Requirements for the Chip & Swipe card reader

Learn about the requirements you need to meet to use the Chip & Swipe card reader in your store.

Chip and Swipe card reader requirements

To use the Chip & Swipe Reader, you need to meet the following requirements:

• You need to use the Shopify POS app.
• You need to have Shopify Payments activated as your retail store's payment provider and test mode turned off.
• Your store needs to be based in the United States.
• Your physical retail locations need to be based in the United States.
• You need to sell in USD.
• Your store's currency needs to match the local currency of your physical store's location.

Note

To process a POS transaction in person using Shopify Payments and a Shopify card reader, the country and currency information must match that of your physical store's location. Refer to Country and currency compliance for selling in person.

Shopify POS app iOS and Android device compatibility requirements

The Shopify POS app is available for only iOS and Android devices. It's not available for laptop or desktop computers, or Amazon Fire tablets.

The Shopify POS app works with devices that meet the following requirements:

List of iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and POS Go, plus the required generations and operating systems, that work with the Shopify POS app.

Device	Description
iPad	Generation 5 or higher running iPadOS 15.1 or higher
iPad Air	Generation 2 or higher running iPadOS 15.1 or higher
iPad mini	Generation 4 or higher running iPadOS 15.1 or higher
iPad Pro	All iPad Pro models running iPadOS 15.1 or higher
iPhone	iPhone 7 or higher running iOS 15.1 or higher
POS Go	POS Go running the latest Shopify-provided software updates
Android	Phone or tablet running official Android version 10.0 or higher, with Google Play Services and Google Mobile Services activated

The Shopify POS app no longer supports iOS 14 or lower. With older versions of iOS, you can continue to use the app but you can no longer update it. To take advantage of bug fixes and new features, you need to update your device to iOS 15.1 or higher. If that isn't possible, then switch to using Shopify POS on another device that is running iOS 15.1 or higher.

Note

Some Shopify POS features, such as Tap to Pay, might require newer devices or newer operating system versions. Keeping all operating systems up-to-date is strongly encouraged to ensure the best security for your data.

The Shopify POS app doesn't support beta operating systems. For security, Shopify POS isn't supported on operating systems modified through "jailbreaking", "rooting", or other similar techniques, and requires a locked and unchanged bootloader.

You should only obtain the Shopify POS app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store directly.

iOS 15.1 permission requirements

If you update your device to iOS 15.1 or higher and use third-party Shopify apps, then you might need to activate Cross-Website tracking in your iOS settings. Cross-Website tracking lets third-party Shopify apps that you install in your Shopify admin stay connected in Shopify Inbox, Shopify Point of Sale, and the Shopify app.

To activate Cross-Website tracking, complete the following steps:

1. Open the Settings app on your device.
2. Tap Shopify, Shopify POS, or Shopify Inbox.
3. Activate Allow Cross-Website Tracking.