Troubleshoot Square account activation issues
This article provides troubleshooting support for the most common issues when signing up for Square or activating your Square account.
Before you begin
This article is for troubleshooting account activation issues for sole trader businesses.
To troubleshoot your account activation issues, you need to be at a desktop computer. If you exited your account setup during the activation process, sign in to your Square Dashboard to return to the account setup process. Review our Set up your Square account for more information on signing up for Square.
If you can’t resolve your activation issue with our troubleshooting guide below, contact Square Support.
Troubleshoot sign-up issues
Review common account activation issues below before attempting to activate your account.
Not approved to accept card payments
Based on the information you provided during the signup process, we could not approve your request to accept card payments. Even if you have successfully linked a bank account to your Square account, you will not be able to process card payments until your Square account is activated.
We don’t have access to any of the information you entered for privacy and security reasons. Some common reasons why we’re unable to approve customers to accept card payments include:
A legal first and legal last name, current residential address and date of birth are required to verify your identity. Check that all the information entered is identical to what is shown on your official identification document (passport/driver’s licence/Medicare card) and contains no typographical errors.
Note: Names with apostrophes or hyphens should be replaced with a space.
If your legal name(s) have changed and you have not updated your legal records or applied for credit since changing legal name, you may wish to attempt verification using your previous legal name (like if you were recently married, you may wish to try entering your maiden name).
Note: Square uses Equifax and Veriff to check existing documents (like your licence and registered current address) and credit reports. If there have been recent changes to your legal name(s) but your records have not been updated or only been recently updated, it may mean Square may not be able to verify you. If you are not successfully verified for payment processing when signing up using your current legal name after a recent name change and do not wish to attempt to sign up with your previous legal name, we recommend waiting 3 to 6 months for any external records to update prior to applying.
You must provide your current home address. However, if you’ve moved within the last six months, try using a previous home address. Note: A P.O. Box address cannot be used.
Check if the identification document that you are entering is current and not expired. If the identity document has expired and a new document has been issued, check if the document number has changed.
If you’ve been declined once, head to Square Dashboard, sign in, read the instructions and click Yes, resume.
If we are unable to verify your identity after multiple attempts, your application to accept cards with Square cannot be approved you will not be able to process card payments.
Individual/Sole Trader Photo ID activation
If you’re signing up as an individual or sole trader with Square, you may be asked to verify your identity with our verification partner, Veriff. If there was an issue verifying your submitted selfie and photos of your physical ID, you may be able to try again. Some possible reasons that could cause verification issues include:
Presenting a copy of your physical ID
ID is not in frame or all the information is not clearly visible
Unsupported document types
Expired, annulled or damaged ID
Name on your ID does not match what you previously entered in the personal information fields
Full face is not clearly visible
You only have four attempts to successfully verify this information. After four attempts, you will not be able to register for a Square account.
Learn more about 9 Tips for identify verification with Veriff.
We do not currently support your selected business type for payment processing
Your business type is dependent on the ABN you provided. Square accounts can be created under these business types:
Individual/Sole Trader (with or without an ABN)
Partnerships (with an ABN)
Companies (with an ABN)
Trusts (with an ABN)
Incorporated Association (with an ABN)
Unincorporated Association (with an ABN)
Learn more about how to sign up for Square Point of Sale.
Delayed or pending activation
If you receive a delayed or pending activation error notification, please check your emails to see if there are any further requests from the Account Services team. You can also check for notifications from your Square Dashboard.
The notifications will appear as:
Your request is pending.
There was a problem activating your account.
You can use Square to record cash and other tender payments in the meantime but you will not be able to take card payments until your account has completed activation.
Age requirement for signup
Current card processing regulations require our account holders to be at least 18 years of age.
Time limit expired
For security reasons, there’s a 10-minute time limit when filling out your activation request. If that limit is surpassed, the form will automatically be locked for three days.
Contact Square Support if you run into any account activation issues.