Transfer Ownership of Your Square Account

Transfer your Square account to a new owner or accept a transfer to become the new owner of an existing Square account. Transferring an account will change all the personal information associated with an account, such as the owner’s name, email address, date of birth, and Social Insurance Number (SIN).

Start a Square Account Transfer

Before beginning an account transfer, make sure the existing owner is present. They must be able to log in to their Square account, verify their identity and be willing to transfer ownership.

If you are the existing Square account owner: 

1. Log in to your online Square Dashboard and go to Account and Settings.

2. Select Business information > About my business click Transfer business.

3. Fill out the form to verify your identity, including your legal name, date of birth and your SIN. If your SIN is not on file, you will need to provide additional information to verify your identity, including your phone number and your address on file.

4. Enter the new account owner’s email address. Square will send an identity verification form to the new owner. 

5. Check the box for Transfer of Account Agreement, then click Agree & Continue. 

6. Read the Transfer of Account Agreement and click OK. 

7. Check your email inbox for the automated Transfer Account Confirmation email. 

8. Click Confirm Transfer.Note: You cannot undo an account ownership transfer. Once the transfer is complete, the only way to regain ownership of the account is to complete another transfer.

Accept a Square Account Transfer

If you are the new account owner, you must complete these steps within 24 hours of the transfer initiation:

1. Open the Transfer Account Verification email sent to the email attached to the Square account and click Verify Identity. 

2. Fill out the identity verification form, including your legal name, home address and phone number. Note: Your personal information will only be used to confirm your identity and will not be used to perform a credit check. 

3. Check the box for Transfer of Account Agreement and click Agree & Continue. If the identity verification is successful, then the ownership transfer is complete. 

4. You will then receive an email to reset your Square account password. Open the email and click Reset Password. 

5. Enter your new password, and select your language and time zone preferences. 

6. Click Save Changes. 

Note: If the new owner does not start the final steps within 24 hours, the ownership transfer request will expire and must be initiated again by the current owner.

Account Ownership Transfer Eligibility

There are a few reasons why an ownership transfer might not be supported for your Square account.

• Loans Requirement: You have an active loan from Square, or a pending application for one. If you have an active loan, you’ll be able to transfer your account 10 days after your loan balance is fully paid off. If you have a pending application, you can cancel it to transfer your account. Visit the Loans section of your Square Dashboard to manage your loans.

• Hardware Financing: You have an active hardware financing plan from Square. You’ll be able to transfer your account when your balance is fully paid off.

• Frozen or Disabled: Your account is frozen, or your payments have been disabled. You must resolve this before initiating an account ownership transfer.

• Negative Balance: Your account has a negative balance. You must resolve this before initiating an account ownership transfer.

• Sale of Business: Square does not support transferring an account during the sale of a business.

• Original owner or designate is not willing or able to transfer the account: The original owner must verify their identity by entering their personal information.

Note: If your business is selling cannabis products, you will not be able to transfer your account through this automated flow. If you attempt to transfer an account enrolled in the Square cannabis program, you will see a message in your dashboard prompting you to reach out to your account manager. They will help you continue the process manually.

Ownership Transfer Not Eligible

If your Square account is not eligible to transfer ownership, or if you’re the new business owner and the original account holder is no longer associated with the business or organization, we recommend the following:

1. Download the sales history of the previous account.

2. Contact the previous account holder and request they deactivate the current Square account.

3. Activate a new Square account using your information.

FAQ