Tap to Pay for Photographers
Tap to Pay payment processing for photographers and videographers.
Turn any iPhone or Android into a card reader. Customers tap their card or phone, you get paid on the spot, and the money settles the same day. Built for how photographers and videographers actually work, with no hardware to buy and nothing to charge.
- Approved before your first charge
- No monthly fee or contract
- Same-day settlement
- Real humans on the phone
- 2.99% + 30¢
- Per tap, no monthly fee
- $10.77
- Fee on a typical $350 sale
- 0
- Readers, docks, or cables
- Same day
- Settlement to your bank
Why photographers choose Tap to Pay with HL Hunt
Get paid where the work happens
Session fees and mini-session bookings paid on the spot. Wedding deposits and final balances. Print and album sales at the viewing. Every one of those is a tap on the phone already in your pocket.
No hardware to buy, lose, or charge
Clients who book but never send the deposit. Chasing final balances the week of the wedding. Tap to Pay removes the reader from the equation entirely, and every staff member can use their own phone at no extra cost.
More than a tap
Payment links for deposits, tap for in-person balances. Payment plans for weddings and large packages.
Built for your tickets
On a typical $350 sale the fee is $10.77. Third-party gallery platforms that take a cut of print sales. Sell prints and albums at the viewing with a tap.
One account for everything
Tap to Pay, online checkout, invoices, payment links, and recurring billing all run on the same HL Hunt account and settle to one balance with one report.
We never shut you down
HL Hunt underwrites every account up front and never freezes a compliant account without a named human and a reason in writing. Your money arrives on schedule.
Accept your first tap today. No reader, no monthly fee.
Create your account, get approved up front, and take your first payment today. No monthly fee, no contract.
How it works
- 01
Create your free account
Sign up online in a few minutes. There is no application fee, no contract, and no monthly cost.
- 02
Download the HL Hunt app
Install it on any iPhone XS or newer, or any NFC-capable Android phone. Add staff so they can use their own phones.
- 03
Enter the amount and tap
Type the amount or pick a quick button, optionally add a tip prompt, and hold the customer's card or phone to the back of yours.
- 04
Get paid the same day
The receipt sends by text or email, the sale appears in your dashboard instantly, and funds settle to your bank as soon as the same day.
Why photographers and videographers are switching from card readers to Tap to Pay
For years photographers and videographers have had two options for taking cards away from a counter: a Bluetooth reader that needs pairing and charging, or a rented terminal with a monthly fee. Both fail at the worst possible moment, and both tie card acceptance to a piece of hardware that only one person can hold. Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android changes that. The NFC chip already in the phone reads the card, the phone's secure hardware encrypts it instantly, and HL Hunt authorizes the sale in under a second.
The economics are simple. Every staff member can accept payment on their own device at no additional cost, which means a photographer can put as many points of sale on the floor as there are phones. There is no capital outlay, no replacement cycle, and no per-device fee. Pricing is the same 2.99% + $0.30 as any card-present transaction, with interchange-plus available for higher volumes, and every rate is published on our pricing page.
Tap to Pay is one piece of a complete payments account. Payment links for deposits, tap for in-person balances. Payment plans for weddings and large packages. Sell prints and albums at the viewing with a tap. Online sales, invoices, and payment links run on the same account, so photographers and videographers get one balance, one report, and one support team. And because HL Hunt underwrites each account up front, you are not one busy weekend away from an automated freeze.
What changes
HL Hunt vs a typical processor for Photographers
| HL Hunt | Typical processor | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | None. Any iPhone XS+ or NFC Android phone | $49 to $299 per reader, plus replacements |
| Per-device fees | None. Every staff phone is free | Monthly fee per terminal or per user |
| Underwriting | Done up front, before your first charge | After you start processing, often mid-month |
| Account freezes | Never without a named human and a reason in writing | Automated holds triggered by volume or category |
| Settlement | Same day to your bank, instant payouts available | 2 to 7 business days, longer for new accounts |
| Disputes | Dispute Agent assembles evidence and responds for you | You upload PDFs into a portal and hope |
| Support | Phone, chat, and email answered by payments staff | Ticket queue with templated replies |
| Pricing | Published rates or a written quote, no hidden markups | Tiered pricing, PCI fees, statement and batch fees |
Pricing
Simple, published pricing
One rate per channel, no monthly fee, and no contract. Photographers is included at no extra cost on every HL Hunt account. Volume pricing is available once you process more than $250,000 a month.
- 2.6% + 10¢
- In-person and Tap to Pay
- 2.9% + 30¢
- Online cards and wallets
- 0.8%
- ACH bank transfers
- $0
- Monthly, PCI, or statement fees
Cards and wallets, any phone
Checkout, invoices, API
Capped at $5 per payment
Pay only when money moves
Everything included
One account covers all of it
Photographers is one part of the platform. Every HL Hunt account ships with the full stack, so you never bolt on a second vendor as you grow.
- Cards, wallets, ACH & BNPLEvery major payment method enabled from day one.Learn more
- Tap to Pay on any phoneTake card-present payments with no hardware.Learn more
- Invoicing & virtual terminalBill by email, take payments over the phone.Learn more
- Subscriptions & billingAny pricing model, automatic retries.Learn more
- Instant payoutsPay yourself or anyone in 180+ countries.Learn more
- AI agentsFraud, disputes, recovery, reconciliation.Learn more
- Fraud & dispute defense500+ signals and automatic evidence filing.Learn more
- Ledger & reconciliationEvery sale, fee, and deposit in one view.Learn more
- Open API & docsEvery endpoint documented, with test mode from day one.Learn more
Get started
Set up Photographers today
Create an account, confirm your business, and start processing the same day. Here is what you will need.
Prefer to talk first? info@hlhunt.org
- 01Legal business name, EIN, and a business bank account
- 02A website or product description showing what you sell and how you bill
- 03Government ID for the owner or an authorized signer
- 04Expected monthly volume and average ticket size
- 05Where you want to take payments: online, in person, or both
Photographers FAQ
Can I split a wedding package into payments?
Yes. Set up a payment plan with a deposit now and scheduled installments leading up to the date. The card is charged automatically and you are notified of each payment.
Can I take payment at a mini-session event without wifi?
Tap to Pay uses your phone's cellular data. If signal is weak, the app queues the sale and retries when it returns.
What do I need to start?
An iPhone XS or newer on iOS 16.4+, or an NFC-capable Android phone on Android 9+, and a free HL Hunt account. Download the app, sign in, and you can accept your first tap in minutes. No reader, dock, or cable.
What does Tap to Pay cost?
2.99% + $0.30 per transaction, the same as any card-present payment. There is no hardware cost, no monthly fee, no per-device fee, and no minimum.
What cards and wallets can customers tap?
Any contactless Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover card, plus Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Most cards issued in the US since 2020 are contactless.
When do I get my money?
Next business day by default, with same-day settlement available on every account. Instant payouts to a debit card cost 1.0% and land in minutes.
Is it secure and PCI compliant?
Yes. Card data is encrypted by the phone's secure hardware the moment it is read and never stored on the device. Tap to Pay is certified by Apple, Google, and the card networks. HL Hunt is PCI DSS Level 1, so you stay in the simplest compliance scope.
Still have questions?
Talk to a payments specialist, or create an account and see it for yourself.
Start accepting payments today.
Create your account in minutes. Underwriting is done up front, so you are approved before your first charge.