New pilot in funding combines financial support with expert mentorship, as 91% of sellers who take out a Square Loan report business growth
DISTRIBUTED-WORK-MODEL/SAN FRANCISCO, August 22, 2025 -- Today, Square announced the Cornerstone Grant Program to help local businesses access growth capital and provide them with new resources to expertly deploy it. Drawing insights from more than $22 billion in lending1 experience along with direct seller relationships, the pilot grant program will provide $10,000 grants paired with comprehensive business support to selected Square sellers.
The new initiative, a partnership between Square Financial Services, Inc. and Square Banking, builds on Square's unique understanding of small business financing needs and helps address a critical gap that sellers across the country are all too familiar with: small business capital needs are often unmet by traditional financial institutions.
In fact, more than 50% of Square Loans2 in 2024 were disbursed in states with the lowest small business loan approval rates3. Additionally, Square and Square Financial Services, Inc. have consistently reached entrepreneurs often overlooked by traditional lenders – with approximately 57% of self-reported Square Loan recipients representing women-owned businesses, far above the roughly 20% share for small business lenders overall; 34% of Square Loans went to minority-owned businesses, up from around 27% in early 2023 and highlighting increased minority access to capital; and 15% of Square Loans go to Black or African American-owned businesses, more than twice the rate of SBA 7a loans. In addition, Square Loans approves 95% of applications — compared to just 13% at traditional banks.4
Selected grant recipients will receive 12 months of continued support:
"Access to fair financing is one of the top challenges that entrepreneurs contend with, which is why Square’s first entry into banking services began with business loans," explained Adam Turnbull, Head of Banking at Square, "With over a decade of small business lending experience, we've seen that a well-timed $10,000 investment, our average loan size, can be transformative for a small business – and serves as a stark contrast to the six-figure loans traditional lenders focus on. Through these grants, we’re combining right-sized capital with expert guidance, giving sellers a blueprint for sustainable growth that will help their business and communities thrive."
While the average SBA loan was $443,097 in 2024, the success and popularity of Square Loans shows that many small businesses benefit from significantly smaller amounts – and still achieve meaningful growth. In fact, 70% of Square Loans are used for business expansion through equipment purchases, location expansions, or marketing initiatives.
The Cornerstone Grant program is the latest extension of Square Banking, a suite of financial products purpose built to help small businesses easily manage their cash flow and get more out of their banking services. Through Square Checking, Square Savings, and Square Loans, Square Banking is helping sellers by giving them instant access to their daily card sales; simplifying their ability to put away funds for savings goals with automated budgeting tools; and increasing access to credit through proactive loan offers that are uniquely tailored to their business.
Small businesses can apply for the grant program starting today through the website. Recipients will be announced in November this year.
About Square
Square makes commerce and financial services easy and accessible with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions. Square offers purpose-built software to run complex restaurant, retail, and professional services operations, versatile e-commerce tools, embedded financial services and banking products, buy now, pay later functionality through Afterpay, staff management and payroll capabilities, and much more — all of which work together to save sellers time and effort. Millions of sellers across the globe trust Square to power their business and help them thrive in the economy. For more information, visit www.squareup.com.
About Square Financial Services, Inc.
Square Financial Services, Inc. is a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank and wholly-owned subsidiary of Block, Inc. Member FDIC.
Square Checking is provided by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000. Funds generated through Square’s payment processing services are generally available in the Square checking account balance immediately after a payment is processed. Fund availability times may vary due to technical issues.
ACH transfer fund availability: Instant availability does not apply to funds added to the Square Checking account via ACH transfer. ACH credit transfers to your account may take 1–2 business days.All loans and Savings accounts are issued by Square Financial Services, Inc., a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank. Member FDIC. Actual fee depends upon payment card processing history, loan amount and other eligibility factors. A minimum payment of 1/18th of the initial loan balance is required every 60 days and full loan repayment is required within 18 months. Loan eligibility is not guaranteed. All loans are subject to credit approval.
Savings accounts are provided by Square Financial Services, Inc. Member FDIC. Accrue annual percentage yield (APY) of 1.00% per folder on folder balances over $10. APY subject to change, current as of 8/22/2025. No minimum deposit is required to open an account. Accounts will not be charged monthly fees. Accounts are FDIC-insured up to $2,500,000. Pending balances are not subject to FDIC insurance.
Sutton Bank, Member FDIC has no involvement in the Cornerstone Grant Program
1 Source: Block Credit White Paper
2 Source: Square internal data
3 Source: US Small Business Association
4 Source: Square internal data, 2024; US Chamber of Commerce, 2024
New pilot in funding combines financial support with expert mentorship, as 91% of sellers who take out a Square Loan report business growth
DISTRIBUTED-WORK-MODEL/SAN FRANCISCO, August 22, 2025 -- Today, Square announced the Cornerstone Grant Program to help local businesses access growth capital and provide them with new resources to expertly deploy it. Drawing insights from more than $22 billion in lending1 experience along with direct seller relationships, the pilot grant program will provide $10,000 grants paired with comprehensive business support to selected Square sellers.
The new initiative, a partnership between Square Financial Services, Inc. and Square Banking, builds on Square's unique understanding of small business financing needs and helps address a critical gap that sellers across the country are all too familiar with: small business capital needs are often unmet by traditional financial institutions.
In fact, more than 50% of Square Loans2 in 2024 were disbursed in states with the lowest small business loan approval rates3. Additionally, Square and Square Financial Services, Inc. have consistently reached entrepreneurs often overlooked by traditional lenders – with approximately 57% of self-reported Square Loan recipients representing women-owned businesses, far above the roughly 20% share for small business lenders overall; 34% of Square Loans went to minority-owned businesses, up from around 27% in early 2023 and highlighting increased minority access to capital; and 15% of Square Loans go to Black or African American-owned businesses, more than twice the rate of SBA 7a loans. In addition, Square Loans approves 95% of applications — compared to just 13% at traditional banks.4
Selected grant recipients will receive 12 months of continued support:
"Access to fair financing is one of the top challenges that entrepreneurs contend with, which is why Square’s first entry into banking services began with business loans," explained Adam Turnbull, Head of Banking at Square, "With over a decade of small business lending experience, we've seen that a well-timed $10,000 investment, our average loan size, can be transformative for a small business – and serves as a stark contrast to the six-figure loans traditional lenders focus on. Through these grants, we’re combining right-sized capital with expert guidance, giving sellers a blueprint for sustainable growth that will help their business and communities thrive."
While the average SBA loan was $443,097 in 2024, the success and popularity of Square Loans shows that many small businesses benefit from significantly smaller amounts – and still achieve meaningful growth. In fact, 70% of Square Loans are used for business expansion through equipment purchases, location expansions, or marketing initiatives.
The Cornerstone Grant program is the latest extension of Square Banking, a suite of financial products purpose built to help small businesses easily manage their cash flow and get more out of their banking services. Through Square Checking, Square Savings, and Square Loans, Square Banking is helping sellers by giving them instant access to their daily card sales; simplifying their ability to put away funds for savings goals with automated budgeting tools; and increasing access to credit through proactive loan offers that are uniquely tailored to their business.
Small businesses can apply for the grant program starting today through the website. Recipients will be announced in November this year.
About Square
Square makes commerce and financial services easy and accessible with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions. Square offers purpose-built software to run complex restaurant, retail, and professional services operations, versatile e-commerce tools, embedded financial services and banking products, buy now, pay later functionality through Afterpay, staff management and payroll capabilities, and much more — all of which work together to save sellers time and effort. Millions of sellers across the globe trust Square to power their business and help them thrive in the economy. For more information, visit www.squareup.com.
About Square Financial Services, Inc.
Square Financial Services, Inc. is a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank and wholly-owned subsidiary of Block, Inc. Member FDIC.
Square Checking is provided by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000. Funds generated through Square’s payment processing services are generally available in the Square checking account balance immediately after a payment is processed. Fund availability times may vary due to technical issues.
ACH transfer fund availability: Instant availability does not apply to funds added to the Square Checking account via ACH transfer. ACH credit transfers to your account may take 1–2 business days.All loans and Savings accounts are issued by Square Financial Services, Inc., a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank. Member FDIC. Actual fee depends upon payment card processing history, loan amount and other eligibility factors. A minimum payment of 1/18th of the initial loan balance is required every 60 days and full loan repayment is required within 18 months. Loan eligibility is not guaranteed. All loans are subject to credit approval.
Savings accounts are provided by Square Financial Services, Inc. Member FDIC. Accrue annual percentage yield (APY) of 1.00% per folder on folder balances over $10. APY subject to change, current as of 8/22/2025. No minimum deposit is required to open an account. Accounts will not be charged monthly fees. Accounts are FDIC-insured up to $2,500,000. Pending balances are not subject to FDIC insurance.
Sutton Bank, Member FDIC has no involvement in the Cornerstone Grant Program
1 Source: Block Credit White Paper
2 Source: Square internal data
3 Source: US Small Business Association
4 Source: Square internal data, 2024; US Chamber of Commerce, 2024