Speeding Up the Disputes Process
We want to help you resolve disputes in a timely manner. Use this guide to learn more about dispute reversals and holds on disputed funds.
Dispute Reversals (Expediting the Process)
If you have been in touch with your customer and are able to come to a mutual agreement outside of the dispute process, make sure to follow the instructions below as they relate to you.
A. The Funds Need to be Returned to You
At any time during the dispute process, request that your customer contact their bank to cancel the dispute. Once your customer cancels the dispute, the issuer will send them a confirmation letter or email. Request that letter from your customer and email it to us as a PDF or JPG attachment. If the letter confirms that the case has been closed, we will release the payment hold on your account if there is one.
If you have already sent us your information for the card issuer and are unsure if a resolution has been reached, please email us to check on the status of your case. Once we receive the issuer’s resolution, we can guide you through the next steps.
B. The Funds Need to be Returned to Your Customer
If you are within the seven-day response timeline, please select ‘No’ in your information request form. Otherwise, contact us to see if it’s still within the timeframe to accept the dispute. If you don’t respond to our request for information, funds will be automatically returned to your customer.
If you’ve come to an agreement with your customer and are still unsure what to do, send us an email. We’ll let you know what steps to take.
Holds on Disputed Funds
When the debit/credit card issuer notifies us of your dispute, they also debit Square’s account. We let you know of the dispute right away and also place an immediate hold on the disputed funds by either withholding funds from your Square balance or debiting your linked bank account.
Although the disputed amount will be held for the duration of the dispute process, we will release the funds back to you as soon as we receive notice that the dispute has been resolved in your favour. If the case is resolved in your customer’s favour, the held funds will be returned to your customer.
If we are unable to successfully hold the disputed amount from your Square balance or from debiting your bank account, your balance will then reflect the negative disputed amount. Any future payments you take will go towards the outstanding balance.
If the case is resolved in your favour, we will release the deferred amount back to your Square balance. Your Square balance will be adjusted to reflect the resolution and any payments that were withheld will be credited back to your linked bank account.
If the case is resolved in your customer’s favour, our Financial Services team will get in touch to help you collect the funds in a manner that works for both you and Square.
As per our Terms of Service, we are not liable for any overdraft fees you may incur from debits to your bank account. To prevent any unwanted fees, please be sure to keep sufficient funds in your linked bank account to cover your largest transaction.