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Crypto payments for your POS system
Crypto payments do not work the same way on every point-of-sale system. This is where we tell you, plainly, how they work with yours: what is truly built in, what needs an add-on, what only works beside the register, and whether it is worth doing for a business like yours.
The Merchant Decision Center compares Square, Clover, Toast, and Shopify POS side by side, routes you by business type, and gives an honest answer for your situation, including when that answer is "wait." Compare all four or read the best-POS guide.
A system can "take crypto" in very different ways. The register might handle it directly, an official add-on might connect a processor, or you might just prop a QR code next to the till while the register stays out of it entirely. Those are not the same thing for your staff, your reports, or your refunds. We separate them clearly, and we date every fact. See how we evaluate.
This Center answers whether crypto works with your register. The companion Crypto Payment Solutions Center answers what tool to actually use: a hosted gateway, self-hosted BTCPay, or a Lightning provider, compared on custody, settlement, and fees.
Start here
What are you using now?
Platform directory
POS systems we've reviewed
Clover has no built-in crypto acceptance, but unlike some registers it has a Custom Tender system a crypto app could plug into. Whether a ready-to-use crypto app exists, and whether it reports and settles cleanly, is still unverified.
- POS reporting
- Not confirmed
- New hardware
- Uses existing hardware
- Best for
- Low-to-mid-volume Clover merchants who want occasional crypto and will reconcile by hand for now.
Shopify supports crypto on its online checkout, but not at the in-person POS. At the register, crypto runs beside Shopify, and even recording it in Shopify POS is unverified.
- POS reporting
- Not confirmed
- New hardware
- Uses existing hardware
- Best for
- Low-volume Shopify POS merchants, especially those also selling online, who will run a beside-register flow and reconcile by hand.
Square has no built-in crypto acceptance. You can take crypto beside the register and record it in Square as an external payment, then reconcile by hand.
- POS reporting
- Partial
- New hardware
- Uses existing hardware
- Best for
- Low-volume Square merchants who will diligently record and reconcile occasional crypto sales.
Toast has no built-in crypto guest payment. A partner-tender path may exist but is unconfirmed, and how crypto behaves with restaurant basics like split checks and tips is entirely unverified, so most restaurants should wait.
- POS reporting
- Not confirmed
- New hardware
- Uses existing hardware
- Best for
- Counter-service, quick-service, coffee, or takeout on Toast that pays in full at a counter and will reconcile by hand.
How to read our ratings
The five compatibility levels
A level describes how deeply crypto works on a system, not how good it is. A simple beside-the-register setup can be done well and still be a lower level, because level is about kind, not quality.
Native
Built into the POS; the crypto sale is a first-class POS transaction.
Official integration
A processor connects via the platform's official path; state flows back to the POS.
Third-party integration
A supported but non-first-party connection; partial flow-back; some manual reconciliation.
Parallel acceptance
Crypto is taken beside the POS; the POS is not involved; the sale is entered manually.
Not practical
No workable native, integration, or parallel path for the typical merchant.
Understand the methods
How crypto acceptance actually works
Parallel acceptance (non-integrated)
A beside-the-register flow.
Native crypto acceptance
Built into the POS.
Official integration
An officially supported add-on.
Third-party integration
A supported but non-first-party connection.
New to all this? The Merchant Readiness Quiz builds you a step-by-step plan in three minutes. Setting up a beside-the-register flow? Build a printable counter card with the Payment Card Builder, or see what card fees are costing you with the Fee Calculator.