Recent Banking Events FAQ

On March 10, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed SVB and appointed the FDIC as receiver of the institution. To support our customers during this period of uncertainty, we unlinked all Silicon Valley Bank accounts that were receiving funds from Square sales. We’re asking all businesses that are SVB customers to link another bank account to Square.

Money from your Square sales is currently going into your Square Balance. Your funds will accumulate in your Square Balance until you have linked another bank account. To access and use those funds, you need to link a bank account, like a Square Checking account or another United States bank account. If you’ve already linked another bank account or reconnected your SVB account, you’re all set — your money will go there as soon as it’s verified.

Update your linked accounts ›

On March 12, the New York Department of Financial Services closed Signature Bank and appointed the FDIC as receiver of the institution. Banking activities for Signature’s depositors resumed on March 13. If you’re a Signature Bank customer, there’s no action you need to take.

You always have the option to link to external bank accounts to manage the payments you accept on Square. You can choose to transfer funds the next business day with standard transfers, or instantly.

Update your linked accounts >

You can opt to skip external transfers altogether with a Square Checking account and debit card. Once you apply and are approved for Square Checking, your money is instantly available after every Square sale. Square Checking is built to have FDIC insurance and ensures you can access your funds quickly when you need it.

It takes less than two minutes to apply for a Square Checking account.

Apply for Square Checking >

Square Checking accounts are provided by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000.

Square Savings accounts are provided by Square Financial Services, Inc. Member FDIC. These accounts are FDIC-insured up to $2,500,000.

You can link any United States bank to your Square account. Square requires a transactional bank account that allows for transfers and withdrawals in case of refunds or chargebacks. Square does not support prepaid cards or online-only accounts, like PayPal.

Some bank accounts in the United States will verify instantly, which allows you to transfer the funds needed to operate your business. Others can take up to 4 business days to verify.

If you need money immediately from your Square sales, you can opt to transfer instantly for a fee, or apply to open a free Checking account with Square. With Square Checking, you can also spend from your Square Debit Card, or account and routing numbers.

You can also initiate an ACH transfer to pay bills and add funds.

This will vary depending on the bank. Some bank accounts will verify instantly, whereas others may take up to 4 business days. We recommend reaching out to your bank with any additional questions about funds availability.

If you open a Square Checking account, funds you transfer from your payment processing account will be immediately accessible through digital wallets and debit card credentials.

You will receive an email from Square when your new bank account is successfully verified. You can also visit your Square bank account settings in Dashboard. All verified accounts will appear as ‘Active.’

The developments at SVB and Signature are not affecting Square’s service for your business nor are they disrupting our ability to support our sellers. As the situation evolves, we are continuing to assess potential impacts across our business.

If your Silicon Valley Bank account was linked to fund Payroll, direct deposit payroll processing has been disabled until you link a new bank account to your Square Payroll account. While direct deposit is disabled, employers can still process payroll using manual checks. To re-enable direct deposit, the Square account owner/employer must call Payroll Customer Success at 1-855-700-6000 after linking a new bank account.

In addition to paying your employees by manual check, you need to pay taxes to the relevant tax agencies. The agencies will attempt to debit the bank account you have linked to fund Square Payroll, but if that fails, it is your responsibility to make the failed tax payments directly to the tax agency.

SVB bank accounts have been unlinked for employees and their payment method has been converted to manual check. All future payments will be sent as manual check, and must be issued by the employer, until a new bank account has been linked. When you’re ready to update your bank account, you must contact your employer to convert your payment method back to direct deposit. Once you have confirmed this action has been taken by your employer, you can update your bank account through the Square Dashboard or Team app.

To ensure future payments to your employees with SVB bank accounts are not disrupted, Square Payroll has unlinked all employee SVB accounts and disabled direct deposit for these employees until they link a new bank account. You can still pay your employees by manual check before they link a new bank account.

Impacted employees must contact their employer before they can update their bank account. Instructions on how to change an employee’s payment method from manual check to direct deposit can be found in our Support Center.