Most Common Incidents

NOTE:  In all cases if the solution provided below fails to fix the incident, contact Wpay Support by going to the bottom of this page and clicking the 'Contact Us' button.

Terminal does not start

If the terminal does not start or the device display appears dark or blank:

1. Check that the terminal is plugged into a working and dedicated power source.
2. Verify all cable connections are connected correctly, including the power cable.
3. Unplug and plug the cables in again to ensure they are inserted correctly.  
4. Check that the terminal is not just 'sleeping'.
5. Go to next section to determine if terminal is 'sleeping'. 

Terminal display is blank, dark or incorrect/ unreadable

When the terminal display is:

• Blank or dark - tap the screen with the stylus (provided with the terminal) to 'wake up' the terminal.  It may be in screen saver mode.
• Unreadable/ incorrect data - check all the cable connections, unplug and plug them back in to ensure the connection is working properly.

Transactions are not processing

NOTE: A magnetic strip card stores static data on a magnetic strip. A smart card has a built-in microprocessor chip that can process, store and encrypt data.

If transactions are not processing, here are a series of questions to help identify and fix the cause. 

Multiple factors could be causing the unit to fail in processing transactions.  Use these steps to troubleshoot and identify the root cause of the failures.

Is the credit/ debit card/ magnetic strip faulty?

To check the magnetic card reader:

1. Ensure the card is being swiped correctly.
2. Enter a transaction using one or more different magnetic strip cards, other than the one that is not working, to rule out the possibility of a faulty card.
3. If the other card(s) work, it is the credit/ debit card.
4. Ask the customer for another card or process the transaction manually using the keypad instead of the card reader. 
5. If the manual transaction is successful and the issue persists with the card reader, it may indicate a problem with the card reader itself.

Is the Smart Card reader faulty?

To check the smart card reader:

1. Verify that the card is inserted correctly.
2. Enter a transaction using one or more different credit/ debit cards with magnetic strips other than the one that is not working to eliminate the possibility of a faulty card.
3. If the other cards do not work, check that the card is being swiped correctly.
4. Try to process a transaction manually, using the keypad instead of the card reader.
5. Ensure the card is inserted correctly into the designated slot and is securely in place.

Is the contactless (CTLS) reader the problem?

To check if the CTLS reader is working:

1. Check there is nothing between the contactless logo on the terminal card reader and the card itself, such as a sticker.
2. Enter another contactless transaction using a different card other than the one that is not working.
3. Try to process a transaction manually, using the keypad instead of the card reader. 
4. Is the card close enough? It must be within 5cm from the reader.
5. Is the card still and close enough to the reader for long enough? The card must be still and close for up to five seconds. 
6. Are there more than one card nearby sending 'signals' causing NFC clash? There must be only one card within range of the reader at one time.

NOTE:  Near Field Communication (NFC) is short-range wireless technology that enables communication between a reader and a payment card (or similar device) when they are brought close together. An 'NFC clash' happens when the reader detects signals from more than one card at the same time, which prevents a successful transaction or reading.

Store-And-Forward (SAF)

NOTE: Store-And-Forward occurs when transaction data is stored in the terminal, temporarily to be sent later. This happens primarily in environments with unreliable network connections like EFTPOS terminals. 

When a payment terminal loses its connection, SAF allows the terminal to temporarily accept and store transactions offline.  Once the connection is restored, these transactions are automatically forwarded to a bank for processing.

• If the transaction is approved offline, it is added to the SAF queue to be sent to the host some time in the future.

• When there are offline transactions pending, or there is an error in uploading reversals or offline transactions, offline notifications will be shown in the Android notification drawer.

They all are grouped under 3 notification groups:

SAF Notifications

To check if there are any transactions pending, follow these steps: 

To confirm that pending SAF transactions were successfully sent to the bank once online, or if there was an error in uploading reversals, or offline transactions, check in the Android notification drawer (at the top of the terminal).  

Sample of the three groups of notifications

'SAF Diagnostic' menu

The 'SAF Diagnostic' menu provides a view of the current status of SAF transactions, and when necessary, gives an option to force/ push pending transactions out of the queue.  

To do this:

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen to open/ access the launcher menu.
2. Go to ‘Diagnostics’.
3. Select ‘SAF Diagnostics’.
4. Tab ‘Upload Offline Transactions’. 

SAF Diagnostics menu