Accept payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android

Note

Tap to Pay on Android is in Early Access and is available only to certain merchants.

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.

Requirements for using Tap to Pay on iPhone or 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:

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:

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:

Tip

For contactless credit or debit cards, hold the card horizontally across the tap area.

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:

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.