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Payments & Payouts

Take Cards with No Signal at the Door

Keep selling tickets by card at the door when there is no connection. BrightStar stores the payment and charges it when the signal returns.

4 min readUpdated 2026-10-01

The reader stores the payment and Stripe charges it once the signal returns. It works on an Elevate event, once you switch it on for that event.

Some gatherings happen far from a cell tower: a forest retreat, a desert ceremony, an excursion by the water. The line at the door still forms, and this lets you keep it moving.

Where to find it

Open Scanner & POS from the dashboard sidebar. It opens a screen for installing the BrightStar Organizer app, or for using the browser scanner.

That screen is where you turn the feature on for your event, set your limits and see every payment taken this way.

Turning it on and setting your limits

Door staff devices cannot change them.

  1. 1Open the Offline card payments screen for your event.
  2. 2Tap **Change limits**.
  3. 3Switch on **Take cards with no signal**.
  4. 4Enter **Max per sale**, the largest card sale a device may take without signal.
  5. 5Enter **Max held per device**, the most card money one device may hold waiting for signal.
  6. 6Tap **Save**.

What the limits mean

Until you set your own, BrightStar starts with a $250 limit per sale and $2,500 held per device. Your limits can never go above Stripe's own cap of 10,000 USD per offline payment. Only payments still waiting for signal count toward the amount held on a device. Once a payment has been charged, it no longer counts.

Selling a ticket with no signal

When the device is offline and the feature is on, the checkout offers a card option for no signal:

  1. 1Choose one pass type and up to 4 tickets. Offline sales are priced at the current door price, and promo codes cannot be used.
  2. 2Enter the buyer's email or phone. One of the two is required, so you can reach them later if needed.
  3. 3Tap **Take card offline** and have the buyer present their card to the reader.
  4. 4When the screen says the card is stored, admit the guest. Their receipt shows as pending.

What happens when the signal returns

The reader sends the stored payment to Stripe when the signal returns. If the card is approved, the sale is recorded through the app. If the device has a connection at the moment of the sale, the card is charged straight away instead.

Each payment shows a status on the Offline card payments screen: Waiting for signal, Approved — recording, Recorded, Declined by the bank, or Charged, not recorded. Payments from all your devices appear in one list.

The bank checks a stored card only when the payment is sent to Stripe. If it declines the card then, the money is not collected, and that loss is yours as the organizer. BrightStar keeps the buyer's name, email and phone on the declined payment so you can follow up. Set your limits with this in mind.

Before the doors open

A few things to check while you still have signal:

  • Your event is on the Elevate plan.
  • Take cards with no signal is switched on and your limits are saved.
  • The device has opened the event while online, so it holds your limits and current door prices.

Common questions

Can I take card payments at the door with BrightStar when there is no signal?

Yes, on an Elevate event where you have switched it on. BrightStar's scanner app lets door staff take a card on a reader with no connection. The reader stores the payment and Stripe charges it when the signal returns.

Read more

You choose whether it is on for each event, and you set the limits. A guest paying this way is admitted straight away with a pending receipt.

What happens if a card is declined after a BrightStar offline sale?

If the bank declines the card when Stripe tries to charge it, the money is not collected, and the loss is the organizer's. BrightStar marks the payment Declined by the bank and keeps the buyer's contact details so you can follow up.

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Because of this risk, BrightStar asks for the buyer's email or phone before it stores a card, and lets you cap how much any one device holds.

How much can I sell by card with no signal on BrightStar?

You set a limit per sale and a limit for the total a device may hold waiting for signal. BrightStar starts at $250 per sale and $2,500 held per device. Neither limit can go above Stripe's cap of 10,000 USD per offline payment.

Read more

Offline sales are one pass type at a time, up to 4 tickets, at the current door price with no promo codes. For anything larger, take cash or wait for signal.

Does BrightStar's offline card payment feature work on the Seva plan?

No. Taking cards with no signal is part of the Elevate plan. If you try to save its settings on an event without Elevate, BrightStar tells you that offline card payments are part of Elevate.

Where do I see card payments taken without signal in BrightStar?

In the BrightStar scanner app, tap the Online or Offline status at the top, then tap Offline card payments. The list shows every payment from all your devices with its status, and declined ones show the buyer's contact details.

Ready to get started?

Create your first event on BrightStar — it’s free.