What's happening
If chip inserts fail and the terminal falls back to asking for a swipe, either the reader slot is dirty, the slot is worn out, or that one card's chip is damaged. The order below tells the three apart quickly.
Before you start
- Have two or three different cards to test with, not just the one that failed
- Get a cleaning card if you keep them; a can of compressed air also works
Fix it
- Try a second and a third card. If only the first one fails, it's that card — nothing is wrong with your terminal.
- Look into the chip slot under a light. Receipt paper dust builds up in there.
- Blow the slot out with compressed air, or run a cleaning card through it twice.
- Restart the terminal: power off for thirty seconds, then back on.
- Test a chip insert again. Push the card in fully and leave it in until the screen says to remove it.
- If chip still fails, try a contactless tap with the same card.
Did that work?
Yes — you're set.
No — note whether tap worked when chip didn't, and call us with that.