What Square Charges for Card Payments
Square's own pricing page lists a rate for each way a card can reach you. Here are those rates, grouped by how the payment happens.
A customer can pay you at a counter, through a checkout page, on an invoice, or by reading a card number over the phone. Square's pricing page gives each of those its own rate. This page gathers those published rates in one place, sorted by how the payment happens rather than by plan tier. Square's prices move, so read its page before you sign up.
What Square's pricing page says it charges for in-person card payments
When a card is tapped, dipped or swiped in front of you, Square's pricing page says in-person card payments run from 2.6% + 15¢ to 2.4% + 15¢, depending on the plan. The lower percentage sits on plans with a monthly fee, so the cheaper cut is not free. The page also says you do not need to purchase hardware to take payments with Square. Its POS app can accept any payment, and Tap to Pay on iPhone and Tap to Pay on Android take payments with just your phone. You can also take cash, checks, and Square Gift Cards. Tap to Pay has its own fee page at Square Tap to Pay fees.
What Square's pricing page says it charges for online and invoice card payments
When the card never meets a reader, the rate goes up. Square's pricing page says online and invoice card payments run from 3.3% + 30¢ to 2.9% + 30¢, depending on the plan. Again, the lower end of that span belongs to the paid plans. If you bill by invoice, see Square fees for invoices. If you sell through a web store, see Square online store fees.
There is a separate line for software built on Square. Square's pricing page says card payments through its payments APIs cost 2.9% + 30¢. The page calls this Online API, and says it applies to card payments made within a web or mobile application's workflow using their payments APIs.
What Square's pricing page says about manually entered or card on file payments
A card number typed by hand or kept on file gets its own rate. Square's pricing page says manual entry or card on file payments cost 3.5% + 15¢. That is a flat rate, not a span, so it does not shift with the plan. Phone orders and recurring charges land here.
The monthly fee per location and what Square's page says about its plans
Square's pricing page says the monthly fee per location is $0, $49 or $149, and Square Plus and Square Premium charge it per location. So a business with three shops on a paid plan pays that fee three times. The free tier exists, but the lower processing rates sit on the paid tiers. Square's page says Square Premium offers the lowest processing fees. For a fuller walk through the whole sheet, see Square rates and fees and how much Square charges in fees.
Payment methods with their own rates on Square's page: ACH on invoices, Afterpay, and EBT
Three payment types carry their own lines on Square's page.
Bank transfer on an invoice is the cheap one. Square's pricing page says ACH bank transfers on invoices cost 1% with a $1 minimum. On a large invoice, that percentage beats any card rate on the page.
Buy now, pay later is the dear one. Square's pricing page says Afterpay payments cost 6% + 30¢. That is the highest rate anywhere on Square's sheet.
Groceries are a special case. Square's pricing page says EBT card payments for SNAP-eligible items cost 1.8% + 5¢. That applies to SNAP-eligible items only, not to the whole basket.
What Square's page says about card types, foreign-issued cards, and custom pricing
On card brands, Square's page is clear. It says you can accept every major card, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, all for the same processing fees. It also says you can accept American Express cards for the same processing fees as other major cards. So the rate you were quoted for a Visa is the rate an Amex pays.
Where a card was issued matters. Square's pricing page says an extra fee applies to credit or debit cards issued outside the United States. The page does not give the size of that extra fee, only that it exists.
Big sellers get a door. Square's pricing page says businesses that process over $250,000 per year can talk to its team about custom pricing and processing fees. Below that mark, the published rates are what you pay.
One more line from the page: bitcoin payments apply to in-person payments where the buyer scans a QR code to pay in bitcoin.
Where Square's page leaves things out
Square's page names an extra fee for foreign-issued cards but does not size it. It lists the monthly fee per location but does not spell out every feature behind each plan tier. It gives the rate spans across plans without pairing every plan with every rate. When a number you care about is missing, ask Square before you sign. For fees that come up after a sale, see Square refund fees and Square gift card fees. For the wider world of monthly fees and no-monthly-fee options, see credit card processing with no monthly fees. To see another processor's sheet next to this one, read Stripe vs Square processing fees. For a wider view, start at credit card processing fees for businesses or merchant account providers.
When the money lands
Square's pricing page says funds from Square's payment processing are generally available in the Square Checking account balance immediately after a payment is processed. That is about access to the money, not about the fee per sale. The page also says Square's pricing changes are designed to make pricing simpler and give more flexibility. Prices move over time, so treat this page as a snapshot. Check Square's own pricing page for the numbers on the day you sign.