Decoding Squarespace Payment Reserves

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Jun 25, 2025 09:35 PM

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payment reserves

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Squarespace holds payment reserves to mitigate financial risks from disputes or refunds, using fixed, rolling, and one-time reserve types. To minimize reserves, monitor disputes, respond quickly, and maintain clear business policies. Regularly check reserve details in the Finance panel and stay informed about any changes via email.

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Squarespace

Understanding Squarespace Payments Risk Reserves

What is a Squarespace Payment Reserve?

A reserve is when Squarespace temporarily holds a percentage of your business's funds to cover potential financial losses like disputes or refunds. This includes outcomes from chargebacks or customer refunds. The goal is to protect your business by ensuring funds are available if such issues occur.

Types of Reserves

Squarespace Payments uses three main reserve types to manage transaction risks:

Fixed Reserve: A set percentage of each transaction is held and released on a specific future date.

Rolling Reserve: A continuous hold of a set percentage from new transactions, released as the transactions age.

One-time Reserve: A specific amount is held once and released on a set future date.

Why Does Squarespace Use Reserves?

Reserves help reduce risks that can financially impact your business. These risks could come from extended delivery timelines, frequent customer disputes, or sudden spikes in sales volume. By managing a reserve, Squarespace helps maintain the stability of your transactions.

Lowering Transaction Risks

You can minimise the chances of disputes and maintain a healthy payment process by:

Monitoring dispute activities through the Finance panel regularly

Addressing customer disputes quickly and efficiently

Implementing preventative measures against payment fraud

Clearly displaying your shipping, return, and refund policies on your site

Keeping detailed records of transactions and customer interactions

Ensuring straightforward customer communication channels and notifying them promptly of any delays

Reserve Notifications and Terms

You'll be informed about any decisions related to your reserve funds via email from a Squarespace address. Emails will specify the details such as the reserve terms, the percentage and amount of funds held, and the time period of application.

Managing Your Reserves

To check your reserve details:

Go to the Finance panel in your Squarespace account

Click on "View Details" under Account Balance to see a breakdown of your reserves

Reserves are reviewed a few days before their expiration. Depending on your account's recent activities and financial health, Squarespace will decide whether to extend, reduce, or terminate the reserve.

Pixelhaze Tip: Always keep your business policies up-to-date and transparently communicated to avoid disputes and minimise reserve holds on your funds.

FAQs

How can I avoid having reserves placed on my Squarespace Payments account? You can reduce the likelihood of reserves by closely monitoring and quickly responding to disputes, implementing fraud prevention tactics, and maintaining clear, accessible business policies.

What if I disagree with a reserve on my account? If you disagree with a reserve decision, respond directly to the "Notice of Account Reserve" email you received from Squarespace for clarification or to contest the decision.

Are payment reserves common across all platforms, or just with Squarespace Payments? Reserves are a standard procedure among payment processors, not exclusive to Squarespace, and are used to protect business operations from potential financial losses.

Jargon Buster

Reserve: Holds on funds to protect against losses from activities like refunds or chargebacks

Chargeback: When a customer disputes a transaction and the charge is reversed, impacting your reserve balance

Refund: Funds returned to a customer, deducted from reserves if necessary

Cash flow: The net amount of cash moving in and out of a business, which can be affected by reserve holds

Understanding and managing Squarespace Payments risk reserves is essential for maintaining healthy cash flow and securing your business transactions. With the right practices, you can minimise disputes and the need for reserves, ensuring smoother financial operations.