Westpac EFTPOS machine review: competitive for stable businesses

• Pros: Daily payouts with Westpac bank account. 24/7 technical support. Many POS integrations.
• Cons: Not cheap for fluctuating sales. Payouts slower with non-Westpac bank account. Poor service.
• Choose if: Your turnover is stable and you prefer the service of a trusted bank with a modern EFTPOS offering.

Our opinion: better than before, but cost can still prohibit

Existing Westpac account holders should definitely have a look at the EFTPOS offering, since they benefit from same-day funding. The bank’s customer service doesn’t sound great, but the card machines are used by many merchants across Australia – a sign Westpac that works at scale. But is it easy to use for a small business?

The fees have been simplified compared with a few years ago – you mainly just pay a monthly rental fee and fixed transaction rate for the most popular cards. But these fees are very similar to NAB’s and CommBank’s EFTPOS pricing, so we don’t think Westpac stands out in that regard. And other potential charges still lurk in the background for certain Westpac users, like chargeback fees if they have too many of them.

Smaller merchants should carefully consider if the monthly fee is worth it. We generally think Zeller and Square have better pricing for small businesses with sporadic or smaller sales volumes, despite their slightly higher pay-as-you-go rates. That’s because there’s no monthly cost, and less time wasted on the bureaucratic hoops that Westpac as a traditional bank still has.

“Westpac has got rid of complicated pricing, but we’re still wary of the bank’s reputation for a bad service. The EFTPOS contracts might now be commitment-free, but a contract still binds you to certain conditions.”

– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, MobileTransaction

The EFTPOS Now terminal certainly appeals to modern merchants with its large touchscreen and adaptable software. But the basic plan just gives you a basic payment app for amount-based transactions, so you need the Presto add-on for a more complex checkout setup.

Best for: Medium-sized, stable businesses with a business bank account that they’re happy with at Westpac.

The most flexible terminal is EFTPOS Now, a mobile and portable Verifone T650p model with a large colour touchscreen. It’s the only one of the models that works independently – the others have to connect with a POS system.

“Verifone T650t is Westpac’s attempt at appealing to younger businesses. It looks great and sits well in the hand, but it does still have a monthly fee unlike Zeller’s equivalent terminal.”

– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, MobileTransaction

The T650p has a built-in receipt printer and good graphics with audio prompts for visually impaired people so, for example, the virtual PIN pad is clear to use on the screen. The terminal can split bills, surcharge, accept pre-authorisations (useful for hotels) and tips, and set up multiple user logins.

It works with 4G for mobile merchants or WiFi for fixed premises, though WiFi can be used on the go with 4G as a fallback connection.

Photo: Verifone

Verifone T650p can be used on its own or connected with a POS system.

Alternatively, you can link EFTPOS Now with over 130 compatible POS systems for retail or hospitality on the Presto plan. Without this integration, you can only really use the terminal for transactions where you enter a single amount, as opposed to adding products to a list of items that make up a transaction total.

If you’re going to use a card terminal for a fixed checkout, EFTPOS Connect – an Ingenico Move 5000 terminal – is probably better suited. It looks more traditional with its push-buttons, but connects with over 600 POS-related systems to suit almost any kind of checkout.

The EFTPOS Flex card machine, another push-button Verifone terminal, is only really for larger businesses that need it for self-service checkouts or as additional card PIN pads for a checkout.

As one of the few payment providers to enable this in Australia, Westpac’s card machines work offline if the internet connection fails.

Westpac used to offer other Verifone card machines such as the card reader and app called Westpac Genie, but this is no longer available. If you’re looking for such an app-based, more affordable solution, we recommend checking our EFTPOS machine comparison which points to the best options.

In the past couple of years, Westpac also added EFTPOS Air as an optional way to accept contactless payments directly on your smartphone. It costs nothing per month, but charges a fixed transaction rate (1.4%) a bit higher than the EFTPOS machine rates (1.2%).

*Pricing includes GST.

Payouts and bank account

You do not have to use a Westpac bank account to receive payouts for EFTPOS transactions. With a non-Westpac bank account, funds will be paid into your bank account within 48-72 hours of each settlement (processing time excludes Fridays, weekends, NSW public holidays and bank holidays).

A strong point of Westpac is its “instant settlement” seven days a week, 365 days a year. Contrary to what you might think of “instant”, though, EFTPOS transactions are not actually processed straight away to your business bank account. Only one payout batch a day can be settled in your bank account. This means transactions after this payout are settled the day after.

You also need a Westpac business transaction account to receive these same-day payouts through the bank. And the instant settlement function is only available for Mastercard, Visa and eftpos transactions.

Image: Westpac

The dashboard gives access to transactions, settlements, terminal fleet and sales reports.

If the card machine is integrated with POS software, the POS system typically has various reporting functions and sales analytics where transactions of any payment methods are shown. In contrast, Westpac’s web portal is only for managing payment terminals, chargebacks and the payout schedule.