Interac payments and refunds at your Canadian salon's counter
Most Canadian clients pay at the end of a visit with a debit card, and every Canadian debit card runs on Interac. This guide covers the counter: taking Interac on a Stripe reader, recording what you take elsewhere, why an Interac payment can only be refunded with the card in hand, and why a tap above C$100 asks for the card to be inserted.
Create your salon accountClosing a visit at the counter
The Payment summary is the same on the web and in the app; a Stripe reader is driven from the web, on the computer at your desk.
01
Open the booking and find the Payment summary
It works out what is still owed: the price, anything added in the chair, a coupon or gift card, a deposit already taken. The bold line, Balance to collect, is the figure to ask for, in Canadian dollars.
02
On a Stripe reader: charge it from the booking
Choose the reader and press Charge … on the reader. The client taps or inserts her debit or credit card; the payment lands on the booking by itself. Interac is offered automatically on every Canadian in-person payment, beside Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
03
On your own terminal: record it
If you keep the machine your bank gave you, take the payment on it as usual, then press Mark as paid, choose Card (own terminal) under How was it paid?, and Record payment. Slotora is not talking to that machine; it only keeps your books in step.
04
By Interac e-Transfer: record it when it lands
Many clients prefer to send an e-Transfer from their banking app. When the money arrives, choose Bank transfer and record it. Nothing in Slotora requests or receives the e-Transfer for you.
05
Add the tip
Tap 10%, 15% or 20% of the price after any coupon, or type an amount. Tips are kept apart from the bill. A Stripe reader can ask the client for the tip itself if you ticked Ask the guest for a tip on the reader when you paired it.
The Interac rules that come from the network
Not Slotora settings: Interac's own limits, as Stripe applies them in Canada.
A tap up to C$250
Contactless Interac Flash is capped at C$250, and from C$100 up the client is asked to insert the card and enter her PIN on the reader.
Repeated taps ask for the PIN
After several contactless payments in a row, the card asks to be inserted once. The reader prompts for it; nothing is wrong with your set-up.
Refunds need the card in hand
An Interac payment cannot be refunded online, from the booking or from Stripe's dashboard. It has to be refunded with the same card presented in person.
Fees per payment
Stripe's Canadian page lists CA$0.15 for an Interac debit payment on a reader, against 2.7% + CA$0.05 for most credit cards in person.
Refunding a client who paid by Interac
If you press Refund payment on a booking that was paid with an Interac card, Slotora does not try and fail quietly. It tells you, in so many words, that Interac payments can only be refunded in person with the same card presented to a card reader, because Stripe does not allow it online.
Slotora cannot run that in-person refund on the reader for you today. In practice, give the money back in cash, or as credit towards her next visit, and keep a note on the booking. A deposit she paid online was a card payment, not Interac, and refunds from the booking as usual.
Pairing a Stripe reader for Interac
On a computer, open Payments & deposits and find Card reader. Slotora pairs a Stripe WisePOS E or S700, bought from Stripe. On the reader, choose Generate pairing code; it shows three words. Type them into Slotora, give the reader a name your team will recognise, and press Pair reader.
Stripe will only register a reader for a Canadian salon whose full address it can read: a street, a city and a postal code from which the province follows. If pairing stops on an address message, complete the address in Settings and try again.
In a salon where each stylist keeps her own takings, a reader belongs to one person's Stripe account and every payment on it goes to her. Each self-employed stylist who wants to take cards on a reader needs her own.
Gaps at the Canadian counter, plainly
Where the counter here is thinner than in our older markets.
- Tap to Pay is not on in Canada
- The phone-as-terminal feature some guides describe does not work for Canadian salons yet.
- No in-person refund button
- Interac refunds cannot be done from Slotora; cash or credit is the practical answer today.
- e-Transfers are recorded by hand
- Slotora does not see your bank account, so an e-Transfer only shows on the booking once you record it.
- A reader is bought from Stripe
- Slotora does not sell or rent card readers, and pairs only Stripe's own models.
Tap to Pay on your phone
In the UK and parts of Europe the Slotora app turns a phone into the card terminal. For Canadian salons it is not switched on yet; we will tell you in the app when it is. Until then, take cards on a Stripe reader, on your own terminal, or with the QR code.
When it does arrive, one limit will stay: many Canadian debit cards need the PIN entered with the card inserted, which a phone cannot do. An Interac tap above C$100 on a phone can decline for that reason, so a reader stays the better tool for larger bills.
The QR code, for clients who would rather pay on their own phone
With Stripe connected, QR code — guest pays shows a code for exactly the balance. The client scans it and pays on a Stripe page with a credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. An Interac-only debit card cannot be used there, so for a client who only carries one, use the reader.
Questions about Interac and the counter
Can I take Interac debit without buying a reader?
You can keep your bank's terminal and record each payment as Card (own terminal). To take Interac through Slotora itself, you need a Stripe reader.
Why did a client's debit tap fail on a large bill?
Interac asks for the card to be inserted with a PIN above C$100, and contactless stops entirely at C$250. Ask her to insert the card on the reader.
How do I refund an Interac payment?
Not from Slotora or the Stripe dashboard: Interac only allows it in person with the same card. Hand her the amount in cash, or keep it on her record as credit she spends next time.
Will Tap to Pay come to Canada?
It is not switched on for Canadian salons yet. We will say so in the app when it is.
Does Slotora take a cut of payments at the counter?
No. Payments on a Stripe reader go to your own Stripe account at Stripe's in-person fee, and payments on your own terminal never pass through us at all.
Sources
The fees are Stripe's, from its Canadian price page on the day shown; the Interac limits are the network's, as Stripe applies them.
- Stripe — Pricing (Canada), in-person and Interac fees — https://stripe.com/en-ca/pricing · Read on
Set the counter up before your busiest day
Pair the reader, run one small Interac payment on your own card, and the rest of the week takes care of itself.