Costs of accepting EFTPOS payments in New Zealand (A simple breakdown of EFTPOS costs)

For most business owners wanting to accept customer payments in New Zealand, getting an EFTPOS solution and understanding EFTPOS costs has surely been front of mind.

In New Zealand, there is strong preference for electronic payment methods and with more than 80% Kiwis using electronic bank cards as their primary way of paying for everyday things, you want to be certain you’ve got the right tool for your business.

EFTPOS is a cost-effective option for almost any business, with just three main costs; an EFTPOS terminal (to take payments) that connects to a Payments network (to process transactions) and a business bank account from the Bank (or Acquirer) (providing the Merchant Services).

The components of your EFTPOS costs

EFTPOS machine rental

Your EFTPOS terminal is the first touchpoint to initiate the transaction and take payments from your customers. Leasing an EFTPOS terminal requires consideration of key factors such as where you will to use the terminal, what connection you will use and how long you need it for which also affects the monthly rental costs.

Generally, the longer the lease term, the cheaper the monthly fee. Most businesses sign up for a 36-month contract but contracts can vary from weekend short-term rentals to 48-month terms.

The machine rental fee is one portion of your EFTPOS costs and typically paid as a monthly direct debit to your EFTPOS provider. Be sure to check that your EFTPOS rental fee also includes access to security compliance updates, 24/7 support and flexibility to make changes to enable/disable features. Smartpay provide various EFTPOS features for free with our EFTPOS machines and take care of compliance; all within the EFTPOS costs for monthly rental.

Payment network charges

A payment network is a “gateway” through which EFTPOS transactions take place. When you process a payment on your EFTPOS terminal, the payment network works in the background to transfer the information about funds from your customer’s bank account to your acquiring bank.

Smartpay uses New Zealand’s leading payments network Worldline (formerly Paymark). Worldline charge a fixed monthly fee which is paid to them directly; making up the second portion of your EFTPOS costs.

Included in the Worldline network fee is access to Wordline Insights – a useful reporting platform where you can access real-time sales, revenue and customer loyalty data based on your transaction history. It reports directly from your Worldline connected Smartpay EFTPOS machines and is a valuable tool for better understanding your business and future opportunities.

Banks (or Acquirer) fees

Leading NZ banks provide merchant services to get your business bank account and merchant facilities set-up. Acquiring banks like ASB, Westpac, ANZ and BNZ can provide your business bank account and settle funds into your account on your behalf. You can also get your merchant facilities set-up with an acquirer (who may not necessarily be a bank). In this case you would still require a business bank account to receive funds.

The cost of EFTPOS transactions is covered by your Wordline (payment network) fee; meaning no additional fee applies when the customer inserts or swipes their EFTPOS or scheme debit card and chooses ‘Cheque’ or ‘Savings’.

If you choose to accept contactless payments and credit cards, banks charge Merchant Service Fees (MSF) as a percentage of the dollar value of the transaction amount; for processing these payments through your merchant facility. These could be fixed or varying depending on the package you select with your merchant services provider.

Banks have dedicated Merchant solutions teams to discuss MSF packages suited to your business and the charges are paid directly to them for their services. This makes up the third portion of your EFTPOS costs.

Smartpay shares relationships with leading banks and our team can assist with referrals for quicker turnarounds on setting up Merchant services.

Summarising EFTPOS costs

With this tri-party partnership, you get a seamless and unbiased payments solution with clarity on the fees paid out to each party for their services. Knowing what your costs pay for can help you make decisions when choosing EFTPOS for your business. After all, you are not just purchasing an EFTPOS solution but also the peace of mind from the reliability and support of the parties involved.

Smartpay take pride in providing industry leading service with special focus on making payments simple and effective. Whether you are new to EFTPOS or switching providers, chat to our team to get the advice you need – no frills and no hassles!

Our payment specialists are happy to talk you through your options and EFTPOS costs. If you would like to get in touch with us, feel free to call us on 0800 005 395 or fill in this form and we will be in touch within 1 business day.

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Every year our payment specialists help hundreds of businesses in all sorts of industries to get the right payment solution. Talk to us about your business today.