New Square Loan in 2024

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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 · Accepted solution]

Congratulations! I am sorry it's lower than expected but you are correct about daily swiping vs not. That's one of the metrics. I'm retail furniture and I process daily. If 90.00 or 900.00 a swipe is a swipe and they each add up at the end of the day. Hopefully, the next offer will go up! I don't know if the algorithm picks up how your business processes I hope it will or maybe that's something that should be addressed to square. You are not alone and a big market for venues and events. The same goes for contractors who send out invoices and how fast the customer pays. Congratulations on at least getting one and thanks for the update and details about it.

[Twpchair · Accepted solution]

Hello, I apologize I've tried 3-4 to reply, and the boom screen locks up, then under maintenance. Not a good few days on here! When I get to your percentage especially, if I run a sale Thurs-Sun and do 10% off storewide, I use Facebook and Google for this. They are powered tools and are free. I take loads of pictures and post a few times a day with sneak peeks of new arrivals, older furniture, floor models, etc, with further markdown. Our business neighbors have a doughnut and bakery store. I usually get 20-25.00 worth of baked goods and now I would do hot cider and coffee. They or we give each other deals. I post the events that going on. Coloring contest for the kids, pumpkin coloring contest. A gift certificate live drawing on Saturday. All week prior I posted daily on both and boosted some of the posts for 9.95 for 5 days usually in a 100-mile radius and these women came. Last Saturday we tripled to very close to 4x our busiest day. I spent roughly 60-75.00 dollars. It jumps you up and in sales and this is just imo that boost kicks in something in the algorithm again imo. I went back and looked and 85% of my offers were Saturday night usually 7-10 pm after I updated. Thurs is another day again I have done Monday -Wed early bird specials and it kicks it in. I'm retail furniture and it is a little easier to do sales and deals than other industries. Just don't forget the power of free advertising for myself 95% of my first customers are women and then they bring in their spouses. Good luck, I hope you have received a loan offer by now! Hopefully, all the bugs will be worked out.

[Twpchair · Accepted solution]

Oh, yes! You do not need to meet your 60 days or whatever your minimum payment is. I have many times after I my minimum payment was meet and only paid a couple more days received an offer. After 12 years you kinda pick up the big do’s and don’t. I meet my minimum amount way ahead of time but definitely meet that! If not that means their last offer was too big for you to handle. 2. Try not to do too many, especially in a 4 mth-6 mths span of multiple refunds, and disputes. We have a zero return policy and our furniture already has a warranty and the rest we take care of in house. Those disputes and refunds trigger a person to physically do it and investigate why, who, and what type of thing and then back and forth with card company. The rest are important to stay green but I have been offered loans when one of metrics said needs works. So have many others. But definitely, if you have a slower period or a week or 2 of cash and checks. Just watch one or two big transitions will eat that up. I'm retail furniture so I see a week of cash or checks and then boom all cards. Keep swiping away what line of business are you in? Whenever I run a good 3-day sale on Thurs -Sat. And if I am around 70%ish. Usually, Saturday night it triggers an offer. Just lucky, coincidence? I don't know 100% not with an algorithm but I can pay down over 20% of a loan in 3 days it's triggering something to look at. I have done it before at 13% of my loan paid off and nope not happening. But in the 70s I have had it more often than not. But, like I said it is not a guarantee and honestly nothing is without a human connection. All POS systems use an algorithm type system that picks off or triggers something to look at it. 

[Lynix123 · Accepted solution]

Thank you for being here and answering everybody’s question. 
We got an offer at 95% yesterday but it’s only 20%of my current loan. Do you know anybody did not accepted loan and got another loan offer. How long it takes to update to another offer. 
It’s our busiest season. I generate $5-10k everyday till Christmas. I hoping that will trigger bigger loan if I wait. Thank you again 

[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. 

[Jjpainting]

Yeah that post **bleep**ed me off as well. I love the regulars on here that post often. The more the better. It gives everyone a sense of loan trends and is helpful. Really doesn’t solve the problem with trying to figure out their weird algorithm, as I’m coming to the conclusion that it’s more like a random lottery at times 😂

[Twpchair]

This is the first place I come in the winter especially when im in panic mode then especially a bad winter! I know what I will get by calling and here you nailed it you can see the trends. Is it a guarantee no but it seems to be better than guessing that old algorithm! The other part of the new verbiage on the last part added about the market, and economy was idle or idling the algorithm. Well, unfortunately, we don't get an email or something in our dashboard about it. Myself I prefer to just tell me for the next 6mths or whatever that we have to slow down on the loans or amounts until the economy, lending whatever it is gets back on track. Thank you though for the kind words. I do get the frustration though. But wrong one!

[Healthyketo]

I always appreciate your feedback! We sort of developed a little family here. Lol you’re like our group “mom” I don’t believe you work for square nor have any affiliation with what goes on behind the scenes. I do believe that you have been with square for a very long time and your experience with square shows. And we all appreciate the feedback from you. You’re always so positive and it gives us that glimmer of hope that we can be next! Overall we appreciate you! Have a great Sunday! 

[Twpchair]

Thank you, since 2012 before loans! I think I was one of the first in the “testing” of the new loans in 2014. No, I don't work for Square, I'm not a bot 😆 too many typos and too lengthy of a post! Square would fire me and cut it to a sentence! I understand the importance and frustration people are holding tight but only for so long. I honestly haven't seen it this tough as now. I told the others above to type in The White Pallet Chair Clare Mi and that's me!!!! Hopefully, that's ok to post. Thank you, and honestly good luck to you! 3/4 or more months paid off is something we are not used to!!!! 

[Paulynne]

So sorry they came for you like that. You seem to only want to help and keep everyones spirits up. 

[Twpchair]

I understand the frustration, unfortunately, people get frustrated and I'm not saying that person but others are really needing this now type of thing to stay open. As far as I know, they would fire me pretty fast over my typos and I would handing out loans like candy! I see people post up 200% or higher that's exactly what they say they are looking for. I don't think imo that is has as much to do with you or me or the others waiting but just lending in general is tight. Like the other guy posted their pos forums are saying the same thing as here. The only ones I know that work for Square are clearly defined as moderator or mod. Others have accused others of being bots etc. I don't think so just going by how they talk is all. Thank you for your kind words. If you get bored look up The White Pallet Chair, Clare Michigan that's me! Good luck and hopefully soon! 

[Paulynne]

Yeah I guess everyone is frustrated/scared. I will definitely look up your business! I’m Victoria & Jane in Atlanta. We’re on Instagram as @victoriaandjane

[GlitzyCow]

Goofy you say? Yeah around here there’s a different word for you. Btw you seem to have enough time to read what she has to say… and here you are writing a book for everyone else to read. Pretty pathetic you take time out of your day to totally blast someone on here who’s just trying to make everyone else’s day a little less stressful! 

Your know it all self has plenty of complaints but eh who cares it doesn’t phase you. Why even comment? Maybe you should look into those “Indian call centers”! I’m sure your customers would be please with those results. Toodles! Have a wickedly miserable normal to you day. 

[Jjpainting]

Well said!

[Twpchair]

Thank you 😂❤️ if anyone knows waiting it's you! Glad you stuck with it and got a good rep to work with now. 

[brown17]

SMH Get a grip.   Grass isn't always greener on other side.   Good luck.  By the way, the name of the forum is seller community.   We have sellers helping other sellers and actually Square employees do respond once in awhile and identify themselves as that.   TWPchair is on here giving others a person to talk/vent too.  She obviously been with square many years (as myself) and have had several experiences and just sharing them.   Even if she does "work for square" What harm is she doing?      Life is to short spread LOVE not HATE !