Shopify card reader review: Australia’s omnichannel EFTPOS for Shopify stores

How does it work?

Shopify sells an EFTPOS card reader that works in conjunction with a mobile point of sale (POS) app on iPad or iPhone. It uses the payment system Shopify Payments to process the most common cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

It does not accept eftpos cards, except for those combined with Mastercard or Visa, in which case it is the Visa/Mastercard side that is processed.

There are two versions of the POS app: POS Lite and POS Pro. The free Lite plan suits basic retail shops whereas the paid (in addition to an ecommerce plan) Pro enhances the customer experience, coordinates online and in-store sales and is better for larger inventories. The app has Lite features until you upgrade to POS Pro.

Although anyone can buy the card reader, it only works when you’re on one of Shopify’s ecommerce subscriptions.

If you’re only going to use it as a way to accept cards in person, the cheapest online subscription is Shopify Lite (US$9 + VAT/month) with access to Buy Buttons and invoicing.

The card reader is most useful with a Shopify online store because all payments, customer data and inventory are synced in the cloud for seamless multichannel sales.

Shopify pricing

To use the Shopify card reader, you need to buy it upfront for A$69 + GST and choose any one of Shopify’s paid ecommerce subscriptions. New sign-ups get a 14-day free trial.

The card reader comes with a standard year’s warranty (or two years on a POS Pro plan) and 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind within a month.

There’s no contractual commitment for these subscriptions, but paying annually, every two or every three years upfront reduces the monthly cost compared to a monthly subscription that costs the most.

Despite being offered specifically to Australian merchants, all subscriptions have US dollar pricing.

Shopify Lite is the cheapest at $9 USD monthly. It includes online selling features, but no full-fledged online store. The monthly online store plans are Basic Shopify for $29 USD/month, Shopify for $79 USD/month and Advanced Shopify for $299 USD/month, excluding GST which is added at checkout.

On top of this, you can choose to subscribe to Shopify POS Pro ($89 USD per month per location) that includes all of Shopify’s POS system features in the iPad app. This subscription only has a monthly price plan.

If you don’t need all the features, it’s perfectly okay to just use the Shopify POS Lite features included free in the app.

The transaction fee for payments through the card reader depends on the plan: it’s 1.9% on the Lite and Basic Shopify subscriptions, 1.7% on Shopify and 1.5% on Advanced Shopify. Online transaction fees are also lower on the pricier plans (table below).

POS features

All ecommerce subscriptions include basic point of sale features – Shopify POS Lite (US$0/month) – that are enough for a small shop, market stall holders, pop-ups and mobile merchants. If you trade from more than one location and require more inventory management and till features, Shopify POS Pro (US$89/month per location) is better.

Although there is an Android Shopify POS app, this does not work with the card reader and even has some features missing.

Shopify POS is designed for retailers selling online, who require a POS system that connects in-store sales with online orders – but you only really benefit from this on the Pro plan. Let us first look at the standard features also included on Lite:

Payments: Accept cards, cash, custom payment types and gift cards. Sell physical or digital digital gift cards (only with Basic Shopify, though). Split the tender, accept deposits/partial payments and do layaways. The till records cash flow so you can always track how much you’re meant to have in the till drawer.

Checkout: The till interface is a customisable ‘smart grid’ with buttons for important functions like discounts, inventory and apps. You can easily search customers, products and orders, accept tips, do refunds (exchanges only on Pro), add products or custom amounts to the bill, and customise discounts if not using preset discounts. Staff can get their own PINs for the till.

Online integration: Print QR codes to attach to products in store so customers can scan it for information or buy online without asking staff. In the online shop, people can see in-store availability, but it requires Pro to order for collection. Customers browsing in person can get email reminders for purchasing their favourite items online.

Products: Add unlimited products, variants and product collections. Products can be assigned to different locations (e.g. online, in store, warehouse) and tracked as you can see inventory statuses (e.g. received, transferred, order fulfilment).

Customers: Build relationships through customer profiles where transactions, notes, tags and contact details are saved. You can offer exclusive discounts, events and content through emails, if they have opted in for marketing emails.

Reports and analytics: There are more than a few reports to analyse sales, products sold, discounts given, cash flow, etc., but you only get a comprehensive daily sales report on Pro.

On Shopify POS Pro, you get a more sophisticated integration of online-offline features, for instance online ordering for in-store collection or delivery.

Pro also lets customers who bought something online return it in person, and the checkout gives personalised recommendations based on customers’ online purchases. You can also customise receipts and save carts to serve multiple people at once, and inventory and staff management are much more advanced on Pro.

Customer support and reviews

Shopify subscribers get 24/7 customer support via email and live chat. There is also an online help centre with in-depth answers to most queries.

We’ve seen quite a lot of complaints about the quality of service, where issues do not get resolved or Shopify doesn’t respond to basic queries (if you get through to them in the first place).

The Android POS app has received a lot of complaints, but if you’re looking at the card reader, this will only work with iPad or iPhone anyway.

Many users have had their online store closed or products taken off the site due to Shopify’s security procedures. This has resulted in merchants having a hard time recovering transactions they were meant to receive.

Some have been locked out of their accounts, thereby losing the ability to contact support, remove an online store or delete credit card details.

Cancelling a Shopify membership also appears to be difficult despite the lack of contractual commitment.

There are also users who are quite happy with Shopify’s online store system. Our own tests have found it to be a comprehensive ecommerce platform that is generally easy to figure out for a non-coder.

Few reviews actually talk about the POS system and card reader, as those are more of a secondary offering in addition to the ecommerce features.

When we tested the POS app, it was user-friendly and looked simpler than expected. But once you take full advantage of the customisation options and Pro features (if paying for it), it becomes quite sophisticated.

Our verdict: for those serious about Shopify

Given the compulsory monthly cost of an ecommerce subscription, it’s only worth getting the EFTPOS reader if you’re planning on using Shopify for online selling too.

You also have to accept the fact that payouts can take about a week. This can be a hindrance for some micro-businesses where day-to-day cash flow is important.

Compared to other POS software, Shopify POS Pro in particular makes for a great multichannel solution where retailers can easily switch between socially distanced, online ordering and in-store pickup, delivery and communications integrated in one platform.

EFTPOS alternatives on the market may not have a similarly smart integration with an online store (Square mostly does), but most can integrate with ecommerce software.

As for the card reader – it does the job. There’s nothing spectacular about it except for its pocket-sized convenience. The lack of built-in receipt printer means you need a separate receipt printer if this is important for you, but that’s normal for an app-based card reader.