Zeller vs Tyro: two Australian EFTPOS solutions, but are they equal?

Card machines

Zeller and Tyro offer very different card machine packages.

Tyro has EFTPOS machines for most scenarios

Until recently, Tyro used to have two old-school EFTPOS machines with occasional technical problems: a countertop model and a mobile terminal for portable use. These have been replaced with:

• Pro Touch – mobile terminal with a large touchscreen and receipt printer
• Pro Key – portable push-button terminal with a printer and small touchscreen
• Go – small card reader that connects with an app to take chip and tap payments

The Pro terminals can be used for a countertop, portably or on the go with its mobile SIM card.

Tyro Pro Touch is a high-end Ingenico DX8000 terminal model, which we were impressed by when testing it. The screen is crisp-clear with various accessibility settings, it has a built-in receipt printer, and the speed of transactions is fast.

That said, I recommend Pro Key for its physical, push-button keypad, which some customers find more accessible than a flat touchscreen. Although more "old-school" with buttons, this is actually one of Ingenico's recent models (DX6000) with a high-end touchscreen above the keys.

Alternatively, you can buy the small card reader Tyro Go that works with the Tyro Go app downloaded on your phone. This looks a lot like Square Reader and is purchased upfront with no monthly fees.

The previous Tyro EFTPOS machines were subject to a serious outage in January 2021, rendering many Australian businesses unable to take cards. We think it was due to the outdated hardware, since they were old, dated-looking Worldline models. Thankfully, they were replaced with the new models above.

Zeller's two terminals cater to most small businesses

Zeller sells two mobile card machines that work with both WiFi and 4G (if you buy a SIM card):

• Zeller Terminal 1 – touchscreen terminal with a receipt printer and payment software
• Zeller Terminal 2 – touchscreen terminal with POS software, but no printer

Terminal 1 can be used as a portable terminal or placed in a charging cradle (extra cost) on a countertop. It accepts swipe cards as well as tap and chip payments.

Terminal 1 also has a receipt printer and battery lasting up to 1,000 transactions from a full charge.

Its software allows you to enter a payment total and add a surcharge or tip if required. Apart from printing receipts, you can send receipts via SMS or email following each transaction. A selection of POS systems can be integrated for more in-depth features at the checkout.

For more features, we recommend Zeller Terminal 2 which has general POS software with a customisable product library, modifiers, discounting and more. In Australia, we think this terminal has the most unique design with its top and bottom legs stylishly supporting its oblong touchscreen.

Terminal 2 hasn't got a receipt printer, though, only email and SMS receipt options. Its battery lasts longer than Terminal 1 (1,300 transactions from a full charge), which is great for market stalls, pop-up shops without a fixed register, or anywhere with limited sockets.

Pricing: same fixed EFTPOS rate

Neither Tyro nor Zeller have fees for account creation, and there are no lock-in contracts. The similarities more or less end there.

Zeller focuses on simple, transparent fees that apply to everyone: 1.4% per chip, and swipe transaction. The Zeller Terminal 1 costs $99 upfront and Terminal 2 $199 including GST. This includes a 12-month guarantee, and then you own it.

With Zeller, you do have to pay for a SIM card if you want mobile connectivity. Zeller's own SIM card costs $15 incl. GST monthly for unlimited data, but you can use another SIM card from a different provider.

"Zeller Terminal 1 is the cheapest independent EFTPOS machine you can buy in Australia. We think it's superb value with a business account, card and no monthly fee – attractive for many small businesses."

– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, Mobile Transaction

Tyro offers a rental contract for its Pro terminals, so you cannot buy it upfront and avoid monthly charges. It costs $29 including GST per month. If you want to add health fund claiming, an additional $10 + GST per terminal applies.

The Tyro Go card reader costs $39 to purchase, after which there are no monthly fees. That's because it's a cheaper piece of hardware that depends on Tyro App to function altogether.

Tyro and Zeller pricing:

Transaction fees have recently become more simplified with Tyro: card payments now cost a fixed rate of 1.4% regardless of the EFTPOS machine – the same rate as Zeller. It's only if your card sales exceed $20,000 per month that you can negotiate lower, variable rates.

Certain transactions have an additional fee with Tyro, though: keyed and online transactions incur $0.15 extra, and foreign cards add 0.4% plus an additional 0.4% if a currency conversion took place. Zeller adds a fixed fee of $0.25 to Virtual Terminal, payment link and invoice transactions and charges a high rate for international cards via invoicing.

You can automatically accept Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay and eftpos cards with Tyro. American Express, JCB and Diners Club require separate agreements with those card schemes directly, incurring extra costs. Zeller does not require any additional costs to accept Amex and JCB in addition to eftpos, Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay.

Neither Zeller nor Tyro requires a minimum monthly turnover, so you are free to use the card machines as little or much as needed without paying extra. Payouts, chargebacks and refunds are free to process in both cases as well.

Payouts, accounts and debit card

Both Tyro and Zeller can settle transactions in a free business account, bypassing the need to connect with an external bank account.

In Tyro's case, you can apply for a full-fledged bank account managed in the Tyro App. This does not come with a physical bank card, so you can't use it for buying things in person, but it is suitable for bank transfers, BPAY and direct debits.

EFTPOS transactions settle the same evening in the Tyro account any day of the week, or within 1-2 business days in an Australian bank account linked to your business.

Zeller Terminal comes with a Mastercard in the box, linked to your own Transaction Account. This can be used for in-person and online payments, money transfers and paying invoices. Transactions clear in the account at midnight the same evening, or you can opt for settlement in an Australian bank account the following business day.

Both Zeller and Tyro (its bank account, at least) integrate with Xero accounting software. Eligible Tyro merchants may also apply for a business loan, which is unavailable with Zeller who instead offers a savings account.

POS integrations: pretty good options

Zeller integrates with several external point of sale (POS) systems, such as Impos, Erply, Lightspeed, H&L and OrderMate.

The on-screen Zeller Terminal 1 software only allows you to accept cards and process refunds, whereas Terminal 2 has a simple POS system you could use independently of a fixed register. In addition, a web dashboard allows you to manage your terminal fleet at different locations.

Tyro is built to fit in with nearly any point of sale. Their EFTPOS terminals integrate with over 450 different POS or practice management system (PMS) platforms. This includes Bepoz, Timely, Pracsoft, Lightspeed and many others geared towards a wide range of industries.

There is no charge extra for integrating Tyro with a POS system, but costs do apply to your chosen software solution.

Online selling: not so extensive

The remote selling options for Zeller merchants are email invoices, payment links and keyed payments.

Keyed payments are where you manually enter card details on the EFTPOS machine or browser-based Virtual Terminal to accept a transaction where the customer is not present, mainly over the phone. Merchants can also send payment links from the Virtual Terminal to customers so they can pay online.

Recently, Zeller expanded its email invoicing to its mobile app, so business owners can send and manage invoices from anywhere.

Still, Zeller cannot integrate with ecommerce, but plans to add it soon.

Remote payment methods of Tyro and Zeller:

Tyro has slightly more options for remote payments. You can accept over-the-phone payments on their EFTPOS terminals or in a web browser, set up recurring payments and send payment links and email invoices from a web portal.

Although Tyro hints at an ecommerce setup, the company is not transparent on which online store platforms it connects with. To find out, you need to speak to Tyro for a tailored solution.

Customer service and reviews

Whereas Tyro offers round-the-clock support over telephone and email, Zeller limits the phone and email support hours to 9am-1am AET every day of the week (i.e. there's no support between 1am-9am). For a service without monthly fees, though, Zeller really goes the extra mile compared with Square that only has weekday support.

Tyro's onboarding can take two weeks from the initial quote to having the EFTPOS machine set up and ready to use – if all the required paperwork is submitted and accepted smoothly.

In contrast, Zeller's online sign-up form only takes 5 minutes to complete, and then you're accepted straight away in most cases, or within a day for more complex businesses. Shipping of the terminal takes anything from 1-11 business days depending on the delivery option chosen. You can also buy the terminal at Officeworks, in which case you can accept payments right after your account is accepted.

We've seen many bad reviews of Tyro in 2021 due to their terminal outage early in the year and lacking customer service when help is needed. It seems to be a good service when it works – but when it doesn't, the consensus on how Tyro handles it is bad.

The Zeller reviews so far are mostly positive about its ease of use and reasonable fees with some reports about customer service issues.

Our verdict: pros and cons with each

The least complicated EFTPOS solution is Zeller hands down. The initial cost of the terminal may seem like much, but then you have a complete, affordable pay-as-you-go payment solution with a transactions account and Mastercard.

Once you need more than just a card terminal, though, Zeller falls a bit short. No ecommerce integrations are available yet, but we're told Zeller will expand with more features soon.

The EFTPOS machines of Tyro connect with more POS systems than Zeller and are quite good quality compared with their older models.

Tyro includes slightly more remote payment options and a full-fledged bank account, but fails to be transparent about online store capabilities and hidden fees. The monthly cost of Pro may also be a deal-breaker for a small business, but the Tyro Go reader presents a cheaper alternative that Zeller doesn't have.

As a service, Tyro has a lot to prove after its past terminal outages, but the company has caught up with new EFTPOS terminals and tap-on-phone option.

Still, the faster sign-up and better all-in-one package from Zeller will appeal to many small businesses that want a simple, cheap and complete package.