Stripe launches Tap to Pay on Android

  • Tap to Pay on Android is now available through Stripe Terminal for in-person contactless payments in the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore.
  • Businesses running on platforms including Squire, FareHarbor, Oddle, and GiveTap can now accept in-person contactless payments on Android phones and tablets.

SAN FRANCISCO—Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today announced support for Tap to Pay on Android, enabling businesses in six countries to accept contactless in-person payments using a compatible phone or tablet.

Tap to Pay on Android helps businesses build and customize in-person checkouts without the need for traditional point-of-sale hardware. Squire, a barbershop business management platform, recently adopted Tap to Pay on Android with Stripe to make it easier for barbershops to accept in-person payments.

"We're constantly working to improve the current payment experience and make it as seamless as possible," said Aram Muradyan, head of product at Squire. "Thanks to the Stripe Terminal SDK, our mobile teams were able to implement Tap to Pay on Android phones in just two weeks with minimal resources.”

Shoppers expect a unified commerce experience

A recent Stripe survey found that 65% of businesses plan to prioritize a unified in-person and online checkout experience this year, while an industry report reported that 64% of shoppers prefer brands with an online and in-store presence.

With fast integrations and no additional hardware required, Tap to Pay helps businesses add or expand in-person payments with minimal cost and effort, giving businesses across the globe that run on Stripe another way to capture revenue.

“Contactless payments are increasingly becoming the norm, therefore it's crucial that businesses of all sizes are able to accept this form of payment,” said Dong Min Kim, director of product management, Google Payments. "Android devices already connect billions of people globally, and by teaming up with Stripe to support Tap to Pay, we are providing businesses who have Android devices an easy and cost-effective way to accept contactless payments from their customers."

Businesses can grow without traditional hardware

Tap to Pay is a feature of Stripe Terminal, which includes a set of APIs and SDKs supporting in-person payments with developer interfaces, card readers, and logistics management.

While some businesses opt for Terminal's dedicated card readers, Tap to Pay on Android provides an alternative that allows businesses to turn compatible Android devices into contactless mobile card readers.

“Stripe’s launch of Tap to Pay on Android puts contactless payments hardware into the pockets of millions of businesses around the world. Now any business can set up in-person checkout in minutes,” said John Affaki, Terminal business lead at Stripe.

Through Terminal, Tap to Pay is fully integrated with the rest of Stripe, so businesses can manage their in-person and online payments all in one place. This allows them to track customer transactions across channels, provide seamless customer experiences, and simplify reporting and revenue reconciliation. Both Terminal and Tap to Pay are fully compatible with Stripe Connect, which makes it easy for platform businesses to offer their users the ability to accept in-person payments.

FareHarbor, which provides activity and booking software for tour operators, needed a simpler and mobile-friendly payment option for its users. FareHarbor merchants found that Tap to Pay took only minutes to set up and led to a quicker checkout experience for their customers.

“Tap to Pay on Android is an exciting innovation that will give our clients more flexibility to accept in-person payments anywhere,” said Dominique Oosthuizen, product manager at FareHarbor. “Whether our clients are meeting guests at check-in or wrapping up a tour, they only need to carry their phones to accept payments. The broad device compatibility and the affordable price points of Android devices are meaningful value drivers.”

Stripe’s Tap to Pay on Android is currently available in beta on any NFC-enabled Android phone or tablet in the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore. It supports transactions made with mobile payments like Google Pay, as well as Mastercard, Visa, and American Express debit and credit cards.

Learn more about Tap to Pay and Stripe here.