Payment Solutions Overview

Square provides payment solutions that allow sellers to get paid anytime with flexible tools. The Square Developer Platform provides APIs for you to integrate Square payments into your applications to process online, in-app, and in-person payments. You can also use the APIs to help sellers manage disputes and enable subscriptions.

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Payment processing APIs and SDKs

The Square Developer Platform provides payment processing APIs for buyer-facing payment forms and provides backend APIs to process and manage payments.

Payments API. Used with online or in-app payments. The Payments API has a backend endpoint to create a payment using the token returned by the Web Payments SDK or the In-App Payments SDK. For all other Square payment APIs, the Payments API is used to retrieve and process payments created by those APIs.

Refunds API. Refunds a payment made using any Square payment API or Square product.

Online payments. The following provide online payment solutions for websites:

• Web Payments SDK. Provides a customizable payment entry form that you add to your checkout page. The Web Payments SDK returns a secure payment token used by your Payments API call to create a payment.

• Checkout API. Provides a customizable checkout experience, including purchase details and a payment form. The Checkout API creates the payment for you. If you want to retrieve the payment later, use the Payments API.

In-app payments. The following SDK captures payments using a mobile application that you develop and distribute to buyers who want to make purchases from their mobile devices:

• In-App Payments SDK. Provides in-app payment clients for Android, iOS, Flutter, and React Native applications. The In-App Payments SDK returns a secure payment token used by your Payments API call to create a payment.

In-person payments. The following provide in-person payment solutions at the point of sale (POS):

• Terminal API. Used with your POS application where the payment is taken on a Square Terminal. The Terminal API is used by the POS application to request a payment on a Square Terminal.

• Reader SDK. Used with your POS application where the payment is taken on a Square Reader. The Reader SDK doesn't provide a UI.

• Point of Sale API. Used with your POS application where the payment is taken on a Square Reader. The Point of Sale API opens a Square UI in the application for taking a payment.

Additional payment features. The following APIs are called from your backend and provide additional payment features:

• Disputes API. Manages disputes (chargebacks) that occur when a cardholder contacts their card-issuing bank to request a payment reversal when they believe a payment isn't valid.

• Invoices API. Creates and manages invoices sent to buyers to collect payments.

• Cards API. Saves a credit or debit card on file and retrieves the saved card for use as a payment source.

• Subscriptions API. Adds subscription functionality to an application. With the API, you can create subscription plans and automatically charge customers on a recurring basis.

• Bank Accounts API. Retrieves information about an external bank account linked to a Square account.

• Payouts API. Provides details about the transfer of funds from a seller Square account to the bank account linked to their Square account.

• Mobile Authorization API. Accepts an account credential (OAuth token or personal access token) and location ID and returns an authorization code that custom mobile applications can use to initialize Square mobile solutions.

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Square products

The following Square products allow sellers to collect payments:

• Square hardware. These products are the backbone of Square's in-store solutions and include:

  • Square Terminal. An all-in-one credit card terminal for orders, payments, and receipts.

  • Square Reader. A device that reads contactless cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and chip cards.

  • Square Stand. An iPad stand with a built-in card reader for tap, dip, and swipe scans.

  • Square Register. A fully integrated POS register for any type of business.

• Square applications and services. These products include general and industry-specific products that Square sellers use. Examples include:

  • Seller Dashboard. A dashboard on which sellers can manage their inventory, create customer promotions, book appointments, generate reports, and more.

  • Square Point of Sale. A free application of customizable tools that supports a seller's business needs, such as payments, sales, locations, inventory, analytics, eCommerce, and CRMs.

  • Virtual Terminal. An application that turns a seller's computer into a credit card terminal.

  • Square Invoices. Enables sellers to request or automatically collect payments from customers. Sellers can send and manage invoices from the Seller Dashboard, Square Point of Sale, or Square Invoices application.