Tap-to-Pay Mobile App—Accept Payments on Your Phone

iphone apple watch tap to pay on iphone

Mobile payment processing requires you to connect a card reader.

These readers break, get lost, need charging, and add one more thing to carry. They’re also an upfront cost and a barrier to getting started.

But, what if your phone was the card reader?

Your phone is the card reader!

Our tap-to-pay mobile payment app uses the NFC technology already built into modern smartphones to accept contactless payments directly—no external hardware whatsoever!

NO Setup Fees, NO Early Termination Fees, & NO Garbage Fees

Next-day funding to improve cash flow

Bluetooth card reader included at no additional cost

680bbfae9a3e89c72e240071 no additional hardware tap to pay

How Our Hardware-Free Solution Works

No External Card Reader Required

Your smartphone’s built-in NFC chip becomes the payment terminal. Customers tap their card or mobile wallet directly on your phone screen.

Accept All Contactless Payment Types

Process contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and mobile wallets. Simply tap the contactless symbol on your phone screen!

Works Offline When Connectivity Is Poor

Spotty cell service or no Wi-Fi? The app stores transactions locally and processes them automatically once you reconnect. Never lose a sale from poor reception.

Start Accepting Payments in Minutes

After approval you simply download the app, login, and you’re live. No waiting for hardware to ship, no complicated installation process. Accept payments in minutes.

Integrated Invoicing and Receipt Delivery

Send invoices directly from the app! You can email or text receipts to customers instantly. Track which invoices are paid and which are outstanding within the same system.

Secure, PCI-Compliant Processing

Card data is encrypted immediately at the point of tap and never stored on your device. The app meets all PCI compliance requirements, protecting everyone’s data.

Choose Your Processing Rates

Every business operates differently; your payment processing rates should reflect that. NorthStar offers multiple pricing models tailored to your business, with rates starting at:

Dual Pricing

Eliminate Payment Processing expenses by passing the processing costs to the client.

0%

processing costs

3.50% surcharged to your client

3.00% passed to the client

Card Price and Cash Price advertised

Month-to-Month term, NO Penalty

Next-day funding included

Wholesale

Transparent and Fair Pricing based on actual card interchange costs plus a small, fixed margin.

Cost + 0.25%

+ 10¢ per transaction

Lowest cost pricing model

Excellent true cost visibility

Month-to-Month term, NO Penalty

Next-day funding included

Flat Rate

Simple, Predictable Pricing with no complicated rate structures. One Flat Rate for tapped payments.

2.55%

+ 10¢ per transaction

Easy Budgeting

Straightforward Statements

Month-to-Month term, NO Penalty

Next-day funding included

See How Much You’ll Save

Upload your latest statement and get a free cost comparison in 48 hours.

What Makes NorthStar Different

Perfect for Mobile Businesses

Ideal for businesses that operate on the go: personal trainers, mobile beauty services, pet groomers, photographers, vendors, food trucks, home-based businesses, and even fixed retail locations.

Faster Setup Than Any Other Solution

Traditional merchant accounts take days or weeks to set up and require hardware shipping. Our mobile payment app gets you processing payments within minutes after approval!

Lower Total Cost of Ownership

When you factor in hardware purchase costs, replacement costs when devices break, and the time cost of managing physical equipment, hardware-free processing is significantly cheaper over time.

Latest and Greatest PayTech

New features, security updates, and payment technology improvements are delivered automatically through app updates. You’re never running outdated payment technology!

Scales with Your Business

Start with just your phone, then add our virtual terminal for phone orders, e-commerce integration for online sales, or EMV terminals if you open a physical location.

FAQs

What Phones are Compatible with Tap-to-Pay?

iPhone XS and newer models support tap-to-pay through our iOS app, software version iOS 15.4 or newer. For Android, most devices running Android 9.0 or newer with NFC capability are compatible.

Can I Still Accept Payments if The Customer Doesn’t Have a Contactless Card?

Yes. NorthStar includes a complimentary Bluetooth Card Reader as a backup. While the app’s primary function is tap-to-pay, you can also manually key in card details for customers who have traditional cards without contactless capability. Manually keyed transactions carry slightly higher processing rates due to increased fraud risk.

How Does Dual Pricing work?

Your clients see two prices: a cash/ACH price and a card price. The card price includes a 3.50% convenience fee that covers processing costs—so you keep 100% of your revenue instead of losing it to fees. Dual Pricing also includes Debit Cards!

What are Interchange Costs and how does Wholesale Pricing work?

Interchange costs are the non-negotiable, baseline fees established directly by the card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Amercian Express). Wholesale Pricing is an unbundled, itemized pricing structure where you pay the exact baseline Interchange of the transaction (the cost) plus a single, fixed, transparent margin (the plus).

Is This as Secure as Using a Traditional Card Reader?

Yes. Tap-to-pay is actually more secure than swiping or manually entering card details. Contactless transactions use tokenization and dynamic cryptography—each transaction generates a unique code that can’t be reused. Even if someone intercepted the data, it would be useless for fraudulent transactions.

How secure is NorthStar?

We’re PCI DSS Level 1 certified—the highest security standard in the payment industry. All card data is encrypted and stored in our secure vault, so your firm never touches sensitive payment information.

What forms of payment can I accept?

All major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover), debit cards, and ACH/eCheck payments—both in-office and online.

What is the maximum payment amount?

No transaction limits. Process retainers, settlements, and large fee payments without restrictions.

How can I accept payments?

Online (website or secure payment links), in-person (countertop terminal), on-the-go (mobile app), or directly through your practice management software integration.

How long until I receive deposits?

Next business day. Funds are deposited directly into your account within 24 hours of processing. Same-day funding is available for payments batched out before 12:00 PM EST.

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