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Secure payments set to the Square standard.

Businesses deserve protection from the moment a payment is taken. That’s why Square is invested in payments security from end to end.

Stay on guard and in the green with secure transactions.

Our security services help seasoned development teams and small businesses manage bad actors and address customer concerns. The price? It’s included in the processing fee.

PCI compliance

To protect customers, credit card companies require merchants to follow a series of security guidelines to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, known as PCI compliance. As the merchant of record, we maintain PCI certification so you don’t have to individually validate your compliance.

  • No stress of maintaining and updating your compliance each year.
  • No expensive audits, assessments, or noncompliance fees.
  • No third parties needed to manage your compliance.
Expert dispute assistance

When card payments turn into disputes, we help businesses navigate the red tape. With the right documentation, we can advocate on your behalf with the bank and card network.

  • Allow our team of experts to help shepherd your dispute through the process.
  • Let us coordinate with the bank so you don’t have to spend hours going back and forth.
  • Keep track of active disputes and get instant dispute notifications in Dashboard.
Robust account protection

We have many layers of defense designed to keep hackers away from your money. Still, they can get ahold of your password or email address if those credentials have been compromised somewhere else online. Use our tools to enhance your security. We’ll monitor your login activity and block suspicious activity.

  • Set up 2-Step Verification to add a layer of security to your account.
  • Control who has access to your account through employee permissions.
  • Get feedback from Square if your password isn’t strong enough.
Proactive fraud protection

Avoid losing dollars to fraudulent purchases. Square uses machine learning to look at payments from across our ecosystem and adjust our algorithms to account for new trends in fraud.

  • Our systems proactively monitor your payments to keep an eye on suspicious transactions.
  • Machine learning and human expertise work hand in hand to adapt our technology to the shifting fraud landscape.

Businesses trust us. This is why.

Scale

Our team helps sellers avoid 177,000 disputes every year by sharing transactions with card networks and issuers directly to keep buyers informed of their purchases and to prevent disputes.

Expertise

Sitting on the Payment Card Industry’s Board of Advisors, we’ve helped evolve the PCI Data Security Standards for nearly a decade.

Credentials

ISO 27001 certified PCI Data Security Standard, Level 1

Our security platform doesn’t sleep, so you can.

Secure hardware and software

Every Square product is engineered for security from the ground up. It’s all designed and maintained by Square, so you don’t have to go through anybody else.

  • Payments hardware is secure out of the box with no lengthy setup.
  • In-house teams of engineers constantly monitor our server security.

Secure data

Our proprietary system ensures no unencrypted payment data touches your device or application. No card numbers. No magnetic-stripe data. No security codes.

  • All card-present payments are encrypted from end to end.
  • We use industry-standard cryptographic protocols and message formats to transfer data.

Secure organization

Secure card readers and in-depth defense on our servers are just the baseline. Yes, we stress-test our systems and keep ahead of malicious actors. We’re also committed to the highest standards of information security governance.

  • We’ve achieved the renowned ISO 27001 certification.
  • Square security is evaluated every day by public bounty researchers.

Spotted a vulnerability? Report it on Bugcrowd →

Tools and resources to support your security needs

Our customer support and online resources are here to investigate and resolve an issue so your business can keep moving.

Dedicated support team

Our Support team works side by side with our product, design, and engineering departments to maximize your customer experience. We’re ready to help you via phone, email, live chat, and social media.

Square Secure profile

Your encrypted, private profile stores documentation that helps us get a clear picture of the business you run and assess potential risks and unusual activity.

A library of resources

We have a large collection of education resources and a Seller Community where you can ask questions of other sellers.

Risk Manager

We’re always developing new ways to help you avoid card payment disputes and save money. Check out one of our latest: Risk Manager , which provides fraud insights and allows you to set custom alerts.

Prevent miscommunication and disputes in your industry.

Professional Services

Create a custom contract for free.

Having a contract gives you legal leverage to collect payment if your customer misses progress payments or fails to pay for goods on time. Try one of our contract templates. ¹

Food and Beverage

Create receipts easily.

Receipts can help provide proof of delivery for customers questioning their order. Generate a receipt for any successful payment, including quantities, discounts, and applicable taxes.

Retail

Manage risk and prevent loss online.

Risk Manager helps you detect fraud and prevent loss without slowing the growth of your online business. Create custom rules and automatically block suspicious cards. Get detailed explanations on each risky payment.

Unsure about your security? Let's change that.

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Square Secure Payments FAQ

  • With every card payment you take, you and your customer are entering into an agreement. In that agreement, there is some inherent risk for both you and your customer. The goal of every payment should be to ensure that it is processed correctly and in a way that protects both the seller and the buyer. 

    From the buyer’s perspective, a secure payment is one that protects their personal and payment information so that it is not shared or susceptible to being accessed by an unauthorized party. From the seller’s perspective, a secure payment is one that minimizes the chance of fraud and ensures the payment is processed correctly so that it is received.

  • Because every card payment is an agreement between you and your customer, payment security is central to maintaining that relationship. It affects your current customers and also helps you grow and acquire new ones. Payment security helps you build trust with your customers and increases the chances that they will continue transacting with you and encourage others to do the same. Payment security is critical for your business as well: Secure payments mitigate the risks of fraudulent purchases and customer disputes.

  • Yes, Square complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), meaning you do not need to individually validate your state of PCI compliance. We maintain PCI-compliant software at no additional cost to you, with no monthly contracts or long-term commitments required. If you use Square for all storage, processing, and transmission of your customers’ card data, you don’t need to take any steps to validate your PCI compliance with Square, and you don’t need to pay any PCI compliance fees.

  • Square is invested in securing your payments to protect your income. Our hardware comes with end-to-end encryption, so you know that your payments are protected without any additional setup or fees. As the merchant of record, we follow PCI compliance so that you don’t need to pay any PCI compliance fees or take on the headache of certifying your PCI compliance.

    We also have systems in place to monitor your account activity and keep an eye on suspicious transactions to reduce fraudulent purchases. We have a robust set of tools to provide added security — from 2-Step Verification to employee permissions — so that you know who is accessing your account and how. Our goal is to keep your business protected so that you can keep more of what you make and keep growing.

  • With any transaction, there’s always a risk that your customer will dispute the validity of their purchase. Customers have the right to dispute purchases they disagree with by asking their bank to reverse the charge. For card payments, this is also known as a chargeback. Square does not decide the final outcome of payment disputes. Our aim is to help you prevent card disputes and, in the event of a dispute, help you manage the process.

    Square will notify you immediately in your dashboard if you’ve received a chargeback from your customer and give you the tools so that you can submit relevant evidence to fight the chargeback. This gives you the best chance of protecting your sale. Our Disputes Resolution Team will help you submit documentation and will guide you throughout the process, so you can manage it quickly and effectively.

¹ We’re glad to offer you tools to help improve your business. But it’s important to note that Square is not a law firm and this document does not constitute legal advice. Square provides this template to individuals who choose to prepare their own contractual documents for their private use. If you need legal advice as to the accuracy, sufficiency or enforceability of specific contract terms you should consult with a licensed attorney.