Requirements and setup for using the Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader

Before setting up the Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader, it's crucial to ensure that all requirements are met to facilitate a smooth operation. On this page, you can find details on the prerequisites and supported devices for using the Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader.

Note

The Tap & Chip Card Reader is exclusively available in the United States. For businesses located outside of the United States, review the supported card readers for Shopify POS by region help article to find a card reader that's compatible and available for your specific region.

Tap & Chip Card Reader requirements

To connect the Tap & Chip Card Reader, you need to meet the following requirements:

• Your store needs to be based in the United States.
• Your retail store's payment provider needs to be Shopify Payments and test mode is turned off.
• Your physical retail locations need to be based in the United States.
• You need to sell in USD.
• You need to use the Shopify POS app.
• Location services needs to be activated in your devices settings.

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.

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 or higher
iPad Air	Generation 2 or higher running iPadOS 15 or higher
iPad mini	Generation 4 or higher running iPadOS 15 or higher
iPad Pro	All iPad Pro models running iPadOS 15 or higher
iPhone	iPhone 7 or higher running iOS 15 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 enabled

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 or higher. If that isn't possible, then switch to using Shopify POS on another device that is running iOS 15 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 permission requirements

If you update your device to iOS 15 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.