Card fees by business · Food trucks and market stalls
Card fees for food trucks and market stalls
Updated
Mobile traders take small sales in bursts: a huge Saturday, a quiet winter, no wi-fi. The cheapest plan for a café can be the wrong one here.
On the example numbers
For the example stall, CommBank Smart Mini is cheapest of the plans we compare at $1,188 a year, with no rental to pay in the months you don't trade. On a 1.6% rate a 1.30% rise covers fees: a $16 meal becomes $16.21.
The example business, at three sizes
Worked figures for a weekend market stall taking $10,000 a month by card at a $16 average, with 80% of sales by card. Card mix: eftpos 40%, Visa/Mastercard debit 30%, Visa/Mastercard credit 24%, Amex 3%, Overseas cards 3%. These are illustrative inputs, not an industry average; change them in the calculator to match your statement.
Fees a year for the example, by plan and monthly card takings
| Plan | $4,000 a month | $10,000 a month | $22,000 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| CommBank Smart Mini | $4750.99% | $1,1880.99% | $2,6140.99% |
| Westpac EFTPOS Now | $6841.43% | $1,2661.05% | $2,4280.92% |
| Worldline Move 5000 | $7891.64% | $1,5211.27% | $2,9871.13% |
| CommBank Smart terminal | $8291.73% | $1,5421.29% | $2,9681.12% |
| Square Reader (Free plan) | $7681.60% | $1,9201.60% | $4,2241.60% |
At $4,000 a month CommBank's Smart Mini costs $475 a year and Westpac's EFTPOS Now $684, because its rental and $22 minimum fee weigh on small takings. A stall would need steady takings above about $13,532 a month before the rented terminal wins, and few stalls trade that evenly all year.
Rental keeps running in the quiet months
CommBank charges its monthly terminal rental whether you take payments or not. (CommBank EFTPOS fees, checked )
A $25 to $30 rental is $300 to $354 a year whatever you sell. In a $2,000 month, Westpac's EFTPOS Now costs $47 in fees and rental, 2.3% of takings, against $20 on CommBank Smart Mini. Readers you buy outright have nothing to pay when you don't trade.
Minimum monthly fees
Westpac charges a minimum merchant service fee of $22 a month per terminal if your card fees for the month come to less. (Westpac merchant fees brochure, checked )
At 0.79%, that minimum applies whenever card takings fall below about $2,785 in a month.
No wi-fi at the market
SumUp Solo works without a phone and has built-in mobile data. (SumUp Solo, checked )
Phone-paired readers depend on your phone's signal and battery. A terminal with its own SIM keeps taking payments while the phone does something else.
Cash at the stall
Cash fell to around 15 per cent of in-person transactions in 2025, from 69 per cent in 2007, and the RBA says cash is no longer clearly cheaper for merchants to accept than cards. (RBA Conclusions Paper, checked )
Markets still take more cash than most places, which is why the example assumes one sale in five is cash. Cash sales dilute the price rise you need: with 80% of sales by card, a 1.6% fee needs only a 1.30% rise across the board. Count the float, the bank trips and the takings you carry home before deciding cash is free.
Getting the money in time to buy stock
- CommBank Smart Mini: same-day settlement, 365 days a year (CommBank Smart Mini, checked )
- Zeller: next business day to any bank account (Zeller pricing, checked )
- SumUp: payouts in 1 to 3 business days (SumUp pricing, checked )