You made the sale, the payment went through, and the money is not in your bank. The Square Dashboard shows the transfer as 'Pending', or 'Failed', or your balance is sitting there with a note about a review, a dispute or a reserve. It is easy to assume Square has taken the money.
Usually it hasn't. In most of these cases the funds are still in your Square balance or on their way, and what is missing is a step: a schedule cutoff, a bank account that was never verified, an information request nobody answered, or a chargeback that froze one payment. Start by finding out which one you have, because each has a different fix.
- Transfer shows 'Pending' and nothing else looks wrong: almost always the transfer schedule. See cause one.
- Transfer shows 'Failed', or went to an account ending in digits you don't recognize: a bank account problem. See cause two.
- Transfers are suspended, or an email asks for documents: an account review or information request. See cause three.
- One payment's amount is missing or your balance shows a negative amount: a dispute. See cause four.
- Part of every card payment is set aside: a reserve. See cause five.
- You can't take card payments at all, or got a deactivation email: identity verification or deactivation. See cause six.
Cause 1: The transfer is just following Square's schedule
Every Square seller starts on standard next-business-day transfers. In the US, Square's help says payments taken before 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET arrive the next business day, and payments taken after that cutoff arrive by the second business day. No next-business-day transfers are sent on Saturdays, so Friday payments typically post by Monday morning, depending on your bank. Square doesn't count weekends and bank holidays as business days.
If you switched to manual transfers, Square says your funds stay in your Square balance until you move them yourself, so nothing arrives on its own. And by default, Friday transfers stay in your balance over the weekend; to send them Friday night you turn off 'Weekend Balance' in your Friday transfer settings under 'Savings' in the Dashboard.
- In the Square Dashboard, go to 'Banking' > 'Transfers', pick the location if you have more than one, and set the date range. Each transfer shows 'Pending', 'Completed' or 'Failed'.
- Open the transfer to see the card payments it includes and the last three digits of the account it went to.
- Check your speed under 'Settings' > 'Account & settings' > 'Banking' > 'Transfers'.
- If you can't wait, same-day and instant transfers cost 1.95% per transfer. Instant needs a balance of at least $25 after fees, and new sellers start with one instant transfer a day of up to $2,000.
- Selling in the UK? Square's UK help says standard transfers there arrive the next day including weekends and holidays, if your bank supports real-time payments, with a cutoff of 00:00 GMT. Canada, Ireland and Australia have their own versions of these pages.
Cause 2: Your bank account isn't verified, or the transfer went to a closed account
Square can't send money to a bank account it hasn't verified. If you linked the account manually instead of through Plaid, Square's help says verification can take up to 4 business days, excluding weekends and holidays. You need at least $1 in the bank account before you start. If you changed the account in the app, Square also asks you to click the link in its confirmation email within 24 hours.
If the transfer shows 'Failed', or went to an old account, Square assumes your account is open until your bank reports it closed, which usually happens after the money has left. Square's help describes three outcomes: the funds bounce back to Square within up to 7 business days and are sent to your new account (or held in your balance until one is verified); your bank mails you a check; or your bank kept the account open, in which case you contact the bank and ask for a manager or the ACH department.
- Go to 'Settings' > 'Account & settings' > 'Banking' > 'Bank accounts' and check the account shows as verified for the right location.
- Square recommends linking with Plaid, which verifies instantly. Plaid linking is only available on the Square Dashboard, not in the app.
- Compare the last three digits on the transfer with your current account. If they don't match an open account, link an active one.
- If Square shows the transfer as sent and your bank can't find it, give your bank the trace details from the transfer, then contact Square.
Cause 3: Your account is under review or has an information request
Square says it regularly monitors transactions, and if its system notices something that looks out of the ordinary, it suspends all transfers to your bank, instant transfers included, until it can make sure everything is all right. Square says these reviews usually finish within one business day, and it emails you if it needs more information. It is the transfers that stop, not the sale itself.
If Square asks for information, transfers stay suspended until you answer. Requests can cover what you sell, documents about you or your business, and documentation of specific transactions, such as contracts, invoices, email correspondence or signed proof of delivery. Square reviews submissions within 1 to 2 business days and needs responses in English.
If you don't have what Square asks for, its help offers one other route: refund the transaction and ask the customer to pay outside Square. Card refunds are made in the Dashboard.
- Dashboard: 'Settings' > 'Account & settings' > 'Information requests'. Answer every question, select 'Submit', and watch for a confirmation by email or text.
- Point of Sale app: '≡ More' > 'Settings' > 'Information Requests'.
- You can change your answers and documents until Square starts the review.
- Make sure what you sell matches the business type on your account. Square's business restrictions page says accounts may be restricted or deactivated if activity looks inconsistent with the stated business type.
Cause 4: A chargeback or dispute is holding one payment
When a customer disputes a charge with their card issuer, the issuer debits Square, and Square holds the disputed amount from your Square balance or your linked bank account. If neither can cover it, your balance shows the negative disputed amount and future payments go toward it.
The card-issuing bank decides the dispute, not Square. Square says it charges no dispute management fees for chargebacks. If you win, Square releases the disputed funds back to you, including the processing fees. If you lose, the funds go to your customer and the processing fees are not refunded.
- Find it under 'Orders & payments' > 'Disputes' in the Square Dashboard.
- Submit your evidence within seven days of the first notification. Square's examples of supporting evidence are contracts, invoices, email correspondence and signed proof of delivery.
- Expect to wait. The bank can take up to 90 days from the start of the dispute to decide, and Square can't speed that up.
Cause 5: Square has put a reserve on your account
Square uses a rolling reserve, setting aside a percentage of card payments and releasing it on a rolling basis to make sure you can cover chargebacks. Square says these funds still belong to you, and reserves apply only to card payments, not ACH bank transfers.
Square lists the factors as collecting payment before delivering goods or services, chargeback rates in your industry or on your account, sporadic processing, and being new to Square. It reviews accounts with reserves after a minimum of six months, on its own, without you asking.
- Open 'Balance' in the Square Dashboard and go to the Reserve Dashboard to see your terms and the amount and date of each upcoming release. Only the account owner can see it.
- Released funds go to your available balance and then follow your normal transfer settings.
- Starting a refund on a reserved payment releases that payment's reserved funds.
Cause 6: Identity verification failed, or the account was deactivated
If Square couldn't verify who you are, its help is blunt: you will be unable to process payments with Square until it can. The usual reasons are a business name instead of your legal first and last name, a business address instead of your current home address (or your previous one if you moved in the last six months), a wrong Social Security Number or ITIN, which must be valid even if you sign up as a business, and blurry photos. If Square asks for a selfie and a photo ID, use the physical ID, not a photocopy, and make sure the name matches what you entered. To retry, sign in to the Dashboard, or open the 'We couldn't verify your identity' email and select 'Verify Identity'.
A deactivation is different: your account is closed and the email says why. If the notice says you can appeal, click the link in the email, the Dashboard banner or the in-app notification, complete the form and select 'Submit Appeal'. Square says appeals are typically reviewed within 48 hours. If approved, any held funds are released. If denied, the deactivation stays and Square emails you about what happens to the held funds.
Prevent it next time
You can't switch Square's holds off, but you can make them rarer and shorter.
- Link your bank with Plaid and confirm it shows as verified before you need the money.
- Learn the cutoff and know whether you are on standard, same-day or manual transfers.
- Answer every information request the day it arrives, in full, and add Square's emails to your contacts so they don't land in spam.
- Keep receipts, invoices, customer emails and proof of delivery for every sale; they are your dispute evidence and your review evidence.
- Keep enough in your linked bank account to cover your largest transaction. Square says it isn't liable for overdraft fees from debits to your account.
A second way to get paid
No processor can promise you'll never see a hold, and OneSol can't either. What helps is a backup: on OneSol Pro ($9/month) you can connect your own Square, Stripe or PayPal account to a free OneSol page, with the money going straight to your account, so a hold on one doesn't stop you taking orders.