Card fees by business · Hairdressers and barbers
Card fees for hairdressers and barbers
Updated
A salon takes fewer, bigger payments than a café, mostly booked ahead, sometimes with a card held for no-shows, and often split between stylists who rent their chairs. Each habit changes the cheapest plan.
On the example numbers
On the example salon's numbers the cheapest plan we compare is Westpac EFTPOS Now at $2,275 a year. Staying on a 1.6% flat rate, a 1.46% price rise covers card fees: a $75 cut becomes $76.10.
The example business, at three sizes
Worked figures for a salon taking $20,000 a month by card at a $75 average, with 90% of sales by card. Card mix: eftpos 30%, Visa/Mastercard debit 30%, Visa/Mastercard credit 32%, Amex 6%, Overseas cards 2%. 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 | $8,000 a month | $20,000 a month | $45,000 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westpac EFTPOS Now | $1,0881.13% | $2,2750.95% | $4,7480.88% |
| CommBank Smart Mini | $9500.99% | $2,3760.99% | $5,3460.99% |
| Worldline Move 5000 | $1,2711.32% | $2,7281.14% | $5,7631.07% |
| CommBank Smart terminal | $1,3041.36% | $2,7301.14% | $5,7001.06% |
| Square Reader (Free plan) | $1,5361.60% | $3,8401.60% | $8,6401.60% |
A one- or two-chair salon at $8,000 a month does best on CommBank's Smart Mini, $138 a year cheaper than Westpac because there's no rental to cover. On this salon's mix Westpac takes over at about $14,928 a month, so a busy multi-chair salon at $45,000 is better off on the rented terminal, by $598 a year.
Booking and no-show fees aren't card surcharges
The change doesn't cover booking fees or service fees that apply regardless of how a customer pays. (Reserve Bank of Australia, checked )
A cancellation fee charged to every client who doesn't turn up is fine. A fee that only applies when the client pays by card is a card surcharge, whatever the price list calls it.
Charging a card held on file
Taking a no-show fee from a card saved at booking isn't a tap at the counter. Providers price it at their keyed or online rate, which is higher than the terminal rate:
- Zeller, phone and mail orders (moto): 1.7% including GST (Zeller pricing, checked )
- Square, keyed-in, card on file and virtual terminal: 2.2% (Square pricing, checked )
- SumUp, payment links: 2.10% (SumUp pricing, checked )
For most salons these are a sliver of takings, so the in-person rate still decides the cheapest plan.
Chair renters taking their own payments
When stylists rent chairs, each one usually takes their own payments, and each one's takings are small. At $6,000 a month the cheapest plan we compare is CommBank Smart Mini at $713 a year. A rented terminal's $25 to $30 a month is a big slice of a single stylist's fees, so readers bought outright tend to win at chair level.
CommBank charges its terminal rental whether you take payments or not. (CommBank EFTPOS fees, checked )