Manage Toast Access Cards & Swipe Cards

Last updated: Sep 1, 2026, 12:15 AM

You can configure and assign swipe cards to employees and managers in order to reduce the chances of passcode theft and high-level manager permissions abuse.

In this Article:

 

Manager Swipe and Toast Access Card Overview

Toast Access Cards (TAC) are now the recommended default over Manager Swipe Cards, especially for restaurants with a mix of legacy and Gen 3 (TDA300/TOC300) hardware. Because of this, some types of magnetic stripe cards may no longer be compatible as a Toast Manager Swipe Card.

 

Manager Swipe Card (legacy—being phased out)

Toast Manager Card

 

Toast Access Card (recommended default)

Toast Access Card

 

Setting up manager cards is the same process as setting up employee swipe cards. You can use swipe cards with a POS access code (giving employees flexibility when opening the POS) or you can use a swipe card instead of a POS access code. Toast access cards can also be used to clock in/out of the POS.

 

Order Toast Access Cards

 

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Device Compatibility

The type of handheld device or card reader you use determines which cards (Toast Access Cards or Manager Swipe Card) will be functional, and this can vary by region. Use the table below to identify which device you use in your restaurant and which cards are supported.

 

Device NameSupported/Not SupportedKey Compatibility Rule
Toast Go® 3SupportedToast Access Cards work on all devices, regardless of the device they were set up on. Manager Swipe Cards should not be created or used with Toast Go® 3.
Toast Tap™ Devices (legacy, TDA300, TOC300) and Toast Go® 2Supported

A Manager Swipe Card set up on one of these devices will not work on another—including between reader generations. A card registered on a legacy Toast Tap™ will not work on a TDA300/TOC300, and vice versa. It also will not work on a Toast Go® 3 / MagTek DynaMag / Toast MSR, and vice versa.

 

Toast Access Cards work on all devices and all reader generations, regardless of which device they were set up on—this is why Access Cards are the recommended default for any restaurant with a mix of legacy and Gen 3 hardware.

 

Note: If you use a single card reader setup in your restaurant, you must have it set to Employee Pay rather than Guest Pay to utilize Toast Access Cards at this time. To do so:

  1. From the Toast main menu on the terminal, navigate to Setup > Device Setup.
  2. Navigate to Card Readers > select your card reader > Payment Option > Employee Pay.

 

MagTek DynaMag / MSR Devices (external credit card readers)SupportedA Manager Swipe card set up on an MagTek DynaMag / Toast MSR device will not work on a Toast Tap™ (any generation) / Toast Go® 2 / Toast Go® 3 device, and vice versa.
P400 & V400mSupported (*TACs only)(For CA, IE, UK, AU Customers Only): These contactless readers only support Toast Access Cards.
S1 Handheld POSNot Supported

(For CA, IE, UK, AU Customers Only):

Toast Access Cards are not compatible with the S1 Handheld POS.

 

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Assign a Swipe Card to an Employee/Manager

To assign a swipe card to an employee or manager, the assigning user must have:

  • permission 3.24 Register Swipe Cards
  • all the same permissions as the employee they are assigning the swipe card to

 

Once those requirements are confirmed, follow these steps:

 

  1. On the main menu of your POS device, navigate to Manager Activities > Register Swipe Card. Note: Register Swipe Card is a manager-level permission. You may need to review your manager permissions or contact your restaurant administrator in order to gain access to this permission.
  2. Locate and select the name of the employee who needs to register a card.
    • You can't assign yourself a card. A different employee/manager must be logged into the Toast device in order for this process to work.
    • An employee can only have one swipe card assigned to them at a time. If the employee already has a card on file, see Replace or Revoke Swipe Card Access.
  3. Select the +Add button in the top-right corner of the screen and swipe the card through the credit card reader attached to the Toast device.

    Swipe_card_prompt

    If you're using a Toast Tap®, P400 or V400m contactless payment reader, use the diagram below for swiping instructions.

     

    Toast Tap®P400V400m
    Diagram of Toast Tap™ device with a card that has the black stripe facing down

 

  1. Select Done. You can now swipe the card to log in, or to clock/in out for your shift! Your POS access code is still enabled. However, if you'd like to disable that, see the instructions below.

 

creditcardicon_registered_swipe_card

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Enable Swipe Card-Only Access

At times, it may be advantageous for restaurant managers to only use swipe cards instead without also having an active POS access code (aka passcode or PIN).

 

  1. To enable swipe card-only access to the POS, ensure the manager has a POS access code enabled (this will be disabled in a couple steps). See Log in to Toast: Create an Account for instructions on granting POS access to a user.
  2. Next, assign the employee to a swipe card as noted in the previous section of this article.
  3. Then navigate back to Employees > Employee management > Employees in Toast Web and select the last name hyperlink to edit the profile of the desired employee.
  4. Using the tabs at the top of the page, select Profile.
  5. Scroll down to the POS access code section and select Disable POS access code login at this location.
  6. Save and Publish to finalize your changes.

 

Note: If you remove a swipe card from an employee with swipe card-only access, you'll have to re-enable the POS access code login for them to be able to access the Toast system.

 

Additionally, if no swipe card is configured, the option to disable a POS access code login cannot be selected.

 

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Replace or Revoke Swipe Card Access

You can replace or revoke swipe card access through the Register Swipe Card screen on your POS device. A small credit card icon will appear next to any employee who currently has a swipe card assigned.

 

Selecting the employee's name will allow you to replace the previous card with a new swipe card or revoke the employee's current swipe card access.

 

  • Revoking swipe card access to an employee won't prevent you from reassigning the swipe card to any employee.
  • A single swipe card cannot be assigned to more than one employee.

 

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