Fintech giant Square says its services are coming back online after a daylong outage left small business owners unable to process payments.
The Block-owned company had, up until Friday morning on the U.S. West Coast, been battling a prolonged outage that had downed its services since Thursday afternoon.
In a new posting on its status update page, Square says that it is “actively observing the recovery of all Square systems” after engineers implemented a fix early on Friday. The company noted that while its services are beginning to function as normal, it anticipates “slight delays” for some transfers as a result of the disruption.
The outage began around 12 p.m. PT on Thursday and left sellers unable to access accounts or process credit card payments, the company confirmed in a post on X, formerly Twitter. It’s not known how many users were affected, but Square says it serves “millions” of small and midsize businesses with its physical and virtual point of sale services.
Since around noon PT on Thursday, sellers have been unable to access accounts or process payments due to a systems outage within Square. We know you trust us with your business, and these situations add challenges to running your operations. For that, we are truly sorry.
— Square (@Square) September 8, 2023
Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosystem, all in one room
Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $400.
Save up to $300 or 30% to TechCrunch Founder Summit
1,000+ founders and investors come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages. Walk away with tactics you can apply immediately
Offer ends March 13.
“We know you trust us with your business, and these situations add challenges to running your operations. For that, we are truly sorry,” the company said in a post on X during the outage.
One X user responded by saying that their small business missed out on more than $2,000 worth of sales due to the outage, during what is the biggest month of the year for the company. Another stated that they were lucky to have a cash dispenser on site given the “lack of a timely response” from Square.
Cash App, a mobile payment service owned by Block, also experienced an outage on Thursday, leaving users unable to make or receive payments. In its latest status update, Cash App said that users can now add cash and make purchases using their Cash Card. “We’re continuing to get the ability to send payments and cash out back up and running,” it added.
The cause of the outage is not yet known. A spokesperson for Square did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read more on TechCrunch:
