Simplify your payment acceptance and troubleshoot issues quickly with Tap to Pay on iPhone. When a transaction fails, the cause is often simple to identify and resolve.
This guide walks you through optimizing NFC reading, advising your customer about their card, resolving specific error messages, and diagnosing card detection issues. You will learn to quickly pinpoint whether the issue comes from positioning, settings, or hardware.
📱 This feature is available on compatible iPhones with the Qonto app.
How do I verify my iPhone is reading the card correctly?
NFC reading can fail for several reasons related to card positioning and timing:
- Incorrect card position: Ask your customer to hold their device or card horizontally, above the contactless symbol displayed on the upper part of your iPhone. If the card still isn't read, slide the card to center the chip directly on the device's notch.
- Timeout expired: Reading too quickly or insufficient card contact can cause a timeout. Ask your customer to hold the card still for a few extra seconds.
💡 Good to know: Metal cards are harder to detect. Suggest your customer use a standard plastic card if possible.
What issues might my customer encounter with their card?
Several customer-side reasons can explain a declined transaction:
- Unsupported card: Only Visa and Mastercard are accepted. Ask the customer to use a compatible card if possible.
- Contactless payment disabled: The function may be disabled on the card. Advise the customer to check their banking app or contact their bank to ensure contactless payments are enabled.
- Issuer decline: The customer's bank may block the transaction for various reasons (insufficient funds, limit reached, security). Suggest the customer verify their balance and contact their bank for more information.
- Damaged card: If the contactless card still isn't read and the interface displays no message, the card's antenna may be damaged.
Why am I getting the message "An error occurred"?
If you receive this message during a payment collection, two main reasons can explain it:
Your iPhone isn't protected by a passcode:
For security reasons, Tap to Pay only works if your iPhone is protected by a passcode.
- Go to Settings → Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode)
- Enable a passcode if not already done
- Return to the Qonto app and retry the payment collection
You are an Employee and the Admin hasn't accepted the terms:
If you have an Employee role, your account Admin must first accept the Tap to Pay on iPhone Terms and Conditions.
- Ask your Admin to log into the Qonto app on an iPhone
- The Admin must complete a first payment collection with Tap to Pay
- The Admin will accept the Terms and Conditions during this process
- Once this step is completed, all Employees can use Tap to Pay
☝️ Important: Verify with your Admin that Tap to Pay works correctly on their end before trying again.
Why isn't my customer's card being detected?
If you can enter an amount but nothing happens when the card is presented, follow these troubleshooting steps:
Optimize card positioning:
- Ask your customer to place the card at the top of the iPhone screen, at the contactless symbol level.
- Have them hold the card still for several seconds, as detection can take time.
- Test different orientations by rotating the card horizontally, then vertically—the NFC chip location varies by issuing bank.
- Avoid moving the card too quickly during the reading process.
Consult Apple's demonstration videos to visualize correct positioning.
Test with another card or digital wallet:
- Ask your customer to try with another physical bank card if they have one.
- Suggest using Apple Pay or another compatible digital wallet.
- If payment works with another method, the problem stems from the original card.
Verify your iPhone's NFC reader:
- If you have access to another compatible iPhone, try collecting a payment with it.
- If you don't have another device, test your iPhone's NFC detection using Apple's Shortcuts app.
- If your iPhone doesn't detect any card with these methods, it's likely a hardware issue.
- In this case, contact Apple Support to have your device checked.
- Meanwhile, use a Qonto payment terminal to continue collecting payments from your customers.
- Contact Qonto support if you need assistance: support@qonto.com