Cash App payments via a Payment Link - Where does the money go? AND, where is the transaction?

[dcwsales12]

I have now spent more than 6 hours trying to figure this issue out. I have tried to chat with SquareUp's support (no help) and I have called Cash App directly (no help)....I am now here to see if anyone within this forum can offer help.

First and foremost, I am a consultant and an event organizer for other organizations. I am currently working with a church to help them with digital payments for both their Pumpkin Patch sales and an upcoming Fall Festival. This is their first time to use a digital way to pay for anything that they do. Up until now, they have only accepted cash. The members of the church are all older (average age is 76) and they do not understand nor comprehend how digital and online systems work, but they do agree that they need to move into the digital payment world if they are going to not lose customers at their events. I am working directly with the Office Manager of the church for all things "money".

I personally have (3) different SquareUp accounts, plus personal and business Cash App accounts, so I am not new to either company. (NOTE: I normally use Shopify for my business, so some SquareUp features are "new" for me to locate/find within the account, but I am capable of doing it.)

With my help, I had the church setup a SquareUp account (they are a 501c3 so they do not collect taxes) and they have added me as a Team Member with full access. They do not have a Cash App account.

Yesterday, 10.11.25, was their first day to sell pumpkins for their Pumpkin Patch. I have worked with them to create a variable payment link with a QR code so that customers can choose their pumpkins (one size or a mixture of sizes), receive a total owed from the volunteer working the Pumpkin Patch, and then pay by scanning the QR code. One of their customers yesterday paid with their Cash App account after scanning the QR code. I personally witnessed the customer's phone tell them that the transaction was successful. BUT...neither the money, nor an order showing the transaction, nor the amount to be deposited into their bank account can be found in the church's SquareUp account nor in their reports. (I have access to all of that.) Plus they no longer have their pumpkins.

When I reached out to SquareUp chat I was basically told that the account holder needs to contact them. Well, ultimately that will be me, with the Office Manager sitting beside me, logged into the church's account. I'm trying to avoid that scenario because they honestly are paying me to do this for them, plus they don't really have time to sit down with me to do this, but if we have to do it, it will happen.

When I called Cash App (side note...after searching within this forum, I found a thread that stated that SquareUp does not offer support for this specific feature and that support comes directly from Cash App), I was told there was nothing that could be done on their end because the church does not have a Cash App account. 

UGH!! Sooo...essentially SquareUp and Cash App are pointing fingers at each other and neither knows how to fix the issue.

How this transpires overall:

1) SquareUp offers Cash App as a payment option for Online sales, Invoice sales, Payment Link sales and POS sales from customers.

2) All that needs to be done to take Cash App payments within SquareUp is:

     ~ for Online: toggle it ON within the Checkout Settings

     ~ for Payment Links: toggle it ON within the Payment Links General Settings
     ~ for Invoices: toggle ON within Invoice Templates

     ~ for POS: make sure the Cash App option is in the Main payment types within the Payment

        General Checkout Settings (EDITED on 10.13.25 to include the POS info)
3) At NO POINT are there instructions to have a Cash App account to receive payments from a customer's Cash App account.
4) Does a Cash App account need to be created to accept Cash App payments?

5) Regardless of the answer to #4, where do Cash App payments go when ALL of the Cash App elements are turned ON and a customer uses their Cash App account to pay?
6) Why are there no transactions or orders listed for a payment received from a Cash App account?
7) Why is getting support for this feature so convoluted?

My guess for now is that the church is out the money for that single transaction yesterday and I have gone in and turned OFF all instances of where Cash App can be used as a payment, but since these are sister companies, why can't there be support from either company?

Thank you to anyone who can help with this issue!
Dee

[Laurie_ · Accepted solution]

Hi @dcwsales12,

I'd be happy to step in here and help clear a few things up!

First of all, you're absolutely correct, as a Square Seller, you're not required to create a Cash App account just to accept payments from customers using Cash App. Aside from enabling the payment method on your Square account, there are no additional steps you need to take.

I can definitely see how this might get confusing, you're dealing with a Cash App payment, and Cash App is part of the same broader company. But the key here is identifying where the issue lies, which is with your Square account. Since the payment is missing from your Square account, that's where the investigation needs to start.

Think of it this way: if a customer paid using an AMEX card and the payment didn’t appear, your first step wouldn’t be to contact AMEX, it would be to contact Square. This situation is similar. Even though Square and Cash App are both part of Block, they operate as separate platforms. In this case, we’re only focused on the Square side of things.

For reference, you can find all the ways to get in touch with the Square Support Team here.

One thing that will make this much easier is being added as an Authorised Representative on the Square account. This gives you permission to contact Square on the account holder’s behalf and receive support with account-level issues. You can follow these steps to become an Authorised Representative. Once you're listed, our team will be able to verify you and dive into specific payment details.

We can’t assist with account-level issues unless you're either the Account Owner or an Authorised Representative. Just to clarify: full-access team members are not the same thing. They can log into the account, but they don’t have security clearance to speak with Support about sensitive account details.

As for Cash App payments, they’re treated the same as any other payment method. If a transaction goes through successfully, you’ll see the payment displaying in your Transactions page. If it’s not showing up, it likely didn’t complete, or the customer may have filed a dispute for the payment, which we cover in our Troubleshoot payments made with Cash App Pay article.

For your own reference, you can also review the steps to accept payments with Cash App Pay here.

Once you're listed as an Authorised Representative, our team will be ready to assist you. I recommend reaching out to Square Support directly on 1-855-700-6000 (Support is available Monday to Friday, 6 AM – 6 PM Pacific Time) so they can review the payment in question.

Be prepared to provide details such as the date, time, and transaction amount, as the team will likely ask for this information during the call. 

I hope this helps to clear a few things up. Let us know if you run into any issues contacting our team.

[dcwsales12]

Thank you so much! The church can view this review, so I will let them decide how they want to handle this. I appreciate you very much!

Thanks! Dee

[Laurie_]

Of course, it's my pleasure, Dee! I'm glad I could help! 😊