Card fees by business · Retail shops
Card fees for retail shops
Updated
Shops sit in the middle: mid-sized baskets, steady volume, a counter terminal tied to a point-of-sale system and, in tourist areas, a real share of overseas cards.
On the example numbers
Westpac EFTPOS Now is the cheapest plan we compare for the example shop, $4,392 a year less than a 1.6% flat rate. On 1.6%, a 1.51% rise covers card fees, or $0.83 on a $55 basket.
The example business, at three sizes
Worked figures for a gift and homewares shop taking $50,000 a month by card at a $55 average, with 93% of sales by card. Card mix: eftpos 34%, Visa/Mastercard debit 30%, Visa/Mastercard credit 27%, Amex 5%, Overseas cards 4%. 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 | $20,000 a month | $50,000 a month | $120,000 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westpac EFTPOS Now | $2,2610.94% | $5,2080.87% | $12,0830.84% |
| CommBank Smart Mini | $2,3760.99% | $5,9400.99% | $14,2560.99% |
| CommBank Smart terminal | $2,7301.14% | $6,2941.05% | $14,6101.01% |
| Worldline Move 5000 | $2,8071.17% | $6,5671.09% | $15,3411.07% |
| Square Reader (Free plan) | $3,8401.60% | $9,6001.60% | $23,0401.60% |
Even the smallest shop in the table, at $20,000 a month, is past the point where Westpac's rental pays for itself (about $14,431 a month against the Smart Mini on this mix). The gap then widens with every sale: at $120,000 a month a 1.4% flat rate costs $8,077 a year more than Westpac's 0.79%.
When a rented terminal pays for itself
A bank terminal charges rental but a lower rate. With this shop's mix, Westpac's EFTPOS Now costs less than a 1.4% flat rate with no rental once takings pass $4,256 a month, and CommBank's Smart terminal once they pass $7,195. A shop taking $50,000 a month is far past both.
Westpac: simple 0.79% flat rate on eftpos, Mastercard, Visa and UnionPay, plus a $24.75 monthly terminal fee. (Westpac EFTPOS, checked )
Overseas visitors' cards
Foreign-issued cards account for around 3 per cent of total card transactions in Australia but about 20 per cent of the interchange fees merchants pay. (RBA Conclusions Paper, checked )
Most flat-rate plans charge an overseas card the same as a local one. Of the plans we compare, ANZ Worldline and Stripe price them separately, so a shop near a beach or a cruise terminal should check its own overseas share before choosing them.
ANZ Worldline: 0.95% Visa, Mastercard and eftpos transactions using cards issued domestically. 2.80% Visa and Mastercard transactions using cards issued internationally. (ANZ Worldline Move 5000, checked )
A 1.0% interchange cap on foreign-issued cards starts on 1 April 2027, which lowers what providers pay on them. (RBA Conclusions Paper, checked )
Your point-of-sale system decides more than the rate
If your POS integrates with one terminal, changing provider can mean changing or re-integrating the POS. Ask your POS vendor which terminals it supports before you compare rates; a cheaper rate isn't cheaper if it costs you a new system.
Westpac's EFTPOS Connect is accredited with over 600 Linkly on-premises and cloud POS providers. (Westpac EFTPOS, checked )