Another Zero Option: Cloud-based POS Provider Pose Drops Its Software Fee

Pose POS Ltd., a cloud-based point-of-sale system, has changed its pricing model to a free one, at least for the monthly fee.

Formerly $49 a month for the POS service, Pose now charges nothing to use its app, which is available on any device that can operate Google Inc.’s Chrome Web browser, including iOS, Android, Windows, and Apple Inc.’s desktop systems.

The catch is that merchants wanting to forgo Pose’s $49 monthly fee must choose from a group of processing partners and pay for their individual credit and debit card transactions. Rates can be as low as 1.09% plus 10 cents each, Israel-based Pose says. Merchant still pay $49 if they do not done use a processing partner.

Pose incorporates loyalty-program management, inventory reporting, employee tracking, and customer- relationship-management capabilities. “This is not a crippled version of the software,” Dror Liwer, Pose’s chief executive, tells Digital Transactions News. “This is completely free, with no upsells.” There is no long-term contract, either, he says. Pose makes money under the new scheme by receiving a small commission from each transaction, Liwer says. Currently, 2,900 merchants use Pose, he says.

Currently, Pose is working with North American Bancard, Authorize.net, and PayLeap, Liwer says, with more expected. “We are aggressively pursuing other relationships.”

Any partner is subject to vetting by Pose. “Our rules are simple. It has to be a quality product with good customer service. They have to offer really competitive rates. The last thing we want is for a merchant to think is it’s getting screwed. And they have to be able to work under our terms,” he says.

Such a move as Pose’s, when there are scores of tablet- and cloud-based POS options, may help it stand out, suggests Rick Oglesby senior analyst at Double Diamond Group, a Centennial, Colo.-based payments consulting firm.

It could be an evolutionary step, he says. “A basic POS system that is good for small-to-medium-size merchants is rapidly becoming a commodity and is generally available as part of a merchant-processing agreement at no additional cost,” Oglesby says.

“Companies that offer these solutions need to either monetize their offering through payments, or they need to push the envelope on features in order to offer a product that stands out from the commoditized solutions to the point that companies will pay for them,” Oglesby says. “There’s a lot of potential value in more advanced POS systems, but those that provide basic electronic cash register and payments capabilities are not attracting much in terms of standalone value.”

With Pose, merchants supply their own hardware, including receipt printer, card reader, cash drawer, and barcode scanner. Pose does not sell hardware.