Best for
Small business owners seeking a payment processing option that includes no chargeback fees.
Specializes in
Square Up, or Square, specializes in providing small business owners with a payment processing option that involves quick setup and payment funding. They offer intuitive payment solutions through a POS system and can be utilized by merchants that are on the go.
Pricing Summary
Setup Fee: NA
Monthly Fee: $0
Swipe Rate: 2.60% + $0.10
Keyed-in Rate: 3.5% + $0.15
Early Termination Fee : $0
Contract Terms:
Square was founded in February 2009 by the founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey.
Today, Square is a publicly owned company and it was the first to come to the market with mobile credit card processing.
The Square website indicates that the company is located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Square Up was founded by Jack Dorsey - who also founded Twitter - in 2009. Since that time, the company has grown and it is now publicly owned. Its success was found in its unique take on mobile credit card processing.
Square has grown in popularity over the years because it is easy to get set up and start accepting payments. Merchants can sign up through the website and almost immediately begin accepting payments.
Square Up is well-known for its square-shaped mobile payment card reader, which works with any mobile device. Many small business owners choose this payment processor because they can save money on fees.
Head Quarters
1455 Market St., Ste 600 San Francisco, CA 94103-1332
Year Founded
2009
CEO
Jack Dorsey
Employees
Unknown
Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance
No chargeback fees.
Set up a free eCommerce store.
No hidden fees.
No contract.
No early termination fees.
Quick and easy setup.
Not a good choice for high risk businesses.
Low tolerance for chargebacks.
Hardware & Software
Square offers a variety of hardware and software products to assist its merchant customers in getting started with accepting credit card payments right away. Its offerings include:
A magstrip credit card reader for taking payments on the go.
A contactless and chip card reader
A dual screen register
A downloadable POS system
Paid POS plans for restaurants
Value Added Services
Square Up can assist merchants with additional services to help them launch their businesses. The company offers assistance with setting up a free ecommerce store. Merchants can opt for paid plans that allow them to choose their own custom domain name, customer reviews and discounted shipping costs for their customers as well.
The company also offers Square Cash, which is a peer-to-peer cash transfer service that is linked to a debit card. Users can send cash to each other free of charge.
Merchants may also be interested in Square Capital, which is the company’s cash advance program. The program can be accessed and activated through the merchant’s dashboard. It allows merchants to receive upfront cash that is then paid back over time with a fixed percentage of their daily credit card sales.
Square also has a virtual terminal option, Square Order, which is an order-ahead app, Square Invoices and Square Appointments.
Supported Payment Types & Services
Square Up advertises that they have the capability of processing all types of payments. This includes payments from all major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express), debit cards, ACH transfers and payments from mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
Discloses All Important Terms
No
Public Pricing Available
No
Square sets itself apart from the competition in that it only charges one fee, and that is the processing fee for each transaction. The company does not charge monthly fees, gateway fees or other fees that are typical for payment processing companies.
Square’s fees do vary depending on how the transaction is completed. They charge:
Swiped rate - 2.60% + $0.10
Keyed-in rate - 3.5% + $0.15
Square terminal rate - 2.60% + $0.10
Square for Restaurants rate - 2.60% + $0.10
Square for Retail rate - 2.50% + $0.10
Square for Register rate - 2.50% + $0.10
Square Online Store rate - 2.90% + $0.30
Early termination fee - none
Monthly minimum - none
Pricing Model
Flat Rate
Swiped Rate
2.60% + $0.10
Keyed-in Rate
3.5% + $0.15
Mobile Payment Rate
Unknown
Virtual Terminal Rate
N/A
Monthly Fee
$0
Payment Gateway Fee
N/A
Batch Fee
N/A
Early Termination Fee
$0
PCI Compliance Fee
N/A
Equipment Lease Terms
Unknown
Address Verification Service (AVS)
Unknown
Application Fee
N/A
Account Setup Fee
NA
Gateway Setup Fee
N/A
Annual Fee
N/A
Monthly Minimum
N/A
Statement Fee
N/A
Square Up does not form contracts with its merchant customers, and there is no fee for early termination.
Contract Length
Unknown
Early Termination Fee
$0
Merchants can get set up with Square quickly and almost immediately begin accepting payments through a mobile device, if they choose. Those who need hardware can purchase them in a store or online and be up and running in about a week.
Square offers several ways for merchants to get in touch with the company. Their website offers a contact form for their sales team, as well as a support center that may answer a lot of commonly asked questions. The website does not list a phone number.
BBB Rating
Square, Inc. has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The company has a very low customer rating on the BBB website, with only 1.07 stars out of 5. It has 424 customer reviews, which are mostly negative in nature.
Other Online Reviews
Unfortunately, Square Up has many negative online reviews, and not just from the BBB website. The complaints have three main themes, which are confusion about the company’s hold policy, random account deactivations or holding of funds and a lack of phone support for merchant customers.
BBB
A+ and has been Accredited since 2021. (403 Reviews; 5472Complaints)
N/A
N/A
Yelp
N/A
Total Online Reviews
403+
Total Online Complaints
5472+
Lawsuits
Unknown
If you're in the market for a merchant account provider, be sure to check out our user reviews, our merchant accounts guide and our top popular merchant provider picks