Credit Card Terminal - Not Working

Before you proceed please ensure you look at the four cases outlined below in order you take the right approach to correct it.

  • If transactions are consistently going through on the terminal but the POS is saying they are not, please email us at support@nownpos.com ASAP.
  • If the transaction amount shows up on the terminal and it is processing indefinitely or keeps saying declined despite you having available funds, please contact your payment processor immediately (Global Payments, Moneris, Merrco)
  • If you have a Clover credit card terminal please click here.
  • If you have one of the following issues: terminal isn’t working, terminal is not communicating with the POS, transactions can’t get to terminal, or a payment unsuccessful message. Please refer to the instructions below.

Root problem: Terminal or iPad on a different network

All devices in your POS ecosystem (iPad, credit card terminal, printer) need to be on the same network. If any device is on a different network, the POS will not function correctly. The devices need to communicate with each other so if one of them is on a different network then the communication is severed. Once you add the same IP for all devices to the POS the problem should be resolved! Please note that if the router was reset or factory restored then the printer (maybe) and terminal (most likely) will not be configured in the app properly.

Solution: Please follow each of the troubleshooting steps below until the issue is solved. After you complete each step please try a test transaction to check if the problem is resolved.


1. Make sure that the right station is open.

  • You need to make sure that you have opened the correct POS station. This is the most common issue that merchants encounter. You can check what POS station you've opened by looking at the top of the home screen.

  • If you're on a station other than the one that you usually open, please close the station and open the correct one. If you open the wrong station your hardware won't work.

2. Check terminal configuration in the app 

2a) Find the IP address of the terminal 

If you have a Global Payments Desk 5000 please follow the steps below:

a) Access the admin menu by clicking on the (.,#*) button. 

b) Select Misc Options, 

c) Go to Semi-Intergrated, 

d) Click Communication Type, 

e) Press enter. IP address and Port # will be shown there.

If you have a Moneris ICT-250 Terminal, please follow the steps below

  1. Press the Admin menu (.,#*) and wait a second or two
  2. Press  (.,#*) again, the terminal will as you to enter the admin code
  3. Type in the number “16” when it asks you to enter the Admin Code. Press the green button
  4. Select yes
  5. A very long report will start printing
  6. It will print for a while and then you will see fields such as: MAC Address, Address, Mask ID, Gateway. Once you see these press cancel. Keep this print out it is important.

Note: the section that says “Address" is your IP address

If you have a Global Payments ICT-250 Terminal, please follow the steps below

1. At the idle menu, press [.,#*] for the administrator menu

2. Input admin name and admin password, and press Enter

3. Press 3 for Setup Menu

4. Press 2 for Communications

5. Press 3 for Ethernet

6. Press 1 for Current Setup

7. Note down the IP address (similar to 192.168.1.123). 

If you have a First Data Clover Terminal, please follow the steps below

  • Press all four corners of the screen at the same time in order to exit "Transaction mode".
  • Look for the "Network Pay" app, it may be located on the second page. If you do not see the Network pay app, please install it.
  • Note: you MUST be logged in to the Clover with admin permissions to be able to install the app from the app market. If you don't see the “More Tools” or “App Marketplace” app, it's because you are logged in as a user without sufficient permissions.
  • Click on the menu button in the top left hand corner, once the menu expands press “Settings”.
  • Make sure that the server port says “5555”, if it doesn’t say this click on it and type in 5555.
  •  Scroll to the bottom of the page, the IP address will be displayed here. Write it down.
  • Press the back button at the bottom of the page to return to the previous screen. Once on the original screen of the Network Pay app press Start, the store: branding, name, or logo should appear. 

2b): Ensure the IP address matches what is in Nōwn.

a) Open the NōwnPOS app and click on the setup tab.

b) Then click on the Stations section. This will show you a list of stations at the top of the page. Hold the cursor over any part of the a that shows station information.  A pencil icon will appear to the right of the screen, click on the icon.

c) Once the Edit Station screen scroll to the bottom and look under "Other Settings". Here you will be able to find the terminal set up. 

d) Please make sure that the: port number is set to 5555, IP address matches the one shown you noted down in the previous step, and card terminal type is set to the correct payment processor. 

e) Once this is done be sure to save changes and try a transaction to see if the issue has been fixed. If the problem persists please go to step 4c

2c): Confirming the iPad Wifi.

  • Open the settings of your iPad and click on wifi. Click on the”i” with a small blue circle around it that is located beside the network you’re connected to view more information about the network.

  • Check to see if the IP address before the last period matches up with the IP of the terminal. Example: 192.168.1.153 vs 192.168.1.25 and 10.0.1.2 vs 10.0.1.4. If not, this means that you are not on the right wifi network. If you don’t know the name of your wifi or your wifi is not set up, please refer to your router instructions or contact your internet service provider. 

If all of this is correct and you are still experiencing issues please follow the instructions below:

Step a: reconfigure the terminal by following the steps for your specific terminal: Moneris ICT250 or Global Payments ICT 250.

Step b: Follow the instructions outlined in step 2 in order to input the terminal information into the app.


3. Check your internet connection

  • Is there internet in your store? If the whole system is down contact your internet provider. Also check to see if the router is plugged in, often times an employee will unplug it by accident and no one will be aware.
  • Is your iPad connected to the correct network and is there a connection? It is very important that your iPad did not connect to an alternate network. Further, you may be connected to the internet but there may be no connection, please go to https://www.speedtest.net/ to do an internet speed test. If the speed is 0 it means that there is no connection.

4. Double check the connections.

  • Check to see that the ethernet cable is plugged into the terminal correctly, make sure that this ethernet cable is also plugged into the router correctly. Lastly, make sure that the router is on and has an internet connection. There will be a little figure (Squares connected by lines, two at the bottom one at the top) at the top of your terminal that should be green, if that green figure is white/blank, it means that your terminal is not connected to the ethernet. This figure might look slightly different depending on the type of terminal that you are using.

If there is no ethernet connection this could be for one of three reasons:

1. Your ethernet cable is not connected properly to the terminal, ethernet port, or both.

2. Your ethernet cable is faulty, replacing the cable would solve the issue.

3. There is no internet coming from the ethernet port, in this case you would need to contact your internet service provider. 


If you have tried absolutely everything and it still doesn't work there is one last thing you can try! Please see the following article as a final troubleshooting attempt.