New to EFTPOS? We have all the information you need to make this simple and get started with accepting EFTPOS payments
Understanding how EFTPOS works and EFTPOS costs in New Zealand
With more than three quarters of Kiwis using an electronic card to make payments, having EFTPOS makes it easy to get paid. No fiddling with cash, instant transaction approvals and detailed reporting makes it easy to see why EFTPOS is beneficial for your business.
It helps to understand how it works, who are the parties involved when funds are transferred electronically and a simple breakdown of their respective charges so you can be fully equipped to make the best decision for your business.
The parties involved in an EFTPOS transaction
EFTPOS provider
This is where you can get an EFTPOS machine that allows you to accept electronic payments. Your EFTPOS provider is also responsible for providing you ongoing security compliance and support
Banks (or Acquirer)
This is where you can get merchant services and facilities including a bank account for your business. A business bank account allows you to receive funds into your account directly from your customers
Payments Network
This is how you get connected on the network that manages the electronic transfer of funds to your account. The payments network authorises transactions and ensures correct transfer of funds
EFTPOS provider - role and charges
Payments are the lifeblood of any business. That’s why choosing your provider is paramount to the entire process of getting started with EFTPOS. Some of the key things Smartpay can help you with as your EFTPOS provider are:
- Helping you choose the best suited EFTPOS machine for your requirements.
- Walking you through the entire process of how to get set-up with EFTPOS.
- Explaining the role of banks and providing you referrals if needed, to get merchant services.
- Setting up your EFTPOS machine to the payment network and dispatching it you, ready to use.
- Ensuring your EFTPOS remains compliant and supporting you 24/7 if you need help with your payment solution.
- Providing you customisable payment features, value add-ons and transaction reporting .
The EFTPOS rental charges are dependent on the machine you choose and the term length you decide to lease it for. We provide transparent and fair pricing with no hidden charges.
Smartpay provides an easy plug and play set up with remote software updates to make your life hassle free. With a range of user friendly EFTPOS machines and flexible lease terms, we make the whole process simple and easy for you.
Banks (or Acquirers) - role and charges
Banks provide the financial services for your business to accept electronic payments from your customers. The bank providing your merchant facility is your merchant bank. They will often (but not necessarily) also be your acquiring bank. The merchant bank is the one you deal with for day-to-day banking. The acquiring bank works in the background to process your transactions. Some of the things that banks can help you with are:
- Setting up your business bank account
- Providing you a Merchant ID and helping you sign up to the payment network
- Settling the funds to your business bank account
- Provide you with additional services such as activating payment features like credit card and contactless payments
Banks (or acquirers) charge merchant service fees (MSF) for the facilities they provide. Accepting EFTPOS and debit cards is free however for accepting credit cards or contactless payments, you will be charged an MSF per transaction.
MSF varies by industry, card type and transaction volumes. In most cases, you can recover these costs of acceptance through an automatic surcharge on your Smartpay terminal.
Smartpay EFTPOS machines can connect to most leading New Zealand banks as long as you have a Merchant ID from the bank. If you don’t have a merchant ID, we can also assist by providing you referrals to the merchant services teams of various banks.
Payment network - role and charges
The payment network enables your terminal, the acquiring bank and the issuer (the bank that issued the card) to safely connect and is also responsible to ensure the transaction details are correctly exchanged between the parties involved in the fund transfer. A payment network:
- Ensures transactions are made correctly and accurate funds are transferred to your account.
- Is ultra-secure and uses the latest industry security standards to encrypt any information sent across it.
- Gives you access to transaction data which provides useful insights into your business sales, revenue and customer loyalty patterns.
- Protects you from risk of non-payment by declining cards that do not have sufficient funds.
Smartpay uses New Zealand’s leading payments network called Worldline (previously Paymark). The fees to connect to the Worldline network are $18 per month and are paid directly to the network provider.
Benefits of an EFTPOS solution for your business
Get more customers and sales
With over 85% of Kiwis using an electronic card to make payments, having EFTPOS makes it easy to get paid.
Get paid anytime, anywhere!
EFTPOS payments are instant and easy with country-wide coverage. Get paid on the go or in-store.
Happier customers
Let customers pay their way – accept debit or credit cards and contactless payments. Add payment features to customise the experience
Safe and Secure
Take payments over a secure network. No dealing with cash handling issues like loose change, lost cash or theft.
Keep track of your transactions
With transaction reporting made simpler, you can get valuable insights into your sales, revenue and customer patterns
Get Paid Quickly
Instant payment approvals. Settlement is into your own bank account. No long wait times!
Choosing an EFTPOS provider
Every day, Kiwis make 5 million card transactions, handled by 150,000 EFTPOS terminals – and it can feel like you have just as many options when it comes to EFTPOS providers
Things to consider when choosing your provider
An EFTPOS solution is on-going service for your business and is a combination of a reliable technology, prompt service and accessible support often for an extended period of time. There are additional things to consider like payment features and value adds for your business.
When looking at an EFTPOS provider, you might consider:
- Do they have a range of reliable EFTPOS machines?
- Do they offer 24/7 support?
- Do they have an in-house technical support team?
- Do they provide additional features such as POS integrations?
- How many other customers do they service?
At Smartpay, we pride ourselves on putting service first and making payments easy for our customers so you can focus on what you do best – taking care of business.
Future-proofing your payment solution
For a sustained solution you probably want an EFTPOS provider who is thinking about the future. You want to know they will be here for you today with reliable hardware, and there for you tomorrow with smart innovations.
You might ask:
- How simple is this solution to set up?
- How easy is it for my staff to use?
- Who maintains the security software?
- How can I connect to the network? Fixed line, Wi-Fi or 3G?
- How easy is it to upgrade terminals?
- Can we integrate with a POS system like Vend?
- Can we accept Chinese mobile payments like Alipay or WeChat Pay?
Future proof your business with a terminal that works the way you demand
Smartpay doesn’t just sell EFTPOS solutions, we develop and maintain our own payment hardware and software too. That allows us to focus on the innovations that matter to Kiwi businesses, like POS integrations, Alipay and WeChat QR payments, and make these available sooner.
Make the smarter choice with Smartpay
We have been simplifying payments for Kiwi businesses all across New Zealand for over 20 years. We pride ourselves on making things easy for you to get started with EFTPOS.
25,000+ businesses trust us
35,000+ EFTPOS terminals supported
Nearly 20 years of experience
More reasons to choose Smartpay
EFTPOS for everyone
Mobile, Countertop or POS integrated – we’ve got the EFTPOS solution for you.
Flexible solutions
Need a shorter term? Need extra features? Talk to us about a deal for your business.
Experts on hand
No middle men here. Deal directly with the experts. We develop our own software and service our own terminals.
Built on experience
Nearly two decades of making payments simple for Kiwi businesses.
Locally owned and operated
We’re proud of our Kiwi heritage and passionate about helping you succeed.
Customer Success Stories
Go Go Kids
Go Go Kids is an educational focused toy and book store for children based in Remuera, Auckland. Watch the video and learn how Go Go Kids has benefited from integrating there Smartpay terminal with Vend Point of Sale system.
Freddy's Coffee
After working in Europe as a barista, and travelling in her camper van affectionately known as ‘Freddy’, Kiri Scott was inspired to combine the two. ‘Freddy’s Coffee’ a mobile coffee truck business was born! Read about her experience setting up EFTPOS for the first time.
Weekend Max Mara
Max Mara is a popular Italian fashion design house that is recognised all over the world for their iconic winter coats. Learn how Weekend Max Mara offers their Chinese customers a better customer experience and familiar way of payment by accepting Alipay and WeChat Pay payments.
Fees and charges
Almost two out of three Australian merchants believe they could get a better deal on EFTPOS fees by shopping around – but less than one in four will switch their current provider.
2 out of 3 merchants
believe they could get a better deal on EFTPOS fees by shopping around
1 out of 4 merchants
will actually switch EFTPOS providers.
Why is that? Probably because there are so many different fee structures for Merchant Services out there, and this can make comparing options confusing.
All-inclusive monthly plans (like what the banks’ offer) will have you paying for transactions you don’t use, while interchange plus will have you scratching your head with all the different charges for different cards.
SmartPay’s Simple Flat Rate is a straight-forward and transparent option that offers simplified competitive rates, and is easy to compare. You can instead choose to wipe out all Merchant Fees by passing the costs on to customers with Zero Cost EFTPOS. You might be surprised, but most customers don’t mind paying a surcharge when it’s done right.
TIP: Worried about switching banks? Don’t be. If you go with Smartpay, you can stick with your current bank, or change it anytime; it’s up to you.
I was delighted how seamless the setup process was.
Simon
Owner, Bous for Men
Getting Paid
If you’re like most businesses, you want to get paid quickly.
Check the provider offers next business day settlement. If you trade during the weekend, check the provider settles weekend trading too, so the money is in your account on Monday.
Also check if a provider verifies you and your business before they set you up. If they don’t verify you properly at sign up, they could withhold your funds later to check details they should have been confirmed earlier.
Speak with one of our Kiwi payment specialists today!
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.