Which card reader is best for Android with Shopify POS?

[Venger]

Hey, I appreciate this has been asked before, but I was looking for up to date advice on which card reader to purchase for use with Shopify POS. The one recommended by Shopify, the Wisepad 3 Reader, only appears compatible with Apple hardware, which I don't have and would rather avoid. Is it also compatible with Android phones, and if not, which other readers are compatible with Shopify POS and recommended?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

[Imogen]

Hey there, @Venger, Thanks for coming to the Shopify with your question regarding our available POS equipment! I hope you're doing well today.

I'd love to spend some time chatting with you regarding this! First, do you mind sharing with me what Shopify Hardware store you're looking to order from? We are having some availability constraints due to supply shortages globally, so pinpointing what regional store you're looking to order from, or the location of which you operate, will help me get you some information on available hardware. 

Please, when possible, follow up with me here with that information and we'll get the ball rolling on what we can find for you!

[Venger]

Thanks @Imogen. I'm in Scotland, UK, if that helps.

[Imogen · Accepted solution]

Hey again, @Venger! Thanks for following up with us when you did! 

I took some time to check out the UK store and did see that there is only one reader currently available there, and it's not clear if it's compatible with android or not. I reached out to our Retail Support Team and can confirm that the reader available in the UK store is NOT compatible with android, and must be used with an iOS device. 

I spoke to the team about some alternatives we may be able to advise on in this situation. Our team strongly recommends that if you're using Shopify POS, that you're operating it off of an iOS system, as Shopfy POS was built with iOS functionality in mind. They advised looking for a cheap iPad that's available to run your POS system if using Shopify Payments. 

I also asked about third party readers that may be compatible with android. The team let me know that were are some 3rd party readers you could look into, but they would need to be set up on a third party payment provider, and then a custom payment option would have to be entered into your POS app. This means that your workflow would look as follows: 

• Customer comes into the store and begins their purchase
• From the 'Cart' screen of your POS, select 'Checkout'
• Select the 'Custom Payment Option' you've created for your third party card reader
• Select the card type that is being processed
• Ensure that the transaction was processed on your reader, and then select 'mark as paid' on your POS app
• Email or text the customer your receipt, and select 'Done' on your app to return to the products screen.

It's a bit more complicated with the above set up, but it's possible! You can find more information on this using this link here: https://bit.ly/3rlqSOx. 

I also inquired about if we may be seeing any new readers come to the store in the future compatible with Android, but we have no information that we can share with users about that at this time. 

I hope you find this information useful. If you have any additional questions, please follow up with me here and let me know. 

[71Brewing]

Hi Imogen,

I can't agree that this is an accepted solution - nothing raised in the original problem has actually been solved. The recommendation as given was to purchase brand new hardware, or to process every order as a 'cash sale'. From an accounting perspective, nothing would link the payment shown in Xero or Quickbooks etc, to the Shopify order, and these would have to be manually reconciled. For a few large orders per month, this could work. For retail outlets, or food and drink outlets, this would be a nightmare given the volume of orders we receive. 

Given the 'solution' as stated above, it would actually be simpler and better for finance departments if individuals in a store ordered online and we picked the order right then and there, removing the POS platform entirely, rather than having to reconcile hundreds of transactions and orders manually.

Other services in the UK are Android and iOS compatible including Zettle and SumUp. If the Android Shopify POS app cannot link to your own card reader, I have to question why the Shopify POS app is available on Android devices in the first place: it is unable to function as a point of sale.

As for the assertion that the app was built with iOS in mind, I am forced to ask again, then why does the Android version exist? Why isn't there a banner across the Shopify POS page clearly communicating that Android devices are not supported? Why on the FAQ page are the requirements only given as 'a tablet or a smartphone' and not 'iPhone or iPad'?

Many people have asked, and I would again implore you to add Android compatibility. It would be much preferable to have our staff be able to link this card reader to their phones during trade shows, beer garden and tap room service, brewery tours etc, than have to have another set of hardware, running a different operating system from all other devices in our facility.

[CurlCode247]

This! Android has been around long enough for Shopify to have something to something by now. Unless there is some exclusivity contract between Android and Apple and if so, then please be transparent enough to just say so. I signed up for Shopify due to the reputation but not knowing it was Apple-heavy. As the poster mentioned: this should be on the signup page.

[Imogen]

Hey there, @71Brewing and @CurlCode247. Thank you so much for leaving feedback like you have here. 

I wanted to follow up and express my gratitude for providing us with such detailed, and passionate, feedback. We have had a good amount of feedback on the limitations of compatible hardware for certain regions in the past, but we're always looking for more. Feedback like this lets us know that our merchants are hungry and looking for more support, and we absolutely do want to satisy all of our users. I'm more than happy to take all of the feedback that was provided here to our Product Team, so they have another example of why offering hardware that's compatible with Android in more regions is something we should be prioritizing. 

To be clear, we do offer hardware that is both Android and iOS compatible, but these offerings are limited depending on the region that one is operating out of. As such, this isn't a solution if you're operating out of the UK, for example. If you're someone in the United States, our 'Tap and Chip' reader would be able to meet the needs of Android users, but I digress, and don't want to focus too much on information that doesn't actively resolve the issue. 

In addition to the information above, I took the time to relay it to our Retail Team directly, and fished to see if there was anything I could provide you folks in terms of timelines for compatible devices being made available within the UK. Currently, I have no information I can share, but I can assure you that this need is being addressed, and we hope to have some information available soon. 

Once again, thank you both for taking the time to leave feedback like you have for us. If you come across any additional feedback that you feel would be useful for us to have, I'd be happy to receive it here. Additionally, @CurlCode247, if you're looking to utilize Shopify POS in a region other than the UK, let me know, and I'll dig into what options are available for you in terms of an Android Compatible Reader. 

Thanks again for your time, and don't be shy to follow up with me here! 

[CurlCode247]

@Imogen  Thank you for the response and verifying the Tap and Chip is available in the US - that is where I am. I could not find a link that worked for that item earlier but I found one now that says the item is out of stock. Hopefully it will be restocked soon. 

[Imogen]

Hey there, @CurlCode247. I'm happy that the information I provided was helpful to you in some way! We've had a lot of conversations with folks regarding many of our readers being on backorder. It all boils down to the global chip shortage that you may have heard about. 

Our supply team has updated us and let us know that due to the ongoing impact of Covid 19 on the Global Supply Chain there is a shortage of chipsets at a global level. We understand the impact this has on businesses and we appreciate your patience while we continue to navigate through the effects of this pandemic. For some additional information, I found this really great article that does a great job of summarizing gravity of these impacts:

• How Semiconductor Shortages Have Taken A Chip Out Of The Global Supply Chain

[Msaxonii]

I'm sorry, but this is absurd.  There are only two card readers offered for the US market, the Chipper and the Tap and Chip.  Of course, the Tap and Chip is back ordered into who knows when in this market, and recommends ordering the Chipper instead without a clear enough warning that it is for Apple only.

Now, the absurd part is that the Chipper requires Apple 12.5.1, which came out in January of 2021.  My Galaxy S21 came out at the same time so what has Shopify been doing for the past year of semiconductor shortages to make their platform available to support Android?  I abhorred having to use an iPhone for my previous job, and considering the availability of Google Pay, I cannot see software security limitations being an issue preventing the Chipper supporting Android.  If it is an issue, make it a cable connection to work around at least.

[Imogen]

Hi there, @Msaxonii. Thanks for taking the time to join in on our conversation here regarding Shopify POS readers and Android compatiblity. 

We do recognize that the 'Tap and Chip' being on backorder is a painpoint for many merchants right now that are looking to begin using Shopify POS in an Android-based environment. We're hoping to have these readers back in stock soon, and I refer to the above article I had shared explaining why this backlog exists as a result of chip shortages across the globe: 

• How Semiconductor Shortages Have Taken A Chip Out Of The Global Supply Chain 

We take all product feedback very seriously here at Shopify, as we're always looking to expand and improve on our existing offerings, or produce offerings where none currently exist. We do recognize that the 'Chipper' reader doesn't offer the Android compatiblity that many are looking for while waiting for the 'Tap and Chip' to come back into stock, but our Team is aware of this, and is looking to be able to provide additional Android solutions across the board. 

Circling back to the importance of feedback, I'm happy to let you know that I've gone ahead and shared your comment here with our Product Team, so they can see the importance of offering additional Android compatible solutions. Though I can't comment on timelines on when such offerings may be made available, you can rest assured that the appropriate folks have been made aware of your feedback, and are looking into things. 

If you have any additional feedback for us, feel free to leave it here and I'll be sure to pass it along.