Since the inception of Square Register, most of the major banks that once offered merchant accounts have been desperately seeking a solution to reclaim their stake in the marketplace. With so many small businesses opting for pay-per-swipe style credit card processing accounts versus the traditional merchant account systems that require expensive contracts regardless of how many transactions you conduct each month, many banks have been hemorrhaging profits that once came so easily. With this in mind, Bank of America has introduces their own flavor of POS system for processing credit cards, and its name is Clover Station.
Clover Station is boasted as an all-in-one hardware, software, app marketplace, and merchant account platform that is perfectly suited for small businesses that want to avoid the expenses associated with a traditional point-of-sale system. Claiming that the Clover Station can do it all, merchants will be able to take payments, view inventory, track sales, manage employees, and add custom apps for their business right from the intuitive interface.
Software Features
Access your business information including inventory, sales, pricing and much more from any web enabled device.
Access your funds as soon as the next day if you link Clover Station with a Bank of America business checking account.
100% secure and fully encrypted transactions for security.
24/7 customer support with real-life agents to help you with technical issues.
Offline mode so when your internet is down, you can still accept card payments.
Hardware Features
Sleek Touchscreen tablet on swivel stand with a built in card reader and intuitive POS software preloaded.
Fast Printing Receipt Printer
Matching Cash Drawer
Optional Kitchen Printer
Printer Cables
Printer Paper
All equipment and software backed by a Dedicated U.S. Based Customer Support team 24/7, 365 days a year.
Pricing Information
Equipment: $999.00 to purchase -or- $49.93/month to Lease
Service Fees: $49.00/month for first Clover Station, $25.00/month for each additional unit
Processing Fees: 1.89% to 2.50% +$0.20 for Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. Amex rates vary.
Overall Assessment
The Clover Station system is very sleek, easy to use, and has all the right hardware to be a fully functional point-of-sale system right out of the box. The system requires only a very short learning curve, so it is ideal if you have multiple employees that will need to use the POS system. The option to have an additional kitchen printer is a very handy feature and adds to the versatility of this system.
However, the Clover Station may be a bit on the expensive side for many small businesses because the hardware and monthly service fees may make this more costly than other systems such as Square Register that are purely pay-per-swipe. I suggest each business do the math to determine if the monthly fees end up being cheaper in the long run, but most small businesses that I’ve calculated for are better off sticking with a system that has no monthly service fees.
