Use Card on File with the Square Point of Sale App
Square Payments
Whether you’re selling in person, online or on the go, Square can help you process nearly any kind of payment, any way you want.
Use Card on File with the Square Point of Sale app to make selling easy:
Securely add and store payment cards from the Square POS app or from your online Square Dashboard by heading to the Customer Directory.
Seamlessly charge your customers’ stored payment cards or Square Gift Cards.
Safely carry out your business with Square handling PCI compliance and authorisation on your behalf.
Note: You must have written authorisation from your customer to save their payment card. Make sure to keep authorisation forms on file and store them securely to help prevent payment disputes.
Looking to add card on file using a different Square app? You can also manage your customer directory using:
Store Payment Cards from the Square app
There are three ways to store a card on file with the Square app:
From your in-app Customer Directory
Before a sale
After a sale
- From the navigation bar at the bottom of your screen, tap Transactions.
- Tap Customers > select an existing customer from the list or tap Create New Customer.
- Under Card on File, tap Add Card. Note: If you’re creating a new customer, first you’ll need to enter their personal information and tap Save. After the customer is saved in your Directory you’ll see the option to add a Card on File.
- Swipe the card with the chip facing downwards, or manually key in the card information, including the CVV and expiry date. You’re required to enter the customer’s full name and email address for receipts. They’ll also receive an email confirming that you have saved a card on file for them.
- Have your customer authorise the card on file for future purchases by entering their billing postcode.
- You’ll see Card Saved once it’s linked to the customer’s profile. Note: If your business has multiple locations, you can use a saved payment card to process a transaction at any location.
Note: We recommend using your device in landscape view.
- From your Current Sale screen, tap Add a customer.
- Select an existing customer from the list or tap Create New Customer.
- Use steps 3-7 from the “From your in-app Customer Directory” section above to add and save the payment card information.
Once you’ve completed the payment, you can store the payment card information used in the sale using the steps below.
Note: You’re unable to save payment card information for sales completed with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.
- To start, checkout your customer as you normally would.
- Tap Add Customer from the receipt screen.
- Select an existing customer or tap Create Customer.
- Follow steps 3-7 outlined in the “From your in-app Customer Directory” section above.
Note: Phone numbers cannot be used for Card on File notifications. The processing fee for charging a card on file from your online Square Dashboard or Square POS app is 2.2% per card payment.
Charge a Card on File with the Square app
With a stored card on file, you can charge your customer with the Square app at a future visit, all without ever using the physical card.
Add items to your cart or enter a custom amount.
Tap Charge > Card on File.
Select a customer with a card on file > tap Charge to select a payment card for the transaction.
Complete the payment flow.
With Open Tickets
Select an existing Open Ticket or add items to your cart or enter a custom amount and tap Save to create a new Open Ticket.
From the Current Sale screen, tap Add a customer.
Select an existing customer or tap Create Customer to add a new profile and card.
Tap Add to Sale.
Finalise the cart and tap Charge. Note: If you’re using a mobile device or your tablet is being used in Portrait mode (vertically), tap Review Sale > Charge.
Card on File displays as a new tender type at the bottom of the screen. Tap Card on File, then Charge next to the card on file that you would like to use for the payment.
Click Confirm and complete the payment flow.
When you charge a customer’s card on file, a receipt is automatically sent to the email address associated with their customer profile.
Note: You can enable or restrict your team’s ability to add custom amounts to transactions by editing your team member’s role from permissions > Checkout in your online Square Dashboard. Team members that do not have permission to add custom amounts will be required to key in a manager passcode to add a custom amount to a transaction.
Unlink a Card on File
You can unlink and remove your customers’ cards on file from their profile in your Customer Directory under Edit Personal Information.
Your customers can also remove their own cards by following the link provided to them on all card on file notifications. Customers will receive notifications when their card is stored, when their email address is changed, and when a payment is made using a card on file. The link on these notifications will take them to their Card on File Dashboard, where they can view and remove the cards on file associated with your business.