PIING
Reading Hardware and NFCTap Box overview
Hardware and NFC
- Tap Box overview
- Install a Tap Box
- NFC readers and cards
- While you wait for Apple's tap entitlement
- Troubleshooting taps
- Scan-in points
- What staff see at POS
In this guide
- Your branding on the reader
- What it recognises
- What happens on an accepted tap
- Where it fits
- What Piing manages
- Start without a reader
- Next steps
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Tap Box overview
What a Piing Tap Box does, which credentials it can recognise and how its store assignment controls attribution.
The Piing Tap Box is a compact reader for a store entrance, kiosk position or till. It gives customers a deliberate recognition point and records the accepted visit against the store assigned to that reader.
Your branding on the reader
The Tap Box top layer can be customised with your retailer logo. Discuss the artwork and branding requirements with Piing when arranging your hardware order.
What it recognises
A reader can receive:
- a linked physical NFC card;
- an Apple Wallet VAS tap after the brand's Apple entitlement, NFC certificate and Pass Type ID are configured;
- compatible reader payloads provisioned for the Piing account.
Piing's current Google Wallet pass uses QR, not phone-to-reader NFC. Present it to a kiosk camera or compatible scanner instead. Apple Wallet can also use QR without the VAS setup.
What happens on an accepted tap
- The reader sends its authorised tap payload to Piing.
- Piing resolves the identifier to the linked customer.
- Store rules, including cooldown and daily controls, are applied.
- An accepted visit is written to the check-in ledger with the reader and store source.
- Saved downstream actions can then run, such as Piing metafield updates, a Wallet refresh, a supported event route or an enabled loyalty reward.
The reader is the recognition point. It does not replace Shopify POS, a loyalty programme, a CRM or the customer record.
Where it fits
The most effective position is usually where recognition creates an immediate service moment:
- beside the entrance, before a customer reaches the counter;
- next to the Piing kiosk, so a physical-card or approved Apple Wallet tap can drive the same recognised-member welcome;
- near a till when staff-led recognition is more appropriate.
Each reader is assigned to one Piing store and can carry an internal position label. That assignment determines the location used in analytics and attribution. Move the assignment in Hardware & check-ins, then Stores and readers if the unit moves.
What Piing manages
The Stores and readers page shows registered units, their store assignment, enabled state and recent connectivity. It also lets an authorised user rotate the reader access token, move the unit and send a test heartbeat.
The reader access token is shown once when it is issued or rotated. Treat it as a device credential and follow the Piing provisioning instructions supplied with the unit.
Start without a reader
A reader is one Piing recognition route, not a prerequisite. A paired tablet kiosk, printed scan-in point, Shopify POS tile and QR on the Wallet pass can all create the same store visit before hardware is installed.
Next steps
Related guides
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Next guide in Hardware and NFC
Install a Tap Box
Position a reader, assign it to the correct store, provision its one-time credential and verify a real check-in.
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