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FAQ: Supported and Unsupported Business Types in Australia

EDIT: May 2021 Update

 

Payments support is now available for associations, clubs and NFPs who have an ABN. Read more here, thanks for your patience 🙂

 

EDIT: 2021 Update

 

Work has commenced on building payments support for the following ABNs commonly used by clubs, associations and NFP organisations. While we don't have a set ETA for availability, we hope to launch support for these ABNs at some point in the first half of 2021:

 

  • Other Incorporated Entities
  • Other Unincorporated Entities

 

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I’ve tried signing up with Square and received a message about my business type being unsupported for payments. Why am I receiving this message?

 

In Australia, different ABN entity types are subject to different regulatory requirements that determine eligibility to register for financial services such as electronic card payment processing. Due to the additional requirements for some entities, Square is not currently able to support all ABN entity types for payment processing.



What ABNs does Square support/not support?

 

ABNs we can on-board via the online signup process:

 

  • Individual / Sole Trader
  • Partnerships
  • Private and Public Companies
  • Trusts (approx. 4 weeks processing)

 

ABNs we don't currently support

 

  • Other Incorporated Entities
  • Other Unincorporated Entities
  • Government Entities
  • Co-operatives
  • Any other entity type not listed as supported



I know someone who is using Square for their organisation - why can’t you support mine now?

 

Square previously trialed a program that involved experimenting with different ways to support the manual onboarding and verification of business information so that certain organisations could be supported for payment processing. 

 

This trial proved challenging for both Square and the organisations involved due to the additional obligations Square needs to meet to comply with Australian regulatory requirements, and it is not scalable at this time. While we cannot support payment processing for you, remember Square can still work as a free point-of-sale application to record sales, manage inventory, run sales reports and analytics, send digital receipts and more.



When will it be possible for my organisation to use Square?

 

While we don’t currently support your business type for payment processing, we can take your details and reach out to you if this changes in the future.



I’ve already purchased hardware, how can I get my money back?

 

If you have purchased hardware via the Square website, please visit our Support Centre to learn more about submitting a request for a refund. Alternatively, if you purchased Square hardware you can return it to the place of purchase with your receipt for a refund.

 

 

Can I just sign up as an individual or use another ABN rather than use my club/organisation’s ABN?

 

As per our Terms of Service, we require you to provide accurate and complete information about the business or organisation you’re taking payments for at the time of sign up. Setting up a Square account as an individual or different ABN would be in violation of our Terms of Service.

Seamus
Square, Australia
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Best Answer

Associations, clubs and NFPs using either an “Other Incorporated Entity” or “Other Unincorporated Entity” ABN can now sign up for payments with Square 🥳

 

For more information please check the following guides:

 

Sign up with an Incorporated Association Entity

Sign up with an Unincorporated Association Entity

 

FAQ

 

I already started creating a Square account previously. How do I continue the sign up process?

 

You’ll need to log into your Square Dashboard, then click “Verify information to start taking payments”. This will take you to the next step of the onboarding process, where you’ll need to provide some personal information, before you’ll be asked to supply more information about the club and its key position holders.

 

Screen Shot 2021-05-11 at 9.43.09 am.png

 

 

When I log into my dashboard it comes up with a message saying “You have nothing to manage”.

 

This means you’ve manually deactivated your account in the past. To reactivate it you’ll need to call our support team on 1800 760 137. Lines are open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Melbourne time. Alternatively, you can simply sign up again using a different email address,

 

What information will I need to provide?

 

Other Incorporated Entity ABNS

 

Business information:

 

  • Provide basic business information, including the incorporated ABN
  • Annual General Meeting Minutes: Upload a PDF copy of the most recent meeting minutes showing the election of office holders, including President, Treasurer and Secretary.
  • Certificate of Incorporation: Upload if applicable to your association. You can find this on the Australian Securities and Investment Commission website.
  • Provide the Incorporation Registration Number. You can also find this via the ASIC website. Note: You can only search by association name, not the ABN.

Personal Information:

  • Verify the account holder’s identity by providing their name, current residential address, and date of birth using a valid driver licence, passport, or Medicare card.
  • Verify the President and Treasurer, and identify the Secretary (or equivalent positions) . For this step, you need to provide the full name, date of birth and current residential address for the President and Treasurer, and the full name of the Secretary of your association. Make sure you have that individual’s consent to provide this information to us.

 

Other Unincorporated Entity ABNS

 

Business Information:

 

  • Provide basic business information, including the Unincorporated ABN. 
  • Provide Annual General Meeting (AGM) minutes: Upload a PDF copy of the most recent AGM minutes, showing the election of office holders, including President, Treasurer and Secretary.

Personal Information:

  • Verify the account holder’s identity by providing the full name, current address, and date of birth using a valid driver licence, passport, or Medicare card.
  • Verify the President, Treasurer, and Identify the Secretary. For this step, you will be asked to provide the full name, date of birth and residential address for the President and Treasurer, and the full name of the Secretary of your association.

 

Why do I need to provide this information?

 

Square is obligated to request and verify the above information when onboarding clubs, associations and NFPs under the AML/CTF Act.

Seamus
Square, Australia
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Hey @focp2039,

 

If you'd like to deactivate your Square account you'll need to call our team on 1800 760 137. Lines are open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Melbourne time!

Seamus
Square, Australia
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If I deactivate my Business Account, can I then set up as a personal account? Unfortunately I used my personal email to try and set up the Business Account when the business email was not successful. I understand that once you use an email address you can't use it again. 

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@focp2039 if you call our team they can delink the email from the old account so you can use the same one again 👍

 

Note you can't set up a personal account to take payments for your association though!

Seamus
Square, Australia
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Hello,

I have tried ringing the number you suggest and it tells me to go to square.com/code to get a customer code but that site diverts to Squareup support which offers no reasonable support. How can i talk to a human?

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Hi We too are an association, has this or is this likely to be rectified or fixed sooner rather than later?

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Admin

Hey @tlccdarwin,

 

Thanks for reaching out.

 

I don't have a timeline to share unfortunately, but we are actively working on it - hopefully we'll have more to share here in the coming months.

Seamus
Square, Australia
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There is a small problem that has sneaked into our world, a pandemic.  We do BBQs at several  places as a community service and to raise money to be able to do other community services.

As a result of Covid19 a great nimber of places ask us to use contactless payment, for which the square is a possibility, but you do not support us.

It would be great if you could speed up the process, as this would help us, but ultimately would help our society to be safer.

 

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Can square be used for a "Not for Profit" association?

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Admin

Hey @PDLTA,

 

I've moved your post to this thread, which contains more info on which ABNs Square is currently able to support for payments.

 

The short answer is not at the moment - though the longer answer is that we're working on it and hope to have more to announce here in 2021. I'll be tagging members who have commented in this thread once that happens to give you all a heads up!

Seamus
Square, Australia
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Replying so I can be notified too for my "Other Incorporated Entity" non-profit community group.

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Hi Seamus it is the second month of 2021.

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I sent an invite to some friends of mine who runs a charity/association bookshop but on sign up and entering their ANB and business name SquareUp said it does not support their kind of business. ??? How can they use Square for this online book shop and memberships? Alex

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Admin

Hey @LittleTreeStudi,

 

I've moved your post to this thread - check the original post for more on ABNs we can / can't currently support and why this is the case.

 

We are working on being able to onboard more ABNs in the near future - including those most commonly used by associations, clubs and NFPs. We hope to have more to announce here in 2021, I'll tag everyone in this thread once we do.

Seamus
Square, Australia
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This is very disappointing. As I was hoping to use this for raffles. Please keep me informed any changes

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I agree - it is disappointing.  On the Whirlpool site there is a whole community of frustrated people wanting to use the Square card reader for their associations.  I have been watching and waiting for over 18 months.

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It is very disappointing in deed. Our Association will be benching the square till further notice on support for non for profit associations is supported. Hopefully it doesn't sit on the shelf for too long.  

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It looks like I am another disappointed "non supported business type" as an Incorporated Society.   Would it not be easier to ask for an Incorporated Society reference number as a means to verify?  We are a legal entity.  Be good to know when Sqaure is available for INCs please

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Hi, can I please be included in the contact when incorporating associations are supported in Australia?

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Hey @Dwcww - certainly, I'll ping you here along with everyone else who has commented!

Seamus
Square, Australia
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I get this message when trying to set up our Rowing Club with Square - Why?

 

We do not currently support your selected business type for payment processing. We will contact you once your business type is supported. In the meantime, Square can work as your point-of-sale solution. You can record sales, manage inventory, run powerful sales reports and analytics, send digital receipts and more.

 

Andrea Rippon

treasurer@dmcrc.com.au

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Admin

Hey @37,

 

Thanks for reaching out. I've moved your message to this thread, which has a rundown of what ABNs we are and are not able to support for payments in Australia at the moment.

 

We are working on a solution for most ABNs used by clubs, associations and NFPs - I'll update everyone who has commented in this thread once the solution has been released - hoping it will be in the next few months!

 

Sorry I can't be of more help for now! 

Seamus
Square, Australia
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