The pro’s and con’s of POS equipment

In this edited extract from her book, digital specialist Tracy Sheen compares the platforms of some of the leading payment processing providers in New Zealand.

If you run a bricks-and-mortar operation (or you’re a market vendor) you’ll need to find a provider that has a POS system you can use. This could be anything from a credit card reader to a POS system on a mobile or tablet reader for collecting on-the-go transactions.

Check in with the companies you’re considering and find out if there is a fee (outright or rental) on the device itself… Left unchecked these can get quite expensive.

If you’re going to offer online or in-person payment solutions, then it’s worth considering the types of payment options you’ll offer.

It’s a rare person who carries cash these days (which got rarer during the pandemic) and most of us now prefer to ‘tap and go’ with our payments. This may be a debit or a credit card option. The other thing to consider is whether your provider can also offer solutions for Apple and Google Pay.

I know I pay everything through my Apple Watch and am almost caught out now if I go somewhere that does not have the option for accepting payment through my watch or phone. These payment methods will only become more ubiquitous as we move through the years, so it’s worth looking for a holistic solution from the start.

Customer support

Depending on your hours of operation you’re going to want to know your payment processing company’s options when it comes to cus­tomer support. It’s always handy to know you’ve got someone on the end of the phone when you process a client’s payment and things suddenly stop working.

There are dozens if not hundreds of payment processing gateway companies to choose from, and that’s without considering partner­ing with your traditional bank. A simple Google search will provide you with plenty of options.

To get you started though, here’s a few you can check out.

Vend https://www.vendhq.com/nz

Vend started in New Zealand in 2010. In 2021 they sold to Lightspeed (another software company) and have been operating as Vend by Lightspeed since. They have an office based in Auckland and operate on New Zealand business hours (bonus!)

• 14 day free trial.
• Offer real time reporting.
• eCommerce integrations including Shopify, WooCommerce and Big Commerce.
• Offer personalised onboarding sessions.
• High levels of security built in.
• Works online and offline.
• Has layaway and ‘on account’ ability.
• Ability to create and accept gift cards.
• Has a reputation for slow payment processing.

Square www.squareup.com/au/en

Possibly the most popular payment gateway operator I see within my small business community. They support a number of platforms, including:

• Shopify (via a third-party app)
• Vend
• WooCommerce
• Xero
• There are a lot of ‘pros’ to Square, including:
• Virtual terminal.
• Various cards, including: Visa
• Mastercard
  • Discover
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay, Android Pay, and eWallet payments.
• Good for low-volume merchants.
• Ability to store a card on file.
• Full reporting tools.
• End-to-end encryption for transactions.
• Next-business-day deposits.
• No fees for refunds.
• Opt for a small fee for instant funds transfer.
• For bricks-and-mortar stores they have an iPad app available.

The big cons I’ve seen levelled at Square include:

• Poor customer support (although they aren’t on their own for this).
• Disputes tend to go against the merchant in most of the cases.
• Lack of subscription tools.

Stripe www.stripe.com/nz

This is the other ‘big’ player against Square for the New Zealand market. Just like Square they support a number of platforms (some via third-party integrations) including:

• SquareSpace
• Woo Commerce
• WordPress
• Shopify
• Xero
• QuickBooks
• MYOB

The pros to Stripe include:

• Transparent, flat-rate pricing.
• Accepts various cards, including: Credit cards
  • Debit cards
  • International cards
  • Wire transfers
  • Bitcoin
• Global scalability and reach (ideal if you think you’ll take on international clients).
• No monthly contracts.
• Customisable checkout solution to suit your business.
• Multiple support channels, some available 24/7.

The cons include:

• Slow email response times and other customer support issues.
• Disputes mostly land with the customer and cost the business money.
• Not an easy set-up for those with limited technical understanding.

When it comes to choosing your payment processing partner, do some research. Make sure you can implement everything you can with the platform. Remember, the end game is to make your customer’s life easier and remove any obstacle to doing business with you.

Edited extract from The End of Technophobia: a practical guide to digitising your business (Publish Central $34.95) by award-winning digital specialist Tracy Sheen. Find out more at www.thedigitalguide.com.au