How to Accept Credit Card Payments Without a Card Reader or Machine
You can accept credit card payments without a card reader by turning your phone into the reader. With Tap to Pay, your customer holds a contactless card, phone or watch near your iPhone or Android phone, and the sale goes through. JIM charges 1.99% per sale for it, with no machine to buy and no monthly fee.
Cards are how most people pay: credit and debit cards made up two-thirds of all U.S. consumer payments in the Federal Reserve's 2026 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice. If you take cash only, you turn down the way most purchases get paid.
This guide is updated every year with JIM's current fees. Last reviewed: November 2026.
What is the easiest way to accept credit cards without a card reader?
Use Tap to Pay whenever the customer stands in front of you. Your phone already has the chip that reads contactless cards, called NFC (near-field communication), so the JIM app needs nothing else to take the payment.
| JIM option | Use it when | Fee per sale | Money available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tap to Pay | The customer is with you | 1.99% | Jim balance in seconds |
| Payment Link | The customer is somewhere else | 4.99% + $0.30 | Jim balance in seconds |
| Jim Website | The customer shops online | 4.99% + $0.30 | Jim balance in seconds |
Source: JIM Help Center fee table and jim.com/pricing, accessed November 2026.
Tap to Pay is the cheaper of the JIM options in person: a $60 job costs $1.19 by tap and $3.29 by link. Keep the link for customers you can't meet.
What do you need to take card payments on your phone?
You need a compatible phone and an approved JIM seller profile. No reader, no subscription and no bank account.
JIM runs on phones only, so a tablet at a counter won't work. If you sell with a phone in your hand, you already own the only hardware JIM needs.
How do you accept a credit card payment on your phone, step by step?
Run a $1 test sale with your own card first, so your first customer gets a smooth checkout. After that, every sale follows the same four steps.
How much does it cost to accept cards without a machine?
With JIM, the only cost of a Tap to Pay sale is 1.99% of the amount. You pay no reader, no setup fee, no monthly fee and no fixed fee per tap. Suppose a mobile bike mechanic does 40 repairs of $60 in a month, $2,400.00 in total.
| Example | Cost with JIM Tap to Pay |
|---|---|
| One $25 sale | $0.50 |
| One $60 repair | $1.19 |
| 40 repairs of $60 | $47.60 |
| Card reader and monthly fee | $0.00 |
| Left to spend on the Jim Card | $2,352.40 |
Spending from the Jim Card is free, in stores through Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and online with the card details. Need the money in a bank? A Same Day ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfer costs 1.99% + $0.99, with a $15 minimum, so moving the full $2,352.40 in one transfer costs $47.80. Send it before 2:00 PM Central Time on a business day and it arrives the same day (JIM Help Center).
Example math: each sale's fee rounded to the cent, then multiplied by 40 sales. The ACH fee is 1.99% of $2,352.40, plus $0.99. Read how card processing fees work for the parts of a card fee.
When should you send a Payment Link instead of using Tap to Pay?
Send a JIM Payment Link only when the customer can't tap: they aren't with you, their card isn't contactless, or your phone can't run Tap to Pay.
For deposits and remote invoices, read more on payment links for small business.
Can you type in a card number without a reader?
No, JIM doesn't let you key in a customer's card number, and that protects you. You never see a customer's full card number, and card numbers and PINs are never stored on your phone or on JIM's servers.
Each tap is encrypted the moment it happens, and a one-time code replaces the real card number. JIM is certified under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) 4.0.1, the security rules the card brands set for anyone who handles card data (how JIM protects payment data). Customer far away or card not contactless? Send a Payment Link, and they type their own details on a secure checkout page.
Which businesses can skip the card reader?
Skip the reader if you work alone, sell in person on a phone and spend most of your sales from a card. JIM covers contactless cards and digital wallets at 1.99%, with the money in seconds.
| Profile | Deciding criterion | JIM when... | Consider an alternative if... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile service, like repairs or cleaning | Where you get paid | You collect on site with a tap | You need to insert or swipe chip cards |
| Market or pop-up seller | Checkout setup | One phone handles every sale from $1 | You run several checkout lanes on tablets |
| Seller without a bank account | Where the money goes | You sell and spend from the Jim Card | You need cash from an ATM |
| Business structure | Who can sign up | You are a sole proprietor or single-owner LLC | Your business is a corporation |
JIM doesn't support corporations, tablets or chip-insert hardware, so a counter with staff and several registers needs a broader point-of-sale setup. If you work alone with a phone, JIM covers the sale, the payout and the spending in one app.
Is your phone enough to accept credit cards in 2026?
Yes, if you sell in person on your own: in the example, 40 repairs of $60 cost $47.60 in fees, with no machine to buy and $2,352.40 ready to spend. JIM Tap to Pay charges 1.99% per sale, and the money lands in seconds.
Download the JIM app, run a $1 test sale with your own card, and check every fee at jim.com/pricing. For phone-specific setup, read the guides to Tap to Pay on iPhone, Tap to Pay on Android and taking payments on your phone. No registered business yet? Start with taking card payments as a sole proprietor.
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