Review loan eligibility requirements
About loan eligibility
You can check your business’s eligibility for a Square loan by going to the Loans tab of your Square Dashboard. Offer eligibility is based on a variety of factors related to your Square account, including payment processing volume, account history, and payment frequency.
Numbers are for illustrative purposes only.
If you don’t see a loan offer available, take a look at the key factors that may be affecting your eligibility below or in the eligibility page in Square Dashboard. This page helps sellers gain insight into the status of their loan eligibility by taking your business’s real time data and comparing it to key factors that determine eligibility. If any of your eligibility factors need attention, take a look at the tips below to increase your chances of eligibility.
Before you begin
There’s no need to contact Square to request a loan eligibility review, as these reviews happen regularly and are automatic. You’ll be notified in Square Dashboard and by email once you’re eligible for a loan. Square Support cannot override loan eligibility factors.
Loan offers aren’t guaranteed and we can’t manually generate or predict offers even where all eligibility factors are met. All sellers must qualify based on eligibility criteria.
In general, you’ll need to have your current loan at least one month past origination and have paid it down significantly before another offer may be extended. The loan repayment amount can differ between businesses. Because eligibility also accounts for how much of the next loan you may qualify for, simply reaching a specific percentage of repayment won’t guarantee a new offer. The details and timing of any offer can differ from your current Square loan, and making extra payments or paying off your loan early does not ensure eligibility for additional funding.
For existing loan offers, making a loan payment will expire that offer. Once the payment is processed, it can take up to seven calendar days for your business to be re-evaluated for a loan.
After you apply for a loan through Square, your application goes through underwriting and verification processes to determine whether your business qualifies for the loan you requested. The specific reasons your application was declined can be found in the email notice you received from Square loans.
Review loan eligibility requirements
There are many factors that may affect your eligibility, and accounts are evaluated as a whole. Below are some of the key factors we consider when evaluating your business for a loan offer.
The size of your loan offer is generally shaped by how much you process through Square. In general, businesses that have processed at least $10,000 or more in a year are more likely to be eligible for an offer.
If you have multiple Square accounts or locations with outstanding Square Loans, ensure that they are processing payments consistently and are current with repayment of any existing loans.
If you’ve been declined for a loan due to processing volume, your Square account payment history may seem unusual.
A steady pattern of taking payments shows that you have a healthy business. If you consistently take payments, you’re more likely to become eligible.
If you were declined due to payment history, we have reviewed your account and determined that your sales through Square have decreased relative to your prior payment history.
A good mix of new and returning customers reflects that your business is growing in different ways. You can use Square’s analytics tools to understand your customer base better.
A payment dispute happens when a customer disputes a charge from your business and contacts the card issuer to reverse it. Having disputes on your account can affect your loan eligibility.
To protect your business from chargebacks, be sure to have receipts or invoices to prove you provided your goods or services. Square may decline your loan application if your business has received too many chargeback claims.
Switch to a Square Reader to decrease risk of chargebacks or learn to manage payment disputes.
Cash advances include swiping your own credit or debit card or those of family members, friends or associates. This conduct is prohibited by Square’s Terms of Service.
Square’s Point of Sale service is designed to process payments for the sale of goods or services. It is not designed to process person-to-person transfers or to facilitate payments between companies owned by the same individuals, groups of individuals, or within companies.
To protect your account, Square may place a payment limit on your account. Payment limits are restrictions that put a temporary cap on your ability to process transactions. Having a payment limit on your account affects your loan eligibility.
To assist with payment disputes, Square may place a reserve on your account. Having a reserve on your Square account affects your loan eligibility.
Learn to manage payment reserves with Square.
Your Square account is reviewed for failed debits due to insufficient funds. Ensure that you have available funds in your linked bank account to avoid failed debits.
We want to make sure that your business can support the minimum payment requirement for your requested loan. Please be mindful of the amount of funds available in your linked bank account to avoid failed debits.
Square Loans are subject to credit approval. Being declined recently for a loan may impact your eligibility.
To ensure the security of your account, Square periodically reviews accounts. If your account has been under review recently, it may affect your eligibility.
When your business is connected to another loan through Square, it is important to keep the connected account current and processing consistently. If you have one or more accounts that don’t meet this criteria, your new loan application may not be approved.