The credit card swiper acts as an enhancement to Neon CRM's existing payment forms. It increases the speed and accuracy of data entry for processing credit card payments.
Most commonly, this feature is turned on in Neon CRM before an event which will include in-person transactions and then turned off again afterwards. Enabling this feature turns off error checking for manually-entered card numbers. It is recommended that this feature only be enabled when actively using card reader hardware.
Requirements
You must have all of the following elements in order to use Neon CRM with a credit card swiper.
- A compatible operating system: Windows 7/8/10 or Macintosh OSX 10.x +
- A compatible browser. Chrome 37+ and Firefox 32+ have been tested for compatibility with this feature.
- 1 USB Port. The card reader requires a functional standard connection USB port to connect to your computer.
- The ETEKJOY Card Reader. Other USB card readers, such as those available from MagTek, may be compatible but they are untested. This type of device has been tested, though not every available model of this type. Please test the specific model you choose soon after purchase to ensure compatibility.
Mobile devices and Other Card Readers
This functionality is not designed to work with any mobile phone or tablet device. Mobile card swipers, such as PayPal Here or Square payments are not supported. Due to limitations imposed by the companies that provide these services, we are unable to work with this hardware.
Credit card terminals, such as those provided by your credit card processor, are not compatible. Please select the ETEKJOY Card Reader.
Installation
Windows 7/8/10
- Plug the device in to an open, working USB port.
- Verify the green light on the card swiper is lit.
- Windows will automatically detect and install the device. Windows will notify you when your device is ready to use.
- Open a text editing program such as Notepad or Microsoft Word.
- Swipe a credit card through the reader to verify that the device is working. You will see a line of text that looks similar to this:
%B4111111111111111^LASTNAME/FIRSTNAME ^1608101010101011111010107000000?;4111111111
Macintosh OS X
- Plug the device in to an open, working USB port.
- Verify the green light on the card swiper is lit.
- Your computer will recognize the device as a keyboard, and launch the keyboard setup assistant. This is correct, as the card reader device is technically a keyboard. Click Continue.
- When your computer asks you to press a key, please swipe a credit card through the reader. At this point, your computer may make a rude noise. If this happens, please remain calm and proceed to the next step.
- When presented with the Select the Keyboard Type page, select ANSI (United States and others). Click Done. The card swiper should now be functional.
- Open a text editing program such as TextEdit or Microsoft Word.
- Swipe a credit card through the reader to verify that the device is working. You will see a line of text that looks similar to this:
%B4111111111111111^LASTNAME/FIRSTNAME ^1608101010101010111110107000000?;4111111111
Enabling the Card Swiper in Neon CRM
Most commonly, this feature is turned on in Neon CRM before an event which will include in-person transactions and then turned off again afterwards.
Navigate to Global Settings Credit Card Swiper
Enable card swiping on back-end payment forms
Check this box to enable the credit card swiper functionality for System Users in the back-end of Neon CRM.
For Neon Pay clients, this will add the Swipe function to your back-end payment forms in Neon CRM. This will appear on all back-end payment forms, for all users, and on all devices. This only impacts System Users.
Enable card swiping on front-end payment forms
Check this box to enable the credit card swiper functionality on front-end forms.
For Neon Pay clients, this will add Swipe capability to your front-end payment forms. This will be available on all front-end payment forms for all users, and on all devices.
Clear all front-end form data after each transaction.
When this setting is enabled, the temporary storage of a constituent's data is disabled. All temporary data will be cleared at the conclusion of a transaction. This allows multiple people to safely complete transactions from the same computer.
Entering Card Information with the Card Swiper
Using the card swiper in Neon CRM is straightforward. Below, we describe the locations where this functionality works:
System User Payment Pages
The credit card swiper works on back-end payment pages, including:
- Donations
- Membership Join/Renew
- Event Registrations
- Online Store
To use the swiper, follow the instructions provided at the top of this guide, then do the following:
- On the Payment page, select the tender Credit Card (Online).
- Click on the field Card Number to select it.
- Swipe the credit card through the card reader.
This will automatically populate the following fields:
- Card Number
- Card Type
- Cardholder Name (this will overwrite the existing value)
- Expiration Date
This will also automatically select the CVV field. Type in the CVV number, then proceed with the transaction.
Front-end Payment Pages
The credit card swiper works on front-end payment pages, including:
- Donations
- Membership Join/Renew
- Event Registrations
- Online Store
- Donation and Membership forms created with the Custom Survey & Form Builder
- New Account, Donation, and Membership Forms (must enable in Payment Settings for particular form)
To use the swiper on a front-end payment form, please follow the installation instructions shown above, and then:
- On the payment form page, click on the field Credit Card Number to select it.
- Swipe the credit card through the card reader.
This will automatically populate the following fields:
- Card Number
- Card Type
- Cardholder First Name (this will overwrite any existing value)
- Cardholder Last Name (this will overwrite any existing value)
- Expiration Date
This will also automatically select the CVV2 field. Type in the CVV2 number, then proceed with the transaction.
FAQ
Q: Why is the card reader inputting garbled information?
A: This is usually a symptom of an old, damaged, or de-magnitized credit card. In this case, try to read the card again or enter the information manually.
Q: Why is the cardholder name missing when I try to read certain credit cards?
A: This is sometimes caused by old, damaged, or de-magnitized credit cards. This has also been known to occur with foreign (non US) credit cards because of a slightly different naming format.
In either case, Neon CRM is using the credit card's second magnetic strip as a backup to retrieve the card number and expiration date. This secondary strip does not contain the cardholder name. You must enter it manually.
Q: Why isn't the CVV number entered automatically?
A: The CVV2 number is not stored on the card's magnetic strip. You must enter the number manually. Credit cards store a limited amount of data that includes:
- Card Number
- Cardholder Name
- Expiration Date
As such, this is the only data that can be retrieved from the swiper.