1. A card reader
A small Bluetooth reader paired to your phone (Square, SumUp, Stripe and others sell them) takes tap, chip and swipe. It works well and shoppers know it.
The catch: you buy the reader, keep it charged, and ring up every sale yourself, so at a busy stand you become the line. Processing fees apply to each card sale.
2. Tap to pay on your phone
Newer iPhones and many Android phones can accept contactless cards with no reader, through apps from the same payment companies.
It saves buying hardware, but you still ring up each sale, and your phone is out of your hands while you do it.
3. Venmo, Cash App and PayPal
Many vendors tape a Venmo QR to the table. It’s free with a personal account and shoppers like it.
But it isn’t a card, there’s no record of what was bought, and checking “did that come through?” during a rush is slow. Payment apps also ask that business sales use a business profile.
4. QR checkout on the shopper’s phone
The shopper scans a code, taps photos of what they want, and pays on their own phone. The order, with its items and a short code, lands on yours. Stock counts down on its own.
This is how SnapCart works. It takes Apple Pay and cards through Stripe, plus Venmo, PayPal, Cash App and cash, all in the same order list.
Which should you pick?
If most of your sales are big-ticket and one at a time, a reader is fine. If you get rushes of small orders (eggs, bread, coffee, honey), self-checkout keeps the line moving because shoppers ring themselves up. Plenty of vendors use both.
Whatever you pick, keep a cash box for shoppers who prefer it, and check what your market requires for SNAP and token programs.