For decades, the EFTPOS terminal was the only way to accept electronic payments. You leased one from your payment processor or bank, plugged it in, and you were set. Every business had one. There was no alternative. But the landscape has changed — significantly. If you’re a business owner weighing up your options, here’s what the picture looks like now.
The real cost of an EFTPOS terminal
Most business owners know they pay for their terminal, but few add up the total. Here’s what it actually looks like:
- Terminal lease: $30–80 per month, depending on your provider and whether you need integrated or standalone hardware.
- Transaction fees: Typically $0.05–0.10 per EFTPOS transaction, plus a percentage on contactless debit and credit card payments (often 1–2%).
- Minimum contract terms: Most providers lock you in for 12–36 months. Early termination comes with penalties.
- Maintenance and support: Some plans charge extra for replacements, repairs, or software updates.
Add it all up and you’re looking at $500–1,500+ per year in fixed costs alone — before a single transaction fee is counted. For a small business doing modest volume, that’s a meaningful chunk of margin.
What’s changed?
The way people pay has shifted dramatically over the past few years. Contactless payments now dominate — most customers tap rather than insert a card. Many don’t carry a physical card at all. Apple Pay and Google Pay mean the customer’s “card” is their phone.
On the merchant side, new technology means you no longer need a dedicated piece of hardware to accept those payments. Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android turns the merchant’s own phone into a terminal. QR code payments remove hardware from the equation entirely. And Open Banking enables bank-to-bank payments with no terminal, no card network, and near-zero fees.
The EFTPOS terminal isn’t obsolete yet — but it’s no longer the only option, and for many businesses, it’s no longer the best one.
When you still need a terminal
Let’s be honest — there are situations where a traditional terminal still makes sense:
- Physical EFTPOS cards: If most of your customers still pay with a physical debit card inserted into the machine (no contactless), you need a terminal that accepts chip-and-PIN.
- Cash-out: If your business offers cash-out, that requires a traditional EFTPOS terminal connected to the banking network.
- High volume: If you process hundreds of transactions per hour, dedicated hardware with a physical keypad can be faster and more reliable than a phone screen.
- POS integration: If your point-of-sale software only integrates with traditional terminals, switching may require changing your entire stack.
When you might not
For a growing number of businesses, the terminal is an expensive habit rather than a necessity:
- Most of your customers tap their phone or contactless card.
- You’re a small business, market stall, mobile service provider, or pop-up — and dedicated hardware is overkill.
- You want to avoid monthly lease commitments and long contracts.
- You want to keep more of what you earn instead of paying fixed fees regardless of volume.
If that sounds like you, the alternatives are worth a serious look.
The alternatives
Tap to Pay on phone. Your iPhone or Android device becomes the terminal. The customer taps their contactless card or phone on your device, and the payment goes through. No extra hardware. No lease. You use the phone you already own.
QR code payments. You generate a QR code for the transaction amount. The customer scans it with their phone and authorises the payment. No terminal, no NFC, no hardware at all. Works anywhere — markets, home services, delivery runs.
Bank-to-bank via Open Banking. The customer authorises a payment directly from their bank app. The money moves from their account to yours without going through Visa or Mastercard. No card network means no interchange fees. This is the lowest-cost way to accept a payment.
NFC pads. A passive NFC tag sits on your counter. The customer taps their phone on it, which triggers a payment flow in their app. No power source, no charging, no lease. The pad costs a few dollars and lasts indefinitely.
What tapara offers
Tapara was built for businesses that don’t want to pay for hardware they don’t need. With tapara, customers tap an NFC pad or scan a QR code to pay. Payments go through Open Banking at near-zero cost — bank-to-bank, no card network in the middle. There’s no terminal to lease, no minimum contract, and no monthly hardware fee.
If you’re rethinking whether that EFTPOS terminal is still earning its keep, see how tapara works for businesses.