Software solution

Square Payment Risk Manager

Put a reviewable fraud policy around every online order

Square Payment Risk Manager gives a U.S. business a practical control layer for suspicious card-not-present payments. A clothing shop can flag a billing and shipping mismatch, a caterer can review an unusually large order before fulfillment, and a professional service can require stronger verification for a higher-risk checkout.

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Built for your day-to-day

How it fits your business

From Square Dashboard, an owner or permitted team member can create rules that alert, decline, or invoke 3D Secure; review payment and buyer details; allow trusted cards; block repeat offenders; and export risk analytics. It is an account-level software tool rather than a separate reader or register. Square publishes it at no monthly fee, but standard processing fees still apply and the seller remains responsible for accepted payments and disputes.

Key capabilities

What you can do

Rules that fit the way your business sells
Create location-aware rules using Square risk evaluation, AVS mismatch or unavailable results, invalid CVV, payment amount, payment velocity, prepaid cards, international cards, buyer IP country, and shipping ZIP information. Choose an alert, decline, or 3D Secure action instead of relying on one generic fraud setting.
A queue for decisions before fulfillment
Risk alerts collect flagged online payments with payment and buyer information, related transactions, shipping details, and the rule that fired. Review the order in Square Dashboard, then refund it, add the card to a Block List, add a known customer to an Allow List, or dismiss the alert before shipping goods or delivering services.
Optional 3D Secure verification
A rule can require 3D Secure for selected online payments. The card issuer controls the customer experience, which may include an SMS or email code, biometrics, or a bank redirect. A successfully authenticated fraud payment can shift fraud-chargeback liability to the issuer, subject to the documented conditions; non-fraud disputes can still remain the seller’s responsibility.
Controls that work across locations
Enroll selected business locations, apply one rule to several locations or tailor rules by location, turn on email alert notifications, and use Analytics to inspect alerts, blocks, disputes, affected dollar volume, and rule impact. That gives a multi-location operator a repeatable review process without maintaining separate fraud spreadsheets.
No separate risk-software subscription
Square’s U.S. software and online-payments pages present fraud protection and Risk Manager at no extra monthly fee. The cost to budget is the applicable Square payment-processing rate for the channel, plus any separate Square plan, hardware, or connected selling product the business chooses.

Explore the details

Product details

Plans, fees, and payment channels

Risk Manager is published by Square U.S. as a no-monthly-fee fraud-control tool; it is not a hardware purchase. Square’s standard published rates verified on 2026-10-27 are 3.3% + $0.30 per online or invoice card payment on Square Free, 2.9% + $0.30 on Square Plus, and 2.9% + $0.30 on Square Premium. Online API card payments are listed at 2.9% + $0.30 across those plans. Manually entered or card-on-file payments are 3.5% + $0.15, and Afterpay is 6% + $0.30. Square Pro is custom-priced for eligible sellers processing over $250,000 per year. Risk Manager itself is not available on Afterpay transactions.

Setup, permissions, and compatibility

An account owner or team member with Risk Manager permissions can enable the tool for one or more business locations from Square Dashboard and create rules. It is designed around online payments and works with Square online checkout flows; Square’s 3D Secure documentation also lists Risk Manager as offered free for API transactions, Square eGift Cards, Square Invoices, Square Appointments, Square Register, Square Virtual Terminal, buyer subscriptions, and third-party integrations, with integration-specific conditions. No dedicated Risk Manager hardware is required: the business can use Square online products, payment links, invoices, APIs, or compatible Square payment devices for the underlying sale. Seller-initiated in-person, manually entered, and mail/telephone transactions do not go through 3D Secure.

Meaningful limitations to plan around

Risk Manager reduces exposure; it does not guarantee a payment is safe and Square does not assume liability for accepted payments or disputes. The detailed setup article describes rules for online payments, while a newer Square fraud-prevention article describes additional visibility across in-person and online activity; do not promise that every in-person payment can be automatically blocked by Risk Manager rules. 3D Secure can lower conversion or increase issuer declines, and API card-on-file payments are not eligible for Square 3D Secure. AVS may be unavailable for cards from countries without AVS or when comparison data cannot be obtained. Allow List entries override Risk Manager declines, Block List settings, and Square standard payment protections, so access should be tightly governed.

Plan details

Pricing, fees & eligibility

Explore pricing

Square Payment Risk Manager is published at no additional monthly fee. The underlying Square account or selling product may have its own plan price, and payment processing is charged by channel and selected plan. Square Free is $0/month; Square Plus and Premium have published monthly subscriptions on Square’s plan pages; Square Pro is custom-priced for eligible sellers processing over $250,000/year. Verify the live U.S. plan page before publication.

Monthly software (USD)$0

Fees & eligibility

Online or invoice card payment
Square U.S. published standard rates verified 2026-10-27; plan and payment channel apply
3.3% + $0.30 per transaction on Square Free; 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction on Square Plus or Premium
Online API card payment
Square U.S. published Online API rate; verify current plan and API eligibility
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Manual entry or card on file
Square U.S. published rate for manually entered or saved-card payments
3.5% + $0.15 per transaction
Afterpay
Square U.S. published Afterpay rate; Risk Manager is not available on Afterpay transactions
6% + $0.30 per transaction

Requirements

A U.S. Square account with the relevant online payment, invoice, API, subscription, or other supported Square selling workflow enabled.
Account owner access or a team-member role with Risk Manager permissions to view and edit alerts, blocks, and rules.
Select the business location or locations to enroll; rules can be location-specific or shared across locations.
For 3D Secure rules, use a compatible online integration; seller-initiated in-person, manually entered, and mail/telephone transactions do not go through 3D Secure.
A separate hardware purchase is not required for Risk Manager; any hardware used for the underlying payment must meet the applicable Square device requirements.

All U.S. prices and processing rates were verified on 2026-10-27 and may change; confirm the live Square U.S. pricing and fees pages immediately before publication or purchase.

The $0 monthly figure applies to Risk Manager’s published add-on price, not to every Square plan, payment method, hardware device, or connected product.

Square states that sellers remain liable for accepted payments and disputes; Risk Manager is not a guarantee against fraud or chargebacks.

Risk Manager is not available on transactions processed via Afterpay.

3D Secure can add issuer verification, reduce completed transactions, or cause issuer declines; the card issuer controls the verification experience.

API card-on-file payments are not eligible for Square 3D Secure, and seller-initiated in-person, manually entered, and mail/telephone orders do not go through 3D Secure.

No hardware price is claimed because Risk Manager has no dedicated hardware requirement and hardware prices vary by device and bundle.

The industry recommendations describe plausible online-order or card-not-present use cases, not a Square promise that every listed industry receives identical fraud outcomes or feature access.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Does Square Payment Risk Manager have a monthly subscription fee?

Square’s U.S. pages publish Risk Manager and fraud protection at no additional monthly fee. You still pay the applicable Square processing rate for each payment and may separately pay for a Square plan, hardware, or other software product used to take the payment.

Can Risk Manager automatically stop a suspicious online order?

Yes. A rule can alert, decline, or require 3D Secure when conditions such as a high Square risk evaluation, AVS mismatch, invalid CVV, unusual amount, payment velocity, international card, buyer IP country, or shipping ZIP issue are met. Rule priority is 3D Secure first, then decline, then alert.

Does using 3D Secure remove all chargeback liability?

No. Square says an authenticated fraud payment can shift fraud-chargeback liability to the card-issuing bank under the documented conditions, but sellers can remain liable for non-fraud disputes and for payments generally. Extra verification can also reduce conversion or increase issuer declines.

Sources & product information

Information as of 2026-10-27. Product details date: 2026-10-27.

Ready when you are

Talk through the options for your business.

Contact Sales Create Free Account

Put a reviewable fraud policy around every online order

How it fits your business

What you can do

Rules that fit the way your business sells

A queue for decisions before fulfillment

Optional 3D Secure verification

Controls that work across locations

No separate risk-software subscription

Product details

Plans, fees, and payment channels

Setup, permissions, and compatibility

Meaningful limitations to plan around

Pricing, fees & eligibility

Fees & eligibility

Requirements

Frequently asked questions

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Healthcare

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Talk through the options for your business.