What Square costs sellers
Square's pricing page says you pay only when you take a payment. Your rate depends on how the customer pays and on your plan: Plus and Premium charge a monthly fee per location for lower in-person rates, while keyed-in and card-on-file payments cost the same on every plan. Sellers processing over $250,000 a year can ask Square about custom pricing, and Square doesn't publish those rates. A phone with Tap to Pay is enough to take contactless cards, so a reader is optional.
Square fees
- Square keeps
Applies to tap, dip or swipe on the free plan. Plus plan is 2.5% + 15¢ and Premium is 2.4% + 15¢. Manual entry costs more.
Plus plan: 2.5% + 15¢ in person
Plus costs $49 a month per location and lowers the in-person rate.
Premium plan: 2.4% + 15¢ in person
Premium costs $149 a month per location and has the lowest rates.
Manual entry: 3.5% + 15¢
Same rate applies to card-on-file payments and on all three plans.
Online, Free plan: 3.3% + 30¢
Online payments cost less on paid plans, with the Free plan highest.
Online, paid plans: 2.9% + 30¢
Plus and Premium share the same online rate as API payments.
Invoice bank transfer: 1%, $1 minimum
Free plan rate; the two paid plans cap the fee at $10.
- Cost to apply
Tap to Pay on a phone needs no hardware.
Contactless and chip reader: $59
Square Reader price; Square Terminal costs $299 and Square Handheld $399.
Limited to one free reader per account.
Tap to Pay: Phone only, no hardware
Take contactless payments with just a phone and no extra equipment.
- Instant payout fee
On top of processing fees; $25 minimum balance.
New sellers: $2,000 daily instant limit
New sellers get one instant transfer per day; a higher limit may become available.
How and when Square pays you
Standard transfers go to your linked bank account or debit card, and the time of day you take a payment, weekends and holidays set the day the money lands. Getting paid sooner costs extra, and new sellers start with a daily cap on instant transfers.
Square calls a reserve money set aside in case you can't cover a chargeback, and says it can place one on a new account with no processing history. Square says it tells you before a reserve starts. If it can't debit your bank account for a chargeback, it can use the reserve, so the loss is yours.
How Square pays
Service completed
- How you're paid
Linked bank account or debit card
One of these is required to receive payouts from Square.
Cash App: Up to four business days
Cash App transfers use the standard schedule only, not instant transfer.
- Minimum payout
Instant transfer: $25 minimum balance
Balance is counted after Square's fees; same-day transfers need only $1.
Standard schedules: No transfer limits
Square says it won't hold funds by amount, frequency or type.
- Payment holds
Reserves set aside for chargebacks
Square says reserved funds still belong to you.
Reserves apply to card payments only
Square notifies sellers before a reserve starts; ACH payments are not reserved.
Reserve review after six months minimum
Square reviews accounts with reserves proactively, not before six months.
- Tax forms
Square's 1099-K criteria for tax year 2025, with the form available in 2026.
How to get approved on Square
Square verifies who you are before you can take card payments. Even business users give personal identity details, registered businesses also need an EIN, and Square may ask for a photo ID and a selfie. Without that information you can't accept cards, though other Square services still work. Square lists a name or address mismatch and unclear documents as common reasons activation fails, and you can take cash while activation is pending.
Joining Square, step by step
Create account
Square asks for your name and personal or business information during registration.
Business details
Sole proprietors give business name, phone, estimated annual revenue and business address.
Identity check
You enter legal name, SSN or ITIN, birth date and home address.
Activation review
A pending activation can take extra time; you can accept cash meanwhile.
Link bank account
A verified bank account must be linked before your first transfer arrives.
Square requirements
- ID and documents
Name, SSN or ITIN, birth date, address
Sole proprietors need these plus a U.S. home mailing address to activate.
Businesses that aren't sole proprietors must apply for an EIN.
Photo ID and selfie in some cases
Without identity verification you can't accept card payments but can use other services.
- Also required
Needed before you receive your first transfer, though not stated as needed to sign up.
Owners of 25% or more are verified
The account owner must be an individual authorized to act for the business.
Some industries are unsupported
Examples include credit repair, telemarketers, betting and lottery, and unauthorized multi-level marketing.
- Where you can work
Square's terms bar use for activity in Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Syria.
Square's terms let it suspend or terminate an account that gives inaccurate or incomplete information, and its Payment Terms rule out industries such as credit repair, telemarketing and betting. For general steps after a notice, see how to appeal a gig app deactivation.
Square questions
Square's Support Center offers chat, and signed-in users get expedited support. Square's pricing page lists 24/7 phone support as a Premium plan feature.
Square says offline payments go through automatically once the device is back online, but they're declined if it doesn't reconnect within 24 hours of the first offline payment. You're responsible for expired, declined or disputed offline payments, and Square can't give you the customer's contact details for a declined one.
Sources
15 public sources, strongest evidence first.
- Block, Inc. Form 10-K FY2024
Government · SEC EDGAR · Accessed
- Block, Inc. enforcement action
Government · CFPB · Accessed
- Square pricing
Official page · Square · Accessed
- Deposit options with Square
Official page · Square · Accessed
- POS Hardware and Equipment
Official page · Square · Accessed
- 1099-K tax forms and tax season overview for US sellers
Official page · Square Community (Square staff post) · Accessed
View 9 more sourcesShow fewer sources
- Square General Terms of Service
Official page · Square · Accessed
- Square Payment Terms of Service (archived 2026 version)
Official page · Square · Accessed
- Understanding Square's Terms of Service and Hate Prohibition Guidelines
Official page · Square · Accessed
- Square Support Center - United States
Official page · Square · Accessed
- Onboard your sole proprietorship to Square
Official page · Square · Accessed
- Onboard your registered business to Square
Official page · Square · Accessed
- Set up your Square account
Official page · Square · Accessed
- Troubleshoot Square account activation issues
Official page · Square · Accessed
- Manage payment reserves with Square
Official page · Square · Accessed
How we researched this
IncomeShip compiled this page from 15 public sources, including 13 official company pages and 2 government sources. We haven't done this work ourselves, so we report what those sources say and note where the evidence is thin. Facts were last checked on . Reviewed and approved by Jacob Dymond, our editor.