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Accept Payments with Square Terminal

Square Terminal

The powerful, portable terminal with no long-term contracts or hidden fees.

Once you’ve set up your Square Terminal, you can start accepting payments right away. Square Terminal is compatible with the Square Point of Sale, Square for Retail POS, Square for Restaurants POS and Square Appointments POS apps.

Accept Payments

  1. From the Checkout tab, enter a custom amount, add an item from your Item Library, or select from your Favourites grid.

  2. Tap Charge.

Tap (Apple Pay, Google Pay, or contactless device)
Ask your customer to hold a contactless device or card near the contactless symbol in the center of the screen to start the payment.

Insert (Chip credit cards)
Insert a chip card into the chip card slot and leave it in place until prompted for PIN entry. Have your customer enter their PIN, and remove the card when prompted by Terminal and the payment is complete. The front of the card with the chip on it should face up. Any chip card that is inserted requires PIN entry.

Swipe (magnetic stripe cards)
Swipe magnetic stripe cards through the magstripe reader on the right side of Square Terminal. The magnetic stripe must face inward.

Take an EMV payment with T2.

Customising Payment Settings

Square Terminal is built for versatility — you can run cards for your customer or have your customer drive the payment for contact-free. You can customise your checkout experience right on your Square Terminal:

  1. Tap ≡ More > Settings > Checkout > Payment types.

  2. Choose the best checkout option for your business.

  3. Arrange the main payment types or toggle off the less frequently used.

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Watch our YouTube video below to learn more:

Connect Square Terminal to Square Point of Sale

You can wirelessly connect your Square Terminal to a compatible iPad, tablet, or phone running Square Point of Sale to use as a separate customer display and payments device. You can also connect Square Terminal with the Square for Retail app on compatible iOS devices.

In seconds, you can turn Square Terminal into a dedicated customer display and checkout device. You can also:

  • Let customers check out anywhere: Keep your POS at the counter and use Square Terminal to let customers pay curbside or tableside.

  • Sell accurately and minimise errors: Show customers their itemised cart and total before they complete the transaction. 

  • Keep a safe distance: Minimise contact by building a cart via Square POS app or Square Retail app and having your customer complete the transaction on Square Terminal.

Learn how to connect Square Terminal for in-person payments.

Connect Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal

You can also connect your Square Terminal to a desktop computer or laptop so you never miss a sale— in-person or remotely. Be sure to access Virtual Terminal on a supported browser on your laptop or computer.

Learn how to connect Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal.

Additional Point of Sale Features

Square Terminal allows you to do a lot more than take payments. Learn more about what your device can do here.

Process Payments in Offline Mode 

With Offline Mode, you can accept card payments when your internet service is temporarily unavailable. Offline payments are processed automatically when you reconnect your device to the internet. Payments may be declined if not processed within 24 hours. Learn how to process payments in Offline Mode on your Square Terminal.

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