How to take card payments on your iPhone without a card reader

You do not need a card reader to take a card. Your iPhone can do it. The feature is called Tap to Pay on iPhone, and it turns the phone itself into the reader. Your customer holds their card, phone or watch near the top of your iPhone, and the payment goes through.

What you need

• An iPhone XS or newer, with a current version of iOS.
• An app that supports Tap to Pay on iPhone, such as Pavo.
• A bank account for your payouts.

That is the whole list. Nothing to buy, nothing to charge, nothing to pair over Bluetooth.

The steps in Pavo

1. Download Pavo from the App Store and sign up with your phone number.
2. Type the amount.
3. Tap Charge. The first time, Pavo asks a few questions so Stripe can confirm who you are and where to send your money.
4. Your customer holds their card, phone or watch to the top of your iPhone.
5. You see Paid, the fee, and what you get. You can email a receipt.

What it costs

On Pavo’s Free plan a tap costs 2.9% + 15¢, with card processing included. There is no monthly fee. On a $48.00 sale the fee is $1.54 and you get $46.46. Pavo shows those two numbers under the amount before you charge, every time.

Standard payouts to your bank have no fee. The first one usually takes about a week. After that, payouts take two business days in the United States.

What your customer needs

A contactless card, or a phone or watch with a card in its wallet. They do not need an app, an account or a sign-in. Most cards issued in the last few years are contactless. Look for the small wave symbol on the card.

When a tap will not work

Some older cards have no contactless chip. And sometimes your customer is not standing in front of you. For both cases, send a pay link or show a QR code. They pay in their browser, and you still need no reader.

Is it safe?

Card details are handled by Stripe and are not stored by Pavo or on your iPhone. The same contactless technology runs the readers in shops.

Before your first real sale

Open the app at home first and look around, so the screens are familiar before a customer is waiting. Then, on your first sale, three things help:

• Hold still for a second. The card goes near the top edge of the iPhone and stays there until the phone confirms.
• A case is fine. Most phone cases do not get in the way. A thick metal one can.
• You need a connection. Mobile data or Wi-Fi, either works.

After the sale

Every payment is listed in Pavo with the amount, the fee and what you got. You can email your customer a receipt, and you can refund a sale from the app, all of it or part of it. Pavo does not return its fee when you refund a sale. If you want to check your week on a bigger screen, sign in at getpavo.app on any computer and the same sales are there.

What you can stop carrying

No reader to keep charged. No cable. No spare paper rolls. If you have your phone, you can take a card, at a customer’s door, in a driveway or at a market table.