Best EFTPOS Machines in Australia 2026: 12 Compared

The best EFTPOS machine depends on your monthly card turnover. On published domestic-card rates checked 17 October 2026, CommBank's $59 Smart Mini (0.99%, no rental) is cheapest to run below about $12,400 a month, and Westpac's EFTPOS Now (0.79% plus $24.75 a month) is cheapest above that. Zeller (1.4%, $99) and Square (1.6%) cost more per sale but include Amex and need no bank switch.

Standard published rates as at 17 October 2026. Promotions excluded. Confirm before you sign.

Which EFTPOS machine suits your business?

These picks use four stated criteria: total monthly cost at the turnover described, how fast takings reach a usable account, the hardware and software you need, and exit terms. We did not test the devices. No provider paid to be included.

If you also need a full till system, read our POS systems comparison and test integrated EFTPOS against a separate terminal before committing. For a head-to-head on the two most-searched fintechs, see Zeller vs Square.

Compare EFTPOS machines: 12 providers side by side

Rates, pricing model and hardware

Standard published pricing checked 17 October 2026. "Domestic cards" means Australian-issued Visa, Mastercard and eftpos cards. Tyro figures could not be loaded from Tyro's site; see the source notes.

Settlement, contracts and features

Least-cost routing only helps you if your pricing passes the saving through. Our least-cost routing checklist shows how to get your provider's setting in writing and test it against matching debit sales.

What does each EFTPOS machine cost at $5k, $20k and $50k a month?

To compare any two plans at your own turnover and average sale, use the EFTPOS fee calculator.

Monthly cost = card turnover × rate + (number of sales × any per-sale fee) + monthly rental or plan fee. Hardware bought outright is shown separately.

Assumptions (illustrative): all sales on Australian-issued Visa, Mastercard and eftpos cards, split 60% debit and 40% credit by value; $40 average sale (125, 500 and 1,250 sales a month); one terminal; no Amex, foreign cards, refunds or keyed payments; standard published rates as at 17 October 2026, no promotions. Because every rate here is a single blended rate, the debit and credit split does not change the result. It would on cost-plus pricing.

Sorted by cost at $20,000 a month. Percentages are the effective rate (total monthly cost ÷ card turnover). Shift4 and PayNuts quote individually, so they are not shown. Revolut's figure includes its A$15 Basic plan, which also gives you a business account. Stripe's year-one figure adds GST to the A$89 reader ($97.90).

How the main rows are calculated

• Westpac EFTPOS Now: $20,000 × 0.79% = $158.00, plus $24.75 rental = $182.75. At $5,000: $39.50 + $24.75 = $64.25.
• CommBank Smart Mini: $20,000 × 0.99% = $198.00, no rental. Year one: $198 × 12 + $59 = $2,435.
• ANZ Worldline Edge: $20,000 × 0.95% = $190.00 + $25 = $215.00.
• CommBank Smart: $20,000 × 0.99% = $198.00 + $29.50 = $227.50.
• NAB: $20,000 × 1.05% = $210.00 + $25 = $235.00. NAB's $300 rebate covers 12 months of rental for terminals taken up by 30 November 2026, which takes year one to $2,520 if you qualify.
• Zeller: $20,000 × 1.4% = $280.00, or × 1.2% = $240.00 when the sale goes through Zeller POS on a Zeller terminal.
• Tyro Pro Lite: $20,000 × 1.3% = $260.00 + $19 = $279.00. Tyro quotes custom pricing above $20,000 a month, so a business at $50,000 a month may be offered a different rate from the standard figure shown.
• Square: $20,000 × 1.6% = $320.00.
• Stripe: $20,000 × 1.65% = $330.00, plus 500 sales × $0.10 = $50.00, total $380.00.
• Revolut: $20,000 × 1.4% = $280.00, plus 500 × $0.05 = $25.00, plus $15 plan = $320.00.

Where the lines cross

• Westpac terminal vs Zeller: the $24.75 rental is recovered once the 0.61-point rate gap covers it: $24.75 ÷ 0.0061 = about $4,060 a month.
• Westpac terminal vs CommBank Smart Mini: $24.75 ÷ 0.0020 = about $12,400 a month. Below that, the Smart Mini costs less.
• Tyro Pro Lite vs Zeller: $19 ÷ 0.001 = $19,000 a month (or $29,000 with the $29 Pro Touch).

Amex changes the picture. CommBank, Zeller, Square and SumUp quote one rate that covers Amex (CommBank subject to approval). Westpac's 0.79%, NAB's 1.05% and ANZ Worldline's 0.95% exclude Amex, which needs a separate agreement whose cost isn't published on those pages. If a fifth of your sales are on Amex, get the Amex rate in writing before relying on the table. To redo these numbers with your own statement, use the merchant statement worksheet and the flat versus itemised pricing comparison.

Flat rate or cost-plus pricing?

Every card payment carries three wholesale layers: interchange (paid to the cardholder's bank), scheme fees (paid to Visa, Mastercard or eftpos) and the provider's margin. The Reserve Bank explains these components.

• Flat (blended) pricing rolls everything into one percentage. Square, Zeller, SumUp, Westpac, NAB Simple Pricing and CommBank's Single Rate work this way. You can predict the bill, but a debit-heavy customer base subsidises the provider's credit-card costs, and lower interchange caps reach you only if the provider cuts its rate.
• Cost-plus pricing (interchange plus, or interchange plus plus) itemises each layer. CommBank says its Interchange Plus and Interchange Plus Plus customers' fees adjust automatically to the revised caps from 1 October 2026. PayNuts sells an Interchange++ plan. It can cost less for larger, debit-heavy businesses, because debit interchange caps are lower than credit caps, but it makes each month's bill harder to check.

The new caps show how much room sits inside a flat rate. On a $40 consumer credit card sale, interchange is now capped at 0.3%, or 12 cents. A 1.4% flat rate on the same sale is 56 cents. On a $40 debit sale, the cap is 8 cents if charged as a fixed amount, or 0.16% (6.4 cents) if charged as a percentage. The rest of a flat rate covers scheme fees, the terminal, support and the provider's margin. Cost-plus doesn't remove those costs; it shows them.

Ask for a cost-plus quote once your card turnover is steady and above roughly $20,000 a month, which is also where Tyro, Square and Zeller start offering custom pricing (Square and Zeller at $250,000 a year). Then compare both quotes on the same month of transactions.

What changed on 1 October 2026, and why the rate matters more now

The Reserve Bank removed its ban on "no-surcharge" rules, and the card networks then banned surcharging. According to the RBA's FAQs:

• From 1 October 2026, you can't surcharge eftpos (debit and prepaid), Visa and Mastercard (credit, debit and prepaid), American Express or UnionPay cards. The rules generally apply to international cards too.
• PayPal's no-surcharge rule started on 5 October 2026.
• Weekend and public holiday surcharges, and booking or service fees, are outside the card changes. Exemptions come from the networks, not the RBA.
• You can still offer a discount for a cheaper payment method and choose which payment methods you accept.

The same reforms cut interchange caps on domestic cards from 1 October 2026: consumer credit from 0.8% to 0.3%, and debit from 10 cents or 0.2% to 8 cents or 0.16% (RBA interchange decisions). Foreign-issued cards get a 1.0% cap from 1 April 2027. Networks and large acquirers must publish fees from 30 October 2026, and every acquirer must provide more detailed merchant statements from 1 April 2027. The RBA expects merchants' wholesale card costs to fall by about $910 million a year.

Some providers have passed savings on. CommBank cut its single rate from 1.1% to 0.99% (CommBank announcement), and Stripe cut its domestic rates by 0.05 percentage points. Square's and Zeller's published in-person rates were unchanged when we checked, and Zeller switched off surcharging automatically across its products.

Why this matters to you: before October, a business that surcharged could recover most of its card cost from customers. Now the fee comes out of your margin unless you build it into prices. At $20,000 a month, the gap between Square's 1.6% ($320) and Westpac's effective 0.91% ($182.75) is $137.25 a month, or $1,647 a year of margin. The CommBank announcement cites RBA data that about 16% of businesses were surcharging, and they feel this most. Work through every payment channel with our surcharge change checklist, and if you pay the ATO by card, note the separate ATO credit card change. For repricing, see pricing strategy for small business.

How fast will your takings reach your account?

As published, checked 17 October 2026. Amex, JCB, Alipay and some other card types often settle separately.

Fast settlement matters most when you pay suppliers or wages weekly. A cafe that takes $3,000 on a Saturday waits until Tuesday for a CommBank-terminal payout to a non-CommBank account. Westpac, NAB and ANZ Worldline all advertise same-day settlement on weekends into their own accounts. If a payout ever looks short, use the settlement bridge and the missing payout trace. Holds and reserves are covered in merchant reserves and payout holds.

Should you buy or rent an EFTPOS machine?

Renting is cheaper overall once the rate saving beats the rental, which on our numbers is about $4,060 a month for Westpac against Zeller. Buying suits seasonal or low-volume trade, because a month with no sales costs nothing. Whichever you choose, ask what happens when the device fails on a Saturday and whether a loan unit is sent.

Bank terminal or fintech terminal?

The money-protection point is easy to miss. APRA's list of ADIs covered by the Financial Claims Scheme includes Tyro Payments Limited and Revolut Payments Australia (updated 9 October 2026); Zeller, Square, SumUp and Stripe are not on it, although APRA notes the list omits some trading names. Zeller states that amounts in its Savings Account are not protected by the Financial Claims Scheme. If you plan to hold large balances with your payment provider, compare the options in our business bank accounts guide.

Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android: phone as terminal

Phone acceptance takes contactless cards and wallets only, and Square says Tap to Pay can't take offline payments. Carry a backup for customers with chip-only cards, and check that your phone's battery and data will last a full day on site.

Provider notes

Square. The widest free software: POS, online store, invoices, appointments and more. In-person 1.6% applies to accounts opened on or after 30 May 2024; older accounts pay 1.9% on Reader, Stand and Tap to Pay unless on a paid plan. Online, invoices and keyed payments are 2.2%. Square no longer returns processing fees on refunds. Custom rates start above $250,000 a year with an average sale over $15.

Zeller. A flat 1.4% on all cards including Amex, 1.2% through Zeller POS, $99 terminals with a built-in printer on the 1x model, a free transaction account and no exit fees. No offline mode. MOTO is 1.7%, Virtual Terminal 1.75% + 25c.

Tyro. An Australian ADI that rents terminals and integrates with hundreds of POS systems. Standard 1.3% below $20,000 a month, custom pricing above. An intro offer of 1% and free rental to 31 March 2027 applies to eligible new merchants over $20,000 a month approved by 24 November 2026.

Stripe Terminal. Built for businesses with developers or a Stripe-based online store. Domestic in-person 1.65% + 10c from 1 October 2026; international 3.5% + 10c until 1 April 2027. Disputes cost A$25.

SumUp. Low-cost readers and 1.40% in person with no monthly fee; payment links are 2.10%. Payouts take 1 to 3 business days, slower than most.

CommBank. 0.99% in store including Amex subject to approval, $29.50 rental on Smart terminals, or the $59 Smart Mini with no rental. The Smart Mini pairs by Bluetooth with an app on your phone; ask whether it needs a CommBank business account. 30 days written notice to cancel.

Westpac. The lowest published bank rate at 0.79% on eftpos, Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay, plus $24.75 to $27.50 a month. Westpac says the rate may be adjusted at the start of April and October each year.

NAB. 1.05% Simple Pricing plus $25 a month, a $300 first-year rental rebate for terminals taken up by 30 November 2026, and NAB Easy Tap at 1.30% for Android.

ANZ Worldline. 0.95% on domestic Visa, Mastercard and eftpos, 2.80% on international Visa and Mastercard, $25 a month, and same-day settlement to ANZ accounts including weekends.

Shift4 (formerly Smartpay). Custom pricing with a $100 + GST minimum monthly fee and next-business-day settlement. Mainly suits businesses with steady volume that want a negotiated rate.

Revolut Business. A A$330 terminal with built-in POS and eSIM, in-person from 1.4% + 5c, inside a multi-currency business account from A$15 a month. Revolut's site says Revolut Payments Australia is an ADI.

PayNuts. Offers a single-rate Low Fee plan and an Interchange++ plan, but its pricing page doesn't publish the rates, so get a written quote.

Questions to ask before you sign

1. What is my rate for debit, credit, Amex and international cards, and does it include GST?
2. Is there a monthly minimum, and what happens in a month with no sales?
3. How much notice do I give to leave, and what do I pay if the terminal isn't returned?
4. When do weekend takings reach my account, and does that change if I bank elsewhere?
5. Is least-cost routing switched on for my terminal, and does my bill change if it is?
6. Do I get your fee back when I refund a customer, and is there a chargeback fee? Check later with refund fees on your statement and prepare a chargeback evidence pack if needed.
7. Does the terminal work offline, and who carries the risk of a later decline? Read offline card payments and write an outage procedure.
8. Will it integrate with my POS version, and who supports the link when it fails? Run the POS trial checklist.

If you run several sites or devices, map them with the terminal and location register. And before you sign up for a card terminal at all, check which payment methods your customers actually use.

How we compared

• Sources: each provider's own Australian pricing, product and support pages, checked on 17 October 2026, plus the RBA's conclusions paper, FAQs and media release on the card reforms. Tyro's site blocked automated access that day, so its figures come from its indexed pricing pages and two third-party comparisons dated 30 September and 2 October 2026.
• What we compared: in-person rates for domestic cards, Amex and foreign-card terms, pricing model, hardware price, monthly fees, settlement, exit terms, least-cost routing, offline support, integrations and phone acceptance.
• Costs: calculated from standard published rates with the assumptions stated above the cost table. Promotional, intro and negotiated rates are mentioned but not used.
• What we didn't do: we didn't test terminals, open accounts or request quotes, and no provider paid for inclusion or placement. Picks are based on the stated criteria; there are no scores.
• Benchmarks reviewed: Mobile Transaction's best EFTPOS machines page (30 September 2026), Finder's merchant services page (15 September 2026), QwikPay's 10-provider comparison (2 October 2026) and the providers' own comparison pages.

Key takeaways

• At $20,000 a month in domestic card sales, published costs range from $182.75 (Westpac EFTPOS Now) to $380 (Stripe Terminal) a month, as at 17 October 2026.
• Westpac's 0.79% plus $24.75 rental beats Zeller's flat 1.4% once you take more than about $4,060 a month on domestic cards; check Amex costs separately.
• Surcharging on eftpos, Visa, Mastercard, Amex and UnionPay cards ended on 1 October 2026, so every percentage point now comes out of your margin.
• Big-four bank terminals settle same day into the bank's own account; fintech terminals settle overnight into their own accounts or next business day elsewhere.
• Flat rates hide your card mix. Cost-plus pricing passes on lower interchange caps automatically but needs more checking each month.
• Get the rate, rental, exit notice, settlement time and Amex terms in writing before you sign.

Where to get help

• Reserve Bank of Australia: surcharging and interchange FAQs for what changed on 1 October 2026 and what comes next.
• ACCC: card surcharges for price display and consumer-law obligations.
• APRA: Financial Claims Scheme deposit checker to see whether money held with a provider is protected.
• Australian Financial Complaints Authority if a dispute with a bank or payment provider isn't resolved.
• Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman for help with a contract or dispute with a larger business.
• Your accountant or bookkeeper can check how a new provider's settlement and fee reports will feed your books.

Related tasks

Browse the payments and POS hub for fee checks, reconciliation and outage guides.