The Helcim Card Reader Gen 3 is designed to adapt to your checkout flow. Whether you need the speed of a Standalone terminal or the deep functionality of a Paired POS app, taking a payment is a seamless experience for both you and your customer. This guide covers how to process transactions in both modes and manage your customer's experience, and how to use Helcim Fee Saver to keep your costs down.

In this article

1. Choosing your payment mode

2. Processing a Standalone transaction  

3. Processing a Paired transaction  

4. Your customer’s experience

5. Using Helcim Fee Saver

6. Sending reciepts

7. Next steps

8. FAQs

Choosing your payment mode

The Gen 3 reader offers two ways to get paid.

• Standalone mode(default)

• Paired mode

You can switch between these directly on the device by tapping the Options or stacked menu icon. More details please follow How to Switch Modes

Processing a standalone transaction

In Standalone mode, your reader works independently. You don’t need a tablet or computer to finish the sale.

1. Ensure your device is in Standalone mode.  

2. Enter the transaction amount using the on-screen numpad.  

3. Tap Review to see the total and add any applicable taxes, tips, or discounts.  

4. Tap Charge.  

5. Invite your customer to tap, insert, or swipe their card.

Processing a paired transaction

To start a sale, your computer/laptop/mobile phone/tablet acts as the control center. Ensure your reader is turned on and the status in your Helcim POS app shows as Connected.

1. In the Helcim POS app, open the POS window (from the bottom menu).

2. Enter the transaction amount or select items from your product catalog.

3. Click Charge.

4. The app will now "push" the payment to your 3rd generation reader. You’ll see a message on your computer/laptop/mobile phone/tablet screen saying Waiting for Reader.

Your customer’s experience

Once you’ve pushed the payment, the reader takes over. Your customer will see the total amount on the screen and be guided through the rest:

• Tipping: If you have tipping enabled, the customer will be prompted to select a percentage or enter a custom amount directly on the screen.

• Payment method: The reader will ask the customer to Tap at the top, or Insert at the bottom.

• PIN entry: If the customer inserts a chip card, they will use the touchscreen's secure digital keypad to enter their PIN.

Using Helcim Fee Saver

If you have Helcim Fee Saver enabled in your account settings, the 3rd generation card reader makes adding a surcharge transparent for your customers.

When the payment is pushed to the reader, has two options:

• Credit: The customer pays the total plus a small surcharge.

• Debit: The customer pays the original total with no added fee.

This allows the customer to choose their preferred way to pay while helping you offset the cost of credit card processing.

Sending receipts

Once the transaction is approved, you can provide a receipt to your customer. You can either do this on the card reader screen, or on the Helcim POS app on your computer.

• Email: Enter the customer’s email address to send a digital copy.

• SMS: Enter their phone number to text the receipt.

• Print (app only): If you have a receipt printer connected to your device with Helcim POS app, you can print a paper receipt from the approval screen.

Next steps

If you run into any issues during a sale—like a card being declined or a connection error—head over to our Troubleshooting the Card Reader (Gen 3) guide for quick fixes.