My Square App thinks there is a fraudulent charge and is holding my charge.

[SMTLLC]

Hey there, 

I'm a fairly new customer to the square app and a new business owner. Today I charged a customer's card, and the square app is holding the payment because it thinks it's a fraudulent charge. It's having me answer all these questions but isn't accepting any of my legitimate answers to them. What is happening?

[TheRealChipA]

Hi @SMTLLC.  I’m sorry to read this, and sorry for your frustration.  First, let me clarify something.  The “Square App” is not holding your payment.  Sometime after the sale, someone informed Square that they were concerned about the transaction, and they asked Square to confirm some things about it.  Who is that someone, you might ask?  It could be the card network (Visa, etc), it could be the customer’s bank, it could even be the customer themselves.  Square is only doing what they are required to do, and can not release the funds until this is resolved.

It sounds like you have done what you need to by answering questions.  I do not know what you means by “it isn’t accepting any of my legitimate answers.”  If you received an email saying that the answers weren’t sufficient and that the transaction would be denied, there should be a reason given for that in the dispute process somewhere.  If you are saying that the dispute resolution form is not working and that it won’t let you submit your answers to Square, that sounds like a technical problem that you need to call Customer Support to resolve.  I can’t say for certain, since your post is pretty sparse on details.

Your best option is to contact Customer Support (using the phone option) during business hours.  They can answer your questions and hopefully guide you to a successful resolution of this dispute.

I wish you well.

[ggenius]

im having similar problem, the payer says the payment was taken, I never received it but told to refund it to the customer bc it might be a stolen credit card, can't get answers on it though, looks like the fee of 160 was deducting though they aren't sending the money

[ggenius]

said to report it to the local authorities yet, I don't see how there was a crime if somehow square has received the money according to the merchant

I don't want to be accused of defamation of character if I report something that is not backed up

[RobynR]

Hello @ggenius,

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing difficulties, and I appreciate your reaching out to the Community for assistance.

Unfortunately, due to the public nature of the Seller Community, we're unable to access specific account details.

However, feel free to share your questions, concerns, or feature requests here, and we'll do our best to help and provide guidance. Your engagement is valuable, and we're here to assist however we can.

[ggenius]

thanks, my general question is are the fees refunded if the transaction is not successful (in this case due to square thinking it was a stolen credit card)

[Summer2024]

Hi @ggenius 😀👋

I'm going to take over for Robyn here. 

A couple questions....were you asked to provide any information about the purchase? Usually Square will ask for some documents to help verify if the card used was fraudulent or not. 

Unfortunately, when you refund a payment, your customer is refunded for their full payment amount, but the processing fees for the payment are not refunded. 

I hope this helps.

[Summer2024]

@ggenius I stand corrected - if Square initiates the refund, you will be refunded the processing fees. Sorry for this confusion!

[ggenius]

yes they had several questions I answered, called several time, the guy on phone said refer to email that he had not information outside of that but advised I refund the payment, which I am not.   but I am the recipient of the cc payment that they are saying maybe stolen but the payer has confirmed the card is not stolen and the merchant as well had the funds so on the surface it appears square is just uncomfortable with the transaction, yet did receive the funds (which were also showing to be subtracted from the available balance by the CC)  according to the merchant

[Summer2024]

Thanks for providing that context, @ggenius! 😀

It looks like Square needs some more information about your business. Square periodically does these reviews to make sure Square is a safe place to process payments for everyone. 

Here is a Support Article that goes over information requests and how to fill them out. 

I hope this helps!

[ggenius]

ok, I entered more specific information though the payer didn't think it should be necessary.  So hopefully it will work out now.  I just hate it has put business another week behind schedule with that specific company, not a good impression.  Do you know how long it typically takes square to release the funds/credit back to the credit card if the transaction is NOT approved?  thanks

[MayaP]

Hey @ggenius, I understand your concern, I appreciate your patience while our team investigates this further for you.  If Account Services requests additional information from you, which you have now submitted, they will typically review it within two business and will reach out via email with the outcome. Thanks again for your cooperation! 🙏