Stripe POS: Selling In Person with Tap to Pay, QR Codes and Terminal Readers
Three ways to take payments face to face with Stripe, which ones need a developer, what the readers and fees cost in the US and UK, and how to stop an in-person sale leaving the item listed online.
You can sell in person with Stripe in three ways, and only one of them needs a developer. Tap to Pay in the Stripe Dashboard app turns an iPhone or Android phone into a card reader with no code. A Payment Link QR code lets the buyer pay on their own phone. Stripe Terminal readers, such as the Reader S700, give you dedicated hardware, but most of them run on a point-of-sale app that someone has to build or buy. None of the three keeps count of your stock.
In short
- Tap to Pay on your phone: no reader, no code, an extra 10¢ or 10p per payment on top of the in-person rate.
- In-person card rates: 2.7% + 5¢ in the US, 1.4% + 10p for UK and EEA cards in the UK.
- Readers cost from $59 (Stripe Reader M2, US) and £49 (WisePad 3, UK). There is no monthly fee unless you add cellular data.
- Stripe does not track stock for in-person sales.
Who this is for
This is for sellers who already use Stripe online and now sell face to face: at a market stall, a pop-up, a car boot sale or from a small shop. It assumes you sell physical items and want to take cards without signing up for a second payment company.
Option 1: Tap to Pay in the Stripe Dashboard app
The simplest route is already on your phone. Stripe’s no-code in-person guide explains how it works in the Dashboard mobile app: open the app, start a payment from the + menu, enter the amount and hold out the phone. The buyer taps a contactless card, phone or watch against it. You need NFC turned on and nothing else to buy.
The phone has to meet Stripe’s requirements. On iPhone that means an iPhone XS or later on a supported iOS version, with a passcode set and signed in to iCloud. On Android, Stripe asks for Android 13 or later, NFC, Google Mobile Services, an unmodified operating system and a security patch from the last 12 months.
Each Tap to Pay payment costs the in-person rate plus 10¢ in the US or 10p in the UK. You type in an amount rather than pick a product, so the payment has no link to any item in your catalogue.
Option 2: a Payment Link QR code
Every Stripe Payment Link comes with a QR code you can download and print. Put it on a tag or a sign, and the buyer scans it and pays on their own phone through Stripe’s online checkout. Stripe lists this among its in-person options.
Because the buyer pays online, expect the online card rate rather than the in-person one: 2.9% + 30¢ for a US card, 1.5% + 20p for a standard UK card. That is more per sale than a tap. In return the code is tied to a specific item and price, it can switch itself off after a set number of payments, and you need nothing but paper. Our guide to Stripe Payment Links for products covers the payment limit, shipping options and what happens to a printed code when the price changes.
Option 3: Stripe Terminal readers
Stripe Terminal is Stripe’s hardware and software for in-person payments. Most of it is built for developers: a business writes its own till app with Stripe’s iOS, Android, React Native or JavaScript tools, or uses a third-party point-of-sale system that already supports Terminal.
There are two partial exceptions. Stripe’s Reader S700 and S710 can run a ready-made Stripe app in what Stripe calls standalone mode, currently a public preview. A separate Stripe Terminal phone app is in private preview, which you can only join by emailing Stripe. Neither is a full shop till with a product list and stock.
| Reader | US price | UK price (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe Reader M2 | $59 | Not sold in the UK |
| BBPOS WisePad 3 | Not listed | £49 |
| Stripe Reader S700 | $299 | £229 |
| Stripe Reader S710 | $299 | £229 |
Prices are from Stripe Terminal in the US and the UK pricing page. Stripe charges no monthly fee for Terminal. The only recurring cost is optional cellular data on readers that support it, $10 per reader per month in the US and £7 in the UK.
In-person card fees
Readers and Tap to Pay share the in-person rate:
| Country | In-person rate | Tap to Pay surcharge | Fee on a £20 or $20 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | 2.7% + 5¢ | +10¢ | 59¢ on a reader, 69¢ by Tap to Pay |
| UK, UK or EEA card | 1.4% + 10p | +10p | 38p on a reader, 48p by Tap to Pay |
| UK, card from elsewhere | 2.9% + 10p | +10p | 68p on a reader, 78p by Tap to Pay |
Stripe’s US page adds 1.5% for international cards. Its pricing FAQ states there are no set-up or monthly fees. For a full breakdown of Stripe’s online fees, refunds and disputes, see our guide to Stripe fees.
Where it works
Stripe’s Terminal availability list shows full support in 23 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore, with more in preview. Check your own country on that page before ordering a reader.
Which one to pick
- Occasional stalls or fairs: Tap to Pay on the phone you already own. Nothing to buy, and the in-person rate is the cheapest of the three.
- One-off or high-value items on display: a Payment Link QR code per item. It costs more per sale, but the code is tied to the item and can stop at one sale.
- A shop with a till: a Terminal reader paired with a point-of-sale app that supports Stripe, or a developer to build one.
If you are still deciding between payment providers, our Stripe vs Square comparison looks at how Square’s point-of-sale app handles a product catalogue and stock.
Keeping in-person sales in step with your online listings
None of Stripe’s in-person options knows that the jacket on your rail is also listed on eBay, Depop or Vinted. When you sell it at the stall, the online listings stay up until you take them down, and that is how the same item gets sold twice.
FLUF Connect keeps those listings together. It connects Stripe alongside the marketplaces you sell on, so you can publish one item everywhere from a single place. Sales made through Stripe are not detected automatically, so after an in-person sale you mark the item sold in FLUF, and FLUF removes it from your other channels. If the item also has a Stripe Payment Link, FLUF switches that link off when the item sells on another channel.
Crosslisting and inventory sync are on every FLUF plan. Relisting, offer management and smart pricing come with the Pro plan and above. You can start with 7 days for £1, then from £9/month, then plans from £9/month.
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly | You save | Crosslisted products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | £9/month | £85/year | 21% | Unlimited |
| Pro | £29/month | £155/year | 55% | Unlimited |
| Priority | Custom pricing — tell us what you need | Unlimited | ||
Automatic relisting, offer management, smart pricing and listing boosts are included from Pro upwards. Starter covers unlimited crosslisting, inventory sync, order sync and Instagram posting without them. Accounting integrations are included from Pro upwards. Yearly billing is charged once a year. New accounts get 7 days for £1, then move onto a plan.
Weighing other payment providers? Our guide to Stripe alternatives for product sellers compares Square, Shopify Payments, PayPal and SumUp.
Sell at card shows as well as on Whatnot? See Whatnot to Stripe for selling the same stock through Payment Link QR codes.
Sources
- Stripe Docs: Accept in-person payments without code (checked October 2026)
- Stripe Docs: Terminal (checked October 2026)
- Stripe Docs: Standalone mode (checked October 2026)
- Stripe Docs: Tap to Pay on iPhone (checked October 2026)
- Stripe Docs: Tap to Pay on Android (checked October 2026)
- Stripe Docs: Terminal availability by country (checked October 2026)
- Stripe: Terminal (US) (checked October 2026)
- Stripe: Pricing (US) (checked October 2026)
- Stripe: Pricing (UK) (checked October 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
Not a full one with a product list and stock. Stripe offers Tap to Pay in its Dashboard app, a ready-made app on the Reader S700 and S710 (in public preview), and Terminal readers that work with a point-of-sale app you build or buy.
Yes. Tap to Pay in the Stripe Dashboard mobile app needs no code and no reader, and a Payment Link QR code lets buyers pay on their own phone.
On standard pricing, 2.7% + 5¢ in the US and 1.4% + 10p for UK and EEA cards in the UK. Tap to Pay adds 10¢ or 10p per payment.
In the US the Stripe Reader M2 is $59 and the Reader S700 and S710 are $299. In the UK the WisePad 3 is £49 and the S700 and S710 are £229, before VAT.
An iPhone XS or later on a supported iOS version, or an Android 13 phone with NFC, Google Mobile Services and a recent security patch.
No. Stripe records the payment but has no stock count, so items sold in person stay listed elsewhere until you remove them.
Not automatically. With FLUF Connect, mark the item sold in FLUF after the sale and it comes off your other channels.
Sign up for free
Join the community
You're in.
Open your dashboard