Best Cashless POS Systems For Small Business

Square is free to use, with no monthly fee. However, you can purchase various optional add-ons, including advanced team management, loyalty, and gift cards.

Some great electronic payment features Square offers include email receipts, NFC support (for contactless payments), a free eCommerce website, curbside pickup, and an offline mode that queues credit card payments if you lose your internet connection. There’s also a free virtual terminal for keyed-in card entry.

Additionally, Square accepts Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, which lets you accept contactless payments with just your phone (i.e., you don’t even need a card reader).

Square is always innovating, and its online checkout feature lets merchants send online payment links that allow customers to pay from their own devices. You also get unlimited devices on your free Square account, which can be handy if you have multiple employees selling from their own devices.

This easy-to-use POS works on virtually any smartphone, iPad, or tablet, as well as on the proprietary mobile hardware sold by Square.

You can purchase a Square Stand Kit, which includes an iPad, the proprietary Square Stand swivel screen with its built-in payment reader, a cash drawer, and a receipt printer. Or, you could use a Square Terminal or Square Register for a minimal setup with no cash register.

It’s also possible to accept cashless payments using Square without buying any hardware at all—just use a free plug-in Square credit card reader or Tap to Pay on iPhone.

At a flat 2.6% + $0.10 on every swiped, dipped, and tapped transaction, Square’s in-house payment provider does not provide the absolute lowest processing rates in the industry. However, there is no monthly charge to use this handy pocket POS, so there is a very low barrier to entry.

For online payments, Square charges 2.9% + $0.30.

Square does not have any contract or processing minimum, so you can stop using the POS at any time or use it only occasionally. A couple of downsides to Square are its somewhat impersonal customer support and a touchy security system that may flag/freeze your account if you process a very large transaction or a higher-than-usual monthly sales total.

Clover also has several software plans that cater to various industries. There is a free plan, which includes payment processing only, while paid plans run between $0 – $84.95/month .

Clover has excellent digital payment features, including contactless payments, paperless receipts, PayPal and Venmo acceptance, a virtual terminal, and more. Clover can also accept EBT and QR code payments and Tap to Pay on iPhone with the Clover Go app.

The ideal countertop setup for a cashless business is probably the Clover Mini , which you can use alongside other Clover devices or on its own. The Mini is an all-in-one POS, it has a 7″ touchscreen made with antimicrobial glass, and comes with a built-in receipt printer, a front-facing camera, and the ability to read barcodes/QR codes. The system is also portable, giving you the option of a “floating terminal” setup where employees can take payments from anywhere in your store/restaurant.

Other Clover hardware options include Clover Station, Clover Flex, and the mobile Clover Go, which connects to your smartphone.

You also have the option to accept cashless payments with no hardware—either using the Clover Go app with Tap to Pay on iPhone or using the Clover Virtual Terminal.

Clover’s rates depend on which software plan you’re on. In-person processing rates range from 2.3% – 2.6% + $0.10% per transaction per transaction (if you purchase your system from Clover.com), while the online and keyed-in fee is 3.5% + $0.10 per transaction.

If you purchase Clover from a third party, you may be able to get a different payment processing setup, such as interchange pricing or cash-discount processing.

Clover’s standard processing contract is three years, which is longer than many businesses will want to commit. Also, since a number of different banks and merchant services providers sell Clover, it’s important to choose a recommended Clover reseller or buy from Clover directly. Some Clover vendors charge hidden fees and offer poor customer service.

With plans ranging from $29 – $299/month, Shopify is completely scalable and can support micro-businesses just starting out with in-person selling as well as growing multilocation retail outlets.

Higher-tier plans include more in-person POS features for brick-and-mortar stores, as well as advanced eCommerce features. For full-scale Shopify POS with eCommerce, you’ll need at least the Basic plan.

Shopify has kept up to date with newer electronic selling methods that combine cashless in-person and online sales. Some of these features include social selling, local delivery, curbside pickup, digital gift cards, and a ship-to-customer option that lets customers pay for an item at your store that is shipped to their home. Alternatively, customers can buy online and pick up in your store (BOPIS).

Shopify POS supports contactless payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as Tap to Pay on iPhone.

Shopify also offers product detail QR codes in your store that customers can scan with their phones to learn more about your products and buy them from your website.

Shopify sells retail kits for iPad and Android tablet setups. For example, you can buy the Shopify Retail Kit for iPad on Shopify’s website. Shopify POS Go, Shopify Tap & Chip reader, and Tap to Pay on iPhone are some cashless selling options for mobile businesses.

Shopify includes in-house, flat-rate payment processing. Payment processing costs for in-person transactions range from 2.4 – 2.9% depending on your plan. You can also use Shopify with your own processor for an added fee.

Shopify POS does not have a contract so there is no commitment. Like Square, Shopify Payments is a third-party processor/payment aggregator, so you don’t get the stability and personalized service of having your own individual merchant account.

Another potential negative about Shopify POS is that its offline mode is not super robust—you can’t process transactions if you’re offline. But if you have a stable internet connection or data plan, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Toast pricing starts at $0/month, for both hardware and software, if you pay a higher payment processing fee. If you wish to pay for your hardware and software upfront (a more economical option in the long run), plans start at $69/month.

Advanced features such as online ordering and delivery, a customer-facing takeout app, gift cards, and loyalty cost extra, either in the form of additional increases to your payment processing fee or a higher monthly software fee.

Toast has lots of tech-forward features for cashless transactions. These include contactless payments, kiosk mode, tableside payment devices, a QR code payment option that lets customers pay on their phone, and an offline mode so that you can continue to ring up transactions (and perform other essential features) even during an internet outage.

You can even set your credit card authorization so that it will always behave as if it were offline—this makes the system faster since you don’t have to wait around for an official authorization, though it is slightly riskier to operate in this mode.

Toast also makes it easy to pay for orders online, via the customer-facing Toast Takeout app, or with digital gift cards.

You can purchase a countertop Starter Kit from Toast . The kit is suitable for a cashless restaurant, as it includes a Toast Flex terminal, Toast Tap payment reader, and router—but no cash register.

Toast also offers a handheld ordering kit called Toast Go and a guest self-service kit.

Toast offers in-house payment processing and claims it can meet or beat the rates you’d get with another processor. However, you cannot use an outside merchant account with Toast; if you want to use your own existing merchant account or don’t want to get locked into a long-term contract, Toast is not right for you.

Toast has a standard in-person processing fee of 2.49% + $0.15. With Toast’s online ordering options, restaurants will pay card-not-present processing fees, which are 3.5% + $0.15 for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, and 3.89% + $0.15 for AMEX

Toast’s standard contract is two years, with an early termination fee should you try to exit your contract early.

Revel can be pricy and its pricing it entirely quote-based so you’ll have to call them to get a quote. Keep in mind that you will generally need to sign up for a three-year contract to get their best rates.

Some of the many cashless POS features you get with this NFC-ready POS include built-in PayPal acceptance in-store, online ordering options for customers who want to order ahead for pickup/delivery, kiosk mode, and QR code payments.

Revel uses iPad POS hardware exclusively, and you may be able to source some or all of your hardware yourself if desired. Revel doesn’t list its hardware pricing so you will have to call them for a quote.

Revel’s standard fee is 2.49% + $0.15 for all transactions. Revel can also offer custom rates or integrate with an outside payment processor using the USAePay gateway or others.

Revel Systems’ standard plan requires a three-year contract and processing agreement with Revel Advantage. However, it may be possible to negotiate a shorter contract.