Use Card on File with Square for Retail App
Use Card on File with the Square for Retail app to make selling easy:
Securely add and store payment cards in your Customer Directory from the Square app or your online Square Dashboard.
Seamlessly charge your customers’ stored payment cards or Square Gift Cards.
Safely carry out your business with Square handling PCI compliance and authorisation on your behalf.
The processing fee for charging a card on file from your online dashboard or Square for Retail app is 2.2% per transaction.
Add Card on File
There are four ways to store a card on file:
From your in-app Customer Directory of your Square for Retail app
From your online Square Dashboard
Before a sale
After a sale
- Open the Square for Retail app.
- On the Checkout screen, tap the red Customers quick tile > select an existing customer from the list or tap Add Customer > Create Customer.
- On the customer profile, scroll to the bottom and tap Add Card.
Note: If you’re creating a new customer, first you’ll need to enter their personal information and tap Save. After the customer is saved in your Directory you’ll see the option to add a Card on File. - Swipe the card or manually key in the card information, including the expiry date. You’re required to enter the customer’s name and email address for receipts.
- Have your customer authorise the card on file for future purchases by entering their billing postcode. Your customer will receive an email confirming that you have saved a card on file for them.
- You’ll see Card Saved once it’s linked to the customer’s profile. If your business has multiple locations, you can use a saved payment card to process a transaction at any of the locations.
- From the Customers tab of your online Square Dashboard, click Directory.
- Select an existing customer or click Create Customer to add new details.
- Click the three-dotted actions menu > Add Card.
- Enter the card details, including the card number, expiry date, and CVV, as well as your customer’s email address.
- Click Confirm.
- Tap the drop-down arrow in the upper-right corner > Add Customer.
- Select an existing customer from the list or tap Create New Customer.
- Use steps 3-7 from the section above, “From your in-app Customer Directory,” to add and save the payment card information.
Note: You need your customer’s signed authorisation to save their card and protect you from chargeback liability. Use the provided template form by tapping on this form, download the file and manually send it to your customer via email or SMS. You can then securely store the signed copy to the customer profile for as long as the card is saved.
Once you’ve completed the payment, you can store the payment card information used in the sale using the steps below.
Note: You’re unable to save payment card information for sales completed with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.
- Tap the add card icon in the top-left corner of the All Done Screen.
- Select an existing customer or tap Create New Customer.
- Follow steps 3-7 under the “From your in-app Customer Directory” section.
Note: Phone numbers cannot be used for Card on File notifications.
Charge a Card on File with the Retail app
With a stored card on file, you can charge your customer with the Square for Retail app, all without ever using the physical card.
Add items to your cart, enter a custom amount, or open a previously Saved Cart.
Tap Add Customer > select an existing customer or create a new customer. Tap Add to Sale.
Tap Charge > Card on File > Confirm the card and last four digits (PAN) and tap Charge then tap Confirm.
Complete the payment flow.
Note: A processing fee of 2.2% per transaction is applied at the time of payment with a linked credit or debit card.
Unlink a Card on File
You can unlink and remove your customers’ cards on file from their profile in your Customer Directory under Edit Personal Information.
Your customers can also remove their own cards by following the link provided to them on all card on file notifications. Customers will receive notifications when their card is stored, when their email address is changed, and when a payment is made using a card on file. The link on these notifications will take them to their Card on File Dashboard, where they can view and remove the cards on file associated with your business.