Does cipherφ7 handle credit-card processing?
Yes. Card readers and card processing are integrated into the point of sale — not a bolt-on, not a separate terminal beside the register. Every station has a pinpad, and cards run the same way the rest of the floor does: on one system, on the terminal, into the same tab.
- Chip, tap, and swipe on the pinpad, plus manual entry.
- Card data is handled in a PCI SAQ-A shape — the card number never touches the cipher screen.
- Refund, void, tip-adjust, and batch settle, with idempotency and lock serialization so a double-tap can't double-charge.
- An unsettled card batch blocks Close Day — the day can't close on money still in flight.
Which processor does cipherφ7 use?
Card authorization runs through a partner merchant processor. The processing is integrated into the POS, and the boarded venue signs with the processor directly — cipherφ7 provides the software, the venue holds the merchant relationship.
0%-processing options are available — ask when you apply.
Does cipherφ7 hold my money?
No. cipherφ7 is software only and never holds funds. Money moves between the venue and its merchant processor; cipherφ7 is never in the funds path. What cipherφ7 runs is the point of sale — the tabs, the orders, the card line at the terminal, the settlement controls, and the reporting — not a wallet, an escrow, or a payout account.
Does card processing work when the internet goes down?
During an internet outage the point of sale keeps taking orders and cash — those run against the local database in the venue, so the floor doesn't stop when the connection does. Card authorization runs through the processor, and the card line resumes automatically when the connection returns.
Orders and cash survive a WAN outage; the card line picks back up the moment the connection is restored.
Is card data encrypted?
Yes — in transit and at rest. The card number never touches the cipher screen, and card handling sits inside the PCI SAQ-A scope. Security ships built into the hardened Linux build that cipher patches and maintains, not a checklist the venue is left to manage.
Where card processing sits in the system
Payments are one part of the point of sale, alongside cash management, a settlement and tip-adjust flow, and an append-only audit log on every money-touching action. For the full register — tabs, the order machine, cash controls, and the daily sales report — see the point-of-sale page. For the outage boundary and the local-first database underneath it, see the architecture page.
Board a venue
Card processing is set up when a venue is boarded — the merchant agreement is signed with the processor directly, and the 0%-processing options are on the table then. Apply for a walkthrough and we'll walk your floor.