Setting up your Stripe Reader (S700)
Your DiveDesk POS takes in-person card payments through a Stripe Reader S700. It’s a one-time setup, done entirely in your own Stripe account — here’s the whole flow, order to first charge.
Order the reader under YOUR OWN Stripe account
Every DiveDesk shop is its own Stripe Connect account — the reader is registered to whichever Stripe account will process the charge, so it has to be ordered and registered under your shop’s own Stripe login, not DiveDesk’s. Log into your Stripe Dashboard and go to stripe.com/terminal (or Dashboard → Terminal → Order readers) and order the Stripe Reader S700.
Power it on and connect it to WiFi
Let it charge, then on the reader go to Settings → Reader network and join your shop’s WiFi. It needs real internet access (not just a local network) since it talks directly to Stripe. Let it install any software update it offers before continuing.
Create a Location in your Stripe Dashboard
In your Stripe Dashboard, go to Terminal → Locations. If you don’t already have one for your shop, create it with your shop’s address. Readers register to a Location, not directly to your account.
Register the reader
Go to Terminal → Readers → Register reader. The S700’s screen will show a short pairing code — enter it in the Dashboard, assign it to the Location from the last step, and give it a label (e.g. "Front counter"). Confirm it shows as Online under Terminal → Readers.
Connect it in your DiveDesk POS
Log into your DiveDesk admin, open POS, select the Card tab, and hit Connect Reader. This only works on your live DiveDesk site — not local/dev — and your Stripe Connect onboarding needs to be fully complete first. Ring up a small real charge as a first test (you can refund it right after).
Good to know
The S700 only holds one active WiFi connection at a time — it can’t stay on your shop WiFi and a second network simultaneously, and it has no built-in cellular. For boat trips or remote sites with no WiFi, connect it to a mobile hotspot (your phone’s personal hotspot works fine) as its network, then switch it back to your shop WiFi when you return. If you need it to just always work without manually switching networks, Stripe’s newer S710 model adds cellular as a fallback.
Not through the standard setup. DiveDesk’s POS talks to the reader in Stripe’s recommended "server-driven" mode, which shows Stripe’s own built-in screens (you can only change theme, language, and screen timeout on the reader itself). Getting your actual logo onto the reader’s screen requires Stripe’s custom on-reader app SDK — a real development project, not a setting. Your branding (logo, colors) already shows automatically on email receipts and any Stripe-hosted payment links, which covers most of what shops actually want here.
Double-check the reader is powered on and joined to WiFi with real internet access, and that it’s showing Online in your Stripe Dashboard under Terminal → Readers. Also confirm you’re on your live DiveDesk site (card charges are simulated on local/dev builds) and that your Stripe Connect onboarding shows complete.
Still stuck? Email hello@divedesk.io.