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.

[PFS36]

Interesting.  I think I saw where Keto got a loan.

[Healthyketo]

It was an offer I thought it was an instant response so I’m just waiting for them to review 

[Jjpainting]

I was just wondering, when you linked your pipe account with square manually to verify, did you receive an email saying the expected completion date is 09/23?  I remember prior to square using plaid, when I had to manually get a chase account verified, they sent the penny transfer and got it back by the following morning.  Square still hasn’t even sent the verifying transfer for me yet which I thought was weird. 

[Healthyketo]

I didn’t receive any emails other than I needed to send address verification for the business. Also since I bank with square for business I chose to have it deposited directly into square. Still under review. Hopefully it gets approved today 🙏

[Jjpainting]

You are probably going through the same thing as me. Does it say pending on your activity page?  If so, you have to do what I did. Go on the home page and click on reconfigure for advance payments and follow directions.  I spoke to them at pipe and when it says you’re offered credit then your approved. But they need to see that your square account is linked to them so they can take out the 10%. 

So once square verifies it, then you can instantly send one dollar to pipe to expedite it and you will have money same day. But it’s the square verification that is taking a while. 

[Twpchair]

Any news??? In the last 2 weeks, I think I saw 1 person post an offer and acceptance in less than an hour. The rest 1-3 business days. There's nothing normal lately! I wonder and just a guess here if all these new/different offers coming in fast this week have anything to do with it taking longer for just square approval?

[Healthyketo]

Nothing yet unfortunately with square. Did apply at pipe but still in review. Hopefully something moves today. 🙏

[Koleen1234]

I just received a loan with Pipe 4600. They are offering. Still waiting on square 

[Healthyketo]

Did you get funded already? I got an offer for $4600 to but waiting on configuration not sure what that is

[Koleen1234]

Still waiting on that part to. The rep told me i should be funded no later than Monday 

[Jjpainting]

I actually got the official email from Pipe stating that I was now fully approved. Different from when I signed up a couple days ago. And I talked to jay there and he said I’m all set. The 1 cent transfer did go through for me with square and he sent me a screenshot of it showing that it did. But still says pending on squares end. As soon as it clears and I send $1 transfer for verification, then I’m 100% all set. I had to send them some business info earlier today as well as the last 3 months of square bank statements cause on there end it was only showing like a third of the revenue in actually do. But that’s all cleared up and I’m fully approved 👍

[Healthyketo]

I also just received an approval email from pipe. I’m not sure if I understand how to do the instant transfer though. 

[Jjpainting]

You have to wait until square verifies the account with pipe. Then you can do an instant transfer 

[Healthyketo]

How do I know if square verifies? Should I push reconfigure again? I already got the approval email. Sorry to bother I just want to be sure I’m doing it correctly. 

[Jjpainting]

Did you manually enter in the account information into your square account?  You have to go to businesss banking, add external account, enter in the routing number and account number. 

if you go to reconfigure, go to the bottom and it will tell you how to do it. 

[Healthyketo]

Did you get funded by chance? I’m just waiting now for square to verify. 

[Jjpainting]

No. Still waiting on square to verify. My email that they sent me the day I did it said by end of Monday.  So I’m guessing on Monday I’ll have em. Once it verifies, and I send the instant transfer then they send the funds and from the sounds of it, they arrive same day and quickly 

[Jjpainting]

square finally finished verification.  I transferred the $1 and emailed them. I’ll let you know from here how long it takes for my funding. I just emailed them. 

[Jjpainting]

About 5 minutes after I transferred the $1 i received an email stating my funds were on their way to my square account.  

[Twpchair]

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience step by step. I see many others like myself that's not familiar with these companies.

[Twpchair]

From what I read on other forums that are using a different company than Pipe it took about a week for the first time. They said after that and a good relationship they did offer to increase their line of credit. It went much faster after that. I am just repeating what a lot of other people are saying I've never used one before besides my credit union. I think like anything else new it seems to run a little bit slower and work out any bugs. I do know personally with mine at the CU they offer a couple of times a year to automatically increase mine. I haven't done it but it said just hit the button and you are all set no need to miss out on time in your busy schedule. That would be more like the old days with square and the offer comes in almost instant approval and depending on the time money in the bank the next day!  Good luck with you all waiting for this. It looks like you are round one and keeping each other informed! That will help others kinda get an idea!