Square Customer Reviews

I’ve been using Square for my video production business, but after this experience, I’m looking for alternatives immediately.

What Happened

I received a legitimate payment via ACH bank transfer from a client for a video production contract we won through an RFP process. Square placed the funds on hold, claiming they needed to investigate a potential “credit card scam” – despite this being an ACH transfer, not a credit card payment.

I provided all requested documentation about the contract and client relationship. Instead of conducting a proper investigation, Square simply decided the payment was fraudulent and told me the “decision is final.”

The Real Problem is..

Aggressive algorithms with no human oversight: Their fraud detection flagged a legitimate business payment with no reasonable review process

Scripted customer service with no authority: Representatives couldn’t provide real explanations and repeatedly said “this decision is final” without actually investigating

Holding legitimate funds hostage: My earned money was inaccessible while I’m actively working on the project

Forcing unnecessary delays: Now I have to issue a refund, wait for processing, and arrange alternative payment methods – all because of their mistake and we’re already in pre-production and I can’t pay myself or contractors on this project.

The Bigger Issue

This isn’t just poor customer service – it’s a fundamental problem with how Square treats legitimate businesses. When your payment processor can arbitrarily decide your earned income is “fraudulent” with no real recourse, it creates an unstable foundation for running a business.

For a company that markets itself as supporting small businesses, holding legitimate payments without proper investigation and offering no meaningful appeal process is completely unacceptable.

If you’re a small business owner, especially one that occasionally receives larger payments, consider a different payment processor. Don’t rely on Square – this experience has shown me they can’t be trusted with important business transactions.

Update: Currently switching to alternative payment solutions that treat legitimate business relationships with appropriate respect.

We’ve been using Square for over a year now, and it’s honestly been one of the easiest parts of running the shop. The hardware looks clean, the software’s easy to learn, and I can check sales from my phone when I’m not here. It’s not perfect, but for what we need, it works really well and keeps things simple.