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An Overview of the Tithely Pay Card Reader

Updated:

As Tithely Pay sunsets on May 11, 2026, we recommend transitioning to Square or Clover if your church is looking for a point-of-sale (POS) solution for in-person transactions. Your Tithely Pay card reader will no longer be useful after May 11th. 

Before you begin please charge the Tithely Pay Card Reader. Connect the USB cable to a Micro-USB port and fully charge the reader. The reader's LED lights will flash while charging and show all four solid green lights once fully charged.

Connecting your reader for the first time

  1. Turn on the reader Press and release the power button on the left side of your reader. The M2 reader's LEDs will flash on & off in consecutive order.
  2. Open the Tithely Pay App on your iOS device and log in.
    If you do not have the Tithely Pay App on your iOS device yet you will need to download it from the App or Google Play store.
  3. Allow location services and Bluetooth within Tithely Pay. Open Tithely Pay and enable Bluetooth and location to be accessed when using the app (this is required).
    DO NOT pair the reader via the Bluetooth setting on your iOS device.
  4. Confirm the reader is paired The card reader will flash all 4 LEDs 3 times. You’re now ready to collect payments! 🎉

You should stay close to the reader in order to remain paired, the reader has a range of 10-20 feet.

Please Note: When the reader is connected to an iOS Device and ready to accept payment one LED light will be on. If the reader is inactive it will enter standby mode, this will be indicated by one light flashing on and off. The reader stays connected to the device while in standby and automatically exits standby mode when you resume activity.

 

Tithely Pay Troubleshooting

I can’t turn on the reader

  1. Ensure the Tithely Card Reader is charged.

  2. Check for physical damage to the reader.

  3. Check that the reader’s LED light flashes between magenta and red when charging.

  4. If the reader still won’t turn on, reach out to our support team. 

I can’t connect the reader to Tithely Pay

  1. Confirm the reader is powered on.

  2. Confirm the reader is charged.

  3. Confirm the reader is not connected to another device.

    • Ensure that the reader was fully disconnected from any previous device using Tithely Pay directly, rather than taking the reader out of range.

    • Ensure that the reader was not previously paired to a POS device via the device’s Bluetooth settings. Go to Bluetooth settings in any previously paired devices and “Forget” the device.

  4. Confirm the reader’s status light are flashing blue.

  5. Confirm the reader is in-range of the iOS device running Tithely Pay (usually 10-20 ft).

Still having troubles? Troubleshoot the reader / iOS device’s Bluetooth connection

  1. If the Tithely Pay Reader is in a holster or case, attempt to connect to the reader without the holster or case.

  2. Attempt to connect to the Tithely Pay Reader with the iOS’s WiFi settings turned off. This will indicate if WiFi instability is interfering with the ability to connect to the reader via Bluetooth. If the connection succeeds with WiFi turned off, then take one of the following approaches to resolve:

  3. Reconnect the iOS device to internet using a cellular connection or move closer to the WiFi access point to reduce WiFi interference.

  4. Reset the WiFi router to a 5GHz band to ensure 2.4GHz band (shared by Bluetooth) isn’t too crowded.

I’ve tried diagnosing steps above and it’s still not working.

Perform the following checks:

  • Make sure the Tithely Card Reader is up to date.

  • Ensure Location Services are on for the iOS Device, as GPS location coordinates are required for payments to succeed.

  • Ensure Bluetooth is turned on in the device settings; bluetooth is required to connect to the reader

  • Always connect to the Tithely Card Reader directly from the application. Do not connect via device settings. Upon connection, the reader’s LED light will be steady blue.

  • Always disconnect from the Tithely Card Reader directly from the application before connecting it to another iOS device. Upon disconnection, the reader’s LED light will be flashing blue.

  • Keep readers charged. Readers should last for ~10 hours of standby use. If the reader’s battery is low, its LED light will be flashing red.

Payment is declined. What do I do now?

If a payment is declined, you can attempt payment again using the “Try Again” button.

Note that you can try processing the payment the same way with the Tithely Card Reader, or you can use the “Enter Manually” option to enter card details manually in case there is an issue with the card.

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