7 Best Credit Card Readers for Android in 2024

Why we chose Square Reader

The Square Reader takes the top spot for all-around use, offering a combination of affordability, versatility, and advanced features that make it suitable for businesses of all sizes. 

The first factor many users notice is its cost-effectiveness, with a free magstripe reader and no monthly fees. This makes it a particularly attractive option, especially for small businesses. The reader accepts a wide range of payment methods, including EMV chip cards and contactless options like Apple Pay and Google Pay, giving your customers flexibility in how they pay. 

Square’s latest reader boasts improved technology, with longer battery life and enhanced Bluetooth connectivity, allowing for more reliable operations. Beyond just processing ecommerce payments, Square provides a comprehensive business solution, offering tools for invoicing, analytics, and specialized features for retail and restaurant businesses. 

This integrated ecosystem sets it apart from competitors that focus solely on transactions. While some users have reported occasional issues with fund holds, Square generally offers quick access to your money with next-day transfers to your bank account. When compared to alternatives like Clover Go, PayPal, Helcim, or Stripe M2, Square often emerges as the top choice due to its balance of features, pricing, and overall functionality. 

Why we chose Clover Go

Clover Go provides significant value through its integrations, security, CRM tools, and detailed analytics, making it a powerful choice for businesses that need a versatile, extensive, and secure mobile payment solution.

Unlike Square, which is designed for beginners with a simpler setup and no monthly fees, Clover Go caters to businesses with higher transaction volumes and specific needs. Its extensive integration capabilities allow seamless syncing with other Clover products and the Clover App Market, facilitating efficient data management and operations. This integration flexibility outshines competitors like Square, which is limited to its own ecosystem. 

Additionally, Clover Go offers superior security features, including end-to-end encryption, tokenization, tamper-detecting sensors, and two-factor authentication, making it ideal for businesses that prioritize transaction security. In contrast, while Square offers solid security, it does not match Clover Go’s comprehensive measures.

Clover Go also provides advanced CRM tools, such as email lists, loyalty programs, and gift cards, to help businesses engage and retain customers, a feature set more extensive than Square’s. Its detailed reporting and analytics tools enable businesses to track revenue, analyze sales data, and monitor performance across multiple locations, supporting better business decisions. Square’s reporting capabilities are solid but lack the depth and flexibility of Clover Go. 

Why we chose Chase Payment Solutions

Chase Payment Solutions is a top choice for businesses prioritizing quick access to funds. The same-day deposits at no extra cost when using a Chase business checking account is a feature that outperforms competitors like Square and Clover. This rapid fund availability can be crucial if you need immediate access to cash for daily operations. 

The service offers competitive transaction fees, with rates of 2.6% + 10¢ for dip, swipe, and tap transactions and 3.5% + 10¢ for manual entries and payment links. Most businesses won’t face monthly fees, potentially reducing your fixed costs. Chase also provides strong security measures, including PCI compliance, real-time fraud monitoring, and advanced encryption, helping you to protect customer data and maintain trust. 

Through the Chase POS app and Card Reader, you have access to an integrated suite of tools for managing your product catalog, inventory, and employee access, all from your smartphone. This integration offers more flexibility than some competitors like PayPal. 

However, Chase’s limited POS hardware options compared to specialized POS systems like Clover might be a drawback if you need a wider range of physical payment solutions.

Why we chose Stripe M2

If you’re running an online business, Stripe Reader M2 might be your best bet for handling payments. It’s designed to work seamlessly with Stripe’s online tools, which is great if you’re selling products or services on the internet. You’ll pay 2.9% + 30¢ for online transactions and 2.7% + 5¢ when you use the Stripe Reader M2 in person. These rates are competitive, especially if you’re dealing with customers from around the world.

The reader itself is a unique selling point. It’s small enough to carry around easily and can handle chip cards, contactless payments, and old-school magstripe swipes. Plus, it uses Bluetooth to connect to your devices, so you won’t be tangled up in wires. You can use it for up to 28 hours on a single charge, which is handy if you’re out and about all day catering, in a food truck, or for any mobile business. 

Concerning security, they’ve built in some heavy-duty encryption to keep your customers’ data safe. This is crucial if you want to build trust with your shoppers.

Now, setting up Stripe might take a bit more work than some other options out there. But if you’re tech-savvy or have a developer on your team, you’ll appreciate the flexibility. You can really customize how Stripe works with your business, which is great if you have specific needs or want to create a unique checkout experience for your customers.

Why we chose Helcim

If you’re looking to keep your transaction fees low, Helcim might be the perfect fit for your Android-based business. They use a pricing model called interchange-plus pricing, which means you pay the true cost of processing plus a small markup. This can save you a bundle, especially if you’re processing more than $5,000 a month.

You’ll pay 0.3% + 8¢ for in-person transactions and 0.5% + 25¢ for online or phone orders on top of interchange fees. Compare that to flat-rate providers like Square, and you could see some serious savings. Plus, there are no monthly fees or long-term contracts to worry about, so you’re not locked into anything.

When it comes to actually taking payments, Helcim’s got you covered with its Card Reader and Smart Terminal. They can handle many types of payments—tap, chip, and PIN, even mobile wallets.

Now, if you’re just starting out and processing less than $5,000 a month, Helcim might not be the most cost-effective option for you. But as your business grows, you will quickly start to see the benefits of their pricing model.

Why we chose SumUp

If you’re running a small business on a tight budget, SumUp might be the perfect card reader for you. They offer two main options: the SumUp Plus for about $39, which connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth, and the SumUp Solo for $99. The Solo is pretty nifty—it works on its own with built-in WiFi and a SIM card, so you can take payments anywhere without needing your phone.

One of the best things about SumUp is its straightforward pricing. There are no monthly fees to worry about—you’ll just pay 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction when you’re face-to-face with customers. This keeps things simple and predictable for your budget. If you’re processing a lot of payments, they do have a premium plan called SumUp One for $29 a month that drops your fees to 0.99% and gets you paid faster.

The free SumUp app covers most small business needs. It handles all the types of payments you could encounter—magstripe, chip, contactless, and even Google Pay and Apple Pay. You can also use it to keep track of your inventory, send invoices, and email or text receipts to your customers. It’s a solid all-in-one package that doesn’t require any extra investment.

Now, SumUp isn’t perfect. Their customer support isn’t available 24/7, and they don’t have a live chat option. Also, if you’re looking to do a lot of online selling or need advanced marketing tools, you might find SumUp a bit basic. Their app has some basic CRM and loyalty program features, but it doesn’t integrate with more advanced marketing tools or offer extensive customization for e-commerce.

Compared to some other credit card payment apps, like Helcim, SumUp is more straightforward. Helcim has some great features like advanced invoicing, detailed reporting, and customer management tools, plus low transaction fees. But it comes with higher upfront costs that might not work for you if you’re just starting out or running on a tight budget.

Why we chose Shopify

If you’re running a business that sells both online and in physical stores, you’ve probably faced the headache of keeping everything in sync. That’s where Shopify comes into play. It’s designed to be your one-stop-shop for managing sales.

At $49, the Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader won’t break the bank, and it’s built to work seamlessly with Shopify’s POS system. This means you can keep track of your inventory, customer info, and sales reports all in one place, whether someone’s buying from your website or your brick-and-mortar store.

The reader connects to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, so you won’t have to deal with a mess of wires. It also accepts all the usual payment methods, including credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

Shopify’s system provides an advantage over many competitors by going beyond just taking payments. It gives you tools to dig into your sales data, manage your inventory, and monitor your customer relationships. This is great if you’re looking to really understand your business and make smart decisions based on data. However, if you’re running a simple operation, you might find it’s more than you need.

When compared to competitors like Stripe, Shopify is more of an all-rounder. Stripe’s fantastic for online payments, but if you need a system that handles both online and in-store sales, Shopify has the edge.

While the card reader itself is affordable, you’ll need to subscribe to a Shopify plan to use it. These plans range from $29 to $299 a month, which could be a significant chunk of change for some small businesses.

Transaction fees are another consideration. For in-person sales, you’re looking at 2.4% to 2.7% per transaction, depending on your plan. Online sales have slightly higher fees. These rates are competitive, but they’re not the absolute cheapest card processing out there.