Tap to Pay turns your own iPhone or Android phone into a card reader, so a customer taps their contactless card or phone on yours. In NZ you can start with no hardware and, with the right provider, no monthly fee. The cheapest published rates are ANZ FastPay Tap at 0.70% on domestic debit cards, and Tap to Pay on Xero at 2.7% + 20c with no monthly cost.
This is our own desk research from each provider's official pages, checked on 5 November 2026. We haven't run these services ourselves. Fees change, so confirm with the provider before you sign up.
Tap to Pay in NZ: the options side by side
| Provider | Phone | Published fees | Catches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tap to Pay on Xero (via Stripe) | iPhone and Android | 2.7% + $0.20 domestic, 3.5% + $0.20 international; no sign-up, setup or monthly costs | Needs a Stripe account and an invoice raised first |
| ANZ FastPay Tap | iPhone and Android | $0 set-up; $10 + GST a month per connection; 0.70% domestic debit, 1.25% domestic credit, 1.85% international; iPhone also $5 + GST a month per device | ANZ bank account; Visa and Mastercard contactless only; credit-approved |
| Paymark Tap on Mobile | iPhone and Android | No price published; Paymark says no network fee saves up to $18.90 a month | Contact form; most applications approved within 5 business days |
| Stripe (direct) | iPhone and Android | From 2.6% + NZ$0.05 domestic in person, + NZ$0.15 per Tap to Pay authorisation, + 0.1% international | Needs an app or build that uses Stripe's Tap to Pay |
| Windcave | iPhone | Not published | Quote needed |
| Shopify POS | Android confirmed; iPhone not confirmed | See Shopify POS | Check your phone model and country support |
All fees are as published by each provider on 5 November 2026. GST isn't stated on the Xero and Stripe percentage rates.
Tap to Pay on Xero
Xero's NZ page says "The fees are 2.7% + $0.20 per transaction for domestic cards, and 3.5% + $0.20 per transaction for international cards", with no sign-up, setup or monthly costs. You need "a Stripe account and the Xero Accounting app on your mobile phone", and it isn't available if you have multiple Stripe accounts connected to your organisation.
The catch for a stall: it works from an invoice. You "create an invoice in the Xero Accounting app and select Take payment", and the invoice is then marked as paid and ready to reconcile. That's great if Xero is already your books, and fiddly for forty small sales on a Saturday. Our POS and Xero guide covers POS systems that send sales into Xero instead.
On an iPhone it takes physical debit and credit cards, Apple Pay and other wallets. On Android it takes contactless cards, wallets and wearables such as smartwatches.
ANZ FastPay Tap
ANZ's page lists $0 set-up and a $10 + GST monthly support fee per connection. Rates are 0.70% for domestic debit contactless, 1.25% for domestic credit contactless and 1.85% for international cards, with Interchange Plus available on request. The iPhone version lists an extra $5 + GST per device a month. ANZ also says there are no contracts or short-term rental fees.
What to watch:
- ANZ bank account needed, and funds settle into an ANZ account.
- Visa and Mastercard contactless only. "EFTPOS transactions are not available for FastPay Tap."
- Eligibility: ANZ lists NZ citizens, permanent residents or holders of a work visa valid for 12 months, and approval depends on its credit criteria.
- A 0.70% debit rate beats Xero's 2.7% on debit-heavy sales, but the fixed monthly fees mean it pays off at higher volumes. As an illustration only: $2,000 of domestic debit in a month costs $14 in transaction fees plus $10 support (and $5 device on iPhone), before GST, against $54 + 40c per sale on Xero.
Paymark Tap on Mobile
Paymark's product turns an NFC phone into a contactless terminal with no extra hardware: iPhone on any model running the last three iOS versions, or Android on the last three OS versions (currently v12 or higher) with Google Mobile Services. It takes Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Direct Pay and other wallets, and says "No specific bank required." Paymark publishes no price. It says "most applications for Tap on Mobile can be approved within 5 business days". See also our mobile EFTPOS guide.
Stripe, Windcave and Shopify
- Stripe lists in-person domestic cards "starting at 2.6% + NZ$0.05", plus NZ$0.15 per authorisation for Tap to Pay. That's the engine behind Xero's Tap to Pay and some POS apps, so check whether your POS adds its own fee.
- Windcave offers Tap to Pay on iPhone in NZ but doesn't publish a price in its announcement.
- Shopify POS: its changelog lists New Zealand for Tap to Pay on Android. For iPhone we couldn't confirm it: an April 2025 community thread had Shopify support saying it wasn't available in NZ. Read our Shopify POS and EFTPOS guide first.
- Shift4 Low Cost Tap & Pay is a rented Android terminal rather than a phone app: see our Shift4 guide.
Tap to Pay at a market stall
It works well for a quiet stall, but check these first:
- Signal. It needs mobile data or Wi-Fi. A hired 4G terminal has an offline mode for inserted cards; Tap to Pay doesn't. Our food truck picks list the offline limits.
- Contactless only. Customers who want to insert and enter a PIN can't. Carry a cash float or a backup.
- Phone battery and a spare. Selling all day on one phone is risky.
- Setup time. Approvals take days, so start well before the Christmas and summer markets.
- Backup: a hired terminal for the day. Prices and lead times are in our EFTPOS rental guide, and more options in our market stall picks.
Compare the full cost over a year with the true cost calculator, and see EFTPOS fees in NZ for how merchant service fees work.