Help Center

Order and set up a card reader

A card reader lets you take tap, chip and swipe payments in person at your register. You order readers and register them from the Equipment tab.

Before you start

You need a connected payment account. Without one, the Equipment tab asks you to connect it first. See Set up payments.

Order a reader

1. Open Tools in the sidebar and choose Finance.
2. Open the Equipment tab. It has three views: Shop, Orders and Your Readers.
3. In Shop, look through the Card Readers. There are countertop readers and portable ones, each with a short description. Accessories such as a dock or a case are listed below.
4. Click Order on the one you want and complete the order.

Your order then appears under Orders with a status:

• Received: we have your order.
• Ordered: the reader has been ordered for you.
• Delivered: it has arrived.

Any note about the order, such as tracking details, is shown with it.

Register a reader

When the reader arrives, turn it on and follow its setup until it shows a registration code. This is a short phrase of three words.

1. On the Equipment tab, open Your Readers.
2. Click Register Reader.
3. Enter the Registration Code from the reader's screen.
4. Give it a Label that says where it lives, such as "Front Counter".
5. For your first reader, enter the business address where it will be used. This is needed for tax and compliance. Later readers reuse the same address.
6. Save. You see "Reader registered".

The reader now appears in Your Readers. You can remove a reader from the same list.

Turn on card payments at the register

1. Open the Register tab.
2. Under Card Readers, turn on Enable card reader.
3. Click Save Settings.

If you have not added the register page yet, see Add a point of sale register to your app.

Take a card payment

At the register, add the items and choose Card. The sale goes to the reader. The customer picks a tip if tipping is on, then taps, inserts or swipes. The register shows when the payment has gone through.

If something goes wrong:

• Click Cancel to return the reader to its idle screen, then Send to reader again.
• If the card is declined, the register says the payment did not go through. Try again or take cash.

Tips on the reader

If tipping is on, the reader shows your preset tip amounts before the customer pays. Set the presets under Tipping on the Register tab. If saving the settings reports that the card reader was not updated, the reader keeps its previous tip settings until you save again.

Fees

Card reader payments carry the same transaction fee as your other card payments. See Payment fees.