Hello Square Community and Support Team,
I'm posting with a heavy heart after a frustrating but clarifying exchange with a member of the Square staff. After six years of building my business on the Square for Retail ecosystem, I'm being forced to confront a reality that feels like a fundamental shift in Square's priorities.
For years, I've relied on the free, existing Uber Eats and DoorDash integrations to manage my online orders. They've worked perfectly. Now, I'm being told that as of November 10, 2025, these integrations will be deprecated and I must switch to Square's new "native integrations."
The problem? These new native integrations are only available to businesses classified as "restaurants." Because my business is a retailer and uses key retail features like committed inventory, I am locked out of the new native integration. I'm told my only option is to pay $57 a month for a third-party tool called Stream.
This is where the frustration turns to regret. As a long-time user, I've confirmed that this third-party tool simply replicates the exact functionality that was already part of the free integration Square is now breaking. I'm being forced to pay for a service that was a core part of the ecosystem I chose to build my business on.
This isn't an issue of a broken product; it's a strategic decision to withdraw support for loyal sellers like me.
The question isn't whether Square can be better, but why it's actively choosing to be worse for its retail users. Why is Square for Retail abandoning integrations that work and creating a paid, third-party barrier to entry for a service that was once free?
I'm posting this to ask for a clear, public explanation from the product teams involved. We deserve to know why this decision was made and what this means for the future of the Square for Retail ecosystem.
Thank you to the staff member who provided clarification, but a public response is needed to address this fundamental shift in policy.
@anyab @asanturbano @averie @areynolds @BradenSQ @DivyaN @faheem @brianstanish @Hadley @jamesyoon @JessicaVersaw @judyph @KCfromProduct @lucasisazaSQ @mkochanowski @schonzeit @tereselu @tonymilne @victorial @Sammie_C @Laurie_ @Katie_SQ @Ellie_ @Summer2024 @MayaP @_Violet @JJ_ @Kassi_ @LeahK @isabelle
