Every card terminal in this index takes contactless, and a supported recent phone can do it with no hardware at all through tap to pay. What neither can do is complete a payment above the contactless ceiling or one where the card asks for verification, which is why a keypad still matters.
Phone only acceptance and its ceiling
Tap to pay accepts contactless cards and phone wallets and nothing else. Any sale above the single transaction contactless ceiling, and any card that has reached its cumulative limit without verification, will fail. For small sales that is invisible. For anything larger it is a lost sale, which is why most businesses that start on a phone buy a reader.
What contactless costs
The same in-person rate as any other presentation method at every provider read here, though a few price tap to pay on a phone separately: Tide prints a distinct tap to pay rate and Lopay's published schedule adds a per transaction charge for it. Read the row that matches how you will take the payment rather than the headline.
Staff and the verification prompt
Customers are sometimes asked for a PIN on a small sale because their card has reached its cumulative contactless limit. That is the card's decision, not your machine's fault, and staff who can say so calmly avoid a small awkwardness several times a week. Every terminal here handles the fallback automatically.
Questions people ask about take contactless payments
Can I take contactless payments without a card reader?
Yes, on a supported recent phone using tap to pay. It accepts contactless cards and wallets only, with no chip and PIN fallback.
Do contactless payments cost more?
No, at every provider read here the in-person rate applies whichever way the card is presented. A few price tap to pay on a phone on its own row, so check that specifically.
Why does a contactless payment sometimes fail?
Either the sale exceeds the single transaction ceiling, or the card has reached its cumulative limit and needs verification. In both cases the customer inserts the card instead.