How to Take Card Payments as a Personal Trainer

To take card payments as a personal trainer, you need three things: a way for the client to tap or enter their card, a provider that processes the payment, and a bank account for the payout.

A card reader, a payment link or a booking app that takes payment can all do this. The right one depends on where you train, how clients book, and how much admin you are willing to do after each session.

Personal trainer payment options compared

There is more than one way to take card payments as a personal trainer, and you do not have to pick just one. Here is how the common personal trainer payment options compare, card and otherwise.

Option	Works well for	Watch out for
Cash	Regulars who prefer it, paid in person	No record unless you log it, and forgotten wallets
Bank transfer	Larger amounts, or clients who settle up monthly	Matching payments to sessions, and clients who forget
Payment link	One-off sessions and new clients	You create, send and check every link yourself
Card reader	In-person sessions paid on the spot	Device cost, and nothing is secured before the session
Booking app that takes payment	Regular weekly clients	Card fees on each payment, and whether clients need the app

The sections below go through each one, then how to choose.

Cash vs card: which should you take?

Cash costs nothing to accept and every client understands it. The costs are hidden. You carry change, remember who paid, and bank it later. And when a client forgets their wallet, you are owed money you now have to chase.

Card has a fee on every payment, but it is traceable, can be secured before the session, and does not rely on memory. A practical setup is card by default, with cash for clients who prefer it, both recorded in one place.

Session income is taxable whether it arrives as cash or by card, so keep records of both.

Bank transfers

In many countries, bank transfers cost little or nothing to receive and suit clients who settle up monthly. The catch is the admin. You check your statement, match each payment to a name and a session, and chase the ones that never arrive.

If you take transfers, ask clients to use a fixed reference, such as their name and the session date. Transfer speed varies between countries and banks, so do not count on the money arriving the same day.

Payment links

A payment link opens a secure checkout page where the client pays by card or phone wallet. Many providers let you create one for a set amount and send it by text or email. Links suit one-off sessions and payment before a first session.

The downside is that the work stays with you. You create each link, send it, check it was paid and chase it if not. For regular weekly clients, that adds up quickly.

Card readers for personal trainers

A card reader for personal trainers is a small device that pairs with your phone and accepts contactless cards, chip cards and phone wallets. Some providers also let your phone take contactless payments without a separate device, depending on your country and phone model.

Card readers suit trainers who see clients in person and get paid at the end of the session. They do not help with no-shows, because nothing is secured in advance, and they cannot be used for online sessions.

Before choosing one, compare the device price, the fee per payment and how fast payouts reach your bank.

Apple Pay for personal trainers

Apple Pay for personal trainers is not a separate service you sign up for. It is a way clients pay, and your provider either accepts it or not. Card readers, payment links and booking apps often accept it, so check before you choose.

For clients, it means paying with a tap instead of typing a card number. For you, it is one less reason for a client to say they will pay later.

Booking apps that take payment

A booking app that takes payment joins booking and paying into one step. The client pays, or has their card secured, at the moment they reserve the slot. That removes the separate payment step, which is the one clients tend to forget.

When you compare them, check:

When the client pays. Upfront at booking, or a hold at booking with the charge after the session.
How cancellations work. Whether the app refunds the client, or releases a hold so no refund is needed.
The full cost. Any monthly fee, card processing, and any fixed fee per booking.
Payouts. How often you are paid, and to which bank accounts.
Cash. Whether cash sessions can be tracked next to card payments.
Clients without the app. Whether you can still add them and record their sessions.

Our guide to the best app for personal trainers goes deeper on choosing one.

What do card payments cost?

Every way to take card payments as a personal trainer has a cost. Providers usually charge a percentage of each payment, sometimes plus a fixed amount per transaction. Some add a monthly fee, a device cost or payout fees.

Cards issued in another country, or payments in another currency, can add cross-border and conversion costs on top.

Compare providers on what you keep from a typical session, not on the headline rate. A fixed fee per transaction weighs more on a short, cheaper session than on a long one.

Build the cost into your price rather than adding a surcharge at checkout. Surcharging card payments is restricted or banned in some countries. If you are reviewing your prices anyway, the personal training rate calculator is a good place to start.

How CoachOne holds the card and charges after the session

CoachOne takes card and Apple Pay through Stripe, with a hold first and the charge after the session. Here is the sequence, as set out in the Payment Terms:

At booking. A hold (authorisation) is placed on the client's card for the session price. The client is not charged yet.
If you decline, or the session is cancelled beforehand. The hold is released and the client is never charged, so no refund is needed. If your cancellation policy sets a late cancellation fee, only that fee is charged.
After the session. The held amount is charged after the session's scheduled end time.
Booked more than 5 days ahead. The card is saved at booking and the hold is placed within 5 days before the session. If the hold fails, you and the client are notified and the booking may be cancelled.

What happens with a no-show is up to your own policy, which every client sees before booking.

Funds become eligible for payout 2 business days after the session ends (7 business days during your first 30 days with card payments), and bank payouts are sent once a week. Payouts go to a bank account in your own name, in your local currency.

The cost is a 3% Platform Fee on card payments, plus Stripe's processing costs for card, payout, cross-border and currency conversion. Both are itemised in the app and deducted before payout. There is no fixed fee per booking and no commission on cash sessions.

You set prices in your local currency. Clients are charged in euro (EUR) and see the EUR amount before they confirm. A client paying with a card in another currency may see a fee from their own bank.

Card payments take about 3 minutes to set up. You put your info in once in the app to verify your identity, and then you can take card and Apple Pay. You can also skip that and run cash sessions only.

Card details are handled by Stripe, and CoachOne never sees or stores full card numbers. Cash sessions are tracked in the same place, and split and partial payments are supported.

Which is the best way to take card payments as a personal trainer?

It depends on how your week looks:

Regular clients at set times. A booking app that secures payment at booking, with cash as a backup.
Mostly one-off sessions. Payment links, or a card reader if you always meet in person.
Paid at the end of each session. A card reader works, but pair it with a cancellation policy so no-shows still cost something.
Online sessions. Take payment at booking, because there is no in-person moment to pay.

Tennis coaches, swim instructors and other Sport Trainers face the same choices, with one twist. Court or pool hire often has to be paid before the session, which makes securing payment at booking even more useful.

Moving clients from cash to card

Switching existing clients goes best with notice and a clear reason. Pick a start date, tell clients two weeks ahead, and keep cash available for anyone who really needs it.

Hi [name], from [date] I am moving bookings and payments to card and Apple Pay. You will book and pay in a few taps, and there is no need to bring cash. If you would rather keep paying cash, just let me know.

Then follow through. If you keep taking cash from everyone after the switch date, nobody will change.

If you want card, Apple Pay and cash in one iPhone app, with the card held at booking and charged after the session, see how CoachOne payments work.