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.

[Paulynne]

Say a prayer for me community. For one of the first times we actually need this loan to come through. If we don’t get it in the next month we won’t be able to push through to get to the holiday season. I am paying off my 15th loan and am at 83% paid off. We are showing needs work for our processing frequency. Our revenue has almost doubled year over year. Currently sales have dipped below normal, but not to the point where we can’t sustain and pay off another loan. I am doing what I can to secure lending elsewhere, but sticking with Square Loans would be the best option. 

[Mypeachfuzz24]

special prayers for you. I am in desperate need to receive a loan. For the first time I really really need it. I’ve been in business for nine years and with Square for seven years and if nothing is consistent in business square has always been consistent on giving some type of loan offer om or before 72% for me and my experience. I am now at 80% and still nothing I feel defeated I’m kind of scared and in a weird way lol I feel so letdown. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers and I hope Square sends you a special surprise very soon. 

[lisap1970]

Don’t feel bad ..I’m in the very same boat. Always got a loan between 70-75% and heard nothing. I even tried calling today which I knew was a waste of time. 

[Twpchair]

You got them going up! Ugh, hun I am so sorry 😞 I truly hope we have turned the corner and loans are picking up. I'm not a big bank fan and use a small local credit union and I freak out in the winter months being in Michigan and I was where you were during covid and I called asked what I needed and nothing they had all my information to open a business account and I only bank there (shh and savings here) and a couple of hours later boom I chose the line of credit vs a company business credit card. I've used it 2x for great deals. I couldn't pass up. Do you bank locally and have a good relationship with? It's not always about credit with a credit union and most think they need a score of 800 not so much with a credit union they tend to lend more often, faster,less paperwork etc vs big banks. Just in my experience with ours, I should say. Here I go again! 

Dear Square,  please 🙏 😢 drop an offer for those waiting and truly need it! Thank you! Good luck, and I really 💓 hope you get an offer fast

[Koleen1234]

Personally my business counts on these loans and square has been a huge disappointment. I feel they take alot and when we as business owners need them they are non responsive 

[Twpchair]

I know it's hard 😪. We got so used to 70-75 % for myself that I could almost guarantee a new offer! I started watching the trend last June! For about 15 months, it's been trending higher percentage paid off or completely paid off, and people 3/4 mths paid off and are still waiting! I paid very close to the new wording in the loan section about market conditions! Square has shareholders it has to answer to the same for most POS that does loans, especially. It's been a rough year with the market, Fed's are they raising rates again 😕 stock market crashes, job numbers off almost 1 million, and the cost of living in all areas keep going up by 2%. That section of the loans IMO is the one slowing things down. Not to mention, we have an election coming up, and the world is watching. That doesn't help you one bit, and I understand that. I've been with Square for 12 years now and never left, process every day, and never used another POS. I've had multiple loans, and all paid off way before their time. Like YOU good, loyal customers should matter and be able to get financing when we need it and not when an algorithm comes rolling on by. When rumors floated of a revolving line of credit vs. loans, I was all for it! You get say 25k or comparable to your offers and use it when YOU need it! Then I didn't hear anything else about it. Good luck to you and everyone waiting that truly need it! 

[Paulynne]

Thank you for that! A problem I constantly run into is that I bank with Square. I do everything with square, banking, savings, payroll, website and of course POS. I made the mistake of having all of my eggs in one basket because it was so convenient. I would advise everyone to have a separate non fintech bank account, because it matters when trying to get loans. 

[Twpchair]

Yes, I have square savings, and I love it . Honestly, I kinda forget about it and don't touch it. I agree 💯 there's nothing wrong with Square checking/banking but in your case it's a little tougher to walk into the credit union and open your account and say oh, BTW I would like a 20k LOC! Having a nice small local bank account is a huge plus! So yes, you NEED an offer now please 🙏 then I would check into a local credit union or bank. Hopefully, things are starting to move a little bit better. The last 3 numbers that came out don't help smh. But the market is staying pretty steady, and the Feds are just watching and haven't made a move yet. That's good! I'm pulling for you hun.

[Healthyketo]

Ughhhh I just wish square would just give us all one. Been paid off since June 28th metrics all green & good standing and still nothing! I’m so frustrated and annoyed! I use to get them anywhere from 69%-80% paid now I’m going on almost 3 months paid off!  What’s going on square? We’ve been such loyal customers I don’t get it anymore. 

[Twpchair]

Dear Square, could you please 🙏 bring them some luck with an offer today, please! I'm doing my daily check-in with ya! I've been there and done that with stalking like a nut all day! The winters are my stressed out 3/4 mths. If we have a bad winter more and more, leave Michigan and head south! That's when I went to my little small town credit union and got a line of credit. Done in a couple of hours and 100 lbs of pressure off my shoulders. I truly hope today is the day! Hold tight.

[PFS36]

Just got an offer.  8 days paid off, but only half of our last one. I took it since we can pay it off in 2 months. 

Although,  they may be going off of our new location. 

[Twpchair]

If you scroll down I can see if I can tag her. @GlitzyCow. She had a problem for close to a year I believe and kept getting the runaround and found out she had a hold on an account or customer. And that was stopping all loans. She might be able to answer better or tell you how she got to a real loan agent. I'm not saying you have any issues I don't have any connections you don't but I don't understand why so long it might be worth a shot to send her a message. I believe she was on last week and had her 2nd offer in like 6mths since they cleared it up. She is about the best one I can think of that was waiting for so long. 

[Tk45]

No good 

[ls725]

I’ve reached a breaking point with Square. The Square POS system doesn’t offer much benefit other than the loans, and the transaction fees are outrageous, ranging from 2.6% to 3.1%+ on some days. Additionally, I’m calling out TWPCHAIR, who seems to be an undercover Square representative, trying to control the situation by empathizing with everyone here while acting like a business owner. No real business owner has the time to troll a forum as much as TWPCHAIR does.

I’ve been getting calls from some Indian call centers offering rates as low as 1%, with some cards even lower at 0.8%. There’s no reason to keep paying Square these excessive processing fees when all they offer is a sub-par POS system that requires additional subscriptions for features that should be included in the basic package. Some businesses are paying over $1,000 a month just in processing fees. It’s simply outrageous.

That said, I’ll probably continue using Square because I’m a bit goofy and love the instant access to the money. That’s one thing, apart from the loans, that I believe sets Square apart from the rest. However, the sub-par loan offers or no loan offers at all are just outrageous and a huge slap in the face to Square’s loyal customers. Not only that, but the lack of transparency regarding when and how the loan triggers is frustrating nonetheless and makes for a terrible business model. It creates a wormhole of complaints and saturates their call center, requiring them to spend even more money on customer support and service.

[Jjpainting]

I have researched many card processors, and yes of course there are many with lower processing fees over square.  There’s a couple that only charge a flat fee of around 8 cents or so per swipe, plus whatever the interchange rate is for the card being used. Debit cards are usually under 1%, so that .8% is them probably talking about debit card transactions. Credit cards vary between 1.5-2.5% depending on if it’s visa/mastercard/discover/amex, which card it is (usually based off of rewards) and if it’s swiped or keyed in. I have never found a company that charges a flat fee of 1% no matter what since a processing site like square pays up to 2.5% on certain cards. So it is not like square is profiting on all processing fees. Any merchant card processor like square, has to at least charge whatever the interchange rate is, which I believe the highest ones are around 2.59% with certain credit cards.

90% of my card payments are keyed in by my customers via the invoice I send them, leaving me paying the highest fees all around 3%. During the 12 months I’ve paid around $5000 in fees, but when I’m writing up a quote for a customer, especially larger quotes ($3,000-15,000), and I know that it’s going to be paid by the customer manuallly keying in their card, I’ll pass that 3% to them by just adding it in varies lines of the quote. I won’t directly tell them or put that they are paying it, I simply estimate the job 3% extra. So in the end, probably 75% of my fees are actually paid by my customer, but still it’s painful to see my reports and $5 in fees over the past year, even though I didn’t technically pay for them myself.  

I wish square would charge a lower fee for when a customer uses a debit card. That’s where they are making a lot of money being that they are only paying less than 1% of that processing fee to the card company themselves. 

I love square the most, cause when a customer pays by card, I have access to that money within 5-10 minutes, where many card processors has a 1-2 day wait.  That for me sets them apart as well as their overall ease of use of their apps. I like how they are set up. I have never used their POS system though.  All my work is through invoicing only, being I sell services and customers are usually not present when I do a quote as they are usually at vacant homes that are being sold or rented. 

As far as their loan algorithm goes, from what I have read on the few that does do loans like square (stripe, clover) they are all kinda the same. Those have the same complaints we have on our forum.  From reading about loans through processors though, I’ve found comments stating PayPal is a bit more reliable, but this was a while back so I could be wrong. 

[Twpchair]

My killers in retail furniture are American Express and Discover. Especially if they buy a 20.00 item and I think without looking it's 3.86 and the other is 3.68 or close to the upper 3-4% and that's using pos or register. I won't key it in.  Customer orders or dining sets are different but it still adds up. I guess I'm like you if it's not broken don't fix it! I swipe the card and the money is there in a couple of minutes after 5 pm. Short day today I don't usually work Sunday but I have to till noon and then home for the Lions game!

[Jjpainting]

For me it doesn’t matter what time of day an invoice is paid. Regardless, it’s in my account in 5-10 minutes, my square checking that is.  But then again, I only process about 155 payments a year on average by card (roughly $160k)  which is about 75% of all sales.  It’s rare for me processing two payments in a day.  Completely different industry though.   

But having the money instantly is huge, cause once in a while a job of mine requires thousands of dollars in materials and is needed. 

[Twpchair]

That's awesome though! I don't know how the algorithm picks off people like you. I honestly can't imagine being worldwide and having millions of users a person is sitting there oh they are seasonal or open only on the weekends. I would assume just imo that it picks off your trends. Just a guess? I am not a computer or technology person at all. I have 4 full-time employees and 2 part-time who do that. Then myself and my husband. We are the only retail store in our town and being right at the US 27 and 10 interchange is great for us! They get off the 2nd exit or Hamburger Hill and boom there we are. I go in at 4/5 am and leave at about 2 pm or so and my husband does from 9 am ish till 5 pm. The employees are always 9-5 pm and the other 2 im extremely flexible if they are done or want to finish up at home no biggie im so happy to just have them. Trying to find a body with a heartbeat that shows up and doesn't want 30.00 an hour is about as hard as figuring out how this algorithm works! With the economy and my location, I took a chance on 75% of the store, and the rest I did in booths of gently used furniture and decor, and it's booming! Not everyone can afford a new dining set or living room furniture but they will spend 75.00 and buy a ton of decor. That's what I have been pushing on our Facebook page and the 2ne best move I've made! Roll with it and go for it you don't know if you don't try. I think I asked you before do you just do exterior painting or interior as well? 

[Jjpainting]

That’s awesome thinking outside the box to bring in more sales. And you are right about finding a good employee at a realistic wage. It’s close to impossible. 

And I don’t know how the algorithm works with a profession like mine. My two largest loans came in at a slower time or a time when I was just about slow down.  Which has been excellent cause that’s when I need it the most.  When I first signed up with square it was strictly to process cards. I didn’t even know they offered loans until I saw an email about an offer. And they have been really a god send at times. So when all said and done, I don’t have any complaints cause I wasn’t even expecting them at all at the beginning  

[Twpchair]

I am far from a bot! I don't work for Square. I am a business owner in Michigan! And if you look at the times I'm on here it is early morning having coffee and at night when I'm home relaxing. I'm sorry I'm not a negative person and sometimes the world could use a little kindness! So you can call me out all you need to if it makes you feel better but I won't stop being who I am! I am sorry you haven't received a loan. I don't know much about the UK as very few post here. Here it's been slow since last summer. I know you don't want to hear this but good to you! There are many here that completely paid off as well. Do they have a call center there or is it just the same scripted reply? 

[Twpchair]

Sorry, it was the person above you that was from the UK and not you.