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2-Step Verification

What’s in this article?

2-Step Verification is a tool that provides an extra layer of security for your Square Account, protecting your account from unauthorised access. All you’ll need is a US mobile phone number.

How It Works

With 2-Step Verification, you and your team members will be asked to enter a verification code (sent via SMS) each time you sign in to your Square Account.

If you don’t want to enter a verification code every time, select “Remember this device for 30 days” in your online Square Dashboard. Every 30 days, you’ll be asked to sign in with a verification code.

Note: Only select the option to “Remember this device for 30 days” from a computer or device that you own or control. Don’t set this option on public devices. To cancel a 30 day session, reset your Square account password.

Set Up 2-Step Verification

Turning on 2-Step Verification for an account will automatically require all team members to set up the feature and use it to log in to the account. To enable 2-Step Verification:

  1. Sign in to Account & Settings > Personal Information in your online Square Dashboard.
  2. Click Activate 2-Step Verification.

  3. Select the Authentication App.

    • Download the Google Authenticator App.
    • Scan the barcode into your Authentication App.
    • Enter Verification Code generated in your Authentication App.
    • Click Verify.

Team Members and 2-Step Verification

Although team members will always be required to use 2-Step Verification to sign in to the online Dashboard, a full access team member can allow team members to skip the 2-Step Verification step to sign in to your Square app. Making it optional for team members to access your Square app isn’t suggested, as it will reduce the security of your account, but the option is helpful if a team member doesn’t have a cell phone or can’t receive SMS messages.

To manage 2-Step Verification settings for the Square Point of Sale app, follow the steps below:

  1. Sign in to Account & Settings > Security in your online Square Dashboard > click Enable for All Team Members.
  2. Set your permissions by selecting Require team members to use 2-Step Verification or Allow team members to skip 2-Step Verification.
  3. Save.

Note: This feature applies to all team members and can’t be made optional for a select few.

If you’re running into trouble using 2-step verification, review these troubleshooting tips.

New Team Members

If you enable 2-Step Verification on your account, new team members will automatically see 2-Step Verification setup when they create a new team member account.

Existing Team Members

After 2-step verification is enabled on an account, existing team members will receive an email with instructions on how to complete setup. If team members don’t turn on 2-step verification after reading the email, they’ll be required to do so the next time they try to sign in to the Square Account, unless a full access team member set the option to skip this step.

Edit or Disable 2-Step Verification

Full Access Team Members can change the 2-Step Verification settings of an account. To do so:

  1. Sign in to Account & Settings > Security in your online Square Dashboard > click Change 2-Step Verification Settings.
  2. Update your settings or click Disable 2-Step Verification to remove the feature entirely for you and all team members.
  3. From here, you can also remove or add new phone numbers to receive 2-Step Verification codes.

Learn more about protecting your Square account information.

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