Autofill messes up online payment process

[cameronjpu]

I'm selling tickets to a webinar using square, and one thing that really messes up a lot of my buyers is that when they use autofill for the online checkout billing address, square doesn't seem to recognize that an address was entered at all, and it won't proceed to the purchase button, telling my clients that information is missing even though it isn't.  The solution to this is to delete one character of the street address and then use the square-suggested address that comes up.  But of course, my clients don't know that, so I get lots of emails saying that the checkout doesn't work.

Any solution?  I can't be the only person who has experienced this...  Thanks!

[TheRealChipA]

Hey there @cameronjpu.  So this was a problem that was reported back in 2022 and I thought this was resolved.  Obviously, if this was a problem with all sellers I probably would have found posts about it after 2022, but so far I haven’t.  So, in order to try to rule out a problem specific to your website/store and something else, could you please post the URL or your website?  That way I can check out a few things to see if something obvious pops up or if I should tag a few Square moderators.

I’m asking because I’ve tried out autofill on a few other sellers’ websites and it works perfectly.  I want to see what might be different about yours.

Thanks!

[cameronjpu]

Yeah just to make sure you are doing what I mean, it is using the web browser autofill to fill in saved personal information.  If you just start typing an address, then Square suggests an address, which works just fine if you click it or if you ignore it.  But if you use your browser's autofill, it does not.

Here is the link to the $0.01 product I set up.  Unfortunately you can't see the problem UNTIL you press Pay at the bottom, so I don't know any better way to do it.  What happens is that the web browser autofill basically never enters a city/state/zip because of the coding of the Square website, which only starts with a single box for address, which the web browser treats as only being a street address box.  90% of my clients figure it out.  But I get several people emailing me saying that they can't submit a payment every time I sell this webinar, and I have to explain to them how to make a payment.  The error on the page indicates that Apt number is required, so people are confused and don't realize that it's the city/state/zip that's really missing.

https://square.link/u/3WPNGHDM

If you have a test checkout that I can use of someone else's, I'm happy to test there even if it costs a buck.  I'm confident this issue is not exclusive to my site (IT troubleshooting is my profession) but happy to test it out to verify.

[cameronjpu]

OK I have recorded a video showing the exact problem.  And it seems obvious to me that what's happening to my customers is the same issue as I see here pop up every few years.  Just because people don't post about it monthly doesn't mean that it's not a widespread issue, but I'm willing to receive advice on how to solve it if it's just an issue with my account.  My guess is that it's a small enough annoyance that people just deal with it.  But it's poor programming by those who write and maintain the checkout page. 

Here is the video showing the issue: https://youtu.be/VjssB656paY

If a checkout page chokes this badly on common web browser autofill functions, can it be said to be fully functional?

[TheRealChipA]

Thanks @cameronjpu  im tied up with something at my business. But you’re on my list to look at this once I’m done. Sorry for the delay. Fellow seller here, too

[cameronjpu]

Thanks, and no rush of course.  This is an issue that has existed forever, I only just now decided it'd be worth checking into.  But I don't expect a quick fix (or even any fix most likely, but hopefully at least a workaround to perhaps disable the "too smart" behavior of the checkout process) and I understand you get what you pay for, and I'm not paying for anyone to fix this coding (though I would consider it if I could!).

[TheRealChipA]

@cameronjpu So, everything came together quicker than I expected.  I was also waiting on a fellow Square Champion who does a lot of online sales via Square.  His name here is @JTPets.

Anyway, I was confused about why his website checkout uses the traditional multi-field (address, city, state, etc) format for addresses but yours uses what I call the consolidated address entry in one field.  It turns out that he believes that you are selling tickets via checkout links and that you aren’t using a traditional online store to make sales.  I’m betting that he is correct.  Is he?

If so, this is where the problem lies.  Which means that we have taken this to a place that is above my pay grade to give you much assistance.  I’m going to tag a few Square moderators here who hopefully can consult with the appropriate development team to see if they can work toward a satisfactory long-term resolution for you.

In the meantime, would it be possible for you to give customers a heads up when sending them links?  Maybe verbiage in your emails, texts, and even on your webpage where you have embedded your checkout links.  I’m think something like fair warning for them NOT to use auto-fill for addresses right now.  Honestly I’m not sure if this is a Square issue or an auto-fill issue when consolidated address fields are used.  But the engineers should know and hopefully can figure out how to fix it.  For now, that is the best work-around I can offer you.

Please confirm that you are, indeed, using checkout links.  If that is the case I will post something to alert the moderators and hopefully get a team working to correct this for everyone.

[JTPets]

I've had multiple customers unable to complete orders due to address validation issues. Even my own wife encountered this problem while testing my website - she couldn't submit an order until she checked the "accept marketing" box, which then allowed her to proceed.

I've long advocated for an option that lets customers acknowledge the risk of an unvalidated address. A simple checkbox with a message like:
"Address unvalidated. If you continue, you accept the risk of a shipping error due to an unverified address."

This would give customers the choice to proceed while understanding the potential consequences.

[cameronjpu]

Yes I think I'm using checkout links.  At least as far as I, an average (but highly IT savvy) Square seller can know considering the verbiage is opaque.  But there is no website that users are clicking through, no.

Not an option to include text showing my customers how to check out.  Because that would be one of about 10 things that I would have to include to make sure another 2-5% of users get through it successfully.  And I'm not willing to triple the amount of information I'm asking them to read before buying.  In exchange for helping that 2-5% of users succeed, i would lose 2-5% of users who got dissuaded by all the unfriendly text on the sales pitch.  I just want it to not fail on a standard autofill function.  Sounds like there is another possible form that could already show the city/state/zip, and maybe that's an option I can enable?

[TheRealChipA]

@_Violet @JJ_ @RobynR @MayaP @Katie_SQ @Summer2024 @Sammie_C 

Let me summarize the issue brought up by …… @cameronjpu 

In our regular online stores, Square has customers enter addresses in the traditional multi-field format — ie - separate fields for addresses, city, state, zip.  But in @cameronjpu‘s  case, he is using checkout links and checkout for those uses a consolidated address entry field, instead.  For some reason auto-fill does not work correctly with these.  Is this a Square problem?  An Apple/Google problem?  Can this be fixed so that auto-fill will at least automatically start the address validation without customers having to backspace or do any manual entry?  Right now, it is confusing to some customers who are very used to auto-fill just working.  Thanks!

Oh, and thanks to @JTPets  for pointing me in the right direction.  It takes a village!

ps - I’ll add one more thing that makes me think this is a square bug. If I go to the square shop to order hardware, auto-fill works perfectly with that consolidated address field. So it SHOULD work with the one in checkout links, right??????

[TheRealChipA]

Moderators.  I’ll add one more thing that makes me think this is a square bug. If I go to the square shop to order hardware, auto-fill works perfectly with that consolidated address field. So it SHOULD work with the one in checkout links, right??????

[TheRealChipA]

Not for checkout links. You have to create a true square shop and sell tickets there. I don’t believe checkout links will give you that option. 

[cameronjpu]

I’m not tracking. Is there like… A reason… Why it would work differently depending on the method of checkout I used? Is there a way I was supposed to know this issue would exist before setting up the payment link the way I did?

because it seems rather arbitrary from an outsider perspective, as you can probably imagine. Is there a reason why this is going to cost me many hours of work to fix and completely changing the way I have set up my sales, or just let it go and deal with confused customers? All because the square checkout procedure doesn’t follow what, in 2025, is standard behavior from a web browser user?

if the square checkout page was submitted, say, by a student in an e-commerce web design class, would the professor give it an A for this behavior or would the professor be unimpressed? And shouldn’t whoever codes this process be expected to get an A in a college e-commerce design class?

[TheRealChipA]

@cameronjpu It is not my place to delve into “why.” I’m here to assist other sellers with problems. We’ve identified an issue or two here, including a possible bug. I’ve alerted the moderators. They will escalate this to the appropriate team on Monday for investigation and resolution. Please be patient. 

You said earlier that “Thanks, and no rush of course.  This is an issue that has existed forever, I only just now decided it'd be worth checking into.  But I don't expect a quick fix (or even any fix most likely”

i hope that is still true. I’m sorry if you’ve found my efforts to be less than satisfactory. But I feel we’ve come a long way from knowing nothing about the cause to having an idea of what might be wrong now. That is progress in my book, even if it is not in yours. 

But I will not stoop to second guessing or disparaging others because I think I might know better or could have done better. I’m not that arrogant. 

I’m  here to help. Period. 

[cameronjpu]

Nope, my urgency of fixing this remains the same.  And I'm sorry if you're (and obviously you are) the wrong person to be complaining vociferously to.  But since I have no way to complain to anyone else, and you're in front of me, you get it.  Sorry about that, and I do appreciate your help, but I do hope you understand that when I complain about bad coding to you, it's because I believe you have the ability to actually bring my issue in front of someone who can solve it, not because I think it's your fault or your job to fix it even.  I do understand that that's not the case.  But that doesn't change the feeling I have that this is a boneheaded design flaw for a large company to have exist for as long as it has, and I imagine you probably agree, whether you're a rep of the company or a programmer, right?  The bottom line is that square sells a product (which I pay for) that is for helping me sell my product to my customers.  And it seems crazy to me that this basic of an issue could be allowed to exist beyond launch date, much less years and years later... right?

Thanks for your help 🙂

[JTPets]

Square often divides development across multiple micro-teams, which can lead to similar features being built differently across various parts of the platform.

While I can’t say definitively whether this is a bug or an intentional design choice - since I’m not part of the Square team - my experience suggests that similar issues have appeared in other checkout flows in the past. Over time, these have been improved but not entirely eliminated. Given that checkout links are a more niche use case within Square’s ecosystem, it’s possible this particular instance hasn’t been widely reported or closely examined.

[_Violet]

Thanks for your help so far on this thread @TheRealChipA @JTPets and @Sam_400º! ❤️

@cameronjpu I've escalated this to the product team for Square Payment Links so they can investigate the behavior. Thank you for recording a video as well, that helps a lot!

I'll be sure to follow up with you here as soon as I receive an update from their team. Thank you for your patience until then 🙏

[cameronjpu]

Thank you all -

[Sam_400º]

---

@cameronjpu wrote:

I’m not tracking. Is there like… A reason… Why it would work differently depending on the method of checkout I used? Is there a way I was supposed to know this issue would exist before setting up the payment link the way I did?

because it seems rather arbitrary from an outsider perspective, as you can probably imagine. Is there a reason why this is going to cost me many hours of work to fix and completely changing the way I have set up my sales, or just let it go and deal with confused customers? All because the square checkout procedure doesn’t follow what, in 2025, is standard behavior from a web browser user?

if the square checkout page was submitted, say, by a student in an e-commerce web design class, would the professor give it an A for this behavior or would the professor be unimpressed? And shouldn’t whoever codes this process be expected to get an A in a college e-commerce design class?

---

Hey @cameronjpu - a website hosted with Square is its own entity and coded as such. 

The checkout links are collectively Square checkouts that tie into your account. 

Sounds like the address fields are different for each. 

The address check part is intended to be useful but like you I find it a pain. My own address doesn't show up easily so I end up just putting in house number and post code. It's currently working as expected and doing its job, although I agree that it's not ideal when so many of us use auto fill these days, but it does ensure that the 'correct' address for the payment systems is entered. 

Chip has asked the Square team to look into this at their level and it's only just Monday 👍🏻

[Summer2024 · Accepted solution]

Hi, @cameronjpu ! 

Thanks for tagging me in here @TheRealChipA . Tagging @JTPets and @Sam_400º as well to thank them for their insights! 

This isn't exactly a bug, but rather a known limitation with how browser autofill interacts with Square's consolidated address field in checkout links. Here's what's happening:

1. Different Address Field Implementations:

   • Regular Square Online Store: Uses traditional multi-field format (separate fields for street, city, state, zip)
   • Square Checkout Links: Uses a consolidated single-field address input with built-in address validation

2. Why This Affects Autofill:

   • Browser autofill systems (both Chrome and Safari) are designed to work with traditional multi-field address forms
   • The consolidated address field uses Google Places API for address validation
   • These two systems don't always play nicely together, leading to the behavior you're describing

3. Current Status:

   • This is a known friction point in the checkout experience
   • It affects both Apple and Google browser autofill systems
   • The issue lies in the intersection between browser autofill technology and the address validation API

For Better Results:

• Encourage customers to type the first few characters of their address
• The address validation will then show suggested matches
• This often works more smoothly than relying on browser autofill

I hope this helps. 

[TheRealChipA]

@Summer2024 I’m going to attach a video that proves that Square can make the auto-fill work on consolidated address fields.  As you see in the video, I’m checking out in Square’s Online Store and when I do auto-fill of my address in THAT consolidated address field, it works perfectly!  So, my question is, why can Square make this work for their online store, but they can’t make it work for our stores that use checkout links?  Both are “consolidated single-field address input with built-in address validation.”  Can’t Square make checkout links use the same “consolidated single-field address input with built-in address validation” that you use for yourselves?  Inquiring minds want to know! ha.

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