thread Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal) in Payments Troubleshooting

Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

KarenBanwell — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 13:05:50 GMT

Hi. I am usually able to charge customers cards with just the long number, the exp date and the cvc code. Today the terminal is insisting on the postcode being entered. Is this something that perhaps applies to the type of card the customer is using? Or have you tightened us the requirements? Thanks

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

KarenBanwell — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 11:33:03 GMT

*'up' not 'us'

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

Emma_ — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 16:19:04 GMT

Hi @KarenBanwell, if you are using the Virtual Terminal from a computer/desktop, the Postcode is not required. However if you are using Square App from a tablet or smartphone to manually enter the card details, the postcode will be required.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

KarenBanwell — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 18:12:24 GMT

Hi Emma. I was using the virtual terminal from my desktop Mac on safari browser - as I almost always do. On this occasion, I asked the customer for her postcode and was able to process the payment. But I have many more payments lined up to collect and have not collected the postcodes. So your assistance is still needed. Thank you.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

KarenBanwell — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 18:15:33 GMT

I have just tried to charge my own card with a test purchase of £1. Your software is still insisting on a postcode.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

Emma_ — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 09:41:32 GMT

@KarenBanwell, I have just tested this on Chrome and Safari from a computer and no Postcode is required on both browsers. You should see the same screen.

Can you try clearing cache and cookies on your browser and try again from a computer? If you see the postcode field required, please take a screenshot without entering any card details and share it with me. Here is what I have on my Virtual Terminal:

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

KarenBanwell — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 10:02:18 GMT

Hi Emma. Re: 'try again from a computer' - I AM trying from a computer as stated above. I have tried both safari and google chrome browsers. Could this issue be to do with permissions for my own individual business? As per your screen shot above, the postcode field is not there when I begin to populate the fields. It pops in as I fill in the card number. See screen shots.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

KarenBanwell — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 10:04:54 GMT

Can you use your admin permissions to log in as me, and you try? Thanks.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

Emma_ — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 11:35:56 GMT

Thanks for the screenshot @KarenBanwell. I had a further look into it and checked with our team.

The postal code is required if the card has been issued in the UK, US, or CA based on the BIN. This is an additional form of security to verify the card is being used by the card holder or an authorised person.

If your customer is using a virtual card from Booking.com, please check this information provided by Booking.com.

There has been a number of additional security measures to prevent fraud for card-not-present payments this year. Square will require Postcode for these cards when using Virtual Terminal.

I'm sorry for my previous posts. My test was done with a card issued by an EU country and therefore I wasn't getting Postcode field. If there is any new update on this, I will make sure to post in this thread.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

KarenBanwell — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 13:30:43 GMT

Hi Emma

Thank you for this information. If we have been notified of this change by Square, then I was not aware of that. I have looked at the page you linked to on Booking.com, which says we can use the guest's postcode/zipcode, or our own personal postcode or Booking.com's postal code which they provide. I have just charged a Booking.com card and in fact was not asked for the postcode at all for this. So in practice then, for me, I now need to collect the customer's post code/zip code when I take a direct booking. Karen

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

KarenBanwell — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 13:36:25 GMT

PS: I have just received the following from your contact system. Sounds like there IS an issue after all?

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

Emma_ — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 14:04:27 GMT

Thank you for raising this. I will make sure to post here if there is anything new about postcode requirement in Virtual Terminal.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

KarenBanwell — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 12:00:59 GMT

Can I add that the Best Answer flagged above is not actually the best answer and has some details in it that are not correct. In fact the software's insistence on a postcode WAS a glitch that has now been corrected - see screenshot above from 25th Nov. I can confirm that the postcode is NOT now required when I charge a card, there had NOT been any changes to data requirements from my customers and the situation I encountered on 24th Nov was corrected and has gone away. For future reference.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

heathclark — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 19:22:46 GMT

I have had 6 customers in the last week contact me who are experiencing this problem. They are asked for a postcode and yet there is no field box for them to enter it. This seems to be a reoccurring issue that folk have been complaining about for a number of years and still hasn't been resolved.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

Sineaid — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 09:28:53 GMT

Thanks for letting us know you’re having trouble with this @heathclark.

I’ve tried to replicate the issue by creating a Virtual Terminal payment link on a test account. When I’ve received the text message, initially the postcode field is not displayed, but as soon as I enter the card number of a UK issued debit/credit card, the postcode field is displayed and the payment completes after all the details are entered.

Have you tried replicating the issue by sending yourself a test payment link from the Virtual Terminal? If so, do you encounter the same issue that these customers have reported?

Also, do you know if the customers in question are using a UK issued card? A postcode is required when processing cards issued in the United States, Canada or United Kingdom on the Virtual Terminal.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

heathclark — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 10:55:31 GMT

I have never had the problem myself when going through the a trial checkout. I also don't know whether they the cards they have are issued from the UK. The cards have been general cards like Visa. People who seem to have contacted me the most about the problem have been from Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia. When they are asked for a postcode it isn't the problem that they get asked but rather that there is no field box to enter the information into until the next stage of processing but they cannot progress to that next stage until they have entered the postcode at the first stage - which there is no field box.

Re: Postcode mandatory? (Online payment processing - virtual terminal)

Breffni — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 06:45:59 GMT

Thanks @heathclark, this is something we'd need to test with cards for these countries which we won't have access to here on the Community.

In this case, I would ask that you contact our support team directly if you haven't done so already.

This may be something that our engineers are aware of or can test. Our number is 0800 098 8008, Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.