Why does it say card declined after a card payment was accepted?

[Qm2]

I took payments using offline mode. Three of my payments failed to process once I connected my wifi. The other payments processed fine. But three of them say "card declined". I'm confused by this because none of the payments I got that day were declined. How do I fix this?

[TheRealChipA]

Hi @Qm2.  This is why there is a disclaimer when using offline mode.  Transactions are not actually approved while offline, because Square can not check with the card holder’s bank to verify there are sufficient funds, or that the card is still valid.  Here is a note included in the FAQ document for offline transactions:

“When operating in Offline Mode, there is additional risk with any payments you accept. Square is not responsible for any loss due to declined cards or expired payments taken while offline or for chargebacks. In addition, Square cannot contact any customers on your behalf should a payment be declined or expired when taken in Offline Mode.”  

A similar statement is in the Support Center help document that can be opened in POS settings when turning on offline mode.  After your connectivity to Square is restored, they get approval for transactions taken in offline mode.  That’s why you are seeing declined now, because the card holder’s bank declined them.

When you enable offline mode, it’s always a good idea to consider how much you are willing to risk for each transaction and set that limit.  Some businesses, especially those with large transaction amounts, make it a policy of taking contact information for offline sales in case of declined transactions.  Some business, like mine, have a backup processor (I use Stripe) for times when Square is down or I’m having issues with connectivity to Square.

Unfortunately, you can’t fix this with Square, nor could you with other processors like PayPal, etc, who offer offline mode.  If we use it we bear 100% of the risk for declined transactions.  I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.