New Square Loan in 2024

[SPPhotography1]

I’m at a bit of a loss for what else I need to do to be offered a new Square Loan at this point. I’ve been with Square for over 10 years, had 7 loans now that I’ve have paid back early every single time. Metrics are all in green, record sales year. In 2023, record numbers across the board, no refunds, no complaints or issues of any kind in our entire history. Current loan is 80% paid off, but no new offer in site. This is the kind of stuff that causes businesses to find someone else to process through! Please help! I’m sure I’ll get the same old excuses that you guys send to everyone about looking at every aspect of the business. But there isn’t a single aspect that isn’t way up. I’m not sure if there is a new process they are using now, or if there is some kind of issue with my banking or something else I’m not thinking about or aware of. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, because I could really use some new capital to start the year off with and reinvest into my business!

[Stacelyn24 · Accepted solution]

I'm really sorry to hear about your frustration with the loan offers. I understand how important it is to feel valued, especially as a loyal customer. Let me try to address your concerns and provide some clarity.

Loan Offers and Qualification Parameters

Square’s loan offers are based on a variety of factors, and while past trends have shown offers at certain thresholds, the exact parameters can change over time and are not always disclosed in detail. Here are a few points to consider:

• Dynamic Criteria: Square uses a complex set of algorithms that take into account not just the repayment percentage but also your recent sales history, account health, and overall business performance.
• Market Conditions: External market conditions and internal policy changes can also impact when and how loan offers are extended.

Value Beyond Transaction Fees

I understand that a 3% card transaction fee can seem high compared to other providers, but Square offers several features and benefits that help justify this cost:

• Integrated Ecosystem: Square provides a comprehensive suite of tools that work seamlessly together, from point-of-sale systems to online stores, invoicing, and inventory management.
• Ease of Use: The user-friendly interface and intuitive design make managing your business simpler and more efficient, saving you time and reducing the need for extensive training.
• Reliable Support: Square offers robust customer support and resources to help you resolve issues quickly and keep your business running smoothly.
• Secure Transactions: Advanced security measures protect your business and customers from fraud and data breaches.
• Analytics and Reporting: Detailed analytics and reporting tools help you understand your business performance and make informed decisions.

I understand the disappointment regarding the loan offer, please know that Square regularly reviews its criteria and your status. I recommend reaching out to Square’s customer support for a more personalized review of your account and to express your concerns directly.

[TheRealChipA · Accepted solution]

Good news, bad news, eh @cmeshine.  There are a number of reasons that COULD be part of why your new offer was lower.

1. Square might be slowing down on how much loan exposure they want to have on their balance sheet.  They are, after all, a publicly traded company that has to answer to their shareholders and investors.
2. If our sales are flat or at least not growing at a good rate to cover inflation and higher interest, then Square’s algorithm understands that inflation is eating into our available cash to pay bills, etc.  Flat sales (or very slowly growing sales) are always red flags to lenders, Square or not.
3. Sometimes how long it takes us to pay off our current loans can be a factor.  Let’s say that previous loans were paid off with automatic payments in 8-10 months in the past.  But for this current loan it took us 12-15 months.  That tells Square that our card processing volume can’t keep you with higher loan amounts.  Yes, they give us 18 months to fully pay a loan, but they obviously prefer that we pay them off closer to the 12 month mark.
4. If our cash/card ratio drastically changes, and cash spikes or is consistently higher than historical for our business, that is another red flag.  Since Square must only consider card volume when calculating repayment rates this can become a problem.

Of course, I’m not saying that any of these contributed to your lower offer.  I’m just throwing out a few reasons why this CAN happen.

[thehealingplant]

Unless I’m misreading the usernames, you’ve had 3 loans this year alone then correct? If so it definitely seems like you’re getting reviewed much quicker than the rest of us to be fair.

[Jjpainting]

No they said 10 loans received since with square for the past 15 years. But also said takes about 8 months at most to pay any said loan back. That sounds about right. I usually receive an offer every 3-6 months, more so 6 months now as my loans are more towards an accurate number as opposed to my first few. But unless you have some unusual circumstance, no one is manually reviewing any account under a normal circumstance and very few people are getting offers under 85%. From the people that post on here, it seems like it’s been averaging between around 85% and 92%. Some haven’t received loans after being paid back for months,

which is just odd. I’ll be hitting 88% today, so hopefully I’m close. I think everyone is getting frustrated cause they have come to expect them by no more than 75% and that they state on their site, most people get an offer around that number but not guaranteed. 

[thehealingplant]

Definitely wishing you the best of luck getting yours soon! (Us as well!)

and I just noticed they started the actual thread and as of January 1st they were on their 7th and now their 10th. Again, maybe I’m misunderstanding what they’re presenting but it reads like they’ve gotten 3 this year.

[Jjpainting]

Oh I see what you’re saying.  Well on January 2nd they jumped from 7 to 9 lol.  So first post was maybe a guess. But it sounds like they received one at the beginning of the year, probably their 10th now 6 months later are 75% paid off 🤷‍♂️. So to me I’d say be patient as I’ve only seen a few people get an offer that posts on here getting an offer under 80%. 

what percentage were you at again?  

[thehealingplant]

We jumped from 69-74 in the last week and should hit 75 by midday today so maybe, just maybe. This is number 10 for us but it was a huge jump (almost double) our last offer and the first that’s taken us over 6 months (just over 7 currently.) we’re processing significantly higher and paying it down faster regardless but we’ve also been dealing with some weird reporting issues.

our customer mix shows green but it’s also reporting incorrect on our dash and now we’re having to escalate with customer service 🤮 Hoping that’s not holding us up

[Jjpainting]

I was at 79% on going into July. From July first to today I will have jumped 9% to 88%. So hopefully we both will have some luck today.  I only do about 3-5 card processing sales per week being a painter. So my loan offers always come after one large sale over my average sale. So hopefully today’s will make it hit. 🤞. 

[Sammie_C]

Hi @SPPhotography1!

Thank you for your post and we understand your frustration.

We are continually re-evaluating your account on a daily basis to determine if you’re eligible to receive another loan.

We can’t guarantee a loan offer even if the key factors displayed on the eligibility page show all “Good.” I understand this isn’t the best experience, so I’ve shared this feedback with the product team.

If you’re eligible for a new loan, you’ll be notified directly on your Square Dashboard and via email.

There are many factors that affect loan eligibility, but the factors listed on the eligibility page are key factors we consider to help you understand our process. There’s no additional information we can share at this time, and we can’t go into further specifics about program requirements because the criteria we use is proprietary.

Let us know if you have any other questions!

[Healthyketo]

Paid off since June 28th no offer yet. Never have been in this situation. Have had 6 loans with square and alway gotten an offer at 60%- 98%. I really need to get one soon. I really love square and have been very loyal. Wish they would let us know what exactly is going on. I’m losing hope. Best of luck to the rest of you still waiting. 

[Jjpainting]

I thought you were one of the 2 I’ve seen recently that were 100% paid off without an offer. That scares me. I’m hoping for my 5th offer soon. I’ll be jumping from 86% to around 88.5% today so we shall see. I wish you luck. Keep me posted on if you receive an offer anytime soon as will I.  The one thing is, probably only like a half a percent of all people that have received loans post on here so it’s probably such a small sample size. A lot of these posts I’ve noticed are from us same select number of companies keeping each other posted lol 

[thehealingplant]

Your last part is to be honest one of the biggest things. Were a mega small sample size on here and to be honest we’re all different fields/numbers/etc.

all we can do is pray to beat the algorithm lol

[Twpchair]

💯 correct! We are a very small portion that post here. I wish more people would! It helps others a lot. Good luck!

[Jjpainting]

And probably like myself, I only come on here and start paying attention until I’m about 2/3rds paid off. I’ll post when I receive a loan, then probably won’t come back for a few months lol

[Twpchair]

You are 💯 correct. square is worldwide, and maybe around the same 100 do I see regular or semi regular. Not everyone posts on here. Most don't use or take advantage of half the tools available. I was up north for 3 days and no phone service (nice). I was hoping most of you would have had an offer. The offers are coming in much higher to pay off for most, I see. A few in the last month in the 80s. Unfortunately, yesterday I jumped on 4 different forums, reviews and reddit and they are stating the same thing. Thank goodness this is our busy season and I have been trying to tuck more away than normal because I don't think we've seen the worst yet. September they will announce if they raise the interest rate again and that affects lenders and their rate increases. We need things to calm down and stay stable and get back to normal! I hate to see businesses kicking butt and still waiting. Hopefully, it breaks loose soon!

[thehealingplant]

I just off the phone with support trying to get answers about how this glitch will affect us possibly down the road and of course I get fed the generic answers with no support at all. I'm so sad that Square can't do a thing except give you force fed lines. It's really upsetting and discouraging to be honest.

[Healthyketo]

I also made the phone call last week to ask for an account manager so I can personally speak to someone about my account. Finally had a call back on Monday saying they would send to have my account manually reviewed but was told the same generic message everyone gets about them not knowing when anyone gets a loan and the algorithm reviews accounts daily so just keep processing payments and basically just wait til it’s my turn. 🤷‍

[Twpchair]

When you call and I would! Do not mention loans at all. Tell them you need tech support! Once you get with them and it's all done ask them by the way could you please help me reach a person in the loans department so I can let them know I'm having tech issues and need to know if this will affect me while they are handling it. 

[thehealingplant]

That's sadly how it was originally handled. Their support "escalation team" rules they were doing things "correctly" when it's obvious that they aren't and it's messing up our customer mix. It remains green but it's concerning for sure. It's genuinely just a shame that we can't get any clear answers.

[Twpchair]

Ughhhhh, I was gone for 3 days up north and no phone service and was hoping to see half of you get an offer. IMO it has little to do with you or your business. Watching other forums this is what they are experiencing as well. I've noticed up top pinned by a mod here that they added a new line to loans this year. You can scroll up but in general it says they look at the overall health or stability of the economy. It's not just one business per say but square being world wide most lenders are holding tight. Not that you want to hear this but they have board meetings and investors that watch their overall health just like our business. Are they still doing loans yes we see a couple a week. Is it different from say 3/4 years ago yes we can see it. The Feds are debating on raising the interest rate again and that affects lenders and their interest rates. Hopefully, this will bust loose soon. I know so many business owners waiting.  Good luck to you and everyone!

[Robgrey]

I am currently @ 56% paid back in 4 months.  I've always received loan offers between 59-77%.  All my metrics are up and I process over 800k per year.  I'm hoping for a new offer within the next month to expand my business.     Good to luck to everyone.  KEEP SWIPING.

[GlitzyCow]

Hey guys. When you get those emails from “management” my best advice is to keep emailing them. Once they get fed up with the same question they don’t answer they might close the interaction. If this happens there is a chance square will send a survey asking for feedback. I left negative feedback then a description of wanting to speak to someone not email for a week solid. They sent me an opportunity to have a call with an account manager at that point after leaving the feedback to the survey thing. 

also you can maybe look up “square appointments” and might be able to book time that way. 

[thehealingplant]

We just hit the "magical" 75% mark. Haven't updated for the day. Fingers crossed.