Should Your Business Choose to Own or to Lease POS Terminals?

• Investing in multiple new point-of-sale terminals can be hard to manage if paid all at once
• Many merchant services providers offer leasing options, but this might not always be the best choice
• Flexible lease-to-own programs from MONEXgroup can give your business the best of both options

Modern point-of-sale systems are essential pieces of technology that play a critical role in the success of businesses by enabling fast, secure, and convenient payment processing for customers across a diverse range of situations and applications. However, this technology can be a very substantial investment for businesses, so it’s important to know the pros and cons of purchasing POS systems outright or leasing them on a monthly plan.

Markets of all industry verticals are more competitive today than ever before, and businesses need to be savvy with their investments to make sure they’re getting the best return and the maximum advantage for every dollar. This most certainly includes the purchase and implementation of new in-store point-of-sale systems, e-commerce websites, mobile payment terminals, and unattended POS stations from merchant services providers.

Choosing the right technology is critical, as is selecting the best payment processing partner for your business, but it’s also important to carefully consider whether your business should lease POS equipment, or purchase it outright. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, so it’s essential to make an informed decision on what’s ultimately going to be best for your business. This is particularly relevant for companies who require multiple point-of-sale solutions to suit multiple different applications. For example, a company may have a physical storefront in need of a countertop POS, as well as a remote kiosk utilizing an unattended terminal, an ecommerce website with an online payment processing gateway, or perhaps even a mobile POS unit to take payments remotely. Investment in so many different types of systems can carry a price tag that some businesses simply can’t manage up front as a single capital expenditure. In cases like this, leasing the technology can be an appealing option.

Let’s take a look at how leasing POS technology works, and consider how you can determine if leasing is the best possible option for your business.

How Do Point-Of-Sale System Leases Work?

Businesses who either do not wish to incur a large initial cost for a POS system, or who do not have the capital available for such a large upfront purchase, often choose to lease the technology instead. A POS system lease involves a contractual agreement between the business and the merchant services provider, referred to in the contract as the lessee and the lessor, respectively. This contract specifies the details of the lease agreement, such as the duration of the lease (usually in months, such as 12, 24, 36, etc.), the amount of the monthly fees to be paid, and other contractual obligations such as maintenance requirements, approved uses of the equipment, and other restrictions.

Under a lease agreement, the payment processing equipment technically remains property of the lessor/merchant services provider, and is not officially owned by the business/lessee. This situation carries with it certain advantages, and also some notable liabilities, for the business. First, as long as the equipment is used and maintained properly according to the details of the lease agreement, then most issues related to defective or malfunctioning technology would usually be the responsibility of the merchant services provider to fix, which is beneficial for the leasing business as they would not incur additional costs to replace faulty or broken payment stations.

However, in the event that problems arise that lie outside of the specific details of the lease contract, then the responsibility of addressing these issues is typically thrust upon the leasing business. This can result in unexpected costs to replace equipment, fees associated with breaking lease agreement clauses, and other types of penalties. Understandably, this places a great deal of pressure on the business to ensure they are following the lease agreement to the letter in order to avoid these types of troubles.

In addition, not all lease agreements are equal in terms of what the leasing merchant services provider will offer for support. Some may include software updates and technical support services in the agreement, but others may leave these items out of the contract and simply charge these services back to the business as separate costs as they are incurred. As you’d expect, these costs can often pop up unexpectedly and be difficult to anticipate as part of your monthly operating expenses. It’s always important to check and double-check the lease agreements, to make sure your business gets the level of service and support you need, without surprise costs creeping up at some point in the future.

So, while there are some advantages to choosing to lease your business’ unattended payment terminals, these benefits are generally dependent on the specific language of the lease contract and how it divides responsibility for the various aspects between the lessor and the lessee. But what about choosing to purchase POS systems outright? How does this approach compare to leasing?

What Are The Advantages Of Owning Payment Processing Terminals?

The main advantage to owning rather than leasing your point-of-sale systems comes down to one word; control. When your business takes 100% ownership of the POS terminals, you are empowered with the freedom to use the technology however you want, including moving systems from one location to another at will, configuring the terminals with increased functionality through native apps and hardware add-ons, and the ability to determine on your own if and when the time to upgrade is right. Contrarily, the language of lease agreements is carefully written to dictate most, if not all, of these for you, limiting your business’ ability to make critical changes if needs arise or to capitalize on new opportunities as they present themselves.

Another factor that can make purchasing POS systems a more appealing option than leasing is lower total lifetime costs of owning the equipment. On the surface, while the low monthly payments of leases might seem like the ‘more affordable’ choice, the reality is that the total amount paid over the duration of many lease agreements will often end up higher than if you’d just purchased the entire system in full and amortized the investment. This is because lease payments are crafted to also include service fees and other extra charges to account for the responsibilities of the lessor, such as service and support as detailed in the lease agreement, regardless of whether your business actually ends up requiring such services or not.

If you’re having a hard time deciding which direction your business should go, the good news is, thanks to MONEXgroup, there is a way to obtain the benefits of leasing and the advantages of POS terminal ownership at the same time.

Flexible Lease-To-Own Unattended POS Programs From MONEXgroup

When you partner with MONEXgroup to provide merchant services and payment processing for your business, you’ll be able to take advantage of flexible and customizable ‘lease to own’ options. Based on the needs of your company, MONEXgroup can configure a unique lease-to-own program that can help you avoid high initial investment costs and keep monthly fees low, while simultaneously offering unparalleled customer support and 24/7/365 technical service you can depend on to keep your payment terminals reliably operating at peak efficiency.

Each lease-to-own unattended POS program is built to fit your unique business needs, including the length of the term (12, 24, or 26 months), fixed rates for the POS terminals, and all the benefits that come with 100% ownership of your equipment at the end of your lease program. Our programs are structured with the needs of the client as the #1 priority, ensuring our clients will avoid surprises down the road, with no hidden fees or mysterious charges to worry about.

What Types Of Payment Processing Systems Are Available?

Regardless of the type of POS system you need or what kind of business application it will be used for, MONEXgroup carries a comprehensive suite of payment processing solutions to cover them all. In-store point-of-sale systems such as the Clover Station Duo and Clover Mini are full-featured payment processing stations that are able to accept payments of all types, including cash, credit and debit cards, digital wallets, tap-to-pay cards, and others. In addition, they are also able to perform such functions as inventory control, sales performance reporting, scheduling, customer loyalty program management, and so much more.

For payments on-the-go, the Clover Mini portable POS terminal is compact and powerful, and comes equipped with wireless connectivity to allow for remote payment processing anywhere you can access a Wi-Fi or cellular LTE network. Payments can also be processed remotely using virtual terminal technology, which acts as a digital POS interface on any smartphone, connected tablet, or PC/laptop, making it easy and secure to take payments from anywhere.

To expand your business’ capability to accept payments online, MONEXgroup can furnish your company with a robust e-commerce platform that can be integrated in to existing websites with ease. Online payment portals are safe, secure, and intuitive for customers to place orders from the comfort of their own home, facilitating click-and-collect pickup services or direct-to-home delivery for even greater convenience.

Our multifunctional Unattended Payment Terminal can be retrofitted into virtually any existing system, including vending machines, remote kiosks, and other types of self-serve payment stations. These intuitive payment terminals include a customizable digital LCD interface, card reader for all types of debit and credit cards, contactless chip technology to handle tap-to-pay cards and digital NFC apps on smartphones, and many other features.

MONEXgroup also offers unattended POS solutions for specific industries and verticals that have been engineered with special features and functionality to offer an enhanced customer experience in those applications, such as unattended laundromats, self-serve car washes, electric vehicle charging stations, parking lots, and tap-to-donate charity kiosks.

Plus, all MONEXgroup POS solutions are backed by an expert team of payment processing customer service professionals and supported by 24/7/365 technical service you can depend on. No matter when or where you need us, we are always available to help your business get the most from your payment processing system.

Contact MONEXgroup today and get your quote for a flexible lease-to-own program and new POS system!

Author: Layal Scheirich, Head of Sales at MONEXgroup
Bio: With 18 years of experience in payment processing and merchant services, Layal has seen in-store POS technology evolve from its humble beginnings to contactless, unattended, mobile and online alternatives. Today, Layal is an inspiration to the MONEXgroup’s team and a go-to source of information related to payment processing. She is enthusiastic to share her knowledge with audiences interested in cutting-edge technologies available today, such as unattended payment for self-serve kiosks, e-commerce online payment gateways, virtual terminals, and contactless and mobile payment solutions.
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Contact Info: insights@monexgroup.com