Square Policy and Pricing Updates
Occasionally, Square needs to update policies and pricing for our products to better align to evolving costs from our network and payments partners. In these scenarios, we make pricing changes so that we can invest in our platform, create new features, and continue expanding the value Square provides its sellers. Because we have a growing, multifaceted ecosystem of integrated business and commerce tools, we work carefully across product lines to minimize disruptions and changes.
Beginning next month, three new pricing changes are going into effect for Square sellers: updates to our refund policy, changes to paid transfers pricing, and new pricing for our revamped Square Online paid plans. Below are more details on these changes, as well as resources to address any questions and help sellers better understand how these changes may affect their business.
Our New Refund Policy
We are updating Square’s 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 to more accurately reflect that Square does not recoup in full processing fees from our network and payments partners in instances of refunds, and to match current industry standards.
Before introducing our new policy, we conducted a deep analysis of how this change may affect 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. Our new policy will have no effect on the numerous benefits sellers receive when using Square to accept payments, including:
- One processing rate for all major cards
- Payment dispute management
- Out-of-the-box PCI compliance
- 24/7 fraud monitoring
Sellers that are interested in seeing how this change may affect 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, we offer a number of resources and tools to assist sellers in accommodating this change. Our Return Policy Guide & Templates provide sellers with guidance on how to create a return policy that best suits their business, while Square’s free eGift Cards can serve as an option for providing store credit to buyers with no additional processing fees.
Changes to Paid Transfers
The fee for instant and same-day transfers is changing from 1.5% to 1.75% per transfer. Square sellers that need to transfer their sales to an external bank account will still enjoy free, next-business-day transfers.
For sellers that want to avoid a fee but still need instant access to their earnings, they can do so with a free Square Checking account. With Square Checking, sellers can immediately spend their funds with their Square Debit Card, send and receive money via ACH with their account and routing numbers, and even use their balance to pay their teams with Square Payroll.
Simplifying Our Square Online Plans
For ecommerce and omnichannel sellers, we are consolidating the plans we offer for Square Online to 3 distinct tiers - Free, Plus, and Premium - and recalibrating prices across paid plans. The Free plan will continue offering valuable features designed for those in the early stages of their online business. In turn, our paid plans now better match the tiers sellers see across other Square software offerings, and are aimed at sellers looking to scale their growing business by providing a better online experience for their customers. Sellers can view our full feature set and choose the right plan for their business by visiting our Square Online plans page.
Looking Ahead
Sellers will receive more information about these changes and the specific impact to their Square accounts over the coming days. For existing sellers in the U.S., the new refund policy and paid transfers pricing will go into effect on April 11, 2023. Sellers currently using a paid Square Online plan will be billed at their new rate beginning April 11, 2023, aligned to their existing billing date and cadence. Globally, our new refund policy will go into effect in Australia on April 4 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 refund policy takes immediate effect.
We’re appreciative that so many sellers around the world trust Square to help them start, run, grow, and adapt their businesses. For more information and additional resources, please visit our Help Center.