Best EFTPOS Machines for Australian Tradies (2026)

Tyro is the payment provider most Australian accountants recommend for trade businesses — and the reason is simple: native Xero and MYOB integration. Transactions sync directly to your accounting software and match against invoices automatically. For a business doing serious volume, the hours saved on manual reconciliation alone justify the switch from a bank-branded terminal.

The negotiated rate (~1.4%) is competitive for businesses processing $10,000 or more per month. There's no lock-in contract — which is unusual in the terminal market and worth noting if you've been burned by 3-year bank rental agreements before. Terminals are supplied on a rental or purchase basis. Customer support is Australian-based, which matters when you've got a payment issue on a Friday afternoon.

One honest caveat: Tyro's published rates are higher than 1.4% — you need to negotiate, ideally with the help of your accountant or bookkeeper. If you're not doing enough volume to negotiate, Square or Zeller may be more straightforward options.

If you want to accept card payments on-site with the least possible friction, Square Reader is the answer. $59 for the reader, plug it into your phone, 1.6% per tap. No monthly fee. No contract. No rental. No negotiation required. You're processing payments within 10 minutes of unboxing.

The Square app shows transaction history, daily totals, and basic reporting — everything a sole trader or small trade business needs without the overhead. Square Invoices (free) lets you send invoices with embedded payment links directly from the app. It's a complete on-site payment setup for $59.

The honest limitation: 1.6% is slightly above what Tyro and Zeller can offer for high-volume businesses, and Xero integration requires a third-party app or manual export rather than being native. For a tradie doing $5,000/month in card payments, the extra 0.2% is $10/month — not worth worrying about. For a business doing $50,000/month, it's worth looking at Tyro or Zeller.

Square Terminal is the step up from the Reader — a standalone device with a built-in touchscreen, receipt printer, and cellular connectivity. No phone required. For a tradie who wants to look more professional at the point of payment — especially for larger jobs where the customer is handing over $2,000+ — the Terminal projects more confidence than a card reader dangling off a phone.

The same 1.6% flat rate applies, and there's no contract or monthly fee. The $399 upfront cost pays off quickly if you're replacing a bank rental terminal with ongoing monthly fees. The receipt printing capability means you can hand the customer a physical receipt on the spot, which many customers still expect.

Zeller is an Australian fintech that's built a proper payments and banking platform for small businesses — and it's worth taking seriously. The Zeller Terminal ($199) is a modern touchscreen device that looks and feels significantly better than the older bank-branded terminals. The Zeller app combines payments, transaction management, and a Zeller Transaction Account (no fees) in one clean interface.

The 1.4% transaction rate is competitive and matches Tyro's negotiated rate without requiring you to negotiate anything — it's the published rate. Native Xero integration means transactions sync automatically without third-party apps. Zeller also offers a surcharging option for businesses that want to pass fees to customers.

The main caveat is that Zeller is a newer company. The product is solid and well-reviewed, but it doesn't have Tyro's decade-plus track record in the Australian market. For most trade businesses, this isn't a concern — the product works well and the pricing is transparent.

Smartpay operates on a surcharging model — the customer pays the processing fee (typically 1.4–1.7%), not you. For businesses where passing payment fees to customers is acceptable practice, this means effectively zero transaction cost. It's a legitimate model and widely used in Australian trade businesses, particularly for larger B2B transactions.

The trade-off is a monthly terminal rental fee and some customers who may object to the surcharge. The terminal hardware is older-generation compared to Zeller. If you're in an industry where surcharging is expected and accepted, Smartpay is worth considering — particularly for businesses with very high transaction volumes where even 1.4% adds up quickly.