Saturday, 9:20 am at the farmers market. A woman picks up two jars of wildflower honey and a beeswax candle, $26, and reaches into her tote. Then the face. "I don't have any cash. Is there an ATM here?"
There is. It is at the far end, past the kettle corn, with a line of eight. She sets the jars back on the table and says she will come back. She walks the rest of the market first, and you never see her again.
Every vendor knows that walk. Nearly 60 million people use Cash App. The customer at your table already has her phone in her hand. Here is how to take it at the booth.
How it works at the table
You type the total on your phone or a tablet. A QR code for that amount appears. The customer scans it with Cash App and pays, and you are paid instantly. Bag it up, next.
No card reader to charge the night before. No hardware to buy. No cash box to count at 2 pm with the wind blowing the ones off the table.
Set up the booth
- Put the tablet on a stand at the front corner of the table so the customer can scan without reaching over the jars.
- Tape the counter card to the front of the table or clip it to the price sign. People decide how they will pay while they browse.
- Hang the door sticker on the tent leg facing the aisle.
- Use one line when they pick something up: "You can pay with Cash App right here."
When the person browsing knows before she reaches for her purse, the ATM walk never starts.
Two markets, one weekend
Plenty of vendors run the Saturday farmers market and a Sunday craft fair, or send a helper to a second market while they work the first. Give each booth its own counter QR code. Each one reports its own sales, so you know which market paid for the booth fee and which one you can drop next season.
They all run under your one riverArk account because they are one business. The free plan covers a limited number of counter QR codes. Paid plans add more booths.
Sharing a tent
Two makers splitting a tent and a booth fee is common. Each one is a separate business. Each vendor signs up as their own business with their own riverArk and Strike accounts, so their sales never mix with yours. No settling up at teardown over whose candle that was.
Final, like cash
A sale at a market is done when the customer walks away. A card payment can come back weeks later as a dispute you have no receipt trail to fight. A Cash App payment through riverArk is final. Handle a return the way you handle a cash return.
What it costs
One rate on what moves through riverArk each month: 1% up to $5,000, 0.85% to $25,000, and 0.75% above that. Most small businesses pay 1.5% to 3.5% to take cards.
Dynamic Pricing at +1% lets the customer cover the fee. Below zero, paying with Cash App earns a discount: "a dollar off the honey if you pay with Cash App" works at a market. Set the number that fits your prices.
Set it up in three steps
- Open a Strike business account and link your business bank. Payments land there. With complete documents, approval usually takes a day or two, so start the week before your next market. Read the Strike setup guide.
- Sign up at ark.riverark.io, free to start, and enter your Strike username.
- Set up a counter QR code for each booth, then run a test payment from your own Cash App at the kitchen table.
The full setup guide covers each step, with video.
See what your customer sees: pay the live demo at ark.riverark.io/demo. Then sign up at riverark.io.
FAQ
Do I need a card reader at my booth?
No. The phone or tablet you already have runs it.
I do two markets on the same weekend. Can I track them separately?
Yes. Give each booth its own counter QR code and each one reports its own sales.
My friend and I share a tent. Can we use one account?
No. One account is one business. Each of you signs up as your own business.
Can someone dispute a purchase after the market?
Not through riverArk. A Cash App payment through riverArk cannot be charged back.
How soon is the money mine?
You are paid the moment the customer pays. It lands in your Strike business account, and you move it to your bank whenever you want.