Overview

In-Person Payments let your school accept payments in person—at concession stands, school events, and sales—using just a phone. The feature is powered by SnackBar, FutureFund’s free point-of-sale app for iPhone and Android. No additional hardware is required.

SnackBar can take Tap to Pay, an optional Bluetooth card reader, or cash, so you can pick whatever fits your event. Card payments through SnackBar also carry a lower processing fee than an online card payment, and cash sales have no processing fee at all, so more of every sale stays with your program. See the pricing page for current rates across all payment methods.

How It Works

SnackBar turns a phone into a secure, contactless payment terminal. Built on Tap to Pay technology, it lets a volunteer or staff member accept payments without a separate card reader.

When a volunteer launches the SnackBar app, they select items from the campaigns you have made available in SnackBar. Once the cart is ready, the buyer taps their contactless card, phone, watch, or supported digital wallet against the volunteer’s phone to complete the payment—or, if your school accepts cash, the volunteer can collect cash instead. The payer can optionally enter their email address (or phone number, for a text) to receive a digital receipt. All purchases appear in your FutureFund admin, where you can track sales and issue refunds.

What You Need

Tap to Pay is Apple’s and Google’s technology, not ours, and both of them require the phone to be set up a certain way before it can accept a card. Most of these are one-time steps on each phone, and SnackBar walks the volunteer through them the first time they open the app.

The phone

• iPhone XS or later, running a recent version of iOS. Older iPhones do not have the hardware for Tap to Pay.
• Android devices running the latest supported version, with NFC and up-to-date Google Play services.
• iPads are not supported. They have no Tap to Pay hardware.

Before Tap to Pay will turn on

• A passcode (or screen lock) on the phone. Apple and Google both require one on any device taking card payments. On iPhone: Settings > Face ID & Passcode.
• Signed in to an Apple Account (iCloud). Apple’s Tap to Pay terms can’t be accepted on an iPhone that isn’t signed in. On iPhone: Settings, then sign in at the top. The Apple Account also needs to be active and in good standing.
• Accepting Apple’s Tap to Pay terms. A one-time Apple screen appears during setup—tap Agree. If it gets dismissed, setup stops and starts over the next time.
• An internet connection. Setup and every card payment need Wi-Fi or cellular.
• The app on screen during setup. Tap to Pay can’t finish authorizing in the background—don’t switch apps or lock the phone until SnackBar says it’s ready. The first setup can take a few minutes.
• Not on a phone call. Tap to Pay won’t set up while a call is in progress.

Card Reader

Tap to Pay on the volunteer’s phone is the default and needs no extra hardware. If you would rather hand the buyer a dedicated reader, SnackBar also supports an optional Bluetooth card reader.

A reader is useful when you want to keep the phone with the volunteer, take payments from cards that need to be inserted or swiped, or run a busy line where a separate reader is faster.

To pair a reader:

1. Turn on the card reader and make sure Bluetooth is enabled on the phone.
2. In SnackBar, build a cart and go to the checkout screen.
3. Tap Card reader.
4. Select your reader from the list of nearby readers.

Once paired, the reader stays connected for the rest of the session and its battery level is shown on the checkout screen. Tap to Pay remains available at any time, so you can switch back and forth.

Accepting Cash

Some events are still easier with a cash box—a bake sale line, a ticket table, a younger volunteer who isn’t ready to run card payments. SnackBar can take cash too, right next to Tap to Pay and the card reader.

Cash is off until you turn it on:

1. In the Admin, navigate to Settings > In Person Payments (under Payments).
2. Check Accept cash payments.
3. Click the Save button.

Once it’s on, Cash appears as a payment option on the SnackBar checkout screen for every seller at your school. Turn it back off any time and the option disappears from the app.

Cash sales skip the processing fee entirely—the buyer pays the item total (plus any sales tax), nothing more. The checkout screen spells this out: “Total due · no processing fee.”

When a seller taps Cash, SnackBar asks what the buyer handed over. Quick buttons offer the exact amount or the next $5, $10, or $20 bill, and the app shows the change due right away. Nothing is charged to a card and the sale never touches Stripe—it’s simply marked paid. Cash sales appear in Order History and order detail just like any other sale, showing the cash total instead of a card total (there’s no card brand, last four digits, or auth code to show).

FAQ

Where can I download SnackBar?

SnackBar is a free download available in the App Store and Google Play.

What type of campaigns can be sold with SnackBar?

Purchase, Membership, Tiered Membership, Donation Drive, Sign Up, Bundle, and Shop campaigns can all be sold in SnackBar. Mark a campaign as available on the SnackBar tab when editing it, or add several at once from Channels > In-Person Payments.

How are receipts handled?

Once the purchase is completed, the payer has the option to receive their receipt by email or text. This works the same way for card and cash sales.

Can I issue a refund?

Card payments taken in SnackBar can be refunded from the FutureFund admin. There’s no refund option inside the SnackBar app itself—that’s always done from the admin. Cash never passes through FutureFund, so returning cash is handled in person by the seller; contact FutureFund support if the order record itself needs correcting.

What type of phone is required?

SnackBar uses Tap to Pay, which requires iPhone XS or later and Android API level 26+ (Android 8.0 Oreo). We recommend running the latest supported version on your device. iPads are not supported. See What You Need above for the full list of requirements.

Do I need a card reader?

No. Compatible phones have an NFC chip built in that allows the phone to act as the card reader. A Bluetooth card reader is supported as an option if you prefer a dedicated reader, but it is never required, and neither is a card reader if your school accepts cash.

Which payment types can I accept?

With Tap to Pay, you can accept all types of in-person, contactless payments right on your phone—from physical debit and credit cards to Apple Pay and other digital wallets, including Android. With a paired Bluetooth card reader, you can also accept inserted (chip) and swiped cards. If you turn on Accept cash payments in Settings > In Person Payments, sellers can also collect cash, with no processing fee.

Does SnackBar cost less than online payments?

Yes. In-person card payments processed through SnackBar carry a lower fee than an online card payment, and cash payments have no processing fee at all. See the pricing page for current rates.

How do volunteers sign in?

Non-admin volunteers can sign in with your school’s SnackBar access code instead of an email and password. Find the code, and a QR code that signs the app in automatically, on the Channels > In-Person Payments page.

Is there something I can print and hand to the volunteers running the register?

Yes. On the Channels > In-Person Payments page, click Download the guide below the access code for a one-page PDF made to print and hand off. It covers downloading the SnackBar app, entering your school’s access code, and turning on the permissions SnackBar needs to take a payment—so a volunteer can get set up without an admin walking them through it.

SnackBar says this iPhone needs a passcode.

Apple requires a passcode on any iPhone that takes card payments. Open Settings > Face ID & Passcode, turn a passcode on, then return to SnackBar and try again.

SnackBar says to sign in to iCloud first.

Apple needs the iPhone signed in to an Apple Account before it will let the phone accept the Tap to Pay terms. Open Settings, sign in at the top, then try setup again. If the account is signed in but the terms still won’t accept, check that the Apple Account is active and in good standing.

Tap to Pay setup is stuck or takes forever.

The very first setup on a phone can take a few minutes. Keep SnackBar on screen while it works—switching apps or locking the phone cancels it—and stay on Wi-Fi or a solid cellular signal. If it still doesn’t finish, try again; it usually succeeds on the second attempt.

Apple’s terms screen appeared and I dismissed it.

Setup stops if the terms aren’t accepted. Start setup again and tap Agree when Apple’s screen appears.

Tap to Pay won’t turn on at all on this phone.

If the phone is older than iPhone XS, or the iOS version is out of date, Tap to Pay isn’t available—check for an iOS update first. Apple can also temporarily block Tap to Pay on a device. Either way, the volunteer can still sell with a Bluetooth card reader, or with cash if your school accepts it. If SnackBar shows an error code, include it when you contact FutureFund support.

I see “This school isn’t set up for card payments yet” when a volunteer sets up Tap to Pay or takes a card payment—what do I do?

This means your school’s card payment setup hasn’t finished connecting on our end—it isn’t something a volunteer can fix from the app. Contact FutureFund support and we’ll get it sorted out. In the meantime, if you’ve turned on Accept cash payments, sellers can still ring up sales for cash.