Use this when: the merchant is pricing out a new POS and weighing Clover or Toast. It's the cost to get in the door and run each month.
| NextPay POS | Clover | Toast | |
|---|---|---|---|
| POS Station + Credit Card Reader | $1,200 $999 (ISO promo price) |
$2,200 | $4,000 |
| Software | $79/mo — all inclusive Volume discounts available |
$150+/mo + add-ons | $250+/mo + add-ons |
| Processing | ISO Processing — dual pricing available | 3.00% + 15¢ per transaction | 3.50% + 15¢ per transaction |
| Contract | No contract | 1-year contract | 2-year contract |
| Shipping | FREE | Billable | Billable |
| Support | Dedicated account manager | Call center | Call center |
What to say: "For a fraction of what Clover or Toast charges to get in the door, you're up and running on our POS — $79 a month all-inclusive, no long contract, free shipping, and a dedicated account manager instead of a call center."
Why merchants use Square: dead-simple setup, a free POS app, and an all-in-one ecosystem — it's the easy default for new and small businesses.
Where Square falls short
- Flat fees that get expensive at volume (~2.6% + 10¢ in person, 2.9% + 30¢ online) — and there's no rate to negotiate.
- Account holds, reserves and sudden deactivations are a well-known risk — your deposits can freeze with little warning.
- Support is mostly self-serve; no dedicated rep when something breaks.
- No real dual-pricing/surcharge program to eliminate fees the way we do.
- You're locked to Square's processing — you can't shop the rate.
How NextPay wins
- Match or beat the rate, and dual pricing can take processing to near zero.
- Brand-agnostic hardware — you're not locked into one ecosystem.
- A dedicated specialist on your account, not a help center.
- Stable banking relationships — no surprise holds on your money.
- Keep the simple checkout feel, lose the fees.
What to say: "Keep everything you like about Square — lose the fees and the held funds. Same easy checkout, a real rate we can match or beat, and an actual person on your account."
They'll say → you say
Why restaurants use Toast: a purpose-built restaurant platform — KDS, online ordering, handhelds and solid reporting on Android hardware.
Where Toast falls short
- Long contracts (often multi-year) with early-termination fees.
- Proprietary hardware that's pricey, plus software modules that stack up fast.
- Added order-processing and service fees, and steady rate creep.
- Locked to Toast Payments — you can't shop your processing rate.
- Online ordering and add-ons are billed as separate line items.
How NextPay wins
- Shift4 Dine delivers the same restaurant toolkit — KDS, online ordering, handhelds, offline mode.
- No multi-year lock-in and a lower all-in monthly.
- Dual pricing / fee programs to cut processing to near zero.
- A $5,000 switch incentive to offset leaving their current system.
- Dedicated support, not a ticket queue.
What to say: "You can get the same restaurant tools without a multi-year contract or Toast's stacking fees — and we'll put $5,000 toward your switch."
They'll say → you say
Why merchants use Stripe: developer-first with best-in-class APIs — a favorite for online, SaaS and marketplace businesses.
Where Stripe falls short
- 2.9% + 30¢ flat with little room to negotiate at the SMB level.
- Ticket-based support, and account freezes/holds are common.
- Overkill for main-street and in-person businesses; in-person Terminal is clunky for non-developers.
- You shoulder a lot of the compliance and dispute work yourself.
- Limited built-in surcharging / dual pricing for everyday merchants.
How NextPay wins
- Modern gateways — FluidPay, NMI, Authorize.net — with similar capabilities at a lower, negotiated rate.
- Dual pricing / surcharge built in to cut fees.
- A real human for setup, disputes and support.
- Better fit for businesses that also take in-person payments.
What to say: "If you're not a software company, you're paying Stripe's premium for tools you don't need. We give you the gateway power, a lower rate, and real support."
They'll say → you say
Why merchants are on Heartland / Fiserv (First Data): big, well-known processors with broad product lines, often bundled through their bank.
Where the big processors fall short
- Tiered / bundled pricing that's hard to read — and creeps up over time.
- Long contracts, early-termination fees, and equipment leases that trap you.
- Call-center support — you're an account number, not a relationship.
- Statements designed to obscure your true effective rate.
How NextPay wins
- Transparent pricing, match-or-beat, and dual pricing to eliminate fees.
- No equipment leases, fair terms, and a dedicated rep.
- A free statement analysis that exposes exactly what they're padding.
What to say: "These big processors bury the real rate in a confusing statement and a multi-year contract. Let me read your statement and show you what you're actually paying."
They'll say → you say
Why merchants use their bank: trust and convenience — one relationship, a banker they already know, everything in one place.
Where the bank falls short
- Banks resell someone else's processing (often Fiserv/First Data) at a marked-up rate.
- Generic terminals, little POS depth, and no dual-pricing expertise.
- Support routes to the processor's call center anyway.
- Your banker isn't a payments specialist.
How NextPay wins
- A payments specialist focused only on this — better hardware and POS options.
- Dual pricing and match-or-beat rates the bank can't touch.
- Keep the bank for banking; let us handle the payments.
What to say: "Your bank is great for banking — but they're reselling someone else's processing at a markup. Keep that relationship, and let a specialist handle the payments and save you the fees."