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Dev Essentials
PaymentsCommerceCustomersStaffMerchants
Publish
Release notes

Docs

Docs Home
Dev Essentials
Payments
Commerce
Customers
Staff
Merchants
Publish
Release notes
Overview
Build a Tip Report
Split an Online Payment
Build a Sales Report
Delayed Capture
Partial Payments
Statement Descriptions
ACH Bank Transfer Payment
Afterpay and Clearpay Payments
Cash App Payments
Cash Payments
External Payments
House Accounts
Collect Application Fees
Update Payment and Tip Amounts
Retrieve Payments
Troubleshoot
Webhooks
Refund Payments
Refund a Payment with an App Fee
Retrieve Refunds
Process an Unlinked Refund
Webhooks
Process Disputes
Test in the Sandbox
Take Payments on Hardware
Quickstart
Take Payments for Orders
Take One-Off Payments
POS App Pairing
Monitor Square Terminals
Check Device Information
Add Payment and Checkout Features
Save Card on File
Print or Issue Receipts
Customize the Idle Screen
Confirmation Screen
Signature Capture Screen
Data Collection Screen
Menu Selection List Screen
QR Code Screen
Link and Dismiss Actions
Manage Terminal Actions
Authorize the Mobile Payments SDK
Pair and Manage Card Readers
Take a Payment
Tap to Pay on Android
Offline Payments
Handling Errors
Authorize the Mobile Payments SDK
Pair and Manage Card Readers
Take a Payment
Tap to Pay on iPhone
Offline Payments
Configure for Square Stand or Square Kiosk
Handling Errors
Migrate from Reader SDK
React Native Plugin
Flutter Plugin
Reader SDK
Migrate to Mobile Payments SDK
Get Credentials
Configure the Sample Application
Take a Cash Payment
Customize the Checkout Amount
Take a Credit Card Payment
How It Works
Build on Android
Build on iOS
Connect a Contactless Reader
Charge a Card on File
Save a Card on File
Configure on iOS for Square Stand
Deauthorize Reader SDK
Capture a Transaction
Delay the Capture of Payments
Configure APK Splits
Update to New Reader SDK Version
Flutter Plugin
React Native Plugin
How It Works
Build on Android
Build on iOS
Build on Mobile Web
Find Your Android Fingerprint
Use the API in Offline Mode
Add an Alert Dialog Helper Class
Accept E-Money Payments
Accept PayPay Payments
Mobile Web Technical Reference
Payments API Integration
Set Up the Web Client App
Add the SDK to the Web Client
Deploy the Application
Take a Card Payment
Apple Pay
Google Pay
Digital Wallet Payment Requests
ACH Bank Transfer
Afterpay
Cash App Pay
Take a Gift Card Payment
Take Partial Payments
Customize the Card Entry Form
Charge and Store Cards
Add a Content Security Policy
Set up the Client
Deploy the Server
Install the SDK
Build on Android
Build on iOS
Google Pay
Apple Pay
Enable SRC for Android
Enable SRC for iOS
Localize an Application
Gift Card Payments
Flutter Plugin
React Native Plugin
Customize the Payment Entry Form
Connect to a Backend Service
Remove the Postal Code Requirement
Troubleshoot
How It Works
Verify a Buyer
Quick Pay Checkout
Square Order Checkout
Subscription Plan Checkout
Checkout Settings
Checkout Configurations
Manage Checkout
Guidelines and Limitations
Subscription Plans and Variations
Manage Subscriptions
Subscription Actions and Events
Pause, Resume, or Cancel Subscriptions
Subscription Billing and Invoices
Swap Subscription Plan Variations
Create and Publish Invoices
Retrieve, List, or Search Invoices
Create or Delete Invoice Attachments
Update Invoices
Cancel or Delete Invoices
Pay or Refund Invoices
Walkthrough: Create and Publish Invoices
Manage Cards
Create a Card on File from Payment ID
Create a Card on File and Make a Payment
Create a Shared Card on File and Make a Payment
Manage Card Declines
List Payouts
Get Payout
List Payout Entries
Bank Accounts
How It Works
Build with Mobile Authorization
Get Authorization Code on Command Line
Payment Methods by Country
Payments Pricing
Strong Customer Authentication
Payment Minimums

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Payments

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Take Payments on Hardware

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Reader SDK

Charge a Card on File

Applies to: Reader SDK - Android | Reader SDK - iOS | Customers API | Payments API

Learn how to enable recurring payments and create a seamless purchase experience for returning customers.

Warning

The Square Reader SDK is deprecated and will be retired on December 31, 2025. The SDK is no longer receiving new releases and support for new operating systems isn't guaranteed.

The Mobile Payments SDK launched as the successor of the Reader SDK and is now in General Availability (GA). To ensure continued support and functionality, you should migrate your application from the Reader SDK to the Mobile Payments SDK before the retirement date.

Requirements and limitations
Link to section

Requirements and limitations

  • You need an access token. If you're using OAuth, you need CUSTOMERS_WRITE permission to save a card on file and PAYMENTS_WRITE permission to process payments with the saved card. Cards on file are automatically updated on a monthly basis to confirm that they're still valid and can be charged.
  • You need to create a Customer object using the Customers API. To create your first Customer object, see Customers API.
  • You need a customer card on file. To save a card with the Reader SDK, see Save a Card on File.
Link to section

Charge a card on file

After you save a card on file, you can use the Payments API and call the CreatePayment endpoint to process the saved card. If you're using OAuth, you need PAYMENTS_WRITE permission.

To charge a saved card, use the Payments API and set the source_id and customer_id fields in the CreatePayment object:

  • Replace {CARD_ID} with an existing card ID.
  • Replace {CUSTOMER_ID} with an existing customer ID.
  • Replace {LOCATION_ID} with an existing location ID.

Create payment

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Requirements and limitationsCharge a card on file