POS Australia - what EFTPOS are you using?

Retail & Point of Sale

Topic summary

Australian retailers using Shopify POS face ongoing challenges with EFTPOS integration. The core issue: Shopify’s card reader wasn’t available in Australia for years, forcing merchants to use external terminals like Tyro and manually double-enter every transaction.

Current Solution:
Shopify now offers the WisePad 3 reader in Australia, which:

  • Accepts most cards (tap, insert, mobile wallets)
  • Syncs automatically with Shopify POS inventory
  • Does NOT accept traditional chipless EFTPOS cards or Afterpay cards
  • Workaround for Afterpay: Send cart to customer’s email for online checkout via in-store pickup

Major Drawback:
Card processing fees through Shopify Payments are significantly higher than bank terminals—approximately double in some cases. One merchant calculated they’d pay $22,600/year with Shopify versus $12,216 with alternative solutions, prompting them to switch to Lightspeed POS.

Status:
While the WisePad 3 eliminates double-handling transactions, the cost difference and limited card acceptance remain unresolved concerns. No fee negotiation available except potentially for Shopify Plus merchants. The discussion reflects frustration that a company of Shopify’s size took years to support the Australian market adequately.

Summarized with AI on October 30. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
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Hi Nicky,

We’re thinking of ditching our bank eftpos in favour of WisePad so as to integrate with our Shopify POS, but the card processing fees have scared me off! They’re double what our bank is charging… did you manage to negotiate on these with Shopify?