Fintech giant Square has announced that its services are finally coming back online after a day-long outage that left small business owners unable to process payments. The company, owned by The Block, experienced a prolonged outage that began on Thursday afternoon and continued until Friday morning on the U.S. west coast.
Key Takeaway
Fintech giant Square has resolved a day-long outage that affected its services, enabling small business owners to process payments again. The company anticipates slight delays for some transfers as services return to normal.
Service Recovery and Anticipated Delays
In a recent status update, Square reassured its users that its engineers have implemented a fix and are actively observing the recovery of all Square systems. While services are beginning to function as normal, the company anticipates “slight delays” for some transfers as a result of the disruption. Square serves “millions” of small and midsize businesses with its physical and virtual point of sale services.
The Impact on Small Businesses
The outage had a significant impact on small businesses relying on Square’s payment processing services. One user on X, formerly Twitter, shared that their small business missed out on over $2,000 worth of sales during what is typically the company’s biggest month of the year. Another user highlighted the “lack of a timely response” from Square and expressed gratitude for having a cash dispenser on-site.
Related Outage in Cash App
Not only did Square’s services experience an outage, but Cash App, a mobile payment service also owned by The Block, faced similar challenges. Users were unable to make or receive payments for a period of time. However, in its latest status update, Cash App informed users that they can now add cash and make purchases using their Cash Card. The service continues to work on restoring the ability to send payments and cash out.
Cause of the Outage and Company Response
The cause of the outage is still unknown, and Square has not provided immediate comment on the matter. However, the company expressed its sincere apologies to its users and acknowledged the challenges the outage caused for small businesses.
