Process offline payments

The Square app requires an internet connection at all times to function properly. This can be either a Wi-Fi connection or a data service on your mobile device (such as 4G or 5G).  If your internet connection becomes interrupted or temporarily unavailable, you can accept payments during an offline session and upload them once you have an internet connection again. Please refer to the Offline Payments section of the Payment Terms for terms and conditions that apply to this feature.

Offline payments are stored in your Square app and will process automatically when you reconnect your device to the Internet. You must reconnect to the internet within the time limit, depending on what Square hardware and connected hardware you are using. See the Time Limit section below for full details, terms and conditions. Any offline payment that is not processed within the proper time limit will expire and the funds will not be received from your customer. Your current processing rate will be applied to offline transactions so you’ll see no difference in fees.

When accepting offline payments, it is important to note that: 

• There is additional risk with any offline payments you accept. Square is not responsible for any loss due to declined cards or expired payments taken while offline. In addition, Square cannot contact any customers on your behalf should an offline payment be declined or expire.

• You are responsible for any expired, declined or disputed payments accepted while offline. Before taking an offline payment, we recommend you verify the name of the cardholder as well as the expiry date to ensure it’s a valid card.

• Afterpay transactions, physical and eGift cards and eftpos/swipe-only cards will not work with offline payments.

If you have pending offline payments:

• Do not delete the Square app.

• Do not sign out of the Square app or your Square account.

• Do not factory reset the device that has taken offline payments.

Pending offline payments will be permanently lost and the funds won’t be captured if you log out of your Square account, delete the Square app or factory reset the device that has taken offline payments. Make sure you process these payments by reconnecting your device to the internet within the Time Limit specified below.

Compatible Square Apps

Offline payments are available on the following Point of Sale apps:

• Square Point of Sale

• Square for Retail

• Square Appointments

• Square for Restaurants

Devices and payment types

With offline payments enabled, you can accept payments from the following card brands:

• Mastercard

• Visa

• American Express

• JCB

• eftpos co-branded cards with MasterCard/Visa

• Apple Pay

• Google Pay

Swipe, insert and tap payment acceptance functionality using offline payments varies by device.

*Square Stand (1st generation) can support offline insert and tap payments when combined with a compatible Square Reader (2nd generation, or 1st generation – v3). ** Square Stand (2nd generation) can support offline swipe payments when combined with a Square Reader for magstripe (audiojack).

Enable offline payments

Offline payments must be enabled on your device prior to going offline. 

If your device is online and all your card transactions appear to be declining, there may be a wider issue affecting payments, which can be confirmed by checking for updates at issquareup.com.

In this instance, you can still take offline payments, however you will need to navigate to ≡ More > Settings > Hardware > Network and disable Wi-Fi (or unplug your Ethernet cable from your device, if applicable) to force your device offline.

In order for your team members to enable or disable offline payments, they will need to have the Configure Checkout Settings box ticked in their permissions setting. Team members without this permission granted can still process offline payments, but will be unable to enable or disable offline payments.

In the event that your internet connection fails, for Square Reader and Square Stand, you will see a notification banner at the top of your device screen indicating that your device has automatically started an offline payments session accompanied by a countdown clock showing how much time you have left to accept offline payments on that device. You will receive an in-app notification when your offline session has expired or if it was interrupted. 

Note: Square Register and Square Terminal will not show an on-screen countdown clock.
After you have regained internet connectivity and uploaded your offline payments, another offline session will activate if you lose connectivity again.

Offline payments will appear as pending from your in-app payment history while your device is offline. When you reconnect your device to the internet, payments will show as completed and will be visible from your online Square Dashboard. Customers’ digital receipts and your payment notification emails will also be sent when the device is back online.

Time limits

Payment card industry partners and regulators set specific requirements related to the duration of offline payment sessions. Due to those requirements, offline payments product features, including the duration and availability of offline payments, may differ based on the payment type and hardware used.

When the offline payments feature has been enabled on Square Reader and Square Stand, you will see a notification banner at the top of your device screen indicating that your device has automatically started an offline payments session accompanied by a countdown clock showing how much time you have left to accept offline payments. You will receive an in-app notification when your offline session has expired or if it was interrupted.

Note: Square Register and Square Terminal will not show an on-screen countdown clock.

There are duration limitations associated with how long you can accept offline payments once you go offline and how long you have to upload offline payments once you regain internet connectivity.

You’ll have up to 24 hours from when your device goes offline to accept and upload offline payments using:

• Square Reader (1st generation - v3) for insert and tap payments.

• Square Reader (2nd generation) for insert and tap payments.

• Square Stand (2nd generation) for insert and tap payments.

Note: For the products listed above, you must reconnect your device to the internet and upload your offline payments within 24 hours of the start of your offline payments session. Once you reconnect to the internet, your offline session will restart if you go offline again.

You’ll have up to 24 hours from when you process the first offline payment to accept and upload offline payments using:

• Square Stand (1st generation) for swipe payments.

• Square Terminal for swipe, insert and tap payments.

• Square Register for swipe, insert and tap payments.

Note: For the products listed above, you must reconnect your device to the internet and upload your offline payments within 24 hours of when you process your first offline payment. Once you reconnect to the internet, your offline session will restart if you go offline again.

Terms & Conditions apply.

Accept offline payments safely

There is additional risk when accepting payments offline. Square is not responsible for any loss due to declined cards or expired payments taken while offline. In addition, Square cannot contact any customers on your behalf should a payment be declined or expire when taken as an offline payment. 

Remember, if a payment card is declined, Square is unable to provide customer contact information or contact the customer on your behalf.

Refund offline payments 

Offline payments can’t be cancelled or refunded while they are still processing. You can issue a refund once your Internet connection has been restored.

To issue a refund:

1. Complete your pending payments by reconnecting to the internet within the designated Time Limit.

2. This will automatically upload your payments.

3. Once complete, you can issue a refund from the Transactions tab of your iOS or Android device, Square Terminal, Square Register or online Square Dashboard.

FAQ

Learn more via our Offline Payments FAQ.