Tap to Pay on iPhone FAQ

Contactless cards have an EMV Contactless Indicator on the back or the front of the card.

The performance of contactless cards can vary based on the card design, such as the card material or the location of the antenna. As a result, some cards connect more easily than others.

Try the following to ensure a successful card read:

• Ask the customer to hold their contactless payment card horizontally over the contactless symbol for a few seconds.
• If the card still doesn’t read, have the customer centre the card chip directly over the notch on the device.
• If the contactless card remains unread without any feedback from your device, the card may have a damaged antenna or may not work with contactless payments.

When you accept the Tap to Pay on iPhone Terms and Conditions, your unique merchant ID, merchant category code and your business name are linked to Tap to Pay on iPhone.

Learn more about Apple’s privacy terms for Tap to Pay on iPhone.

Yes, you can change your business name in your online Square Dashboard.

To do so:

1. Go to the Account & Settings section of your Dashboard.
2. Select Edit next to Business Name.
3. Enter your new business name and choose Save.

The Tap to Pay on iPhone Merchant ID uniquely identifies your business as a merchant that is able to accept payments through Square. If you accept payments through multiple payment service providers, each provider will assign you a separate merchant ID.

Head to the Apple Business Register and sign in with your Apple ID. Confirm your business information to see your Tap to Pay on iPhone connection and your merchant IDs.

Yes, you can change your Apple ID connected to Tap to Pay on iPhone from your Square POS app.

To do so:

1. Tap ≡ More > Settings > Account > Tap to Pay on iPhone.
2. Tap Manage your Apple ID and select Use a Different Apple ID.
3. Enter the new Apple ID and password that you want to be linked for Tap to Pay on iPhone.
4. Once the Apple ID is updated, you’ll see an ‘Apple ID successfully changed’ message.

1. Follow the link in your Tap to Pay on iPhone welcome email to sign in to Apple Business Register.
2. Confirm your business information to see your Tap to Pay on iPhone connection and your merchant ID.
3. From the list of merchant IDs, select Remove and confirm the removal for each merchant account ID to unlink your Apple ID from Tap to Pay on iPhone.

When the merchant ID list is empty, your Apple ID is no longer linked to Tap to Pay on iPhone. To relink your Apple ID, enable Tap to Pay on iPhone through your Square POS app.

You can disable Tap to Pay on iPhone at any time in the Square app by navigating to ≡ More > Settings > Account > Tap to Pay on iPhone > toggle off Tap to Pay on iPhone.

This generic error message will show for a few reasons, including:

• You are logged in using a Device Code.
• Your Team Member doesn’t have the correct permission settings.
• Your internet connection is unstable.
• You have returned to the Square POS app after backgrounding the app or switching to another application.
• You have dismissed or backgrounded the Square POS app during the Apple ID linking step.

If your internet connection is stable and you are logged in as the Account Owner or a Team Member with the correct permission settings, force close and reopen your Square POS app. Make sure you complete the linking of your Apple ID without dismissing or backgrounding the app.

Yes. In iOS 16 or later, you can use Tap to Pay on iPhone to accept contactless payments that require customers to securely enter a PIN to confirm a payment.

From the PIN entry screen, tap Accessibility Options to turn on the accessibility mode for PIN entry.

When the accessibility mode is on, the device reads out loud the following instructions for PIN entry:

• Tap once for 1, tap twice for 2, and so on. Tap ten times for 0.
• Pause between taps for each digit. The device plays a sound to confirm entry for each digit.
• Swipe right with two fingers to confirm the PIN.
• Swipe left with two fingers to delete the last PIN digit entered.
• Swipe down with two fingers to cancel the payment.
• Swipe up with two fingers to read out loud the number of PIN digits entered.
• You can use the side buttons on your iPhone to adjust the volume as needed.

To turn off the accessibility mode, tap Turn Off Accessibility Options.

PIN entry times out after 5 minutes. The accessibility mode turns off automatically when the Tap to Pay on iPhone interface times out or is dismissed.

Yes, but only the Account Owner or a team member with the Administrator permission set will be able to enable and disable Tap to Pay on iPhone.

To allow your team members to enable and disable Tap to Pay on iPhone:

1. Go to the Team section in your Square Dashboard.
2. Select Permissions > Administrator.
3. Select Account & Settings and check the box next to Configure hardware settings.
4. Click Continue > Save.
5. Assign your Team Member the Administrator permission.

Note: Once the Account Owner enables Tap to Pay on iPhone, all Team Members under the same account with an eligible device will automatically be able to use Tap to Pay on iPhone. They will also have access to tutorials on how to use the feature within the app.

Learn more about Team Management.

You may notice the number on the payment is different from your customer’s physical payment card number. The reason behind this is that when a contactless payment is made (through Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay) a tokenised number is generated to serve as an ID for the payment. This provides additional security for Apple Pay and Google Pay customers when making payments both online and in person. To clarify, the actual card number isn’t used for the NFC payment itself but rather this generated payment token.

Learn more about Apple Pay security and privacy terms via Apple.

You will need an iPhone XS or newer and the phone must be running iOS 16.4 or later to use Tap to Pay on iPhone. Tap to Pay is not currently available on iPad.

Make sure your Square Point of Sale app is updated to the latest version.

Tap to Pay on iPhone is not supported with the following devices:

• iPhone
• iPhone 2G
• iPhone 3G, 3GS
• iPhone 4, 4S
• iPhone 5, 5C, 5S
• iPhone 6, 6S
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 8
• iPhone X

Yes! Learn how to get started with Tap to Pay on Android.