Feature Request: Can Square process offline card payments in Australia without the internet?

[TTA]

Can square take and process cc transactions without the internet, then dump transactions once back online ie like on a plane?

[Seamus · Accepted solution]

EDIT 6/5/2022 - Offline Mode is now available with Square Terminal via chip and tap with Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JBC credit and debit cards. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also supported.

Hey @TTA,

Offline payments are not a Square feature in Australia at the moment, so you'll need a stable internet connection to take card payments. It's possible this will change in the future, though there are upsides and downsides to having this ability.

I'd be interested to hear more about what sort of use case you're looking at in terms of using Square to take payments on a plane!

[Seamus · Accepted solution]

EDIT 6/5/2022 - Offline Mode is now available with Square Terminal via chip and tap with Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JBC credit and debit cards. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also supported.

Hey @TTA,

Offline payments are not a Square feature in Australia at the moment, so you'll need a stable internet connection to take card payments. It's possible this will change in the future, though there are upsides and downsides to having this ability.

I'd be interested to hear more about what sort of use case you're looking at in terms of using Square to take payments on a plane!

[DeltaBravo]

Any idea when this might be available in Australia? Our internet drops out occasionally, and it brings the business to a standstill .... 😞

[Seamus]

Hey @DeltaBravo,

We don't have an ETA at the moment for offline payments in Australia (or confirmation it's something we will build here), but we are tracking demand for this feature so I'll pass your case on to our product team for consideration.

[383]

Hi Sheamus,

This is quite annoying, to be honest. The main reason we went for square over PayPal/Mint is the ability to process payments offline, especially since Australia does not always have the best mobile coverage.

Surely this is something Square could easily incorporate given it has been in America now for several years.

[Harty88]

We'd love for this feature to be rolled out to Australia. I can see it's available via Square in the US. Interestingly CBA (1 fo the big 4 banks) offers an offline mode with their Albert device. 

[Seamus]

Hey @Harty88,

Thanks for your message!

We've definitely seen some demand for offline payment in Australia, and we continue to track this demand.

With that said, offline payments can be risky. With transaction data temporarily stored in the app's memory - if the mobile device was to crash or the app was to be accidentally deleted, you'd run the risk of losing any transactions you have waiting to be processed once connected to the internet. It's something we could always revisit in the future, but for now an internet connection is required to use Square in Australia.

You may want to look into manually keyed payments (eg over the phone) or emailed invoices as an alternative for now!

[DaveBlueSky]

Please can you fast trackk this.

The main reason we went for square over PayPal is the ability to process payments offline, especially since Australia does not always have the best mobile coverage. We often need to do sales in areas where coverage is completely useless.

Surely this is something Square could easily incorporate given it has been in America now for several years.

Dave

[Seamus]

Hey @DaveBlueSky,

Thanks for your feedback! I pass feature requests on to our various product teams and share feedback that comes in via our Seller Community, though I'm not able to decide where a given feature sits in our pipeline.

It's possible offline payments may come in the future, but unfortunately I'm not able to fast track a feature request or give an ETA as to when one may become available.

The more feedback we receive for a given feature though the better a case can be made for it, so thank you for sharing!

[WAMC]

I'll second this.  We run a mobile business that can often take us to areas with dodgy mobile reception.  No one carries cash anymore we we end up losing business!

[ForestLodgeFarm]

We are another customer hoping for this feature. Our internet signal is not reliable, especially in bad weather.

[OnPointBrewery]

We're another customer also after online processing in Australia, the risk should be up to the vendor the accept within the app rather than not available at all.

[Seamus]

Fair point @OnPointBrewery!

We'll never say never - while offline payments are not currently available in Australia, we continue to track demand and share feedback with our product team. It's possible this may change in the future, if it does we'll update this thread.

[BirdClub]

We are another customer looking for offline payment mode. I bought this device from Office Works with the specific request for offline payments as we are a non for profit organisation with older members who do not know how to connect the device to the internet. I am very disappointed this feature is missing and will now need to be present at every event we take money taking me away from valuable time running my own business. Not happy.

[AnswerS33k3r]

+1 - I believe this is a much needed feature.

Please add us to the list.

[Arie]

Thanks for adding your vote @AnswerS33k3r! 

[NMAE]

Hello, 

We are another business that would make use of offline payments when available in Australia! I travel to remote areas where internet and mobile coverage are not available so sometimes receiving payment can be impossible unless made by cash. I cannot rely on payment over the phone when I return a few hours back into a service area.

[Arie]

Hi @NMAE,

Thank you for getting in touch and sharing your feedback! Welcome to our Seller Community 👋
 

While we don't have an update on the availability of this feature at the moment, we'll be sure to tag you in this thread to notify you of any updates.

[ST71]

It’s 2022 is there any update on this  question?

[Louhil]

Don’t have internet connectivity in the country side how do I accept offline transactions in Australia 

[Seamus]

Hey @Louhill,

Thanks for reaching out.

I've moved your message to this thread, offline payments are not currently available in Australia. We're tracking feedback on this feature, but I don't have an ETA as to if or when unfortunately!