Learn about Square’s fees
Square has simple and transparent pricing. Our best-in-class point-of-sale software is completely free and you’ll always pay one low rate per card payment, so you can keep more of what you make. Square’s processing fees are deducted before funds are transferred to your linked bank account.
Learn how how processing fees work.
Square’s payment processing fees
With the Square app, you’ll pay the following per-transaction fees:
Payment type |
Processing fee (sellers who signed up prior to 30 May 2024) |
Processing fee (sellers who signed up on or after 30 May 2024) |
|---|---|---|
Contactless, chip and PIN or swiped card-present transaction on Square Terminal or Square Register |
1.6% |
1.6% |
1.9% |
1.6% |
|
1.9% |
1.6% |
|
Connect Square Terminal with Square Point of Sale or connect Square Terminal with Virtual terminal |
1.6% |
1.6% |
Contactless, chip and PIN or swiped card-present transaction on Square Reader or Square Stand |
1.9% |
1.6% |
Manually-entered payment to the Square app, Card on File recurring payments facilitated via Square Invoices and Virtual terminal |
2.2% |
2.2% |
Online payment products, including Square Online, Square eCommerce API, Square Payment Links and Subscription Payments, and purchases of Square Gift Cards |
2.2% |
2.2% |
2.5% load fee + standard processing fees |
2.5% load fee + standard processing fees |
Note: If you’re an existing customer using Square for Appointments, Square for Retail or Square for Restaurants you may be on different processing fees.
The 1.6% card present rate applies for Square Sellers who sign up on or after 30 May 2024, or who signed up prior to this date and subscribed to a paid software plan that offers a 1.6% processing rate.
The rate of 1.9% will apply for all other Square Sellers who signed up prior to 30 May 2024 when using Square Reader, Square Stand or Tap to Pay, as listed in the Square Fee Schedule above.
Afterpay fees
Square sellers using Afterpay get paid the full amount at the time of purchase, minus a processing fee on the total order. Enabling Afterpay with Square is free – there are no monthly fees or startup costs. You only pay when you make a sale. There are no processing fees charged on the remaining instalments or if your customer makes a late payment.
Afterpay pricing is 6% + 30 cents per transaction (excl. GST) on the following products:
In-person (including Square, Retail, Restaurants and Appointments POS apps)
Connected Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal (card present)
Square Web Payments
Note: Afterpay rates are fixed and do not vary by subscription type, hardware or custom pricing.
Custom rates on processing fees
If your annual sales exceed $250,000 and you have an average ticket size of over $15, our Sales Team can help find the right transaction rate and Square offerings for you. Contact Sales to learn more.
Accepted payments
There are no minimum monthly transaction requirements and fees are only charged when card payments are processed.
The transaction rates remain the same no matter what type of card is charged – Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB and eftpos are all charged at the same rate.
Every accepted payment card has the same rate, and fees are taken out of the total amount of each transaction, including GST and tip.
Other payment methods
You can accept other tender types such as cash or cheque – there are no fees to record other payment methods. When you accept other tender types, Square doesn’t process any funds and functions only as an organisational tool. Money for these transactions is exchanged directly between you and your customer and will not be transferred by Square.
Gift card fees
With Square Gift Cards, you will pay Square payment processing fees and a 2.5% load fee of the total amount added on to the gift card whenever you load or reload a physical gift card or digital eGift card online or in store.
Pay Square load fees and standard processing fees only when loading a gift card. There are no additional fees when a gift card is redeemed.
Learn more about pricing for Square Gift Cards.
Need-to-know facts about Square’s payment processing fees
There are no hidden fees for the following:
Activation
Downloading the Square Point of Sale app
Chargebacks and Dispute management – no dispute fees (generally $15-$25 per dispute)
Square Support
Advanced reporting tools
Account inactivity
PCI compliance PCI compliance coverage
Account takeover protection
End-to-end encrypted payments
Active fraud prevention
Next day transfers
Early termination
Credit card fees are included in Square’s fees, so there are no charges from credit card companies.
Every card brand accepted has the same rate.
Payment processing fees are taken out of the total amount of each transaction, including tax and tip.
Square’s fees apply to all business types, including not-for-profit (NFP) organisations.
Learn more about the way our fees are broken down.
View your fees
To view your monthly GST invoices and processing rates from your online Square Dashboard:
Go to Account & Settings > Business information > Tax invoices.
Click on the reporting location and month, then click Download to download a PDF.
Note: Processing fees are charged per transaction and deducted before each transfer. Fees cannot be charged on a monthly basis.
View fees paid per transfer
- Tap ≡ More > Balance.
- Tap View all activity > select a transfer. Note: Fees for the sales included in that transfer are listed under Estimated fees.
- Go to View all transfers.
- Select a date range from the date selector tool.
- Select a transfer from the list for an overview of the total fees paid.
- To view fees associated with each transaction in your selected transfer date range, click Export.
View fees for a period of time
- Tap ≡ More > Reports.
- Tap Sales > select a predefined date range or tap the date to set a custom range.
- Tap Done.
- Scroll to the ‘Fees’ line of the sales summary report.
- From the main menu, go to Reports.
- Click Sales summary > select a date range from the date selector tool.
- Fees paid for this period of time will be displayed in the Payments row of the report.
View fees for a single payment
- Go to Reporting > Transactions.
- Select a date range and apply any desired filters.
- Select a transaction. The fee paid for the transaction will be displayed in the Fees column.
View fees reports
You can easily download a PDF file of various fees (such as card processing fees, instant transfer fees and application fees), taxes on fees and the cost of taking payments with Square. To download your fees report:
- Log in to your online Square Dashboard and click Reporting > Reports.
- Click Fees.
- Select a month and the desired columns.
- Click the Print button to print or save as a PDF file.
To learn more about the Square reporting terms, visit our Support Centre.
Free processing credit and reimbursement
When you invite businesses to join Square, you both benefit from reimbursed card processing fees. For each business that activates its account through your unique referral link, you’ll receive reimbursements on processing fees of up to $1,000 in sales over the next 180 days (six months). Upon activation, the referred and eligible business will also receive free processing fees on up to $1,000 in sales over the next 180 days (six months).
Learn more about inviting eligible businesses and tracking fee reimbursements with Square’s Referral program.
Fees FAQ
Check out the answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions.