How to process Interac Debit tap payments with Square

[Russell]

I know a lot of Square Canada sellers are starting to accept Interac Debit tap payments using the Contactless + Chip Card reader. To make sure you're set up for success with the new reader, I've put together this quick reference guide for you to review and share with your staff members. Following these steps will ensure you can process tap payments correctly.

With the Square Contactless + Chip Card reader, you can accept Interac Debit tap cards using the Contactless + Chip Card reader (you can also accept chip and tap credit cards, Apple Pay, and Android Pay using this reader).

When accepting Interac Debit tap payments, keep in mind that:

• We are only able to process tap Interac Debit cards at this time.
• Interac Debit tap payments have a limit of $100 per transaction.
• You must follow the tap payment flow using the Contactless + Chip Card reader in order to capture your customer’s payment.

Watch this video to see how to accept payments with the Contactless + Chip Card reader (skip ahead to 00:38 for the Interac Debit tap payment flow).

To accept Interac Debit tap cards on Point of Sale:

• add item(s) to the sale
• from the Point of Sale app, tap Charge
• ask your customer to tap their Interac Debit card
• wait for card to authorize and payment to complete (you'll see four green lights on the reader and hear a beep) 

If you have tipping enabled, please note the payment flow is a little different:

• add item(s) to the sale
• from the Point of Sale app, tap Charge, then tap Contactless (If you are using a phone instead of a tablet, you won't need to tap Contactless)
• ask your customer to tap their Interac Debit card
• show the tip screen to your customer, allowing them to select a tip
• wait for card to authorize and payment to complete

(Please note that some sellers use a third party debit processor and are able to record these transactions in the Point of Sale app using the "Other tender" option. Tapping "Other tender" will not enable you to process Interac Debit cards with Square).

[Helen]

@Dave4 I'm very sorry for the disappointment. I know that being able to accept all forms of payment is critical to your business. The Payments team certainly wants you to be abe to accept more more card types, but unfortunately, we can't share timelines here the Community.

Thanks also for letting us know that many of your customers do not have Interac Flash enabled on their cards. That's an important insight that I'll surface to the team. 

I've added your post to this thread. That you'll automatically be notified of any updates and hopefully you'll consider using Square in future.

[PathwaysSydney]

We are a small not-for-profit organization.  We purchased the Square card reader specifically for our customer's debit purchases, but many do not have Tap and often their purchases are over $100.  This has been very inconvenient and had we known this, probably would not have purchased Square.  Please fix this!  It is misleading to post a sign that we accept debit payments, when in fact, the only way customers can use debit is for a Tap purchase under $100.  

Most Square purchasers are small businesses, but if we cannot offer our customers the convenience of debit being used in the same manner as a credit card, we will continue to lose sales.  

[Helen · Accepted solution]

@PathwaysSydney We've been updating posts in the Community to announce that you can now chip & PIN cards for debit transactions above $100 — or you can accept tap contactless cards and mobile payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay) for payments of under $100. This update applies to the Contactless and Chip Card reader, and was already a feature of the new Square Terminal. 

This Product Update post has more details: Debit Chip & PIN on Square Reader. The next time you connect your Contactless and Chip Card reader to the Point of Sale app it will automatically update! 

[eclipsvianet]

I  too, would like an explanation for the hold-up. I agree that since it is the same chip as credit cards use, there is no reason why debit cards should not be accepted as well. I have begun looking for another POS system to use, as the inconvenience of not being able to accept debit cards that are not flash-enabled, or exceeds $100 represents the majority of my sales. If that was corrected by Square, I will be a very happy merchant  and will stay with them. It just needs to. be soon, or I will find another provider first. 

[puka]

Hey @eclipsvianet - This thread may offer some clarification that you're looking for. We understand that we may not have all the tools that businesses need at the time that it is needed which is why we encourage our Sellers to do what is in the best interest of their business. If this includes moving away from Square products for you, we wish you continued growth and success!

[EOWELLTH]

Interac tap and pin does not work for me. CC was fine debit did not work at all. 

[Helen]

Sorry to hear about the trouble @EOWELLTH. If your customer pays with Interac tap they do not need to enter a pin.

At this time in Canada you can only accep Interac debit cards up to $100, and you must use the tap feature of the reader to accept these cards. It's not possible to swipe or insert a debit card. We'll announce any updates about card accepting in Canada soon as they're available.

[EOWELLTH]

Hi Helen,

  I tried to tap with my debit and it did not work, and another customer tried to tap and it did not work either, so not sure if this is a coincidence, since I did not have any other tap debit attempts. I will have to try again with another card.

[Helen]

Thanks for testing with your own card @EOWELLTH and for your patience. If your debit card is Interac Flash (tap) enabled it should work. If this issue persists don't hesitate to call our CS team who can investigate further!