SoftPOS — software point of sale — turns a regular smartphone into a contactless card terminal using the phone's NFC chip. Apple calls its version Tap to Pay on iPhone; Android has its own. In Canada, two processors offer it today: Square and Moneris. If you're buying your first terminal or replacing an old one, this is the option to price first.
Who offers tap-to-pay on phone in Canada
| Processor | Product | How it works | Hardware cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square | Tap to Pay on iPhone | Inside the Square POS, Square for Retail, or Square Appointments iOS app; iPhone XS or later on current iOS. Launched in Canada in 2024. | $0 — no reader, no terminal, no additional cost to enable |
| Moneris | Tap to Pay on iPhone / on Android | Inside the Moneris Go app; iPhone or compatible Android device. No extra readers or hardware. | Starting at $0/month |
Both accept contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets — the buyer just holds their card or phone near yours. Apple's version uses the iPhone's built-in security features, and Apple does not store card numbers on the device or on Apple servers. The use cases both vendors push are the same: mobile businesses, on-location services, markets and pop-ups, and line-busting inside a store.
The published pricing for the phone path
Here's the part most coverage skips: what you pay per transaction on the phone path.
Moneris publishes its flat-rate pricing right on the SoftPOS pages: 2.45% + $0.10 per credit transaction, and debit at 0.70% + $0.12 (one Moneris page lists Interac debit at a flat $0.12 per transaction). That's the same flat rate as their terminal business — the phone doesn't cost extra per tap.
Square launched Tap to Pay on iPhone in Canada at "no additional cost" — but Square's per-transaction rate for tap-to-pay transactions wasn't published in the sources we checked. Don't assume it matches Square's terminal or keyed rates; confirm the applicable rate inside your Square account before you rely on it. This is exactly the kind of assumption that shows up as a surprise line on statement three.
The hardware-savings math
Terminal vs phone, two years: Moneris's Go Terminal lists at $34.95/month — that's $419.40/year, or $838.80 over two years, per terminal. The Go Slim lists at $39.95/month ($958.80 over two years). The SoftPOS path lists hardware starting at $0/month. For a single-location merchant replacing one terminal with a phone they already own, the hardware savings are roughly $840 over two years — before counting the spare terminal, the charging cables, and the receipt paper you no longer buy.
The honest caveats: you still need a compatible phone (iPhone XS or later for Apple's version), and a phone doing terminal duty all day needs charging discipline and a backup plan if it dies mid-shift. For a market stall or a mobile service business, those are trivial. For a high-volume counter, keep one real terminal as backup and run the phone as the second lane — you still save the second terminal's monthly fee.
Get set up: the procedure
- Check compatibility. iPhone XS or later running the current iOS (for Tap to Pay on iPhone), or a compatible Android device with NFC (for Moneris's Android path).
- Download the processor's app. Square: Square POS, Square for Retail, or Square Appointments from the App Store. Moneris: the Moneris Go app.
- Complete the merchant application. Sign up in the app and finish the application form — you're opening a merchant account, not just installing software. Approval is the step that takes time; don't leave it for the morning of your first market day.
- Enable Tap to Pay. In the app's settings, turn on Tap to Pay on iPhone (or Android). No pairing, no Bluetooth, no reader to charge.
- Run a test sale. Ring up a $1 sale and tap your own contactless card. Confirm the funds land in your expected deposit account on the expected schedule.
- Confirm your per-transaction rate in writing. Screenshot or save the rate shown in your account — for Square especially, since the tap-to-pay rate wasn't published in the sources we checked.
What success looks like: a customer taps their card on your phone, the sale completes in seconds, the receipt goes by text or email, and the deposit hits your bank on the schedule your processor promised — with no terminal on the counter and no terminal fee on the statement.
FAQ
Can I use my phone as a card reader in Canada?
Yes — Square (Tap to Pay on iPhone, launched in Canada in 2024) and Moneris (Tap to Pay on iPhone and on Android via the Moneris Go app) both offer it. You need a compatible phone and a merchant account with the processor; no separate reader hardware.
Does Square tap-to-pay cost extra?
Enabling it costs nothing extra, but the per-transaction rate for tap-to-pay sales wasn't published in the sources we checked — confirm your applicable rate inside your Square account rather than assuming it matches other Square rates.
Is tap-to-pay on a phone safe?
It uses the same NFC and tokenization as a physical terminal. Apple's implementation keeps card numbers off the device and off Apple servers. The security question isn't the phone — it's your account credentials, so use a strong unique password and two-factor authentication on the merchant account.