Square Services Back Online After Day-Long Outage
After a day-long outage left small business owners unable to process payments, fintech giant Square has announced that its services are coming back online. The company’s systems had been down since Thursday afternoon, causing sellers to lose access to their accounts and credit card processing capabilities.
The Block-Owned Company Battles Prolonged Outage
As of Friday morning on the U.S. West Coast, Square was still battling a prolonged outage that began around 12 p.m. PT on Thursday. The company had not yet commented on the cause of the issue but confirmed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that sellers were unable to access their accounts or process credit card payments due to a systems outage within Square.
Square Apologizes for Disruption
In a statement, Square acknowledged the impact of the outage on its users and expressed regret for any inconvenience caused. "We know you trust us with your business, and these situations add challenges to running your operations," the company said in an apology posted on X during the outage. "For that, we are truly sorry."
Cash App Also Experiences Outage
The outage affected not only Square but also its sister company, Cash App, which is a mobile payment service owned by Block. According to a statement from Cash App, users were unable to make or receive payments due to an issue with the platform.
Services Gradually Returning Online
As of Friday morning, Square has announced that its services are gradually returning online after engineers implemented a fix early on Friday. However, the company anticipates "slight delays" for some transfers as a result of the disruption.
Cause of Outage Unknown
Despite efforts to resolve the issue, the cause of the outage remains unknown. A spokesperson for Square did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Impact on Small Business Owners
The outage has had significant implications for small business owners who rely on Square’s services to process payments and manage their operations. One X user reported that their company lost more than $2,000 worth of sales due to the outage, which is considered one of the biggest months of the year for the business.
Recovery Efforts
In response to the outage, Square has implemented a fix to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. The company’s engineers are actively observing the recovery of all Square systems and working to minimize any disruption caused by the outage.
Implications for Financial Services Industry
The outage highlights the importance of robust infrastructure and disaster recovery plans in the financial services industry. As companies increasingly rely on digital payment platforms, outages like this can have far-reaching consequences for businesses and consumers alike.
Update from Square: Recovery Efforts Underway
As the company continues to work towards resolving the issue, Square has provided an update on its status page:
"Status: We are actively observing the recovery of all Square systems. Engineers implemented a fix early today, and our services are gradually coming back online. Please note that there may be slight delays for some transfers as a result of the disruption."
Update from Cash App: Services Gradually Returning Online
Similarly, Cash App has provided an update on its status page:
"Status: We’re continuing to get the ability to send payments and cash out back up and running. Users can now add cash and make purchases using their Cash Card. Thank you for your patience as we work through this issue."
Conclusion
The outage highlights the importance of reliable infrastructure in the financial services industry, particularly for companies like Square that rely on digital payment platforms to facilitate transactions. As the company continues to recover from the disruption, it is clear that there are lessons to be learned about disaster recovery planning and the need for robust infrastructure to mitigate the impact of outages.
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