An Update to Square’s Refund Policy

Mar 01, 2023

Beginning next month, we are updating our refund policy so that processing fees will no longer be returned when sellers issue a full or partial refund to their buyers. We are making this change because Square has always incurred processing fees from our network and payments partners on all transactions at the time of sale. Modifying our refunds policy more accurately reflects that Square does not recoup these costs in full in instances of refunds, and matches current industry standards.

For existing sellers, these changes will go into effect in Australia on April 4, 2023; followed by the U.S on April 11, 2023; the U.K, Ireland, France, and Spain on May 2, 2023; and Canada on June 6, 2023. For new sellers signing up with Square on or after March 1, 2023, our new policy takes immediate effect.

Why We’re Making These Changes

Before introducing our new policy, we conducted a deep analysis of how this change may impact our sellers. Ultimately, many of the verticals our sellers represent, such as restaurants and beauty & personal care businesses, do not experience high volumes of refunds. For sellers prone to a higher refund frequency, like retailers, we are committed to providing support to help them adjust accordingly. This change helps us further reinvest in our platform to provide sellers of all shapes and sizes with innovative commerce solutions, and our new policy will have no effect on the numerous benefits sellers receive when using Square to accept payments, including:

  • Clear and simple processing rates for all major card brands
  • Payment dispute management
  • End-to-end encryption out-of-the-box
  • 24/7 fraud monitoring
  • Fast payouts and transfer of funds

Adapting To The New Policy

Sellers that are interested in seeing how this change may impact their business can find a summary of their refund history for a given time period by visiting Square Dashboard → Reports → Sales Summary to learn more. Additionally, sellers can find more resources and information to assist them in accommodating this change by visiting our Help Center.

We’re appreciative that so many sellers around the world trust Square to help them start, run, grow, and adapt their businesses.