Credit Card Processing

Getting your credit card processing set up and functional involves a few steps, a basic understanding of your credit card reader, and familiarity with running a credit transaction. Here, we’ll take you step by step through setting up credit card processing.

Table of Contents

Set Up In-Store Credit Card Processing

The first step towards accepting credit cards at the register is to select a processor and integrate your processing with Lightspeed Retail.

EMV processing is only available to merchants using ShopKeep Payments by Lightspeed or other third-party payments processors (except Chase Paymentech) with an eligible card reader.

  1. Pick a credit card processor.

    Lightspeed Retail proudly offers a payment processing solution, ShopKeep Payments by Lightspeed. ShopKeep Payments by Lightspeed has competitive pricing with no long-term contracts. To learn more, visit here.

    Select eligible merchants may see a landing page directly in their BackOffice.

    Already have ShopKeep Payments by Lightspeed? Learn how to read statements, run reports, & calculate your all-in rate here.

  2. Connect your processing with Lightspeed Retail.

    If you have an existing credit card processor, ask a representative from your processor to fill out our ISO boarding form. We’ll process the form, test your credentials, and send you an email when setup is complete. Once you get the email, you’ll need to open a new register shift and run a test transaction.

Using ShopKeep Payments by Lightspeed as your processor? You can skip step 2!

Set Up Online and Mobile Credit Card Processing

Lightspeed Retail Business Owners can access the online and mobile payments setup flow in BackOffice to get approved for processing credit payments on emailed invoices, orders placed via a Lightspeed eCom (E-Series) webstore, and Pay by Link sales run in the Retail POS (S-Series) app.

  • This feature is only available to US Lightspeed Retail merchants on paid pricing packages. To upgrade to a paid account, click ‘Upgrade’ in BackOffice or at the register.
  • After signup and approval, you will be able to access all methods of online and mobile payment. Additional steps are required to accept credit payments in a Lightspeed eCom (E-Series) webstore.
    1. Sign into BackOffice as the Business Owner.
    2. Click ‘Card Payments’, then select ‘Online and Mobile Payments’.

      Don’t see ‘Online and Mobile Payments’ when signed in as the Business Owner? Upgrade to a paid Lightspeed Retail plan in BackOffice or at the register to be able to set up and run online and mobile payments.

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    3. Click ‘Get Started’.
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    4. Select ‘Business Details’, then follow the prompts to enter your business information.

      For this step, you will need to enter the:

      • Business type (e.g. sole proprietor, company, etc.)
      • Name, email address, date of birth, home address, phone number, and last 4 digits of the Social Security number of the Business Owner
      • Industry and website of the business

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    5. Click ‘Bank Account’, then follow the prompts to enter the details for the bank account where you want to receive deposits.

      • Provide your long-term choice of deposit account as this information cannot be updated in BackOffice. To learn how to change this account, contact [email protected].
      • For this step, you will need to enter the:
        Routing number and account number of the bank account
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    6. Wait for ‘Active’ to appear next to ‘Business Details’ and ‘Bank Account’, indicating approval for payments.

      Most merchants will be approved within moments. If either status shows ‘Pending’, check back in 1 – 3 business days or wait to receive email confirmation that you were approved.
      Once you begin running transactions, you will receive a weekly email statement summarizing the online and mobile payments processed the previous week.

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    7. Enter the DBA for your business in the ‘Doing Business As’ field, then click ‘Save’ to save changes.

      The DBA must be 5 – 22 characters long, contain no special characters, and have at least 1 letter.

      • The DBA, or ‘doing business as’ name, appears on customer credit card statements next to each online and mobile payment charge from your business.
      • By default, the DBA is set to the website entered in the ‘Business Details’ section (see step 4). If you did not enter a website and do not update your DBA, it will default to ‘ShopKeep’.

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    8. (Optional) Follow the steps in the eCommerce Setup section below to enable payments for your Lightspeed eCom (E-Series) webstore.
    9. (Optional) Follow the steps here to run a test transaction.

      Learn more about how to accept payments in Lightspeed Pocket here, about online payments for invoices here, and about eCommerce integration here.

    Credit Card Readers

    Merchants need an encrypted reader from our online store to process credit cards in the Retail POS (S-Series) app. Here are a few of our supported readers:

  • The Link/2500 connects wirelessly to the iOS Retail POS (S-Series) app via Bluetooth.
  • Accept Apple Pay and EMV at the register with compatible processors.
  • The Link/2500 is only available to merchants processing credit cards with ShopKeep Payments by Lightpseed, Chase, or First Data.
  • Use the Customer Facing Display so your customers can see what’s being rung up as the cashier checks them out at the register.
  • Easily process credit, debit (no PIN entry required), and gift cards.
  • Learn how to set up the Link/2500 here.

    • iDynamo

  • The iDynamo connects directly to the charging port of the iPad for plug-and-play functionality.
  • Easily swipe credit, debit (no PIN entry required), and gift cards.
  • Learn how to set up the iDynamo card reader here.

    • Clover Go

  • The Clover Go Bluetooth Credit Card Reader connects wirelessly to the iOS and Android Retail POS (S-Series) apps via Bluetooth.
  • This device is available to eligible Lightspeed Retail merchants using ShopKeep Payments by Lightspeed.
  • Accept EMV, Apple Pay, and various contactless payments.
  • Easily process credit and debit cards (without PIN entry).
  • This device has a rechargeable battery that supports multiple hours of use on a full charge.
  • Learn how to set up this Clover device here.

    • Clover Mini

  • The Clover Mini All-in-One Credit Card Reader and Printer bundles a card reader, receipt printer, and customer display into a single device that connects to the iOS Retail POS (S-Series) app over Wi-Fi.
  • This device is available to eligible Lightspeed Retail merchants using ShopKeep Payments by Lightspeed.
  • Use the Customer Facing Display so your customers can see what’s being rung up as the cashier checks them out at the register.
  • Accept EMV, Apple Pay, and various contactless payments.
  • Easily process credit and debit cards (no PIN entry required).
  • This device is designed to sit on a countertop and must stay plugged into power.
  • Learn how to set up this Clover device here.

    • Clover Flex

  • The Clover Flex All-in-One Credit Card Reader and Printer bundles a card reader, receipt printer, and customer display into a single device that connects to the iOS Retail POS (S-Series) app over Wi-Fi.
  • This device is available to eligible Lightspeed Retail merchants using ShopKeep Payments by Lightspeed.
  • Use the Customer Facing Display so your customers can see what’s being rung up as the cashier checks them out at the register.
  • Accept EMV, Apple Pay, and various contactless payments.
  • Easily process credit and debit cards (no PIN entry required).
  • This device has a rechargeable battery that supports multiple hours of use on a full charge.
  • Learn how to set up this Clover device here.

    • Moby/5500

  • The Moby/5500 connects wirelessly to the iOS Retail POS (S-Series) app via Bluetooth.
  • Accept Apple Pay and EMV at the register with compatible processors.
  • The Moby/5500 is only available to merchants processing credit cards with ShopKeep Payments by Lightspeed.
  • Easily process credit, debit (no PIN entry required), and gift cards.

    • Run an In-Store Test Transaction (Optional)

    After we let you know your in-store processing is set up, run an optional sale to make sure everything works properly. Create an open priced item that can be used to charge any amount, then ring up that item at the register.

    Processing credit cards requires an active internet connection if Offline Credit Payments are not enabled. Have questions about processing credit cards? Visit our Advanced Topics FAQ for help.

    1. Create an open priced item in BackOffice or the Retail POS (S-Series) app.
    2. Ring up $0.01 using the item created above, then tap ‘Credit’.
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    3. Swipe, tap, or insert a card or use Apple Pay.

      Do not use a card issued in your personal or business name as this may result in an error.

    4. If prompted, sign the screen and tap ‘Next’.
    5. Tap 'No Receipt' to finish.

      Funds accumulate in the gateway and batch automatically the next morning.

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    6. (Optional) Perform a return to refund the test transaction.

      After running a test transaction, either perform a return at the register to balance out the net sales amount for that day or exclude that day when running sales reports. Transactions run at the register or in Lightspeed Pocket will appear in reporting and cannot be deleted.

    Having problems running cards? Visit our Credit Card Troubleshooting Guide.

    Have some more questions? Check out our Credit Card Processing FAQ.

    Run a Mobile Test Transaction (Optional)

    Run an optional test transaction to confirm the online and mobile payments setup was successful. A test transaction can be run by paying for an invoice or processing a credit sale with Pay by Link in the iOS register.

  • You only need to use one of these methods to run a test transaction and confirm that online and mobile payments setup was successful.
  • After running a test transaction, either perform a return at the register to balance out the net sales amount for that day or exclude that day when running sales reports. Transactions run at the register will appear in reporting and cannot be deleted.
 Paid invoices cannot be deleted from BackOffice.
  • Online and mobile payments cannot currently be refunded back to the card used in the original payment via the Lightspeed Pocket or Register apps, BackOffice, or the eCommerce Dashboard. To request a refund for an online or mobile payment, contact [email protected].
    1. From the Dashboard tab in the Lightspeed Pocket app, tap ‘+ New Sale’.

      Need help downloading, installing, or setting up the Lightspeed Pocket app? Visit our Lightspeed Pocket article.

    2. Enter a sale amount of $0.50 or above, then tap ‘Credit’.

      All credit transactions run in Lightspeed Pocket require a minimum total amount of $0.50.

    3. Enter a card number.

      The credit or debit card used for the test transaction must not be tied to the bank account used to set up online and mobile payments.

    4. Enter the card’s expiration date and CVV number, then tap ‘Done’.

    5. Select a receipt option to finish up.
      a To send an email receipt, tap ‘Email Address’, enter your email address, then tap ‘Email Receipt’.
      b To skip sending a receipt, tap ‘No Receipt’.
    6. Tap ‘Go to Dashboard’ to return to the Dashboard tab.

      Sales reporting will be updated to include the test transaction and Pocket will automatically refresh. Credit sales run in Pocket will be included in your weekly Lightspeed Online & Mobile Card Processing Statement email.

      For detailed, step-by-step help processing online and mobile payments, visit our Online and Mobile Payments Setup article.