Use Square's in-person payment solutions to process payments and build integrations with the seller's POS application. Depending on the seller's use case, you can integrate your in-person payment solutions with Square Terminal, Square Reader, or Square Stand. Along with Square hardware, use the Terminal API, Reader SDK, or Point of Sale API to enable your POS application to process and manage payments and perform other buyer-facing actions.
In-Person Payment Solutions
Before developing your integration, review Square's in-person payment solutions, hardware offerings, and API and SDK integrations.
| Hardware | Integration description |
|---|---|
 | Take payments with the Terminal API and Square Terminal The Terminal API lets your POS application collect payments using Square Terminal. Because the Terminal API is a cloud-based API, you can access it from any third-party POS application connected to the Internet. The Terminal API also supports device management, device customization, and buyer-facing features such as saving a card on file and signature capture. |
 | Take payments with the Reader SDK and Square Reader or Square Stand The Reader SDK provides an embedded Square checkout flow and accepts in-person payments in a custom Android or iOS application using a Square Reader Contactless Chip or Magstripe or Square Stand. This simplifies chip and NFC payments, addresses EMV certification requirements, and makes PCI compliance easy. The SDK supports authorization, payment processing, and Reader management. If the Reader SDK isn't available in your region, use the Point of Sale API to switch seamlessly to the Square Point of Sale application and collect payment with Square Readers. The Point of Sale API is available for native and web applications on iOS and Android. |
After reviewing an in-person payment integration, compare it against each solution's key features that best suit your seller's business.
| Terminal API | Reader SDK and Point of Sale API | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Square Terminal | Square Reader Square Stand |
| Device support | No device requirements | Requires Android, iOS, or a compatible mobile device. For more information, see Device compatibility. |
| Seller use case | Countertop | Mobile sellers |
| App integration | Seller's custom POS application with the Terminal API | Seller's mobile POS application integrated with the Reader SDK or Point of Sale API. |
| Card payment method | Tap/Dip/Swipe | Tap/Dip Swipe with previous versions of Square Stand or with the audio jack/lightning port for Square Reader Magstripe (R4/R41). |
| Region availability | Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan, Spain, UK, and US | Reader SDK: US only Point of Sale API: outside of the US |
| Integration with other Square APIs and SDKs | Payments API | No direct integration; uses transaction ID as the order ID for a tender. For more information, see Payments API Integration. |
| Payment type support | Afterpay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and credit card | Afterpay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPay, and credit card |
| Sandbox support | Uses Sandbox test device IDs | Not supported. Testing must be done in production using the CASH tender type. |
Did you know?
If sellers enable their account to accept in-person Afterpay payments, they can accept Afterpay payments using Terminal API, Reader SDK, or Point of Sale API with no additional development effort. Buyers with Afterpay accounts can pay with their Afterpay Card using the Google Pay or Apple Pay NFC payment methods on the Square Terminal, Square Reader, or Square Stand. For more information about how sellers can activate Afterpay for in-person payments, see Accept In-Person Payments with Afterpay and Square.
- Guide about taking payments
- Guide about how to connect the Square Terminal to the POS application using the Terminal API
- Quickstart guide to take payments with a sample application
- Reader SDK: How It Works
- Build on Android, iOS, or mobile web
- Point of Sale API: How It Works
If you need more assistance, contact Developer Support or ask for help in the Developer Forums.