Square Holding Funds

[ecrowley]

Square has stopped transfers to our bank since last Saturday when we had our largest event of the year which drove a large number of transactions and revenue.  Since that time, Square has put all of our transfers on hold.  For a small business like hours, days matter.  I'm considering moving to Clover or Stripe because of these issues with Square:

1. They have held our money for 4 days now, even after approximately 8 calls to square, and multiple promises to escalate and fix the problem.

2. They seem to think the world should work on their schedule (bankers hours in CA from 9 to 5).  So they don't provide any support during our peak times of business (the weekends). 

3. When you do get support, you can't get past the first line of support - and they can't do anything but say our process takes 1 to 2 days to provide you with an answer. 

4. They are charging all kinds of fees now.  It seems like their fees go up quarterly (or they take away free features and make them paid).  

They basically seem to be anti-small business.  Just a bunch of computer bots running the business at this point. 

[TheRealChipA]

Hey there @ecrowley.  Since you didn’t ask for advice or help, it is probably not wise to give any.  As a mater of fact, though, I will point out that Stripe and Clover (and others) also put holds on accounts where there is a large increase in transactions or revenue.  That is just a matter of security, and part of their agreement with the card issuers to have such safeguards in place.  

Best of luck with your move to a Square competitor.  It sounds like you’ve made up you mind and anything we say won’t change that.  Hopefully your funds will be released soon, but just in case I’m going to tag the Square moderators here.  Maybe they can move things along.

@Kassi_@RSosebee1@_Violet@MayaP@RobynR@Summer2024@Summer2024@Ellie_@Katie_SQ@Laurie_@Sineaid@Sammie_C

[ryanwanner]

Hello @ecrowley !

I'm sorry you're going through this! A hold on funds can definitely upend your business.

I have seen times where accounts are reviewed when there's a big change in their processing volume or if the average ticket is substantially higher than usual. This is just pure safety on Square's part to make sure that either your account didn't get compromised or that you're not up to something fishy. From what I know, I don't think any of the other processors would do this differently. Once the internal review is done (1-5 business days) all funds are released.

Obviously that doesn't help you in your situation, but let's see what we can do on this side (quite limited since we don't have access to personal information in a public forum)

-Did you get any emailed alert or Dashboard notification about a potential review on your business?

-I assume you are, but are you operating within the limits of Square's Terms and Conditions (ie not charging service charges to cover the swipe cost)

As for the additional fees, I understand completely. It does seem like there's some nickel and dimeing going on, a comment I made to my account rep just last week. I'm hoping some finance peeps at Square are figuring ways to bundle some of these fees to make them easier on us. That said, I know that quite a few of the other processing companies are just as -- if not worse-- when it comes to fees. At least we're not locked on contracts here!

The best advice I have is to hang tight. The one time my account went for review it took me two days before funds were released. Since it happened on a Thursday I didn't see funds hit my account until Tuesday. Stupid banker's hours.

[ecrowley]

No progress.. supposedly escalated, I have filled out the same form multiple times... just stall tactics from Square.

[ecrowley]

I just went through the verification process again (3rd time) on the phone to supposedly escalate.  However, my funds are still not available. It is now closing on 3 business days, 5 days total that I can't get to my account.  I've asked to speak to a supervisor.  They say they can't transfer the phone to a supervisor but they can escalate to have a supervisor call me back (I asked for that yesterday also).  Of course, no one has called me back.  Square = Steal, stall, stall, and stall

[ryanwanner · Accepted solution]

@ecrowleyAs I said, the verification process can definitely take a while. From my experience, you're nearing the end of the process, but it could be different for your account.

Yes, you need access to those funds. Yes, this process could be a lot more transparent (although isn't to prevent scammers from figuring out how to get around the hold), yes the only thing that the reps are going to be able to tell you is a vague answer, again to prevent scammers from figuring out things.

It sucks. I know. This is the unfortunate normal we live in where so many people try to take advantage of things. The whole one bad apple thing.

It's best to just hang tight. If there are any updates Square will reach out to you, either via email or a call.

[Sammie_C]

Hi @ecrowley, we appreciate you reaching out on the Square Community. I am sorry to hear it is over these circumstances though. 

Thank you @ryanwanner and @TheRealChipA for chipping in on this.

A quick question, are your funds still being held? I just took a look over your account and don't see anything pending at the moment.

Please feel free to reach back out either way and I can look into this further for you.