Square Card FAQs
Review answers to commonly asked questions about using Square Card.
Square Card basics
Square Card is a prepaid business spending card that gives you instant access to your funds from sales. No more waiting for next-business-day transfers – boost your cash flow with instant access to your earnings.
To sign up for Square Card, simply visit the Balance section of your Square app or online Dashboard and follow the signup process. It just takes a few minutes!
Square Card is free to order and has no monthly fees, minimum balance fees, overdraft fees or any other recurring fees. Read more about Square Card.
Square’s payment-processing fees are separate and still apply.
As soon as you order your Square Card, automated transfers to a linked bank account stop. Instead, your Square payment proceeds will accrue in your Square Balance, and you’ll be able to spend them straight away using your Square Card. You are still able to initiate a transfer at any time with next-day transfers for free or instant transfer for a fee.
Once you receive your physical Square Card by post, you can activate the card from the Square app, from your online Square Dashboard or by scanning the QR code posted with your card with a mobile device.
Read more about how to activate your Square Card in our Support Centre.
Eligibility for Square Card requires you to have passed identity verification for payment processing. In cases where additional verification is required, the Square team will reach out to you to collect any further information. If your information cannot be verified, you won’t be able to use Square Card, but you can still take advantage of Square’s other transfer options
You can deactivate your Square Card directly from the Square app. To do so, tap the three horizontal lines to open your app menu and select the Balance tab > Square Card. Tap Get help with card > I’d like to cancel my card > select Deactivate Card. Tap Okay or Switch back to regular transfers if you’d like to return to Square’s automatic next-day transfer schedule.
You can leave feedback on the following screen and press Send, or tap X in the top left to exit the menu.
If you need to, you can order a new card by selecting I lost my card, My card was stolen or ‘I never received my card’.
Edit Square Card information
If you update your business name prior to ordering your Square Card, your new, updated business name will appear on your Square Card. If you’ve already ordered a Square Card and need to change your business name, you can do so if you cancel your current card and reorder a new card.
You can change your business name in your Square app by going to Settings > Account > Business Information. Under Basic Information update your Business Name.
From your online Square Dashboard, navigate to Account & settings and select Business > Locations. From here, select the location associated with your Square Card and update your Business Name.
Note: the maximum business name length the manufacturer can print on the Square Card is 21 characters.
The Square Card is issued to the Square account owner. While we’re not able to change the name associated with your Square account, you’re able to create a new Square account with the name of the person you’d like to have on the Square Card.
The billing address associated with your Square Card is the personal home address you provided when you signed up for a Square account. Or, if you were asked to designate a preferred billing postcode when you ordered a Square Card, the information you entered will be your Square Card billing postcode.
You are able to view your billing postcode from the Square Point of Sale app by navigating to Balance > Square Card and tapping Billing address.
You can edit the billing address associated with your Square Card from the Balance tab of your online Square Dashboard, then click Square Card. Click Card management > Billing address and select Edit billing address. From here, make your edits and click Save.
Square Card activity and use
You can spend with your Square Card internationally anywhere Mastercard® cards are accepted (including in person, online and at ATMs).
When making purchases online with your Square Card, you may be asked to confirm your transaction in your Square app before it can be completed. This extra authentication step helps safeguard against fraud and keeps your money secure. Learn more about using your Square Card for online purchases.
Square Card can be used at any ATM that accepts Mastercard®. The maximum amount which can be withdrawn at an ATM is £3,000 per day, £7,000 per week and £10,000 per month.
Note: Square does not charge you any ATM fees, but ATM providers may charge you a fee when you make withdrawals.
You can view your Square Card activity from your online Square Dashboard by going to the Balance section and selecting a location. Then, from the Recent activity section, select View all activity.
From the Square app, tap More > Balance > View all activity.
Balances will reflect available funds on your Square Card along with recent activity from Square payment processing, card spend, transfers and any other credits or debits.
Some businesses (eg petrol stations and hotels) will place a temporary charge on your payment card to make sure your Square Balance has enough funds to cover your purchase.
This pre-authorisation happens the moment you use your card and will be reflected on your balance and card spend report until the merchant clears the pre-authorisation. Most pending authorisations clear within 3 days but, in rare cases, it can take up to 14 days to clear.
Square Card troubleshooting
If you enter your PIN incorrectly three times at an ATM, your Square Card will be suspended and blocked from further use. To unsuspend your Square Card, you must contact customer service by phone at 0800 098 8008 or, if dialling from outside the UK, +44 800 098 8008.
If you enter your PIN incorrectly three times at a point of sale, you will need to reset it by following the instructions here. After resetting, you must visit an ATM and check your balance using the new PIN to activate it.
In order to keep your Square account safe, our team ensures detecting any suspicious account activity. If we determine suspicious account activity, we may place a temporary hold on your Square Balance and lock your Square Card to help keep your money safe. If this happens, we will notify you of this via email. In some cases, we may send an information request form for you to complete. Funds will be held during the review and lifted once your account is cleared.
Square Card security
Secure Customer Authentication (SCA) is a regulatory requirement under the European Union’s Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) designed to enhance the security of online payments and reduce fraud. It requires Square to verify a customer’s identity during certain scenarios including accessing, viewing and managing your Square Card account, completing online purchases where you receive an identity verification challenge, and adding any third-party provider to your Square account for account information access.
Before you file a claim:
- Ensure the payment has posted to your account and isn’t pending or voided.
- Some merchants (eg petrol stations) will place a temporary hold on your Square Card to authorise your purchase. This temporary hold will be higher than the actual transaction amount. We call these transactions pending authorisations. These pending authorisations can take up to 14 days to clear.
- Contact the merchant to try and resolve your concerns. We aren’t able to pursue a claim if you haven’t attempted to resolve the issue with the merchant directly.
If you notice a transaction you didn’t make or have a question about a transaction in your history, you’ll need to report a claim. Find out how to file a claim on your Square Card.
Refunds can take up to 10 working days to post to your account from the date the merchant issues the refund. As soon as Square receives the refund, the funds will automatically appear in your available Square Card balance.
If the credit does not post to your Square Card balance within 10 working days from when the merchant issues the refund, please contact customer support with documentation of the merchant’s issued refund.
Yes, you can opt in to receiving SMS notifications when certain types of transactions occur on your account. Qualifying transactions include international purchases, online card-not-present purchases or declined transactions, and the notification will contain transaction information along with the option to lock your card directly from the SMS message. Once you’ve viewed the transaction information, you can unlock your card at any time.
You can update your notification preferences or unlock your card from the Balance section of your online Square Dashboard or the Square app at any time. Unlocking your card via SMS isn’t currently available.