In-Person Payments let you accept card-present payments at your gym using a Stripe card reader connected to Kilo GMS. Once your reader is registered, Tap to Pay appears as a payment option in your Retail, Fees, and Package Assignment checkout flows, so you can ring up a member at the front desk, sell merch, or onboard a new athlete in person without leaving the GMS.
This article walks you through purchasing and registering your card reader, taking payments across each checkout flow, and what happens when you save a card for future billing.
What you can do with in-person payments
Purchase a Stripe S700 card reader directly from your Payment Methods settings
Register your reader to your gym in a few clicks
Accept contactless tap-to-pay payments at Retail, Fees, and Package Assignment checkouts
Save an athlete's card during Package Assignment for future automatic billing
Set up package billing in advance, with the card saved today and charged automatically on the billing start date
Delete your reader at any time if you stop using in-person payments
Before you start
In-person payments are supported in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
The only supported reader is the Stripe S700. Other reader models will not connect to Kilo GMS.
Only one reader per gym can be registered at a time.
Setup is done from a desktop browser. Reader registration is not available on mobile.
A physical reader is required. Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android is not supported.
Purchase your reader
In your Kilo Gym Management account, go to Settings → In-Person Payments.
Click Purchase Card Reader. The Stripe S700 product page opens in a new tab.
Complete your purchase through Stripe and wait for the reader to arrive.
Register your reader
Return to to Settings → In-Person Payments in your Kilo account
Click Register Card Reader.
Enter the Reader Identifier shown on your device.
Click Register.
Your reader appears under a Your Reader section showing its name and ID. The Purchase and Register buttons are hidden once a reader is connected.
Tap to Pay then appears automatically as a payment option in your Retail, Fees, and Package Assignment checkouts. No additional setup is needed.
How Tap to Pay behaves in each checkout
Checkout flow | Save card option | What happens after payment |
|---|---|---|
Package Assignment | Available, optional | Returns you to the Athlete Profile |
Fees | Not shown | Returns you to the Fees section |
Retail | Not shown | Returns you to the Retail section |
Take a payment at Retail or Fees checkout
Open your Retail cart or the athlete's Fees section.
Select Tap to Pay as the payment method. Your reader connects in the background.
Click Charge.
Have the athlete tap their card on the reader.
On success, you see a confirmation and return to the relevant section.
If the payment fails, you see an error with a Retry option.
Take a payment at Package Assignment, charging today
Go to Athletes → Select Athlete → Assign Package.
Choose your package and set the billing start date to today.
Select Tap to Pay as the payment method. Your reader connects in the background.
Check Save Credit Card for Future Payments if you want this card saved for future invoices.
Click Charge.
Have the athlete tap their card on the reader.
On success, you return to the Athlete Profile.
Take a payment at Package Assignment with a future billing start date
When the billing start date is in the future, Kilo saves the card instead of charging it today and charges it automatically on the start date.
Go to Athletes → Select Athlete → Assign Package.
Choose your package and set the billing start date to a future date.
Select Tap to Pay as the payment method.
Note that Save Credit Card for Future Payments is pre-selected and locked. Saving the card is required for future-dated package assignment via Tap to Pay.
Click Save. The button label changes from Charge to Save for future-dated assignments.
Have the athlete tap their card when you see the prompt Swipe or tap your card to save payment method.
On success, you see Package assigned and payment method saved.
The card is charged automatically on the billing start date.
Canadian debit cards (Interac) cannot be saved during Package Assignment. Even with the box checked, the tap does not create a card that can be saved, so disable Auto Pay on package renewals for those athletes.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I don't save the card during Package Assignment?
The card is not stored, and future invoices on that package default to Cash or Cheque. The current payment still goes through normally, but Kilo cannot charge that card again automatically. To resume digital billing on future invoices, manually update the athlete's payment method on their profile.
Can I register more than one card reader?
No. One reader per gym is supported. Once you register a reader, the Purchase and Register buttons are hidden. To switch readers, delete the existing one first, then register the new one.
What happens if I delete my reader?
Tap to Pay no longer appears as a payment option in any checkout flow. Your existing payment methods, including Cash, Cheque, and saved cards, continue working exactly as before. You can re-register a reader at any time to bring Tap to Pay back.
To delete:
Go to Settings → Payment Methods.
Click the trash icon on your reader card.
Confirm by clicking Delete in the confirmation modal.
What if my reader won't connect when I select Tap to Pay?
You see the message Unable to connect to your card reader. Please check your reader and try again, and the Charge button does not appear until the reader connects. Check that your reader is powered on and connected to Wi-Fi, that no one else at your gym is mid-payment on the same reader, and try refreshing the checkout page. If it still will not connect, switch to a different payment method to complete the sale.
What if an athlete's card is declined?
You see a declined message with a Retry option, and no invoice is created. You can retry the payment, ask for a different card, or switch to a different payment method. Nothing is charged until a payment succeeds.
What if two staff members try to use the reader at the same time?
Only one checkout session can be active on the reader at a time. If another staff member already has a Tap to Pay session open, the second person waits for that session to end before connecting. The system handles this automatically, with no need to manually disconnect.
Is this PCI compliant?
Yes. All card data is handled directly by Stripe Terminal, so Kilo never sees or stores card numbers. The reader transmits payment information securely to Stripe, and you receive only a confirmation that the payment succeeded or failed.
Can I refund an in-person payment?
Only when the card was saved during Package Assignment. Those refunds go through your standard refund flow. Payments taken without saving the card cannot be refunded through the in-person payment flow.
Will Tap to Pay work in my country?
In-person payments are available in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Use Tap to Pay or a saved card on file: which should you use?
If an athlete is in front of you and you have their card in hand, both options work, but they suit different situations.
Situation | Recommended |
|---|---|
New athlete, signing up at the front desk | Tap to Pay, with Save Card checked |
Existing athlete, paying a one-time fee in person | Tap to Pay |
Retail purchase at the counter | Tap to Pay |
Existing athlete already on auto-billing | Existing saved card |
Athlete wants to switch to a new card | Tap to Pay during Package Assignment, or update the card on their profile |
Future-dated package start, athlete is in person today | Tap to Pay, since the card is saved and charged on the start date |
Tap to Pay is the right choice whenever the athlete is physically at your gym. Saved cards on file are the right choice for ongoing automatic billing once the card is already stored.
Helpful tips
Check Save Credit Card for Future Payments during Package Assignment if you want future invoices to charge automatically, since leaving it unchecked defaults those invoices to Cash or Cheque
Use the three-step instructions modal the first time you set up, since it covers purchase, registration, and first use in one place
Keep your reader on the same Wi-Fi network as the device running Kilo GMS for the most reliable connection
Run one Tap to Pay session at a time, and let each checkout complete before starting the next
Delete the reader if you stop accepting in-person payments, which removes Tap to Pay cleanly without affecting your other payment methods
When this feature is most helpful
Selling retail items at the front desk, such as apparel, supplements, or equipment
Charging drop-in fees, day passes, or guest fees in person
Onboarding new athletes face to face and taking payment and setting up future billing in one visit
Starting a future-dated package automatically on a specific date without the athlete coming back in
Letting an athlete pay with a different card in person rather than over the phone or online
If you have questions about in-person payments in Kilo GMS, our Support team is happy to help. Reach us at hello@usekilo.com.