Which payment terminal has the lowest fees and commissions?

Advice

On this website, we tested 4 brands to cash in: Smile and Pay, iZettle, SumUp and myPOS. Each company has one or more mobile payment terminals. We're going to find the PocketSmile and MaxiSmile at Smile and Pay, the iZettle Reader 2, the SumUp Air, the SumUp 3G and we tested two products at myPOS: myPOS Mini and myPOS Combo.

These TPEs have real advantages to show for themselves. They are efficient and meet a real need. We are fully satisfied with this and we greatly appreciate the quality of these products.

In this article, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each product and provide some details on commission rates and monthly fees.

Four brands for different visions

These four companies do not see the banking cash market in the same way:

  • iZettle and SumUp have two close visions with products and services that are relatively similar.
  • Smile and Pay stands out in two ways: the company presents two different offers (Basic and Premium) and two complete EPTs. One of their characteristics is to propose a declining commission rate.
  • myPOS, on the other hand, requires the creation of a bank account for the subscription to one of its products. It's a strength as a weakness.

Now let's study this in detail with the pros and cons.

SumUp and iZettle: two (really) similar visions

These are two companies that are almost market leaders. They have very similar aspects such as:

  • An identical purchase cost (19 euros during certain periods),
  • Two cases that are relatively close in design,
  • Two cases that really compete between the iZettle Reader 2 and the SumUp Air,
  • An identical commission rate,
  • Similar advanced features.

The two differences that distinguish them are:

  • iZettle will offer a very comprehensive and intuitive mobile application. It is pleasant to use on a daily basis.
  • SumUp is a company that sells two payment terminals that are SumUp Air and SumUp 3G. The latter is fully autonomous and can operate without a smartphone, unlike the SumUp Air (and the iZettle Reader 2). A SIM card is pre-installed which allows the user to use it wherever they want, as long as there is network.

Both companies have been in the market for almost 10 years and enjoy outstanding support. Paypal for iZettle (which bought it for a modest $2.2 billion). BBVA Ventures and American Express are prime partners for SumUp.

Smile and Pay: a “French”-style vision?

Smile and Pay is newer and was founded in January 2015. The premises are located in the Paris area and the employees are all French. It is a company that came to market later. It is brimming with ambitions and wants to regain control of this market. Indeed, she wants to titillate iZettle and SumUp.

The technical aspects are:

  • Two Basic and Premium offers to better manage commission rates.
  • Two payment terminals: the PocketSmile to compete with the iZettle Reader 2 and the SumUp Air and MaxiSmile to compete with traditional bank EPTs with its built-in printer.
  • A declining commission rate.
  • Compatible with the cash register published by the SAS Monday Morning (the RoverCash).
  • All-French solution.

As with the vast majority of the EPTs we tested, it is not possible to cash in a foreign country.

myPOS: the international competitor

myPOS distinguishes itself from other companies with the creation of a mandatory bank account and its multiple products available for sale. Its features are:

  • The creation of a bank account with a foreign IBAN,
  • Large SEPA transfer fees (for example, to send them to your professional bank account),
  • A very comprehensive mobile application that makes it easy to manage cash,
  • Cashing in money all over Europe,
  • Very short time to receive money since there is no payment to send it to his bank account. Everything is centralized on myPOS' professional account.

Also read our comparators to help you choose your payment terminal:

Comparison of mobile payment terminal
TOP 3 of the best payment terminals

Fees and commission rates for these four companies

iZettle, SumUp and myPOS are the three companies that will offer fixed commission rates of 1.75%. In myPOS, your attention is drawn because this rate may vary from country to country. By offering this rate, they are confident that they will be able to attract small businesses that are starting out or that do not generate large sales during the month.

Smile and Pay sees the commission rate differently. They have put in place a degressive rate. That is, it starts at 2%HT and can reach 1.2%HT. From 100 to 3,300 euros of monthly sales, it is not wise to choose this offer, because the competition offers more than attractive rates. On the other hand, from 3400 euros, the rate rises to 1.73% to reach 1.2% to 10,000 euros. That's the most interesting part. If you have more than €10,000 in sales per month, then opt for a bespoke offer from Smile and Pay, you won't be disappointed.

As for the subscription and the length of commitment, there are none. Only the Premium offer requires a monthly subscription, but it is on a case-by-case basis.

SumUp, Smile and Pay, iZettle and myPOS have many qualities. Their fees and the commission rates offered are decidedly attractive! It would be a shame to miss…