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Accept payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android

You can use Tap to Pay on iPhone or Tap to Pay on Android to accept contactless credit cards or debit cards and all digital wallets without the need for payment hardware. To accept swipe or PIN payments, switch to another paired card reader. Tap to Pay on iPhone and Tap to Pay on Android comes included with every Shopify plan and transactions are subject to your in-person credit card rates from Shopify Payments.

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Requirements for using Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android

iPhone

To use Tap to Pay on iPhone, you need to meet the following requirements:

  • Your store needs to be based in the United States.
  • You need to have Shopify Payments activated as your store's payment provider.
  • You need to have the Point of Sale sales channel installed in your Shopify admin.
  • You need to have the Shopify POS app installed on your iPhone.
  • You need to have an internet connection.
  • You need to have an iPhone XS or newer that's running iOS 16.7 or higher.
  • You need to meet all of the Device requirements for Shopify POS hardware for iPhone.
Android

To use Tap to Pay on Android, you need to meet the following requirements:

  • Your store needs to be based in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, or the United Kingdom.
  • You need to have Shopify Payments activated as your store's payment provider.
  • You need to have the Point of Sale sales channel installed in your Shopify admin.
  • You need to use the Shopify POS app installed on your Android device.
  • Your POS app needs to be on 9.19.0 or higher version.
  • You need to have an internet connection.
  • Your Android device needs to be on the Android 11 or higher version.
  • Your Android device needs to have the NFC (Near Field Communication) setting turned on.
  • You need to meet all of the Device requirements for Shopify POS hardware for Android.

Activate Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android for Shopify POS

If you use Tap to Pay on iPhone, then you must have the Manage payment settings permission to activate Tap to Pay on iPhone for your store. If you use Tap to Pay on Android, then you don't need the Manage payment settings permission to activate Tap to Pay on Android.

The first time you set up Tap to Pay on iPhone, you need to accept Apple's terms of service with your Apple ID. The Apple ID must belong to you or your business. The Apple ID can be changed later.

After you complete this first activation, Tap to Pay on iPhone is available to pair on any iPhone logged into Shopify POS under your store's account, at any of your locations.

Steps:

iPhone
  1. From the Shopify POS, tap ≡ > Settings > Set up hardware.
  2. Select Tap to Pay on iPhone, and then tap Next.
  3. Verify the Apple ID and select your Apple ID:
    1. Tap Continue with This Apple ID to use your current Apple ID or tap Use a Different Apple ID to select a different Apple ID.
    2. Accept Apple's terms of service.
  4. Tap Done.

Tap to Pay on iPhone is activated for your store and your iPhone is ready to accept payments.

Android
  1. From the Shopify POS, tap ≡ > Settings > Set up hardware.
  2. Select Tap to Pay on Android, and then tap Next.
  3. Tap Done.

Tap to Pay on Android is activated for your store and your Android is ready to accept payments.

Pair Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android on additional devices

After you activate Tap to Pay on iPhone, additional iPhones logged into your Shopify POS account can pair with Tap to Pay on iPhone without having to enter an Apple ID or accept the terms of service.

You can activate Tap to Pay on Android on additional devices without needing to configure it on one device first.

Steps:

iPhone
  1. From Shopify POS, tap ≡ > Settings > Set up hardware.
  2. Select Tap to Pay on iPhone, and then tap Next.
  3. Tap Done.
Android
  1. From Shopify POS, tap ≡ > Settings > Set up hardware.
  2. Select Tap to Pay on Android, and then tap Next.
  3. Tap Done.

Accept payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android

You can accept many types of contactless payment methods with Tap to Pay on iPhone and Tap to Pay on Android. For swipe or PIN payments, you need to have an additional card reader paired. Make sure you choose the correct card reader for your customer's payment method at checkout. Use Tap to Pay on iPhone and Tap to Pay on Android for contactless payment and your card reader for payments that require contact.

Steps:

iPhone
  1. From the Cart screen, tap Checkout.
  2. From the Select payment option screen, tap Tap to Pay on iPhone.
  3. The Tap to Pay on iPhone interface displays indicating where your customer should hold their tap-activated credit/debit card or their mobile wallet on their smartphone or smartwatch.
  4. Ask the customer to hold their contactless payment method over the tap area until the animation indicates the payment has been completed and you hear the Tap to Pay on iPhone success sound.
  5. Select whether to provide the customer with a receipt, and then tap Done to return to the Shopify POS products screen.
Android
  1. From the Cart screen, tap Checkout.
  2. From the Select payment option screen, tap Tap to Pay on Android.
  3. The Tap to Pay on Android interface displays indicating where your customer should hold their tap-activated credit/debit card or their mobile wallet on their smartphone or smartwatch.
  4. Ask the customer to hold their contactless payment method behind the tap area until the animation indicates the payment has been completed and you hear the Tap to Pay on Android success sound.
  5. Select whether to provide the customer with a receipt, and then tap Done to return to the Shopify POS products screen.

Unpair Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android from your POS devices

To remove Tap to Pay on iPhone or Tap to Pay on Android as an available card reader at checkout, you can unpair it. Unpairing Tap to Pay on iPhone or Tap to Pay on Android doesn't deactivate it for the store.

Steps:

iPhone
  1. From Shopify POS, tap ≡ > Connectivity.
  2. Tap Tap to Pay on iPhone.
  3. Tap Forget device.
Android
  1. From Shopify POS, tap ≡ > Connectivity.
  2. Tap Tap to Pay on Android.
  3. Tap Forget device.

Disconnect Tap to Pay on iPhone or change your Apple ID

If you want to disconnect Tap to Pay on iPhone or change the Apple ID associated with your store, then you can refer to the Tap to Pay on iPhone frequently asked questions.

Changes made to the Apple Business Register can take up to 15 minutes to take effect. If you disconnect your store, then you can still process transactions if Tap to Pay on iPhone was previously paired. However, after a store is disconnected, only staff with the Manage payment settings permission can pair and connect to Tap to Pay on iPhone.

Troubleshoot Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android

If Tap to Pay on iPhone or Tap to Pay on Android isn't working, then try the following troubleshooting steps:

  1. Verify that you meet the requirements to use Tap to Pay on iPhone or Tap to Pay on Android.
  2. Verify that Tap to Pay on iPhone is activated for the store. You don't need to activate Tap to Pay on Android.
  3. Verify that you have an internet connection. Shopify POS needs to connect to the internet through Wi-Fi or your device's cellular data to process payments. If you can't connect to the internet, then you need to use a different payment type while you're offline.
  4. Check your firewall settings.
  5. Make sure that your device has Bluetooth activated and that Shopify POS has the necessary permissions to access the device's Bluetooth.
  6. Make sure that your device has location services turned on and that the Shopify POS app has the necessary permissions to access your device's location.
  7. To connect to Tap to Pay on iPhone or Tap to Pay on Android, Shopify Payments test mode needs to be turned off.
  8. In the Shopify POS hardware settings, make sure that Tap to Pay on iPhone or Tap to Pay on Android is listed as a connected device. If it isn't connected, then pair Tap to Pay on iPhone or pair Tap to Pay on Android to your device.

If an iPhone or Android device has had unauthorized modifications, then you might not be able to use Tap to Pay on iPhone or Tap to Pay on Android.

If a message displays that Tap to Pay on iPhone is unavailable until a given time, then you must wait until it's available to use the feature. If the error persists after that date and time, then you need to restore your iPhone to the factory settings.

If your card reader's still not working, then from your Shopify POS app, send a report to Shopify Support by tapping ≡ > Support > Report a bug. Support will contact you after the report has been submitted.

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