our small transactions that are simply too few to warrant spending the $ each month for a regular credit card account. Frankly, I am surprised that folks would use it for large transactions, and not surprised that there are problems associated with those.
BEWARE of Square Up. We use it for two of our companies. One company usually has charges of around $500,,,,and Square has worked every time. Our other company process much higher ticket items and we currently have $19k sitting in our Square account and no way to get the funds. SQUARE UP HAS NO COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT. It looks like everything is automated by email. I am done waiting on them and I am gonna talk to the Attorney General tomorrow. My advice is NOT to use this company,,,,,,the are deceptive and dishonest.
Help anyone,
Here is my issue. Two weeks ago my I phone was stolen out of my truck and I use square for my merchant processing. Yesterday I received a call from one of my customers lawyers threating to file a law suit against me because I use square for processing and they are not PCI compliant or something like that. He stated that his client’s credit card info was on my phone and the people that stole my phone got his credit card info off of the phone. The customer of mine had over $9000 in fraudulent charges to his credit card and now he is stating that the credit card company is not going to cover them. The lawyer is saying that I am responsible for these charges but I don’t have that kind of money and my insurance company is no help. All I sold to this customer was some baseball cards for $75. Anyone have any suggestions, is this even true???? There would be no way the customer could know my phone was stolen, so that is why I kind of believe it.
Thanks John,
Hi John,
Based on my understanding of the Square app, it does not store credit card information on the phone and therefore the data can’t be stolen if you lose your phone. I would proceed with caution because it sounds like this could be some sort of scam.
Sounds fishy… Tread carefully! Be careful what you say, because it is up to the lawyer to find out the source of the leak. Don’t incriminate yourself in any way (telling them your phone was stolen definitely won’t help you!).
Square doesnt store credit card numbers on your device. He is right in that square is not PCI compliant, because credit card info isn’t encrypted when swiped. The only thing I can think of is if someone who has access to your phone installed a program/app to “listen” in on the square card swipes and store the card info (the card swipes are converted into simple unencrypted audio anyways!). Then that person could later plan to steal your phone once you’ve collected enough card swipes, giving them access to that cc data. That’s really the main risk w square I believe. Do you associate w any shady or potentially risky people that may participate in this sort of behavior?
Be very careful my friend. It is the responsibility of the merchant (YOU!) to ensure they follow pci compliance. Users of a non PCI Compliant device could be open not only to lawsuits but can also be held personally liable for any and all costs associated with a data breaches that result in credit card fraud. If you can verify that this is not some sort of scam but rather a serious legal issue, then get a lawyer! The lawyer will have to prove that it was your transaction with this individual that caused the cc data leak in order for you to pay the $9k. But, if other customers come forward and claim something similar, you will be in trouble, bc the cc companies will then be able to identify you as the source of the info leak.
Best of luck my friend.
We have been dealing with our current merchant for years we found out that square was cheaper than other merchants.we switched big mistake!!!!!! We have a plumbing buisness and our transactions are any were from $500.00 to $10.000 on a good week we were in compliance and have been in buisness fir 29 years .next thiing I know they say we are at high risk? And shut our services off and we have to wait 30 days gor our transaction funds to be deposited to our bank. This crazy!!!
THE SQUARE IS THE WORSE DECISION I EVER MADE! These jokers have held my funds for two weeks! I wish I could get an explanation. However, the customer service is so convoluted and rude I cant get any “square” answers. They say a “flat 2.7” its just not true they are adding in other costs and disguise other charges into visas cost on their bill. I hate them! I’m getting a merchant account next week. Any one know any good companies?
Same thing here, I made a large “Swiped” transaction, money held, sent everything they needed and no response….NOTHING other than an automated message. Does anyone know of a way to cancel the transaction safely so I can go another route with the Customer? I cant even get them to respond!
I have been trying to contact Square.Com for 5 days. There seems to be no customer support or any way to contact them, Their customer service number just hangs up on you. This is a very shoddy way to do business. This could be a great service , but it seems like they are really dropping the ball.
I have payments to process, but will not do so until I can speak to someone live. Email responses have come up to 3 days later , and then do not even address the problem. So you need to send another email and the result is a simple problem still unresolved after weeks.
We used to be able to contact them on the customer service number . .they closed that back door for some reason and that concerns me … I also wonder why they have no “Void” option for a mis-run cc. Every other company I have been with has a void transaction option. A “Void” and a “refund” are two totally different things . .a void erases the transaction . .wile a refund is issued when the is a customer service issue.
I am nearing the end of my rope with square. I have been with them over 2 years and without direct access to a live human when I have an issue is inexcusable. They are a business and should have 24 hour support for those who need help or a way to have someone call you back immediately. My customer simply put the charge on the wrong card . .busy people do that . .now he might have to wait 7 days to get everything straightened out . . some people cant wait 7 days to have 500 put back in their account . . anyway . . If the do not fix this . .I will be looking for a new provider who is willing to answer customer concerns on a phone rather than trying to save money by doing everything over the internet . . .
Douglas Hume
I thought I would update you on some contact information for your benefit. I was finally able to get a live person at Square. The telephone number is (415) 375-3176 x 219 is eventually a Live person (don’t leave a voicemail) . I sent them numerous emails, kind of an expose’ on their personal information, including the CEO’s home address …. ( Jack P. Dorsey, originally from St. Louis, Missouri) now lives in San Francisco, CA. I also made contact with Ryan Jones, the “compliance Officer..” I was able to ascertain their home addresses and other relevant and personally identifiable information. I also spoke to their legal counsel. That stated, they were more concerned about my giving out their personal information than fixing the issue. I switched to Intuit processing this morning, BTW. Of course, they intended to try and hold funds on some bullshit security concern, and I beat them to it once I read all of the reviews. There were no issues or complaints with my account. I telephoned Bank of America and their fraud department was able to simply take the money back, even before I requested that the refund be processed through Square, back to the client which paid me. When I did reach square, they actually tried to get me to process with them on a continuing basis. Wow. I also submitted the refund request through square, this way they cannot hold the payment as in the horror stories you’ve read on here, this way the client gets their money and they can re-pay me at a later date. SQUARE does not intend to change its policy and they plan to continue to unlawfully hold funds from hard working people like you and I. It appears to me that they are engaged in fraud, that is, keeping the money until the people eventually go away. Today, they met their match and even tried to threaten me with criminal charges..lol (for releasing their information).
Thank you, What do I do now? I just canceled my other debit service. They will not verify my bank
account and no $ has been transferred. I knew it was funny when I canceled my other service,
she did not say a word! Damn! Is there another phone service? I invested in new phone and internet access to have this Square?
Please, Help
Debbie
this company is a rip off and will hold your money after your clients have been charged and square up is paid hold time can be up to 30 days BEWARE OF THIS UNSCRUPULOUS COMPANY
they have held mine for 56 days now
Unbelievably horrible custoemr service! Not only did they place a hold on the funds, but the hertofore mentioned 2.75% transaction fee jumped to 3.5% because we had to manually key in the card number. Even when the funds are deposited there is yet another ‘Transaction’ fee to do so. Despite emailing for the removal of the hold [which they ask you to do] no one has gotten back to us. When you call their phone number you are asked to stay on the line for assistance or dial the extension of the party you are trying to reach. Don’t bother becuase you are then transferred to a voice recording telling you to go on line and submit your question. Don’t try pressing “0” for the operator either! I tried that and pressed 1, 2, 3, and so on but it kept going back to the recording. I doubt we will continue to use Square unless someone calls and “Squares” away these issues.
Successfully and happily used Square to process credit card transactions for three months and suddenly the terminal required me to make my location available. Likely through an update I had just done. I don’t NEED location tracking for any of my other software and I consider it an invasion of privacy to be FORCED to activate for a program I had already used for 3 months without activation. Tried to contact Company and realized all their support was self-help and no cust service phone number was available. Cancelled my account and signed up immediately with Go Payment through Intuit. Slightly higher percentage but the 24 hour live cust service is worth it. Just started with them. Hope they won’t disappoint me as quickly and severely as SQUARE
Check out Go Payment…..Cancel Square!!!
I am a mobile notary for 28 years in Tampa, Fl., I came accross Square through a neighbor who has a small business and shared his experiences with me in using Square. All positive!… I do alot of Notary Weddings, and find this added convience for my customers allowing them to pay with a credit card has increased my volume and bookings. My only complaint is tech support. In setting up my profile page both my logo and feature spaces are overlapping and I can’t seem to get them apart. Thanks Square for providing a means of taking credit cards without monthly fees. For a small business owner in the new economy, every quarter saved, helps…… I look forward to a long business relationship with you….
PLEASE HELP ME FIX MY LOGO AND FEATURE PROBLEM….
Thanks,
Please deposit all my money. I have product and bills to pay. It’s been waaaaaasssy over 7 days since a deposit and yes it’s been under 2,000.00. I hate your company. I will encourage all my Facebook,twitter, yelp, instagram and clients to not use your services. It’s the worst. It’s not fair this company pays me it decides to. I have been in business for over 13 years and I have never know a company inconsistency that has been as poor as this square company. I’ve try to email and you send me every excuse. None in which reguarding to my deposited in my account. I sent the square account verification numerous of times and it keep saying “there are a few erroros”. I am a dissatisfied customer all around the least you can do to help me with depositing my money in my account ASAP. I can’t describe how disappointed I am in this company.
Please deposit my money so I can be done with your I don’t understand. I have been trying to send you my verified application but it keeps saying error. What government issued documentation. I just want you to deposit my money and I do not want to use your service anymore. I don’t like you this company conduct there service.
I am not happy with not being able to speak with a customer service. Also you send me an application after you have taken my money and now I can’t get my money because you want me to verify more information. This company should have asked me for all that information at first before you start accepting my payment, I just want my money deposited so I can move on.
This is my 10th email and 1st reveiw
Square has indeed held up our deposit, but worse than that is the fact that we cannot even get them to refund the money to our client. We used them for one transaction and we won’t use them again.
Even though I had previously used my Square, they wanted to re-confirm my bank account info, supposedly taking 1-3 days. After 5 days with ZERO communication from Square, I looked into it. Square has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE PHONE NUMBER. They don’t post one anywhere on their site, and the one that I found via Google search only gives you a recording with their web address!
The information that Square already had for my bank account and had successfully deposited with is now somehow inadequate. There has been no attempt to verify my account according to Bank of America. As it turns out, the info IS all correct, with the only discrepancy being that I didn’t include my middle initial under the name heading. Again, Square had already deposited successfully with this same information, and suddenly decided that it wasn’t good enough, not bothering to tell me while my funds from a client were frozen!
I like the flat 2.7% charge, but it’s hard for me to imagine that I shouldn’t switch to a slightly higher rate to ensure that I can actually get to my money! i usually appreciate and go with market innovators like Square, but if they can’t successfully administer their business and everyone else has caught up in terms of technology then they deserve to be passed up by established companies that understand customer service!
Terrible, non-existent customer service. Just got the device and attempted to register. Register failed due to a “domainerror”. The Square Ap offers no work around, no direct recourse, email or otherwise, for help with such registration glitches and I’ve waited now two days sans any response to my detailed error report to them. Now, after learning about their non-disclosure complaints, their F rating at BBB, their capricious, algorithm driven hold backs, I’ve decided to toss their reader in the trash and move on.
Please deposit all my money. I have product and bills to pay. It’s been waaaaaasssy over 7 days since a deposit and yes it’s been under 2,000.00. I hate your company. I will encourage all my Facebook,twitter, yelp, instagram and clients to not use your services. It’s the worst. It’s not fair this company pays me it decides to. I have been in business for over 13 years and I have never know a company inconsistency that has been as poor as this square company. I’ve try to email and you send me every excuse. None in which reguarding to my deposited in my account. I sent the square account verification numerous of times and it keep saying “there are a few erroros”. I am a dissatisfied customer all around the least you can do to help me with depositing my money in my account ASAP. I can’t describe how disappointed I am in this company.
I am not happy with not being able to speak with a customer service. Also you send me an application after you have taken my money and now I can’t get my money because you want me to verify more information. This company should have asked me for all that information at first before you start accepting my payment, I just want my money deposited so I can move on.
Hi there,
Just to be clear; this is a review of Square, not Square’s website or help forum.
This company is LOUSY. Absolutely NO SUPPORT. You cannot get through on their “support” line. They do not answer emails. They hold your funds. They do NOT deposit within 24 hours as they are contracted to do,
They have MANY, MANY Better Business Bureau complaints.
I just ran my first square transaction yesterday at about 3:45 PM. Today at 11:30 AM the funds are in my online account showing as a pending transaction. They wihtheld the the 2.75% just as we agreed. This system is wonderful as compared to the prior processing company and the leasing company that I had rented my terminal from for $45 per month for 4 long miserable years. Square is helping me so much and is so perfect for my business that I just cannot say enough good about this. I love it!
I used Square for the first time today and will not use it again. The card reader didn’t work with my client (although it had checked out prior to that,) and since I had to enter the card number, funds are being witheld for a month. This doesn’t work for me. And as others have mentioned, customer service is non-existent. I immediately switched to a company with a lower rate, 24/7 phone customer service and no witholding of funds.
I felt surprised to find that Square charges 2.75 percent plus 15 cents which I did not know plus days before I even made my first transaction with the square .49 cents was charged to my bank account . Now I know that is not a lot of money but will they do that every week or month…..and if you multiply that by thousands of members.it does add up. I do not like their easy access to my account and it is hard to find a contact number.
The 49 cent withdrawl was the second step of Square verifying your bank account.
The first step was a 49 cent deposit. (+.49 – .49 = $0.00)
This isn’t a recurring charge, it occurs only when you add a new bank account to Square.
After the confirmation deposit in my bank I thought I was ready to accept cc payments only to find after my first transaction of $2,500.00 with a swiped cc they wanted to confirm again.This time with 2 (instead of one like the first time) small deposits into my bank. I’m still waiting for this to happen so I can collect my payment!
I own a game ranch and needed a way of taking credit cards. Square seemed like the ideal thing, WRONG !!! With partial payments being received how are we as business owners suppose to buy the necessary things to run a business?. Someone needs to come up with a better idea as this one is NOT going to work. Maybe when and if this thing gets worked out in a positive direction it will be a good thing, I have over $5000 floating out there that I can not get my hands on.
Square has been a nightmare. No phone support and their online support may not actually exist. Don’t use this company. Pay more to a company that can actually support you and stay away from Square.
I am wondering how long it will take for the funds to be processed to my account, I never received the 10.00 that was redeemed for buying the square. Lets not start off on the wrong foot I am all for supporting but I dont need to be beat in the process
We used Square on our online website because we were having trouble with paypal and we were trying to find a solution with Square but all we found was a $2415 on HOLD for the next 6 months thank you Sqaure.
i tried to call but a get a machine and then hangs up.
Dont ever used this type of card processing company.
Squareup.com is the worst experience I ever could have had. They violated the trust we automatically give credit card processers, at least the trust I gave them. Shame on me. I had a customer that in my opinion, was trying to pull a fast one, get me services for free, get reimburse through their cc provider and also our company.
We were notified by square asked to respond, which we did. They immediate debited our account. Letting square know We decided to reimburse the customer, because it wasn’t,t worth the aggregation or potential negative reviews. We provided square with the information and a copy of the customer acknowledging receipt of payment from us and Sqare still has our company money weeks later. They stated the had the release from the other Big cc processing company and have not refunded us-customer has been paid over three months. Truly a unprofessional company with the worst customer service I have ever experienced.
They ruin it for other companies that are Internet virtual companies, by violating the trust factor, not making it possible to speak with them on the phone etcc I feel like they ripped is off and there is nothing we can do.
Still waiting for our money.
Ive had Square for 6 months, & found it easy to use, & convienient. I have an ocasional need to accept credit cards for usually 1000 dollars or less. It does take a few days to have the money deposited into your account, but its no big deal.
However, I’ll NEVER use them again. They initiated a “chargeback” for almost $1000, over 3 months after the transaction was complete, with absolutely no explanation to this date (over a month now). For those like me who do not know what a chargeback is, its basically they reach into your bank account and rob you of your money without warning. Of course, when you try and contact them, there is no response, and no “human” to talk to. I personally got the e-mail run-a-round – basically a bunch of smoke up my —. I had no money in my account, so I was overdrawn by $1000, which meant more fees. My bank Chase, thought this was b.s., and replaced the funds, pending a dispute charge by myself, as Square repeatedly took THAT money, 3 times total!! Finally Chase got with it, & changed the account number, and it has stopped. All the while, Square’s e-mails keep coming,”sorry, we are working hard to resolve this issue for you” – what jerks! It turns out, the customer who I had charged the $1000 in the first place, decided 3 months later, that he would like his money back, and simply told his credit card company (American Express), and the rest is history.I definately felt that the time for any “disputes” with my $1000brother charge was long passed…..
DO NOT USE SQUARE if you are like me and cant afford to take a hit like this!
i have a small auto repair shop in the redlands,ca area. square up is good in the beginning only. they have NO CUSTOMER SERVICE THAN CAN BE REACHED BY PHONE AND ONLY BY EMAIL. EVEN WITH EMAIL THEY WILL REFER YOU TO THE ONLINE WEB SITE HELP SECTION, THE COMPANY SUCKS, GO WITH INTUIT PAYMENTS BETTER BY 1000%
I agree. The processing fee is a bit high but i do not mind due to no contract and most of my payments are checks
Square is the worst decision we have made with this business! We had several transactions back in May with one of them over $2800, one for $500 and one for $51. They told us that we had exceeded their $2002 policy and that if we didn’t want our funds held we would need to refund the $2800 payment to the card holder (even though we had the legitimate charges for it and verbal permission from the card holder to run it). We did refund the $2800 payment that same day and took a different method of payment from the customer. That was May 20, 2012…here it is July 23, 2012 and we STILL have not been deposited the $551 payment that has been held for over two months now.
As stated by others, Square’s customer service is non-existent and they have REFUSED to answer my emails that have been sent weekly.
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY IF YOU DO ANYTHING OVER $1000!!!!!!
~V~
Just started with squareup.com on the advise of a JP Morgan Chase Business Banking Associate.
Seemed straight forward enough, all seemed well at first.
Now entire sales history with squareup.com (two transactions) is gone, no customer service and, of course, Chase has no response.
All software is up to date, FYI.
Will wait another 48 – 72 hours for some response from squareup.com. Sent multiple inquires. Nothing so far. (415) 375-3176 goes nowhere… some voice greeting “squareup.com” then goes to busy signal.
Things not looking quite right with squareup.com.
Square started out awesome, but with 12,000+ of my deposits on hold with no disputes, refunds or credits make one wonder. We have had no issues with square since sept of 2011, all of the sudden and thru no fault of my own, my account is under review and they are holding my money. We have over 10 case numbers pending and all we get is a generic computer generated response. I would only recommend square to someone that might have an instance every now and then that they need to accept a credit card. Do not expect your money in a timely manner, especially I’d the transaction is significant . To Square, u suck!
Got it thought it would be great,,,that holding funds thing???? THE WORST! The Square is only good if you sell vegetables at a farmer’s market.
I sell big ticket items and a lot of orders over the phone so the whole concept falls short for me, because a lot of my sales are keyed in.
Now I am waiting 30 days for money I need now,
I might use it here and there with only cards present, other wise I am a slave to the old fashioned terminal.
so much for cutting costs in my small business and getting money into my account faster.
I have had square for about 6 months. I quit using it 2 months ago and now there saying someone from 3 months ago is disputing a charge. So they froze my BANK account and took out close to 300.00 and sent en email asking if I wanted to challenge this to email them and wait for a response. I tried to call but got hung up on. I didn’t read anywhere that they can freeze your bank account!! That is my money not there’s. I want to close my account with them after this is over but just like trying to talk to a person I cant find where that is possible. I don’t know what to do. I cant use my debit card for anything no groceries no gas nothing! Wtf I just might have to get a lawyer. Do not use square. Use intuit go payment.
The fee’s were not spelled out when I signed up to get a card reader. I had to do research to find that manual card number input charges 3.5% + .15. Also I did not know that they hold funds that are over a certain amount. I got an e-mail that a lesser amount would be issued and could not at first figure what that lower amount was. Checking your web site answered it. Not pleased with Square’s practices and no live support. Not a way to operate a company. I always had good relations with all my customers doing service work. May look into another company to do credit cards.
Thanks for your site.
I wish I would have known how horrible the “customer service” would be with Square Up before signing up. They are impossible to reach someone live and if they respond to an email within 24 hours, it usually takes 3-4 clarification emails to get a clear answer. I’m switching over to a new system immediately. It’s impossible to run a business effectively with such poor customer relations.
I have had nothing but problems with this Square company. charge a client a credit of over $3000. and Square went back and forth with me on line only, now 2 weeks later and not getting any of my money and no human contact i am not using them again. I still have not received my money.
Robert Refugio
It is almost impossible to contact Square. There is no telephone number on their site. There is no company information and address. If they fail to deposit your money in the account how can you reach or sue them. Is it a scam?
You can cell their number which I found online. It is (415) 375-3176. The automated computer basically hung up on me after providing me with an email address which is [email protected] I had a transaction that was supposed to be deposited into my account and never was. It says it was on the site and when I checked my bank statement, nothing. I’m waiting to hear back from them.
Recenty began using Square and am mostly pleased, except the unavailability of actual support. Twice credit cards did not scan. Repeated swipes then went instantly to cash transaction, I cannot get someone to remove this from my records. Why would a specific credit card reader even use dash? Square needs to offer a way to contact a person to handle issues.
I have lost all of my patience with Square. My husband and I operate 2 buisnesses 1 Taxi Cab (medallion owned) 1 Catering buisness which go to separate banks and secrete accounts. We unintentionally mixed up our devices which made the customer name different. Simple hahaha NOT!! I emailed my hard copy of the original transaction in March well in July they put a hold on my husbands account holding over $600 without warning. They want access to my account which the accounts are not linked. I have been waiting over 4 months for a resolution. BEWARE OF THE HELP DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HELP THE CUSTOMER. I AM FILING A COMPLAINT WITH THE BBB. WATCH OUT!!
I signed up for Square for my small real estate business. I learned first hand what the elitist, pompous, Silicon Valley thinking and attitude is all about.
There is no phone number anywhere on the site to call, no cheap customer service people in India or Phillipines chat your problem away, and certainly no help on the most fundamental of all help topics: My Card Reader Does Not Work.
I think Square will disappear as a company (not by being bought out, but by being outdone by other more customer friendly companies) in due time. For now the pomposity and elitism seem to have won, but you know what, they have also got a rabid badmouther working against them now. This is a message to the 22 year old paper billionaires who, upon receiving 100 million in VC funding, start to imagine themselves to be sitting next to Gods. I wish they would understand that their riches and success depend on this one small thing in the entire process, called THE CUSTOMER.
I never seen anything like this before, square will have to change many things, specially customer service system and responds system to different claims or we will take them to court. I as a business owner of 3 different companies use them as my merchant services because of the convenience I saw in it but I now regret because funds are holding, funds are been withdrawn from bank account with out any explanation, takes weeks to get any response. We all ready looking into their Privacy Policy and Commercial Entity Agreement very carefully studying every detail. Hopefully judgement system will help protect small business owners from discrimination.
Let me know what you find out because im in the same boat right now. Thanks.
please let me know what happens been waiting over 30 days for funding from stupid square would like to sue the ……….out of them
Yes I believe this company is much too big to not offer a better customer service solution. Who ever heard of a bank that you cannot call? I believe this company is setting themselves up for a huge class action lawsuit. It also appears to me that monies held for excessive periods of time should be paid back with interest. Just my simple observations.
Negative review after negative review… What? You think it’s just a few rotten apples? Well then feel free to read yet one more negative review on Square. Is it easy and a convenient way for a small business to charge their customers? Yes. Would you think that in a service provider business where the sale is your services not an item that Square would perhaps be more protective that once services are rendered the Buyer should be disallowed from claiming they didn’t get the service? Well it seems not to matter. Seven months after providing services it appears a customer can dispute a payment and Square will, just like everyone states, immediately take the money right from your account with no forewarning or allowance for the business owner to provide proof of the services or contract for same. No warning. Zero, zip, nada. You provide the service. The customer receives it. You think you got paid but noooooo, think again….months later they snatch it right back when you least expect it or are prepared for it. But hey, the customer got the service and Square got paid. That’s all that matters it appears. Like others I disputed the charge back of thousands of dollars, provided contract documents to Square (after the charge back hit), followed their procedures and even provided written documents from the customer showing they did in fact approve of and receive the services. You would think that would be sufficient evidence right? Months later after disputing the charge back, here I still sit. Still waiting to see the return of the money earned at the first of the year. Oh did I mention I am also out the commissions paid to the sales agent on this? That is of course in addition to the money lost to Square. Will I recommend Square to anyone? NOPE. Have I used Square since? NOPE. Will I use it again? NOPE. If you can use another processor do it! Or better yet just take a check and cash it. My new method of providing services. You want services? Great. Cash or good check only please. At least with a bad check I have the local law enforcement to help out. Apparently business owners are the low people on the totem pole these days. No wonder there’s fewer and fewer jobs and our economy is a mess. Between the politicians and various financial muggers not much positive left.
If you get paid more than a couple thousand a month DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT. I am fighting them at the moment about a VERY large amount of money being held for at least a month. Due to fine print policy. There No. is 1-415-375-3176 ext 181 took me a lot of foot work to even find this.
I sell advertising. I did a bunch of $300 to $500 charges and they are went smoothly, never more than $2000 in a week I guess. Then I got an annual renewal for $4500 and discovered the over $2002 rule. They got the money from the clients card but were going to hold it for 30 days. After the ads would have run. No phone number, 36 hours to reply to email.
I cancelled the charge and then recharged $2001 and they locked that up for 30 days too.
I found Intuit Payment Solutions, they gave me a $15,000 limit and they have lower rates. With a $12.95 monthly fee they charge just 1.7% for swipes and 2.7 for key in charges
DO NOT USE SQUARE, Go search out GoPayment Intuit Payment Solutions.
I never received any money except the two small payments to open and verify the account. Here are the amounts in emails from Square. When I call on the phone I get told to go to the website. The web response is that they paid me. I am out a lot of money.
Square account money I never received.
You accepted $115.00 from a card ending in 4222.You can see more about this payment at https://squareup.com/payment/K17ABB7MABJMWAs of this payment, your Square balance is
$110.82. May 15, 2012
You accepted $20.00 from a card ending in 4804. You can see more about this payment at https://squareup.com/payment/BAKWJHGP4PTT6 As of this payment, your Square balance is
$129.97. May 27. 2012
You accepted $20.00 from a card ending in 4804. You can see more about this payment at https://squareup.com/payment/6BDD72EBQA13A As of this payment, your Square balance is
$149.12. May 27, 2012
You accepted $40.00 from a card ending in 1835. You can see more about this payment at https://squareup.com/payment/BSTP1W688QKP3 As of this payment, your Square balance is
$38.45. July, 13, 2012
You accepted $463.25 from a card ending in 9266. You can see more about this payment at https://squareup.com/payment/W4W5C18AVNMYS As of this payment, your Square balance is
$485.34 July, 14, 2012
You accepted $100.00 from a card ending in 7013. You can see more about this payment at https://squareup.com/payment/7HPM2RWVQWG0N As of this payment, your Square balance is
$582.59 July 14, 2012
Anyone have a real phone number for them?
Richard.
Not a fan. We have charged $100,000s of dollars and when I needed service, I couldn’t get a phone call. A customer disputed a charge and my e-mails to Square resulted in return e-mails 1-3 days later that were unclear. I included in my e-mails MULTIPLE times “Please call me so we can resolve this in 5 minutes”…never got a call and it took months to get the issue resolved.
I would pass on Square. If you do go with them, MAKE SURE YOU NEVER DO A PHONE CHARGE AND HAVE EVERY CHARGE SIGNED. IF THERE ARE CONNECTION ISSUES, HAVE THE CLIENT DO A SIGNED CC SHEET AND IMPRINT THEIR CARD.
We decided to try out square when we saw the product at a local apple store.BIG MISTAKE!!!!After 3 months of ok service they decided we were a high risk.They held over 10,000 dollars of our money.Customers got their products and are happy and square got paid.They stated that they could hold our funds for 180 days.Well its now been 185 days and quess what.When we inquired about when our funds would be released,4 days later we got a e-mail stating we are still a high risk and they would review again in 3 months.How is this allowed to happen is this America?
Overall, I am happy with Square’s service. So far, I have had no problems with funds being held. In general, the program works wonderfully, and I really like the register. However, the one time I needed help because the answer wasn’t available on their help page, I couldn’t find any way to contact Square. I had a customer call about a charge that showed up on his credit card statement but didn’t show up on our transaction history, so I couldn’t refund it. Square’s shoddy customer service makes mine look poor when I can’t do anything about it.
I have been experiencing many customer service related issues or lack thereof customer service. I have been caught in their $2002.00 rolling every 30 day trap and they are litereally holding thousands of dollars in THEIR account. Another major issue for me has been their follow up on funds being available. On many occasions, 10+, they indicate the funds will be available on a certain date, again due to the rolling $2002. policy and the funds do not show up. Of course as a client, there is NO access to customer service, they say its better that way!
Also after using their system for more than 60 days, their response to my complaints was to send me an email asking me to send them my FEIN and State tax certificate, send me my email address or vailidate my business through the yellow pages or other sources, they asked for 3 months of bank statements and asked me to send them all of the invoices and/or statements for all my client billings. Totally unacceptable and to date I have spent more than 12 hours trying to resovlve these issues. I’m no closer to closure than I was 12 hours ago. I’m a small business and having funds on hold is a BIG deal for me. I would not recommend this company to anyone looking for a CC processor. For all the hassles of doing business with them, as they say in the south…it just ain’t worth it ya’ll!!!
Have you applied for an increase? My products are high priced items and range from $2,000 to $20,000. So I immediately applied for the increase. I received up to $10,001 in a 7 day period. I have had 3 purchases in the last 6 months and in all cases by funds were received the next business day. I have not have an over $10,000 situation. But I would suggest you apply for the increase if you are going to go over that $2000 limit on a 7 day period.
I use square for my business and it is a great Disappointment lately when it comes to customer service
I use swipe and my app is up to date but the Manual entry option has disappeared on my app
It does not allow one dollar minumun for cards and even no support for it
EMail replies not coming i am thinking changing to anothere company where atleast i can have Email or phone help if meeded
It has become a lousy company trying to save money on most important feature that is customer service
Out source to any 3rd wolrd country like India for cheap labore may solve this issue
(415) 375-3176 extension 181 will get you a voice mail.
Has anybody received a receipt showing that a charge was made that you didn’t make. It looks like a credit card that I keyed in 5 months ago. I can’t find anywhere to get help!
I learned about Square Up last year at a Locksmith meeting from a fellow Locksmith who began to use Square for his credit card processing. I used Intuit via my computer at the office. To become a “mobile” credit card acceptor (I’m a mobile Locksmith) it was quite cumbersome and would have to subscribe to a cellular telephone contract with the purchase of a cellular credit card processing machine. Pay the telephone fees and such.
I had a laptop computer in my truck and decided to try a swipe reader with a USB plug. You had to have an internet air card to be able to go online then go to the site then swipe the card to process…..WOW!
I gave up on all that and just took my chances by accepting the credit card number and signature waiting until I got to the office to key the transactions in my computer. Intuit as well as many others knew they had you and really took advantage of this in their fees as well as service. I would do my best to stay clear of any intuit products of services if I can help it. I use Quickbooks Pro out of necessity though would be hard pressed to say it is the best accounting software. It isn’t.
I skeptically began using Square Up. I liked the fact that they charged one fee for all cards, had no monthly fees or contracts.
When you sign up with Square they keep a certain amount of your earnings for a period of time then release it. I was furious. Not only are they making money on the fees but keeping billions of dollars throughout the entire user system earning sick interest on our money made me ill.
I was confused at how they processed as well as the receipts and statements.
To communicate with anyone with Square was only through Twitter. I hated it and still do.
The dashboard has been changed multiple times. Oh forgot to mention that often when I go to accept a card on my telephone I have to sign in. The customer waiting while I enter my info. Just keep me signed in and leave it unless I say otherwise.
2.75% is okay rate. Not great or even good. 3.5% plus 15 cents per keyed in transaction is ridiculous.
I want to print the transaction receipt for my records from my computer and just want the basic info on it (you can see the customers receipt in your account dashboard but try to print a simple copy) and I have to put it in Excel spreadsheet? I just want to have a simple receipt to staple to my invoice that the customer signed. They don’t have a print button on the page.
Yes, they are getting better but as for now it is an option I have and when another opportunity (other than the thieves at Intuit who stole the idea Duh Intuit, I continually complained about the service and prices and I hope this hurts).
So, I will use Square Up as a means to an end but will jump ship as soon as a better product becomes available.
In a nut shell:
Square has a decent product. The service is one of the worst I’ve dealt with as far as simple communication. They distance themselves from you voraciously.
It works.
Cost is okay.
Swipe is finicky and does not work as well as it should.
Convenient.
After they scam you for a few months or so you will begin getting your money quickly and regularly.
All in all I would give Square a 6 out of 10
I have had problem with square since two years ago, no way of contacting them, they keep my money for says, now since 10 days ago did not deposit mt money I. My account and they are not contacting me either, I am all for suing them now
I process cards without the card present. Many for outside of the US. Australia has only a four digit postal code. Canada has six characters with three letters and three numbers alternating. The Square system insists on having a five digit numerical zip code entered with no work arounds. This is a defect in their system and a problem. Sometimes you can get around it by entering a US code but this doesn’t always work. Have had two customers that cards used to work with Intuit that now won’t work with Square at all.
I was told how great this system is….. Well I bought the reader at Best Buy (worst electronics store ever) and it got worse from there… after 20 times of deleting all the info & app., reinstalling it all again and getting the same error message “The operation couldn’t be completed. (kQHTTPOperationErrorDomain error 422) I sent an email each hour (for 6 hours) with no response, then I found your site and have been calling ever since (just two days)…. With the same results, no response, at least I only got burned for 10 bucks….. Cheaper than a bad movie & I wouldn’t EVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM NOW
Square is the worst service ever. They don’t pay you on time except for the first payment. They don’t get back to you or follow up on anything. You have to wait for weeks to get any type of response from them. You won’t even know what’s happening with your account. Please do yourself a favor and DO NOT GO WITH SQUARE!!!
I LOVE SQUARE UP. When my business partner and I first opened up our auto repair business, we needed a way to accept credit cards. We couldn’t stand all of the merchant sales people trying to sell us merchant packages that we didn’t need, so we googled merchant packages and found Square Up. It really seemed to good to be true at first, but we have been using it for all of our credit card processing needs for over 7 months now and I have NO complaints! Easy to set up, the processing card reader gets sent to you FREE OF CHARGE, there are no other fees other than the 2.75% per swipe. I personally couldn’t be happier with Square Up, best processor ever :)
DASHBOARD DOESN’T WORK! I used Square twice this last weekend but have no way of finding out from Square if they’ve deposited my money. When I sign onto the Square website absolutely nothing comes up on the Dashboard page. Nothing at all. I can’t even use the back arrow to return to their home site. Without the use of the Dashboard, I can’t personalize my phone app, can’t follow a transaction record, can’t do anything. After reading all these complaints, I don’t think I’ll use Square any more, and am more than nervous about whether I’ll ever see my money at all, or will be sure that if deposited, it’s truly there to stay!
Given the ease of actually using Square for a transaction, this lack of customer service, lack of communicating with their customers, and the withholding of funds is so disappointing.
UPDATE ~ Over Six months and Square is still holding over $6000 of our money. Original hold was for over 50K! The only way I got any of it back was to refund all the charges and then re-run them with a new processor. The last $6000+ they refused to allow me to refund and they are still holding it after SIX MONTHS.
This company is HORRIBLE. It has so many complaints and the way they hold peoples money is unconscionable! They have NO regard as to how this effects a small business! In my opinion they are probably robbing Peter to pay Paul.
They just partnered with Starbucks who is investing another 25 million. Maybe then we will get paid, Otherwise they will probably declare bankruptcy and we will get nothing. WARNING ~ STAY AWAY!
My wife and I own a natural skin products business called Pectolite Inc. Our Brand, Oh Honey, specifically works with handmade all natural soaps made with all natural oils and lye. We started using Square as our merchant solution. In the summer, we sale our soaps, lotion bars, and natural lip balms at farmers markets and festival events. Square has been great. We are able to accept credit cards with nothing more than our telephones. The cost of using square is close to any other merchant account provider and is their fees are more simple. We have more customers, because we can accept credit card and debit cards, when many of our competitors cannot. We sell more natural soap at the farmers markets, than on our website at http://www.soapguildstores.com/pectolite. The receipt can be emailed or texted to the customer and you are able to and should always put in a description of the purchase. This will let the customer know exactly what what they purchased. I would recommend Square to any small business. It has helped our natural soaps and lip balms company, Pectolite Inc, grow faster.
I have been using Square for almost 2 years now. I have never had a problem that couldn’t be resolved with them. I am a small business owner, my transactions are small so maybe that is why I don’t have problems. This has really increased my business by being able to accept credit cards. I have recommended Square to many vendors at farmer markets and craft shows.
Cindy
OK So here goes my rant……….. We sell custom golf carts, at trade shows and soforth. I started using them over 1 year ago and thats when I learned they put a hold on your non-swiped funds. I called and actually got through to someone. They had me e-mail in several business related items to them. THEN, they had me scan all of my receipts where the customer agreed to purchase the carts, I did. After only a couple of days, they increased my line to $20,000.00. I hadnt used them in a while as we just started doing trade shows again, and …..guess what?? Tried to use swiper and it wouldnt work, so we had to key it in manually. The customer even called their AE BEFORE and told them the amount of the charge, and even gave them our name and invoice info had to key it in and BAM, now they are holding all but $2001.00. Bull crap! Sent them an message, today. Going to see how long it takes for clear this up. Thanks for letting me RANT……lol
Square has been holding $3500 of my money for over 180 days even though they said they would release the money last week. In addition, I never had any chargebacks in the first place and I used the card swiper. My account was randomly flagged as high risk 6 months ago and my funds are still frozen.
i was also flaged a high risk after many transactions my account was all in line and in good standing and they are holding $3,000 from me i received a e mail stateing they would be released in 30 days then 1 hour later i received another e mail stateing they would be held 180 days they said i could seek other optiuons to receive my funds to go about doing a refund i did the first one and informed the customer why i received a check from my customer. i tried to do the other refunds to seek other payment options then square blocked me from doing that . i shouold of been a more educated consumer a read the hundreds and hundreds of negative reveiws one reveiw said they are holding $19,000 im temepted to show up at there door!!! to get there full attention in addition it says this is your case number and you will receive a return reply!! i have several case numbers and no returns they completly shut me out!!
Square is not working at all.Horrible experience I must say. I do not recommend square for anyone. I have a business and uses square.I purchased it, had the customer sign his signature but card number had to be keyed in because the dern card would not swipe and it is new. So, my customer is on hold because we cant start the customers car because the funds have not cleared. It has been a week and no response and cant contact anyone. Except, I am getting plenty of emails for me to submit verification, in which I have and still no money has posted. Wtf!!! Please read all reviews before you purchase square. I did my research but evidently not good enough. This is a disaster and I will not use them anymore
Square is not working at all. Horrible experience I must say. I do not recommend Square for anyone until they get their act together. I have a small business and used Square for a few days at our booth at our State Fair. Had the customer sign his signature on a piece of paper because the card number had to be keyed in because the dern card would not swipe and it is new. I am getting plenty of emails for me to submit verification, in which I have and still no money has posted. Wtf!!! Please read all reviews before you purchase Square. I did my research but evidently not good enough. This is a disaster and I will not use them anymore. I need my money NOW!
Swiped a card last week for $5,400.00. Found out four days later they did not process it saying they need additional info about my business. We have already been using the service for six months and why did they pull this on me now. If you need the funds in your account, do not rely on Square.
They keep taking refunds out of my account and will not stop.
The problem was fixed with the customer but the square keeps taking money from me and will not stop. No number to call them also. DO NOT USE
Signed up for square via mobile and never even received my free card reader. E-mailed them 2 or 3 times, no response. Couldn’t find any phone number for them. Eventually a month later bought my own card reader and now it’s not working. I read from other people on here about Intuit that got great reviews, so I will take my business there. Thanks Square, but even bigger NO THANKS!!
You guys have no customer service,so you will not see a penny of my hard earned money!
Despite my excitement at the arrival of the Square, I am experiencing ongoing frustration re: the fact that I cannot get a response from the customer service. I am unable to sign in for one thing. When I click “forgot password”, I keep getting a message saying they have sent an email to me, but those emails never show up. I am unable to go in and look at my history… a BIG no no for any financial software company. I am going to try the # you provided here… I would never have known it existed, so thanks for publishing this. But something tells me it might not make much of a difference.
Frustrated
Sounds like the same problem as I am having. Use my phone for my transactions, had to do a reset on the phone. Now it won’t let me log into my account and they will not respond to any emails. I am waiting, but have limited faith in their customer support.
Also the card reader (all 3 of them) have never worked.
Hope this helps anyone that is still having their money held….
Square was was holding $4500 of a $6500 transaction.
I emailed and faxed them every form of documentation they said they needed to verify transaction,
then they said they will still have to hold it for 30 days!!
So I went onto their facebook and twitter accounts and posted that they are a fraudulent company beware to all new users and I did this every 15 minutes for an entire day.
I also reported them to the San Francisco
FBI white collar crimes divisio