Square Credit Card Processing Review (Square Payments)

Pros

• Predictable flat-rate transaction fees
• Ideal for low-volume merchants
• No monthly fee (for basic plan)
• High-quality processing hardware
• Enables omnichannel selling

Cons

• Account stability issues
• Limited customer support
• Not suitable for high-risk or high-volume industries

What Is Square Payments?

Square Payments is a third-party payment service provider (also known as a PSP) whose payment processing services come bundled with free point-of-sale (POS) software.

Square credit card processing is, without a doubt, the most feature-rich and advanced solution you can find without a monthly fee. There are also no statement fees (apart from transaction fees), and no monthly minimums. This is a great deal for many merchants, especially new ones who don’t have an established processing history.

It is important to note that Square Payments has one major drawback. Because it’s a third-party payment processor, Square is prone to terminating accounts when the risk department decides a merchant has proven to be too much of a liability. So, while you can get set up with a Square account almost immediately, you’ll be under scrutiny and have a higher chance of encountering a hold or termination than if you were to open a merchant account with a traditional processor.

That said, the majority of users actually won’t have any problems.

Square and Stripe are similar, and we think it’s better than similar mobile payment processors, such as PayAnywhere, but we encourage you to look at our top picks for small business credit card payment processing before making any final decisions.

Products & Services

Square’s processing features are set up to help small businesses thrive. Square makes it easy to take virtually any form of payment and easily syncs with its own proprietary hardware and software platforms, even while integrating with other popular POS systems. Square is also PCI-compliant and helps you get your money quickly with no hidden fees.

Square Features Overview

Note that some of these features, while available, are only accessible as paid add-ons (for example, gift cards, loyalty, and delivery management), making it expensive to fully unlock features.

That being said, Square’s feature set is quite comprehensive for a free processor and POS system — it even includes a free hosted online store.

More Details On Square’s Processing Features

Fees & Rates

Square’s pricing is simple. It receives excellent scores for both its affordability and its overall pricing model.

Your transaction fees will vary somewhat depending on your plan (see “Monthly Plans” below). .

Businesses processing over $250K/month can also qualify for discounted processing rates.

Monthly Plans

Square’s basic POS plan is free. However, if you want a plan with premium features (and discounted processing fees), you can opt for a paid monthly plan.

Extra Costs

Square doesn’t really have any additional fees, unless you opt for a paid add-on such as Square Payroll or Square Marketing (you can find pricing for those and other add-ons in our Square Pricing Guide).

You will, however, pay varying processing fees for certain types of transactions, such as invoiced transactions, Afterpay transactions, and card-on-file transactions (for recurring billing).

Sales & Advertising Transparency

Square does very well with transparency — everything the company says in its advertising and marketing checks out. There are no wacky sales gimmicks or promises of unbeatable rates, free rate reviews, etc. The “free” basic magstripe reader is actually free, and you can easily find the price for every aspect of Square’s service on a corresponding web page.

Square’s knowledgebase is also incredible, and you don’t even need an account to look through it. That’s great if you want to compare how specific features work before you open an account. The blog (called Townsquare) is full of content targeting merchants and businesses of all types, reflecting Square’s diverse customer base.

That’s why Square receives top scores for transparency — outranking competitors on its visibility and offerings.

Contract Length & Early Termination Fee

There is no early termination fee or locked-in contract with Square, which is true of almost all third-party processors. Every add-on service is month-to-month, and there’s a 30-day free trial for each, meaning there is no risk. Be warned that you must wait the full 30 days in your trial period before canceling or renewing your subscription.

As mentioned, Square charges monthly, so you’re never locked into its software products. It’s also easy to deactivate your Square account.

If you have financed hardware, those terms will apply regardless of whether you’re still using Square to process payments. But generally, Square offers a 30-day trial period for its hardware, wherein you can return the hardware with no penalty if you don’t like it.

Square Customer Service & Technical Support

You have a few ways to reach out to Square if you have a problem. Square now has a pop-up messaging window that asks you what you need and drills down to the right next steps. You can also message the Facebook page, use Twitter, or send Square an email to reach customer service.

While Square has excellent self-help options, if you actually want to speak to a live person at Square to address an urgent issue with your account, phone support is limited unless you’re on a premium package. Furthermore, Square merchants say the support reps are not always able to help with complex issues.

Overall, the quality of Square’s customer support is not as personalized and accessible as you would receive with a dedicated merchant account.

Here’s a closer look at your customer service options:

If you’re in a pinch and need an answer right away, you probably want phone support, which is available Monday through Friday, 6 AM to 6 PM Pacific Time. Those aren’t the best hours, but Premium monthly plan subscribers can access 24/7 phone support.

The online user manual probably answers most basic questions regarding the Square system. It is extensive and contains helpful screen captures and walkthroughs for every feature. (The Square manual is, in my opinion, the gold standard for merchant services support pages.)

And if that’s not enough to help you through, try Square’s Seller Community. Square reps and experienced merchants alike weigh in on questions, so it’s a good way to get an answer you can’t find elsewhere on the web.

Square Customer Reviews & Complaints

Given that Square is such a large platform serving new businesses, Square reviews from customers are overwhelmingly positive.

Square is BBB-accredited and has an A+ score with the BBB. The company has received more than 3,000 complaints filed with the BBB in the past year, including 937 complaints filed in the last 12 months. These are normal complaint numbers for such a large company, however.

Final Verdict

So, is Square worth it?

Whether you are dabbling in sales for your side hustle or you want to find solutions to improve efficiency in your thriving store, Square could be an amazing tool. Even mid-sized to larger businesses can benefit from everything Square offers. As far as value goes, Square is tough to beat. Square’s pricing for card processing is competitive for a pay-as-you-go processor, and it can sometimes beat out or at least break even with interchange-plus pricing plans.

With features such as inventory management, a free and fully functional virtual terminal, advanced reporting, offline processing, recurring billing, marketing, online sales, and more, Square has more features than I’ve seen from any other no-monthly-fee provider. All of the free software puts merchants in a position to save money, especially with Square’s suite of omnichannel tools that continue to improve.

Looking for something else? Check out our post on great alternatives to Square.