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.

[Twpchair]

When were you approved? Yesterday another was asking and they were on day 1. Their offer came in a little after 10 pm though.

[Jjpainting]

I was approved yesterday.  I would have already received it if I didn’t have my card sales go into my square account cause my other bank would have linked faster. 

[Healthyketo]

Well apparently they don’t take square bank statements and that’s all I use so looks like it’s a no for me! It was worth the try though back to waiting for a square offer 😪

[1683Cooks]

at what point did they ask you for bank statements ? 

[Healthyketo]

I received an email yesterday about submitting proof of address and bank statement so I submitted my square one and they just emailed saying they do not accept square statements at this time 

[PFS36]

Maybe it's just me, but I get a strange feeling about this pipe thing.  I'm never comfortable with giving out my personal bank information. 

[1683Cooks]

I’ve done my research they are a reputable company, these are standard procedures when doing business loans . Mostly ALL loan companies require 3 months of business bank statements and they probably requested them from @Healthyketo  because they weren’t able to connect their bank account through square using plaid . So they probably manually requested the statements because square isn’t an option on plaid for connectivity . I’m awaiting square to connect PIPE to my bank accounts and do the $1 verification. I will keep everyone posted. 

[Healthyketo]

On my activity page it shows that my checking and savings from square is connected and shows the last 4 digits of my accounts so it was accepted by plaid. 🤔 this is interesting 

hopefully someone gets funded and approved to see if it’s legit 

[Jjpainting]

Same with me. I was able to connect mine easily.  But with square could only manually connect to their end so that’s taking square a while to do this. Have you done this step yet?

[Twpchair]

I get 100%!!! About 16 mths ago my bank account got hacked bad! Not my debit card they got the account about 6 pm Saturday of course and my credit karma started blowing up with congratulations on your new card. And then 10 minutes later they were just blowing up! It ends and here comes them online or mail offer type loans 4 of those 26k, 24k 10k, and finally 4kin loans and 13 credit cards!!!! Done about 7 pm on Sunday! I was at my bank at 9:00 on the dot! They drained that too. I got all my money back and had to call the state police and reports upon reports to send off to the credit bureau. New account and now password and pin protected. I can't connect my bank here in the loan part unless I do a 3-way call. Plaid or anything like them couldn't get in it without me. I never even did it after that nightmare! Just my personal experience and my own opinion on it. Others have awesome experiences! Hopefully, you do what's best for you and your business! Good luck either way you go or just wanted to wait for a square loan. 

[Jjpainting]

Hmm. I never got anything asking for this. 

[Alexis321]

A person from pipe actually called me and asked me to send the info by email.

Has never responded back since yesterday morning. I sent an email back saying to cancel.

[Alexis321]

That's strange. They wanted my square info plus my actual bank info. 3 months of statements etc. I decided that it wasn't for me. Especially when the plaid program popped up and it said my account info wanted me to change my password. I've used plaid a lot, I've never received that kind of message.

[lisap1970]

They called me and wanted all kinds of documents and also explained that when we take a credit card payment it goes into their bank they deduct their fees and redirect the payment back to Square. I find that worrisome and feel like i could be waiting on money for days if there were any kind of glitches. I’m sticking with Square loans. They may be difficult waiting to be renewed but at least the process is simple. 

[nyallblacks]

The question is.... Will it affect Square offering you a loan?

[lisap1970]

Did you hear anything about pipe loan effecting square loan? 

[jackiebee12]

how do I find Pipe?

[1683Cooks]

Quick question for you. Once you got your loan funds how was it when it comes to transferring your daily sales out of square ? Like if you hit instant transfer how long did it take for your funds to go into your bank account after having to channel through pipe so they get their percentage for the loan ? 

Im waiting for square to complete my bank verification it says it will be completed by Tuesday. Hopefully pipe can deposit the funds after square has successfully connected the bank account pipe gave me to connect to square. 

[1683Cooks]

You are heaven sent !!!! I just connected my square account to pipe and got an instant offer of 13,000 !!!! Wow !!!! 

[SouthernSass24]

It would approve me 😞 

[Jjpainting]

You mean wouldn’t?  Mine is pending. Says waiting on my first revenue payment and after that is verified, the funds will be send to my account so we shall see