Best Contactless NFC POS Systems (2027)

If you want a dedicated device, the Square reader is $59, mid-range on this page. The $0 monthly plan means you can run contactless on a phone and add the reader later if the counter needs one.

One hardware condition on the iPhone side: Tap to Pay needs an iPhone XS or newer running iOS 15.5 or later. Check the oldest handset your staff carry, because an iPhone X will not work. That rules out a surprising number of phones still in daily use.

Pricing: $0/mo (Square Free). Reader $59. 2.6% + 15 cents per tap.

Tap to Pay runs on phones only, not tablets. If your counter setup is a tablet in a stand, you need the reader rather than the Tap to Pay feature, which puts the $29 back into the equation. For a market stall or a one-person operation working from a phone, that limit does not bite.

The constraint that will matter to service businesses: tipping is not supported through Tap to Pay. A cafe or a salon taking tips at the point of sale should rule this out, or plan to take tips another way.

Pricing: $0/mo. First card reader $29.

Three conditions shape whether this works for you. Tap to Pay is not available on iPad, so a counter built around an iPad needs the reader. On Android, Tap to Pay accepts Visa, Mastercard and Amex only, which leaves Discover and others to the reader. And the whole thing requires Shopify Payments, so if you process elsewhere, this is closed to you.

Read the Android card network limit carefully before you commit. If a meaningful share of your customers pay on a network outside those three, the $49 reader stops being optional.

Pricing: Basic $39/mo. Tap and Chip reader $49 (US).

The POS app costs $0, but it requires a Chase Business Complete Banking account. That is the real decision here: you are choosing a banking relationship, not just a POS. If you already hold the account, the app is free money. If you do not, weigh the account's own fees and requirements before counting the savings.

The reader is $99, which is more than Square, Shopify or PayPal charge. Android support for Tap to Pay is not stated, so if your staff carry Android phones, confirm that before you plan around tapping on the handset.

Pricing: POS app $0 with a Chase business account. Reader $99.

The tap itself carries a cost. Tap to Pay adds $0.10 per transaction. At 500 taps a month that is $50, at 2,000 it is $200. Run that against what interchange-plus saves you on the same volume, because the two pull in opposite directions and only your own numbers settle it.

Two limits to confirm first. Tap to Pay is for US merchants only. Android support is not confirmed, so an Android-equipped team should get a written answer before committing. Helcim also has not published a reader price we can cite, so ask for that in the same conversation.

Pricing: $0 software. Tap to Pay adds 10 cents per transaction.

Two things to settle before you plan around it. Tap to Pay is US only, so this is off the table outside the United States. And Loyverse card readers were sold out when checked, which means the hardware path may not be open at all right now. Confirm stock before you build a counter around it.

Loyverse has not published whether Tap to Pay runs on iPhone, Android, or both. For a feature page about contactless, that is a significant gap, and it is the first question to put to the vendor.

Pricing: free. Loyverse Payments 2.49% + 15 cents on credit.

Two caveats carry real weight. Tap to Pay is not available on Android at all, which rules out any team working from Android phones. And the source for the iPhone support is a 2023 Clover blog post, which is old enough that it should be reconfirmed with Clover before you rely on it.

For a business choosing contactless from scratch, the $199 reader and the missing Android support make this hard to recommend over Square or PayPal POS. For a business already inside Clover's ecosystem, it is the path of least resistance.

Pricing: Clover Go reader $199.

Pricing starts at $89 per month billed annually, the highest software cost on this page. That buys the full retail platform rather than a payments tool, so judge it against what the rest of the system does for you, not against the contactless feature alone.

Two gaps. Lightspeed does not publish reader prices, so budget the hardware through a sales conversation. And on the Restaurant side, Tap to Pay is iPhone only and does not work on iPads, which matters if your restaurant floor runs on iPads. Confirm which rule applies to the product you are buying.

Pricing: from $89/mo billed annually.