Transaction approved, then disappeared

[gooddogwood]

I sell items at craft fairs.  I take credit card payments using the square app on my iPhone.  Today I made a large sale.  The customer paid by credit card.  They held their card to my phone as per the onscreen instructions.  The phone chirped and said “transaction approved”. They left, and we were all happy. I later found out that square never recorded the transaction, so I am now out a lot of money.  How and why did this happen if the transaction was approved?   Can I ever trust square again?  Im debating if I should switch to cash or Venmo only.  I am so upset about losing so much today, and haven’t heard from square about what happened. 

[Candlestore]

@gooddogwood ;

Sorry this has happened to you.

I am not sure what happened that you saw the transaction Approved then can no longer see it.  Did the customer ask for a Receipt?  Usually after larger Transaction I check in Transactions to see if it is there or not.  The vendor thought it was approved for a CC charge but basically said the Canceled, Cash or other type was approved from my understanding.   I am thinking it got Canceled since Square tracks all sales including Cash sales.  I have heard of Scammers using Cell phones to change a transaction for different Payment processors besides Square.   Scammers are finding new ways to steal and this is just something us as business owners need to be on the look out for.  Going to Cash only may stop some scammer but then you have the Funny money scams that have been around for a long time.  

To keep this from happening in the future:

1. Print a Receipt for every transaction (this might be why retails print a receipt even if customers do not want one)
2. Check Receipt to make sure it matches the Payment type
3. Check your Transactions after receiving a Payment (This should be almost immediate on the device accepting payment)
4. Only take payments when your device is Online

On my Square app I can tap Transacations while I am bagging the customers item before they get their item(s) to see if their transaction was recorded by Square.  I also have heard people Tap their card, and my Scanner beeped when I place it in the charging cradle, and they put their card away.  They think the card reader beeped but it was just my Scanner.  

[gooddogwood]

Thank you Keith.  My mind was still furious when I made the post, so my typing was less than clear.  To clarify, I occasionally sell items at craft fairs, so I don't use Square more than a few times per year, and I don't have a printer or a scanner.  In this instance, the buyer had a credit card.  The transaction was made by the buyer holding his card to my iPhone (after opening square and entering the amount and everything).  My phone said approved, so I didn't think any more of it until later when I checked the daily transactions.  In hindsight, I realize it never went to the receipt screen (would be an option for email, text, or none since i don't have a printer).  My other square transactions during the day immediately went to the receipt option. 

So I'm guessing either 1. I screwed up somehow (I'd like to know how so I don't repeat it), or 2. Square didn't record the transaction even tho it said approved.

I don't think the customer could have been trying to scam if the card said approved, but maybe that's a new scam I don't know?

Anyways, expensive lesson to watch for receipts.  And to use Venmo more.  Thank you!

[Candlestore]

@gooddogwood ;

I am not sure why this transaction did not go right to the receipt screen in your case.  I use a Square Stand so my customers do not need to tap to my device.  I am wondering if you or the customer accidentally erased or canceled the payment when adjusting your phone for them to tap to the phone.  I would recomend the Square Bluetooth reader so the customer can tap to the reader instead of directly to your Iphone.  I know when I first started, I had an old cash register.  I had to manually enter the payment to my cell to accept a credit card.  I gave that up when I would enter $500 instead of $50  for example.   I would notice this before actually charging the customer, but I was afraid I might miss it in the future.

Mistakes happen, but when it deals with money customers and vendors get upset easily.  I would just love to know what happened that no transaction went through so you and I can not do this in the future.  

[Summer2024]

Hi, @gooddogwood 

It looks like the transaction was voided in the register and cancelled, which is probably why the receipt screen never popped up. Are you able to reach back out to the customer?

[gooddogwood]

Thank you, but no, I have no idea who they were.  Just a customer at a craft fair.

[gooddogwood · Accepted solution]

Update:  I heard from Square.  The two possible reasons a transaction was voided are:

1.  Payments can be manually voided from the tip or signature screen by tapping the “x” in the top-left corner.

2.  Payments are automatically voided if they aren’t finished within 5 minutes or the app is interrupted.

Since I don't believe the transaction wasn't completed or interrupted, I think the customer was quick with the slight of hand and voided it.  In hindsight, the customers spent surprisingly little time in my booth.  The female pointed at my most expensive item, and the male paid with the card.  I'm guessing they knew what they were doing, and took advantage of me not using Square enough to recognize it in live-time.

[Summer2024]

Ugh. I am so sorry that this happened to you.