Start Taking Payments With an iPad Credit Card Reader

Looking to ditch the cords and clunky POS system for a sleek in-person payments solution that grants more mobility, ease and cost savings?

If you’re a business owner opening your first physical location, you will need a way to take in-person payments from your customers. You may not want to spend tons of money on POS equipment, and you also want to be able to move your system around the store anytime you’d like.

Read on to see how you can pair an iPad with portable credit card reader or use it solo for the best solution for your business.

What is an iPad credit card reader?

An iPad credit card reader pairs the high functionality of an iPad, a payment processing app and a mobile credit card reader to let you take contactless payments with ease. Best suited for small businesses that are looking to accept in-person payments at their stores, the iPad and credit card reader combo is an affordable setup that allows merchants to start accepting payments right away.

This style of point of sale (POS) system can be taken anywhere with a wifi signal and helps ring up customers the way they have come to expect without being overly complicated.

Advantages of pairing a card reader with your iPad

Using a mobile card reader with your iPad has many advantages over your traditional POS system that's bolted down on your counter. The portability alone makes it a suitable solution for businesses to swipe credit cards not only at the counter but anywhere in the store. Here are some advantages of iPad credit card processing

• Ultimate lightweight combo
• Requires minimal equipment
• Portable - can be taken anywhere in store
• Accept credit card payments without worrying about wires
• Runs on wifi or a hotspot connection

Who would benefit from using an iPad POS system?

If your business has a need to accept in-person credit payments, you are likely looking into POS equipment options for your business. Whether you're launching a retail location or aiming to save on costs, an iPad-based POS system over a traditional bank's POS might be the better solution for you – especially if you're already using an iPad for your business needs.

The power combo of an iPad with a credit card reader offers merchants a low-cost way to get their business location setup to accept payments quickly without having to invest in too much POS equipment.

Why use an iPad to take payments?

As a small business, chances are you already own an iPad. Even if it's not the shiniest top-of-the-line model, you can still utilize it to access your payment app and synchronize your payments with a card reader. As long as your iPad is running iPadOS 13.0 and higher, you should have no issues taking advantage of the Helcim Payments app and the Helcim credit card reader to accept in-person debit and credit card payments.

The cost of the iPad credit card reader system

With many payment processors, fully-fledged POS systems with built-in payment processing and credit card readers can come at hefty prices, and often include monthly fees and hardware costs. If you already own an iPad, there is no extra cost to start utilizing the Helcim Payments app. You can immediately accept credit cards within the app itself by manually entering the credit card details of customers when they make a purchase.

However, if your customers are paying in-person they may expect a more traditional looking countertop POS system. To save cost, a great option is to pair an iPad with a dedicated card reader for a mobile pos system that can easily and quickly take contactless payments. A card reader saves you the hassle of keying in credit card numbers for every transaction manually, plus card present transactions come at a lower processing fee, saving you time and money.

How the Helcim Payments app lets you take payments on the iPad

Built for the mobile checkout experience, the app has all the features you need with none of the extra fees. Alongside the Helcim credit card reader, the iPad makes for the best portable way to accept in-person payments. Merchants can accept card present contactless payments varying from traditional EMV chip cards to contactless payments with mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

All you need to get set up is to download the Helcim Payments app onto your iPad and connect the Helcim credit card reader. You can mount the iPad on a stand for a traditional countertop checkout experience or bring the entire setup with you anywhere in your store for quick and easy mobile transactions. There is no need to purchase any additional expensive POS screens or hardware.

3 simple steps to get set up and running

We've taken the stress of setting up away from you; there are just 3 steps to be up and running:

1. Download the Helcim Payments app onto your iPad
2. Log into the Helcim Payments app
3. Connect your iPad to the Helcim card reader

And It's as simple as that; you’re set to start accepting payments!

How to use the iPad and credit card reader to accept payments

Using your iPad with the Helcim credit card reader is really easy! Here are the steps:

1. Tap on the new payments tab on the iPad
2. Select the items or enter the amount of the transaction manually on the iPad as per the customer's order
3. Tap Process payment on the iPad - the card reader should receive the command to take payment
4. Pass the card reader to the customer - the customer can pay via tap, swipe, or by inserting their card
5. Once the payment has been processed, a confirmation page on the iPad will appear
6. Select the receipt option here - you have the option to print the receipt or send an email copy

Final thoughts

Having the ability to accept contactless payments wherever you can carry an iPad allows your business to avoid long lines at the checkout counter and help you save on hardware fees.

If you want to be even more mobile with your payments, try an iPad mini, or you can even replace the iPad with just your phone, converting your setup into an iPhone credit card reader system.

FAQs

What iPad do I need to use with the card reader?

The Helcim Payments app and the Helcim credit card reader should run smoothly with any iPad that runs on iPadOS 13.0 and higher.

How much does an iPad POS cost?

The cost of the iPad depends on the model you purchase. If you already have an iPad, the Helcim Payment app is free. You can purchase the Helcim Card Reader outright for $139 CAD.

Are there fees associated with using an iPad credit card reader?

Helcim’s Interchange plus pricing model gives you the lowest possible interchange rate for each transaction with full transparency on how pricing is broken down. no need to worry about monthly fees or long contracts. Learn more about interchange plus pricing here.