Retail hardware, software, and Shopify Point of Sale
I have a Shopify store but I can't use Shopify Payments because they don't accept my category (nutritional supplements). So I use a third party payment processor. I'm looking for a mobile solution to take orders through Shopify POS in person at live events. The Shopify Tap & Card Reader looks like exactly what I need but in the instructional video for it they say "all payments are processed through shopify payments." Does this card reader only work if you have Shopify Payments or can I use it if I have a different payment processor?
Hi @RockSolid21
I see what you’re asking—you're running a Shopify store but can’t use Shopify Payments because of your business category (nutritional supplements), and now you're looking for a mobile POS solution to accept payments at live events. You’ve come across the Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader, but you’re unsure if it will work with your third-party payment processor since Shopify’s instructional video mentions that "all payments are processed through Shopify Payments."
Yes, the Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader only works with Shopify Payments. If Shopify Payments isn’t available to you, unfortunately, you won’t be able to use this card reader. Shopify’s hardware is designed to work exclusively with their own payment processing system, meaning you can’t connect it to a third-party payment provider like PayPal, Square, or Authorize.net.
Since you’re looking for a mobile POS solution for in-person sales at live events, here are some alternatives:
Since Shopify restricts its card readers to Shopify Payments, your best bet is to use an external card reader from your third-party processor or manually record payments through Shopify POS. If you’re regularly selling at live events, consider a payment processor that offers its own mobile hardware to avoid extra steps in order tracking.
Hope that clears it up! If you need any other assistance, feel free to reply and I will try my best to help.
Best regards,
Daisy
HI @Rattrap1
I've gone through all the details you've provided, and it's become clear that the real issue lies in how Shopify POS handles customer information for different payment types—especially how cash sales automatically get assigned "No customer," while credit card sales sometimes leave the Customer field blank. This is causing problems when syncing your orders to your accounting software, as blank fields are not being recognized properly.
You're right in assuming that this is likely due to security restrictions on certain credit card transactions. When a customer pays by card and doesn’t provide an email or phone number, Shopify POS may leave the Customer field blank for privacy reasons. Since your accounting software relies on this field being filled, those orders are not transferring over correctly.
Unfortunately, Shopify POS doesn’t have a built-in setting to automatically assign “No customer” to blank Customer fields for card transactions. However, here are a few ways you can work around this issue:
If you're processing a large volume of sales and need an automated solution, consider using an app from the Shopify App Store that allows you to automatically update or modify orders. Some accounting integrations might also offer customization options to handle blank Customer fields differently.
Right now, Shopify POS doesn’t provide an automatic way to default all blank Customer fields to “No customer,” but using one of these workarounds should help prevent issues with your accounting software. If Shopify releases an update to address this, I’ll keep an eye out and let you know.
If you need any other assistance, feel free to reply and I will try my best to help.
Best regards,
Daisy
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