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Square is often considered the go-to solution for mobile payment systems, but it has two shortcomings that could limit its uptake in Canada. Debit (via Interac) and Chip-and-PIN technologies are very popular here, and Square supports neither. As a result, there’s more of a competition opportunity here than there might be in the US.

Two competitors - Moneris and Chase - are big names in payment processing, and they are trying to get in on the mobile payments action in a big way. Intuit, a third competitor, is a very big name in accounting, and also wants a stake in the mobile payments arena.

If you’re considering getting a mobile payment device for your sales efforts, whether you run a street vendor booth or a full retail location, you should explore the pros and cons of each choice.

Square
https://squareup.com/ca/

Pros:

• Popular
• Hip
• Trendy
• Amazing
• First
• [additional buzzwords]
• Optional "Stand" accessory for tablet-based payment, totes amazeballs
• Square Stand supports accessories, including a RECEIPT PRINTER.
• Focuses on analyzing sales & making useful reports that can guide your business
• You can buy it at many stores, you don't need to talk to any "account rep" people.
• App works on iOS and Android

Cons:

• 2.75% transaction fee
• 3.5% + 15 cents transaction fee for manually-keyed transactions (e.g., credit card orders over the phone)
• Card reader costs $9.99 (Stand unit, while amazing, costs $99.99 and requires purchase of a tablet)
• Only swipe. Only credit.
• Sending your customers away to get cash from the bank, which might give them time to reconsider their purchase
• Doesn't have as much cachet in Canada as it does in the USA.

Chase Mobile Checkout
http://en.chasepaymentech.ca/mobilecheckout/

Pros:

• 2.7% + 15 cents transaction fee is cheaper than Square on larger purchases
• Card reader is free
• App works on iOS and Android

Cons:

• 2.7%+ 15 cents transaction fee is a bit non-standard for these services
• Requires additional accounts with Chase, which might have extra fees
• First reader is free - additional readers are $75
• Unknown if manual transaction keying is supported, and at what transaction fee
• Only swipe. Only credit.
• Sending your customers away to get cash from the bank, which might give them time to reconsider their purchase
• Might not have a way to print receipts (only text and email)
• Likely an even smaller userbase than Square (which can mean spottier performance, but could also mean better customer service - a bit of a coin flip).

Intuit GoPayment
http://gopayment.intuit.ca/credit-card-processing/intuit-gopayment.jsp

Pros:

• Card reader is free
• 2.7% transaction fee is superior to Chase, and a $9.95 monthly fee can bring it down to 1.69%
• Manual keyed transaction fee is 3.3%, better than Square. Drops to 2.3% if you opt for the monthly fee.
• Intuit is a fairly well-respected company when it comes to accounting software

Cons:

• Cost (when considering monthly fee of $9.95 to achieve 1.69% transaction fee)
• Only swipe. Only credit.
• Sending your customers away to get cash from the bank, which might give them time to reconsider their purchase
• Might not have a way to print receipts (only text and email)
• Likely an even smaller userbase than Square (which can mean spottier performance, but could also mean better customer service - a bit of a coin flip).
• App is iOS-only, Android support coming soon

Moneris PAYD Pro
https://www.getpayd.com/en/products/paydpro.aspx

Pros:

• Debit and Chip-and-PIN support means never sending customers away
• Free debit transactions (no percentage taken)
• Cool bluetooth-enabled pin pad that connects to the tablet/phone running the app, lends credibility to the service
• App has many features relevant to the complicated POS world with product returns, etc (POS meaning Point of Sale, of course)
• The Non-Pro version of PAYD offers the same services as Square, Intuit, and Chase, without the monthly fee of PAYD Pro (but, of course, the Non-Pro version can’t do Debit, and doesn’t have the cool bluetooth device)
• iOS and Android apps

Cons:

• Cost. $19.95 per month plus 2.75% on credit transactions. However, if you clear $725.45 of debit transactions per month, it completely pays for itself. Every debit transaction offsets the monthly fee, and every credit transaction is equal in cost to Square. Once the number of debit transactions is > $725.45 in a month, you're making free money that you wouldn't have seen with any of the other solutions.
• Likely requires dealing with an account rep
• Likely an even smaller userbase than Square (which can mean spottier performance, but could also mean better customer service - a bit of a coin flip).
• Might not have a way to print receipts (only text and email)

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In my opinion, Intuit and Moneris have the edge here. Intuit’s cheaper transactions mean more revenue - but Moneris’ free debit transactions and Chip-and-PIN support mean that you can serve ALL of your customers from the same service.

Moneris gives you more revenue opportunities, which is even more valuable than a few tenths of a percent on existing revunue.

I hope this tech rundown helps in your decision. If you have first-hand experience with any of these services, please share in the comments or contact me on Twitter.