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Square Payroll On-Demand Pay FAQ

Employer Frequently Asked Questions

What is On-Demand Pay?

On-Demand Pay allows you to provide your team with early access to a portion of their earned wages before the pay period is over. Your team can choose to access their earnings before their usual pay date by sending their funds for free to Cash App, to a linked debit card for a fee or to a direct deposit bank account depending on availability in your state. When your team members clock out, they will receive an email with a summary of their hours worked and wages earned for that shift and along with the amount of funds they are able to access early.

Learn more about On-Demand Pay with Square Payroll.

How does this impact my payroll?

On-Demand Pay is automatically deducted from the team member’s paycheck without the need to edit your pay cadence or change the way you process payroll. Once the team member transfers their earned wages during the pay period, the remainder of their wages (minus the transfer fee) will be calculated automatically when you run payroll.

For team members who access part of their wages through On-Demand Pay but receive their pay via a manual check, the wages they accessed through On-Demand Pay will be deducted from the amount you should issue for their check. Taxes for On-Demand Pay funds will also be calculated and deducted from the check amount.

You can view a breakdown of the wages your team accessed through On-Demand Pay in the Withdrawal Summary of your payroll run.

Is there a limit to how much funds my team can access?

Each team member can access up to 50% of their earned wages, up to $200 of earned wages per transfer. Depending on the state your team is receiving their pay in, they can transfer their funds to their Cash App for free or to a debit card or supported bank account for a 1.75% fee. These fees are taken from the amount of funds the team member wishes to access and are paid from the team member’s earned wages, not by the employer.

Not all bank accounts are supported with On-Demand Pay at this time. If your team member has a bank account that is not supported for On-Demand Pay, they will have the option to choose Cash App to access funds for free or link a debit card to access their funds for a 1.75% fee.

How much does On-Demand Pay cost?

On-Demand Pay comes at no additional cost for the employer. Your team can transfer their funds to Cash App for free, or in some states, pay 1.75% of the amount of wages to be advanced to send their funds to a debit card or supported direct deposit bank account.

Who can use On-Demand Pay?

On-Demand Pay is currently available to eligible W-2 employees and 1099 contractors who are at least 18 years old, receive their pay through direct deposit, and clock in and out with Square Timecards.

Note: On-Demand Pay is not available to employers that pay only 1099 contractors at this time. If you pay just W-2 employees or both W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, your team may be eligible to use On-Demand Pay.

Team Member Frequently Asked Questions

How does On-Demand Pay work?

After each shift, you will receive an email with a summary of your hours worked and wages earned for that shift. You can opt to instantly transfer a portion of your earned wages to your Cash App for free or to a debit card or to a linked direct deposit bank account for a 1.75% fee. When your employer processes payroll at the end of the pay period, the remainder of your earned wages (minus the service fee if using a debit card or bank account) will be paid out to you to your preferred payment method as usual.

What are the fees for using On-Demand Pay?

Depending on your state, you’ll be able to send your funds to your Cash App for free, or transfer your wages to your debit card or direct deposit bank account for a fee of 1.75% the amount of the wages transferred. You are able to transfer up to 50% of your earned wages, up to a limit of $200 per pay period.

For transfers that incur a 1.75% fee, as the limit is $200 per pay period, the fee is never more than $3.50. You will be able to confirm the transfer amount and the transfer fee before completing the transfer.

You can see which states incur a 1.75% transfer fee in our Support Center.

I used to be able to access On-Demand Pay, but I can’t anymore. Why?

The option to transfer a portion of your earned wages is not always available. There are many reasons why your eligibility might have been affected, these include but are not limited to reaching the transfer limit for the pay period, recently forgetting to clock out or clocking out late, or your employer changing the On-Demand Pay settings for the business. In many cases, if the reason for ineligibility does not persist, access to On-Demand Pay will be restored in a few months.

I’m able to receive my wages with On-Demand Pay, but my coworker isn’t able to. Why?

Not all team members are currently eligible to receive On-Demand Pay. For example, 1099-contractors and employees under age 18 are not able to instantly transfer their earnings. To help ensure you are eligible, please make sure your Personal Information in your Employee Dashboard is up to date.

Can I transfer my earnings directly to my bank account?

Yes. In addition to Cash App and debit cards, you may be able to send your funds to your linked direct deposit bank account. Note that not all bank accounts are supported with On-Demand Pay at this time. If you have an unsupported bank account, you can still transfer your wages to Cash App for free or to a debit card for a 1.75% fee.

You can change or update the transfer destination for On-Demand Pay from the Linked accounts section of your online team member dashboard or Team App.

How do I access my pay on-demand?

To start the transfer, tap the button in the notification email or select the earnings that are available now from the Home tab in your Square Team app and choose how much of your wages you would like to transfer. You can see step by step instructions on how to complete a transfer in our Support Center.

You can also access your wages through On-Demand Pay by navigating to the Deposits & transfers tab of your online team member dashboard or your Team App.