Clover
Clover Go
The Clover Go is the smallest thing Clover makes: a card reader that fits in a pocket and pairs with a phone or tablet over Bluetooth. Your phone is the screen and the till, the reader handles the card, and there is no counter involved anywhere. For a business that works out of a van or a booth rather than a building, that is often the whole setup.
At a glance
- Pocket-sized reader, pairs over Bluetooth
- Tap, chip and swipe in one unit
- Runs on your own phone or tablet
- Works on iOS and Android
- Receipts by email or text, no printer
- Same Clover account and reporting as the counter devices
What the Clover Go actually is
It is a card reader and nothing else. The Go pairs to a phone or tablet over Bluetooth and the Clover Go app on that device does the work: the item list, the tip, the tax, the receipt, the reporting. The reader itself just reads the card, which is why it can be as small as it is.
That makes it a different sort of product from the rest of the range. A Station, a Mini or a Flex is a computer that happens to take payments. The Go is a payment accessory for a computer you already own and already carry.
What's built in
- Tap, chip and swipe. Contactless including phone wallets, chip cards, and magnetic stripe, all in the one reader. The swipe is worth noting because several competing pocket readers dropped it, and older cards and some fleet and gift cards still need it.
- Your own phone or tablet. It runs on iOS and on Android, so the screen and the keyboard are the ones already in your hand. Nothing extra to carry, charge and lose.
- Receipts without paper. Emailed or texted to the customer from the app, which is the normal way to close a job when you are standing in a driveway.
- Tips, tax and discounts. Set in the app rather than worked out in your head, which matters if the person taking the payment is not the person who priced the job.
- One account with everything else. The Go reports into the same Clover account as a counter device, so a shop running a Mini indoors and a Go at a market sees one set of numbers rather than two.
- A charge that lasts a working day. Battery life is quoted per generation and in transactions rather than hours, so ask what the figure is for the model you are actually being sold, and plan on charging it nightly.
What it does not do
This is the honest part, and it is short. There is no printer, so a customer who wants paper is out of luck. There is no barcode scanner. There is no cash drawer. And it depends entirely on the phone it is paired to, which means the phone battery, the phone signal and the phone itself are all now part of your payment setup.
Who the Go suits
- Trades and mobile services. Taking payment at the job rather than invoicing and chasing it. A card read in the driveway also costs less than the same card keyed in over the phone that evening.
- Deliveries. Payment at the door with a texted receipt, without carrying a terminal.
- An occasional market or fair. If you do a handful of events a year rather than a season of them, a pocket reader is the proportionate answer.
- A spare in the drawer. Plenty of counters keep one as a backup for the day the main terminal or the internet goes down. It is the cheapest insurance in the range.
Go, Flex or Mini?
- You need a receipt printed, or a scanner. Flex. It has both in the unit, and that is the main reason to pay more for one.
- The sale happens at a counter. Mini. A drawer, a bigger screen and no battery to worry about.
- You just need to take a card, away from anything. Go. It is the right size of answer for that job, and buying more than you need is its own kind of waste.
A lot of businesses end up with a counter device and a Go rather than choosing between them, because the two cost less together than one Flex and cover different ground.
What a Clover Go costs
There is no single published price. Clover is sold through processors, so the reader, the software tier and your card processing rate are all part of one arrangement, and the same Go can come with quite different terms depending on who sells it. The reader is cheap enough that the rate attached to it matters far more than the hardware does, which is exactly why it is worth reading the whole quote rather than the price tag.
Common questions
Does the Clover Go need a phone to work?
Yes. The reader has no screen of its own. It pairs over Bluetooth to a phone or tablet running the Clover Go app, and that device provides the screen, the item list and the receipt. It works on iOS and on Android, so in most cases it is the phone already in your pocket.
Can it print a receipt?
No. Receipts go out by email or text from the app. If a printed receipt matters to your customers, or you need a barcode scanner, the Clover Flex is the device that has both built in.
Does it take tap payments and phone wallets?
Yes, along with chip and swipe. The swipe is worth having: some competing pocket readers dropped it, and older cards and certain fleet and gift cards still need it.
Can I use a Clover Go alongside a counter device?
Yes, and it is a common pairing. The Go reports into the same Clover account as a Mini or a Station, so you see one set of numbers rather than reconciling two systems. Plenty of shops keep one purely as a backup for the day the main terminal or the internet fails.
What happens if there is no signal where I am working?
That is the question to ask about any phone-based setup, because the reader depends on the phone for its connection. Ask what the app does when it loses service mid-transaction, and what it stores. If you regularly work in basements, steel buildings or out past coverage, raise it before you buy rather than after.
Is the Clover Go worth it if I only do a few markets a year?
That is close to the ideal case for it. A pocket reader on a phone you already own is the proportionate answer to occasional selling, where a full handheld terminal would be paying for a printer and a scanner you use twice a year.
Payments handled safely
Your customers' card information is always protected. We follow PCI DSS security standards, the same rules the major card companies require, so every payment is handled safely.