Fintech giant Square has successfully resolved a daylong outage that disrupted its services, leaving small business owners unable to process payments. The company, owned by The Block, encountered a prolonged outage that persisted until Friday morning on the U.S. West Coast.
Service Restoration:
In a recent status update, Square announced that its services are gradually returning to normalcy after engineers implemented a fix early on Friday. While the company acknowledges that its systems are beginning to function as usual, it anticipates “slight delays” in some transfers due to the disruption.
Outage Timeline:
The outage initially occurred around 12 p.m. PT on Thursday, affecting sellers’ ability to access their accounts or process credit card payments. Although the exact number of affected users is unknown, Square serves “millions” of small and midsize businesses through its physical and virtual point-of-sale services.
Apology to Users:
Square expressed its sincere apologies to users during the outage, acknowledging the challenges it posed to running their operations. Small business owners heavily rely on Square for payment processing, and the disruption had real financial consequences for some.
User Impact:
Some users reported significant financial losses as a result of the outage. One small business mentioned missing out on over $2,000 in sales during a crucial month, while another expressed frustration at the lack of a timely response from Square.
Cash App Outage:
It’s worth noting that Cash App, a mobile payment service also owned by Block, experienced an outage on the same day. This interruption prevented users from making or receiving payments. In its latest status update, Cash App reported that users can now add cash and make purchases using their Cash Card, with efforts ongoing to fully restore payment sending and cash withdrawal capabilities.
Cause of the Outage:
As of now, the cause of the outage remains unknown. Square has not provided further details about the incident, and a spokesperson for the company has not yet responded to inquiries seeking additional information.
Conclusion:
While Square has successfully resolved its daylong outage, the incident highlights the critical role fintech companies play in facilitating payment processing for small businesses. The disruption serves as a reminder of the potential challenges and consequences that can arise when such services experience technical issues.
