Have you ever been in the checkout line and the person in front of you has all their groceries packed, but they’re still waiting for the payment to go through? The cashier apologizes and runs the card again. Suddenly, that once short line is five people deep and getting longer.
Preventing this type of situation is one of the many reasons you need to choose the right grocery store payment processor.
In this article, we’ll cover the basics of payment processing and our top payment processor picks for grocery stores in 2025.
What Is a Payment Processor?
Any time someone pays for an item with a credit card, debit card, or contactless payment, the actual moving and authorizing of funds goes through a vendor called a payment processor.
Payment processors also:
- Facilitate transactions
- Provide encryption and security
- Authorize and authenticate payments
- Provide payment data and analytics
- Handle fraud detection and chargeback management
All payment providers must meet the latest security and compliance standards, particularly PCI-DSS compliance.
Payment processors take a small amount of each transaction as a processing fee, with an average fee between 1.5 and 3%. Processors usually offer flat or custom fees based on different payment methods, business transaction volume, and other factors.
Built-In vs. Separate Payment Processing: Why Does It Matter?
Many payment processors are integrated directly with your point of sale (POS) system, meaning you’ll use the same system to run payments that you use to manage your store.
However, there are also non-integrated processors. Here are the major differences.
- In-house/integrated: Integrated payments are handled directly on your POS system. The software provider will either partner directly with a merchant of record (integrated) or process the payments themselves (in-house).
- Non-integrated: A non-integrated processor uses a separate system to process payments. This setup is common for small shops doing fewer than 20 card transactions per day since it's simpler to set up even though it takes more time per sale.
Unless your store relies on specific software or existing systems, we always recommend using an integrated payment processor.
Choosing a non-integrated processor has several distinct disadvantages for grocery stores.
- Slower customer checkout: A separate system to handle credit cards and other payments will add steps to customer checkout.
- Less visibility: With sales data separate from your inventory, you’ll have to manually reconcile transactions at the end of the day.
- No real-time sales data: Without seeing sales data in real time, you won’t have an accurate view of store performance.
If you’re still using older systems requiring a separate payment processor, it might be time to consider an upgrade. The advantages of a modern grocery store POS system far outweigh any short-term discomfort.
Related Read: 5 Best Supermarket POS Software Providers: Features, Pricing, & Reviews
4 Top Grocery Store Payment Processors in 2025
To offer your customers a smooth customer experience and allow them to use their preferred payment method, you need a payment processor.
But which one is right for you? Here are a few factors to consider.
- Budget: How much is the system every month? What are the transaction fees? How much time would you spend on a separate system vs. an in-house processor?
- Your existing technology: Do your accounting software and processes work with the new payment processor? If not, are there ways of consolidating your accounting needs into one system?
- Your customers: What methods do your customers use to pay most often? Is there a demand to offer payments via digital wallet or tap-to-pay cards?
To help you narrow down your choices, here are our top four picks for grocery store payment processing in 2025.
1. IT Retail
IT Retail is our industry-leading POS solution built specifically for small to mid-sized grocery stores and supermarkets. In addition to flexible, in-house payment processing, we also offer many useful tools that simplify managing inventory, employees, demand forecasting, and more.
Standout Features
- Combined payments, reporting, and inventory: IT Retail combines all crucial information to give you better visibility into your business performance.
- In-house processing: We offer in-house payment processing for credit cards, debit cards, and contactless payments. This enables faster transactions with lower processing fees.
- E-commerce support: Our unified payment processing system can handle transactions in-store and online, simplifying your online grocery sales.
- Unified customer support: In-house payment processing means you’ll get the same technical support team for payments as any other part of your system.
Fees and Pricing
We work with businesses to set custom processing fees based on your budget and business needs. Visit our pricing configurator to get your custom quote.
2. Payment Depot (Stax)
Payment Depot (powered by Stax Payments) is a non-integrated processor that serves a variety of retail industries. While not a standalone system like others on the list, they offer custom fees and integrations with popular POS systems, making them a good fit for businesses just starting out.
Standout Features
- Custom fees: Payment Depot is focused on helping small and mid-sized businesses scale, offering flexible processing fees and transparent pricing.
- Integrations with Clover POS: Payment Depot uses Clover POS for its in-store hardware, one of the more user-friendly options for small retailers.
- Flexible payments: Payment Depot allows stores to accept all major credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Fees and Pricing
Payment Depot works on an interchange plus (IC+) model. Businesses pay the interchange fee set by the card network plus a small markup. Markup ranges from 0.2% to 1.95%. Hardware pricing is provided through a custom quote.
3. POS Nation
POS Nation is a top-rated POS system used by retailers in various industries, including grocery stores. In addition to custom, in-house processing, they also provide advanced inventory management, product auto-ranking, and reporting.
Standout Features
- In-house processing: POS Nation is another company that offers in-house payment processing, providing custom rates for businesses based on their needs.
- 24/7 support: POS Nation boasts 24/7 support for both its payment processing and grocery store system.
- Dual pricing: POS Nation supports dual pricing, which allows you to offer discounts for customers paying with cash.
Fees and Pricing
POS Nation offers several pricing tiers based on different business sizes and needs. They also provide custom processing fees for credit cards and digital wallets.
4. Square Point of Sale
Square is a widely used platform for managing payments both in-store and online. Square offers its customers free point of sale software and flat payment processing fees, making it a good option for new businesses.
Standout Features
- E-commerce support: Square supports online sales through Square Online, which integrates directly with its POS software.
- Tailored rates for high-volume businesses: If you process more than $250,000 a year, Square offers custom rates.
- Simple to use: While not as fully featured as other entries on this list, Square offers a user-friendly and integrated payment processing and store management solution.
Fees and Pricing
Square’s standard processing fee is 2.6% + $0.10 for contactless payments, swiped cards, or inserted cards. Square’s retail POS solution starts at $29/month.
Create a Smoother Shopping Experience With In-House Payment Processing and Advanced Features
An integrated payment processor streamlines the checkout process while saving staff valuable time on data entry and reconciliation. An in-house payment processor provides bonuses like a single support team and more chances to negotiate flexible rates.
Regardless of which payment processor you use, payments are only a small part of your business. To find long-term success, use a system that can help you manage all aspects of your grocery store in one place.
IT Retail has helped grocers, supermarkets, and other food markets find success for over 25 years.
With in-house payment processing, real-time inventory tracking, and other advanced features, we give small and mid-sized grocers the tools they need to stay competitive and provide stellar customer service.
Schedule a custom demo to learn more about our payment processing services and grocery store management system.
