Tap to Pay on iPhone: take cards on your phone
Take contactless cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay on your iPhone, with no card machine at all. · Updated 12/09/2026
Tap to Pay lets you take a card payment on your own iPhone. There is no reader to pair or charge.
What you need first
- An iPhone XS or newer, on a recent version of iOS
- The Business app installed and signed in
- Card payments switched on for your account
- Your shop address saved under Settings → Locations — in-person payments have to be linked to an address
If something is missing, the Payments screen in the app tells you which one.
Taking a payment
1. Open the Business app and tap Payments. 2. To charge a set amount, type it under Charge any amount and tap Tap to Pay. 3. To charge for an appointment, tap the price beside it in Waiting to be paid. 4. Ask the customer to hold their card, iPhone or watch near the top of your phone, above the camera. 5. Wait for the tick. The payment is saved against the booking and counts in today's takings.
If a payment doesn't go through
- Ask the customer to hold the card a little closer to the top of the phone and keep it still
- Cards above the contactless limit may ask the customer to confirm on their own phone or use their PIN on a reader instead
- Tap Cancel and start again — nothing is charged unless you see the tick
Refunds and receipts
Refunds work exactly as they do for any other card payment: open the booking in the web app and refund from there. Receipts are emailed to the customer if you have receipts switched on.
Do card readers still work?
Yes. Tap to Pay sits alongside them, so you can use whichever suits the moment.
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