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 · 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 

[Brittany_SP]

I finally did at 86%. It was much lower than the last time though even though I would meet my 60 day minimum in 30 days or less.

[Firstçreek]

Thanks appreciate your response.  We are all floundering right now. Spring is coming, we will all be busy again.

[Sammie_C]

Hi @SPPhotography1!

Thank you for your post!

We do not have a specific timeframe for when another loan offer may be available. However, we will continue to automatically review your account for eligibility. We understand that not being immediately eligible can be frustrating, but we are unable to override the automatic review process with a manual review.

Offers are based on many business factors including, but not limited to, your current payment processing volume, your customer mix, and your Square account history. Please be aware that aspects of your processing history, such as failed debits, chargeback history, and changes to your processing behavior may impact your eligibility for any potential future offers.

To learn more about how you may become eligible for a Square Loan, please see this post in our Support Center.

Let us know if you have any other questions!

[Sweetlocs20]

I’m in a similar situation. I’ve only done better with my business and I’ve not gotten a loan offer yet after paying 89 percent of my loan off. Ive been offered so many loans from them and now it seems things are in a stand still.

[allisonb_23]

Did you ever receive a loan? Im sitting at 86%.

[AllNewU]

Twice I have been offered a loan over 100k and both times I have been declined once I have accepted. My business is processing over 1M in CC with square yet they put the offer out then rip it out from under your feet. I was not expecting to be declined once they put an offer out for 186K. I wasn't going to take the full amount. I am tired of hanging around and being loyal to be able to use Square Capital. Isn't it supposed to be for working capital? I have a medical spa with multiple devices that are the prices of condos and homes. Everyone else is loaning me money. I don't really need square capital since there are so many offers to give me money. I believe it is time to learn how to use a new system that fits my business needs a little better. I am awaiting a call/email to tell me why they won't lend me the money they just offered to me. "You have been pre-approved!"  OOPS! So sorry to rip your heart out. Please go elsewhere for capital for your business.   I think I will go elsewhere for marketing, appointments, and the big one, the square processing!  My business deals with BIG numbers!  If you don't like the big numbers and they scare you I will go elsewhere! I am so angry right now because I started planning for this square capital loan. My last offer was Aug 2023 and the same thing happened. I was sure that this one was good because who pre-approves and then says no to a business in good standing processing over 80K a month? WTF!

[stanleycourtney]

Did you ever recieve a loan offer? 

[levelpt]

Yes I just got an offer at 85% paid from previous loan. I noticed that the amount I still had to pay off the loan was less than the last offer and my minimum payment was paid off few days before the offer? Have no clue what the equation is? Loan offer was a little less than last offer 

[Twpchair]

That seems to be the trend right now for most (not all) Congratulations on the offer 👏 though! 

[stanleycourtney]

I am now at 88% and I’m just done waiting at this point. Customer service does not tell us anything. They say its all automated.. I am always on time, Never late always ahead. I have been a customer for 4 years and I am on my 7th loan with Square.. I have never had to wait this long… I asked for someone to manually review my account and they said they can not… I’m glad to see everyone getting loan offers though. 

[Twpchair]

My last offer was about 3 weeks and I was between 81-84% paid off. I had 3 busy busy days. Saturday night my offer came in and I accepted it and Monday it was in my account. The prior loan I was 91% paid off. Right now it's bouncing around with percentage paid off. Last summer it was a higher percentage paid off to completely paid off for many people. It's hard to determine right now because I'm seeing 70% - completely paid off? Each business is different than the other. The other thing I watch is what the economy is doing and what they do with the interest rate whether they raise it or not. They just decided last week not to raise it. Hopefully, things will calm down and lenders will start loosening up and loans will start kicking in again. Good luck and hopefully you will be offered a loan by now. 

[Twpchair]

My last offer I was at 81/84% paid off after 3 busy days in row. Late Saturday night offer came in a tad bit higher than the previous one in June at 91% paid off. Right not I'm seeing the % seems to higher before new offers for most not everyone and offers are tending to be right around their previous loan or for some less. They are still doing them. I stick around here and can usually see how the trend is going. Good luck to you!

[Mkennedy25]

I’ve been with square for 4 years now and I’m always offered a loan between 70-90%. My factors have always been green and always ahead of repayment. I’m due for another offer soon, but there’s no certainty. My profile hasn’t been updated since 12/26/13. I could really use another offer for this year. 

[Laurenjop]

Hello there; yes I’m currently at 64% waiting for a new offer as well for 2024. 

[ggbluejune]

Hello everyone, I am at 94% waiting for a new loan offer so I can get more inventory.  I'm continuing to swiping every day but have no offer, while I have someone who works in the same business with me and was offered at 70%.

 I'm confused 

Any one experience similar situation?

[TheRealChipA]

Hi @ggbluejune  All sellers are different. All Square Loan offers are different. Comparing another seller’s experiences to your will only serve to frustrate you, trust me. The loan offer algorithm is a black box that will send you and offer when it determines your are eligible for one. It has always been that way. 

Square Loan offers are triggered by regular reviews of our accounts and activity and when the algorithm determines it is time for another offer, one arrives.  There is nothing that we can help you do in the seller community, and Square employees won’t be able to accelerate this, either.  For most of 2023 I saw lots of similar threads here where sellers had paid off their loans then waited weeks, if not months, for new offers.

I can offer some context, however.  Even a cursory reading of economic news reveals that the worldwide lending market is being very conservative right now.  All lenders are being very cautious about when they offer loans and especially how much they offer.  With worldwide interest rates so high, all loans are very risky for lenders so they aren’t being as free and easy with them as they once were.  This is a reality that is going to stick around for a while not just for traditional lenders, but for merchant lenders like Square.  Hopefully we will see some loosening in the overall lending marking in 2024, both in the area of interest rates and qualification requirements.  But regardless I expect that it will be a very slow process.

Sorry to be the bearer of unwelcome news, but at this point it is at least reality.

[Brittany_SP]

I’ve been thinking the same thing because of the economy. Once I saw others weren’t having anymore luck at 80% I just had to prepare myself to move as if one will not come up, so then IF it does, it will just be a major plus and relief.

[Twpchair]

That's a great way to look at it! I know it's hard when for years we could almost quarantine between 70-75 % and the offer came in. Now, it's trending higher % and it's hard because square is lending more and more each year but unfortunately,  not all post here. Good luck and I hope you have a great 2024!

[Brittany_SP]

Same for me. My last loan I was offered a new one at 73% paid off. I’m at 80% now and still nothing. I’m not sure what’s changed or what happened but they keep telling me they don’t know and to look at your loan dashboard.

[stanleycourtney]

just curious did you ever receive a loan offer? 

[Sweetlocs20]

Im actually at 89 …no offer.