ACH Disputes FAQ | Square Support Center (2024)

FAQs

How to win a dispute on Square? ›

The bank is looking for any supporting evidence you may have about the transaction, such as contracts, invoices, email correspondence, or signed proof of delivery. You will have a short seven-day window to submit your information. The more evidence you can provide, the better chance you have of winning the dispute.

The issuing bank also has a timeline for the dispute process, usually up to 90 days. During this time, they will review the evidence supplied by the merchant and Square and make a decision on the dispute.

ACH returns can occasionally arise from unauthorized debits or authorized debits that have been subsequently revoked by the customer. In both cases, a written statement is necessary, and the processing of these returns can take up to 60 calendar days.

Providers may also charge an additional monthly fee for ACH payments, which can vary. Square uses ACH payments for deposits, and there's no fee associated with that for Square merchants.

If a refund to a payment card is declined, the buyer will automatically be notified about the decline. In this case, you will be instructed to issue an alternative form of payment to the buyer to complete the refund, such as cash, check, or gift card credit.

What happens if a dispute is denied? If your dispute is denied, then the charge will go back on your credit card.

You can visit your Square Dashboard to view the status of a dispute at any time. Here you can also view all documents you have uploaded thus far, and what's next in the dispute process. Additionally, please feel free to email us to check on the status of a dispute.

It can take up to 2–7 business days to process a refund with Square. Once the refund is processed and sent to your customer's card issuing bank, it can take another 2–7 business days (depending on the bank's processing speeds) for the refund to post to your customer's account.

Under the ACH rules, the customer's bank is obliged to refund the debits without question, as long as the request was received within 60 days from the NACHA transaction date. (In contrast, businesses have only 2 days to request a return.)

How do ACH disputes work? ›

An ACH dispute can occur when the buyer questions the transaction and requests that their bank reverses the debit. An ACH transaction may be returned for several reasons, but the most common are: Transaction was not authorized. Transaction is for the wrong amount.

The electronic Automated Clearing House (ACH) network facilitates everything from monthly bill payments to direct deposits for paychecks. Account holders and merchants who encounter issues with ACH payments can stop or reverse them, unlike wire transfers which are usually irreversible.

You can view a detailed report of your dispute by heading to your Square Dashboard. From here, you will be able view a full breakdown of each disputed charge, submit your response and provide documentation to help the Dispute Resolution Team build a case on your behalf.

Without a verified bank account, Square may hold your funds as a precautionary measure to ensure the validity of transactions. If your transfer request is less than the minimum or exceeds the maximum amount permitted after accounting for processing fees, Square may also hold your funds.

ACH debits, such as bill pay or withdrawals, generally take 1-3 days to process, while ACH credits, such as direct deposits or vendor payments, generally take just one day to process. Same-day ACH, which typically requires an additional fee, processes the same business day.

Does Square have dispute fees? No, Square doesn't charge any additional fees for disputes. Most other payment processors charge a nonrefundable fee ranging from $10 to $25.

Your customer's refund credit is initially drawn from your Square balance. If you don't have a balance available in your Square account to cover the refund, we will debit the remaining amount from your linked bank account.

Our team helps sellers avoid 177,000 disputes every year by sharing transactions with card networks and issuers directly to keep buyers informed of their purchases and to prevent disputes.