RESEARCH · CONSUMER BANKING

Square's Conversion Scorecard

Square scored an 81.2 / 100 for customer conversion on its business bank account application.

Why SOLO Scores

SOLO works with 100s of fintech programs to optimize the unit economics and customer conversion of their data collection processes on behalf of their sponsor banks. This research provides a baseline for the impacts of data reusability through the SOLO network.

Where Square Ranked

See where Square landed in the review and rankings of the Conversion Scorecard for Square Business Bank Accounts.

View on Youtube ↗

What’s behind the score.

Square runs one of the leanest flows scored: 20 manual fields, no document uploads, no account connections, a sub-5-minute completion, and a near-instant decision. The score is held back almost entirely by outcome transparency — data-use terms live in buried links.

manual fields across 8 screens — the only drag on an otherwise lean flow
User Effort
from first screen to completion, with zero follow-up tasks after
Application time
Instant
near-instant decision with immediate next steps
Decision speed
on data-usage understanding and privacy controls — terms buried in links
Outcome transparency

Methodology

SOLO reviewed the application across four primary categories: User Effort, Application Time, Decision Speed, and Outcome Transparency. Each sub-metric is scored 1–5 against a fixed rubric.

Full Scorecard

17 SUB-METRICS

Sub-metric · What's measured

Total number of screens

How many times the user clicks to the next screen

Score

1 / 5

Why this score — And not more

8 total screens — past the 5+ screen floor. A 5 is a single screen.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Total number of fields

Total fields / data points supplied

Score

2 / 5

Why this score — And not more

20 manual fields — inside the 20–24 band, one field from the next band. Best-in-class is ≤7.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Manual data entry

Information the user must type in manually, excluding uploads and account connections

Score

3 / 5

Why this score — And not more

Remembered information — like phone number — carries across the application, with dropdown and validation assists. A 4 requires most data pulled automatically.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Document / file uploads

Level of document collection required

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

No document upload required.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Account connections

Level of account connections required or optional, and how they improve the experience

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

No required account connections.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Repeated actions

Number of times a user completes redundant work

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

The app remembered phone and business name, and never asked for a document to verify what was already provided.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Sensitivity of information required

How much trust is required of the user, and whether it is merited

Score

3 / 5

Why this score — And not more

Minimal sensitive information required — but minimal explanation of why it's needed. A 4 stages asks with clear rationale and reassurance.

Sub-metric · What's measured

User self-sufficiency

Can the user complete the application on their own

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

Fully self-sufficient end-to-end — no human review or hand-off.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Total number of follow-up actions required

All tasks completed within the same application flow — zero follow-ups.

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

Zero follow-up tasks — submission is complete and decisionable.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Error recovery & resilience

The text with the application link made resuming very quick and easy.

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

No cross-device recovery needed — the flow completes in one sitting.

User effort. Full Conversion Scorecard methodology by category and sub-metric.
Sub-metric · What's measured	Score	Why this score — And not more
Total number of screens How many times the user clicks to the next screen	1 / 5	8 total screens — past the 5+ screen floor. A 5 is a single screen.
Total number of fields Total fields / data points supplied	2 / 5	20 manual fields — inside the 20–24 band, one field from the next band. Best-in-class is ≤7.
Manual data entry Information the user must type in manually, excluding uploads and account connections	3 / 5	Remembered information — like phone number — carries across the application, with dropdown and validation assists. A 4 requires most data pulled automatically.
Document / file uploads Level of document collection required	5 / 5 · ceiling	No document upload required.
Account connections Level of account connections required or optional, and how they improve the experience	5 / 5 · ceiling	No required account connections.
Repeated actions Number of times a user completes redundant work	5 / 5 · ceiling	The app remembered phone and business name, and never asked for a document to verify what was already provided.
Sensitivity of information required How much trust is required of the user, and whether it is merited	3 / 5	Minimal sensitive information required — but minimal explanation of why it's needed. A 4 stages asks with clear rationale and reassurance.
User self-sufficiency Can the user complete the application on their own	5 / 5 · ceiling	Fully self-sufficient end-to-end — no human review or hand-off.
Total number of follow-up actions required All tasks completed within the same application flow — zero follow-ups.	5 / 5 · ceiling	Zero follow-up tasks — submission is complete and decisionable.
Error recovery & resilience The text with the application link made resuming very quick and easy.	5 / 5 · ceiling	No cross-device recovery needed — the flow completes in one sitting.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Time from first screen to completion screen

Stopwatch “start” → “complete”

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

Application completed within 5 minutes — under the ≤7 minute ceiling.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Time to complete follow-up requests

Time it takes the user to complete assigned follow-up tasks

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

No application follow-ups required.

Application time. Full Conversion Scorecard methodology by category and sub-metric.
Sub-metric · What's measured	Score	Why this score — And not more
Time from first screen to completion screen Stopwatch “start” → “complete”	5 / 5 · ceiling	Application completed within 5 minutes — under the ≤7 minute ceiling.
Time to complete follow-up requests Time it takes the user to complete assigned follow-up tasks	5 / 5 · ceiling	No application follow-ups required.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Time to final decision, from application start

Stopwatch “start” → account open / decision made

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

Near-instant decision with immediate next steps.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Time between communications

Responsiveness for additional tasks needed to move the application forward

Score

5 / 5 · ceiling

Why this score — And not more

No communications needed — the decision arrived before any update was required.

Decision speed. Full Conversion Scorecard methodology by category and sub-metric.
Sub-metric · What's measured	Score	Why this score — And not more
Time to final decision, from application start Stopwatch “start” → account open / decision made	5 / 5 · ceiling	Near-instant decision with immediate next steps.
Time between communications Responsiveness for additional tasks needed to move the application forward	5 / 5 · ceiling	No communications needed — the decision arrived before any update was required.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Clarity of approval

Is a “why” stated for the outcome

Score

3 / 5

Why this score — And not more

User is clear on the decision and the information used to make it. A 4 adds specific reason categories and what could change the outcome.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Ongoing data usage understanding

Do I know how my data is used on an ongoing basis

Score

1 / 5

Why this score — And not more

Terms and conditions buried in links — no plain-language view of ongoing data use.

Sub-metric · What's measured

Data privacy controls

Can I control permissions over who sees what

Score

1 / 5

Why this score — And not more

Terms and conditions buried in links — no meaningful controls over data sharing or permissions.

Outcome transparency. Full Conversion Scorecard methodology by category and sub-metric.
Sub-metric · What's measured	Score	Why this score — And not more
Clarity of approval Is a “why” stated for the outcome	3 / 5	User is clear on the decision and the information used to make it. A 4 adds specific reason categories and what could change the outcome.
Ongoing data usage understanding Do I know how my data is used on an ongoing basis	1 / 5	Terms and conditions buried in links — no plain-language view of ongoing data use.
Data privacy controls Can I control permissions over who sees what	1 / 5	Terms and conditions buried in links — no meaningful controls over data sharing or permissions.

Opportunity

Highlights

Wins, losses, and what the network would fix.

Category: User effort
Wins: No documents, no account connections, remembered inputs across screens, full self-sufficiency, and zero follow-up tasks.
Losses: 8 screens and 20 manual fields keep the two volume sub-metrics in the bottom bands; sensitive asks come with minimal explanation.
Opportunities: A verified network profile would collapse the 20 fields to confirm-and-submit and attach clear rationale to every sensitive ask.

Category: Application time
Wins: Sub-5-minute completion with zero follow-up tasks.
Losses: None — both sub-metrics at the ceiling.
Opportunities: Already best-in-class — the network preserves this while removing effort.

Category: Decision speed
Wins: Near-instant decision with immediate next steps.
Losses: None — both sub-metrics at the ceiling.
Opportunities: Already best-in-class — the network preserves this.

Category: Outcome transparency
Wins: Clear decision and clarity on the information used to make it.
Losses: Data-use terms buried in links — no ongoing visibility and no permission controls.
Opportunities: A persistent, plain-language data-use view with granular, revocable permissions would lift transparency to best-in-class.

Opportunity highlights by category: wins, losses, and what the network would fix.
Category	Wins	Losses	Opportunities
User effort	No documents, no account connections, remembered inputs across screens, full self-sufficiency, and zero follow-up tasks.	8 screens and 20 manual fields keep the two volume sub-metrics in the bottom bands; sensitive asks come with minimal explanation.	A verified network profile would collapse the 20 fields to confirm-and-submit and attach clear rationale to every sensitive ask.
Application time	Sub-5-minute completion with zero follow-up tasks.	None — both sub-metrics at the ceiling.	Already best-in-class — the network preserves this while removing effort.
Decision speed	Near-instant decision with immediate next steps.	None — both sub-metrics at the ceiling.	Already best-in-class — the network preserves this.
Outcome transparency	Clear decision and clarity on the information used to make it.	Data-use terms buried in links — no ongoing visibility and no permission controls.	A persistent, plain-language data-use view with granular, revocable permissions would lift transparency to best-in-class.

Square's Conversion Scorecard

Why SOLO Scores

Where Square Ranked

What’s behind the score.

Methodology

Opportunity

Highlights

Replace repetitive workflows with reusable network memory.

Replace repetitive workflows with reusable network memory.