Windcave vs Tyro (Australia EFTPOS)

Overview

We compare the two for a small business in Australia taking card payments in person, in Australian dollars, on what each company publishes on its own website and in its own Australian merchant terms, read on 14 November 2026. Both are direct acquirers in Australia: your merchant agreement is with them, not with a bank behind them. Tyro is a Sydney-based, ASX-listed bank (an authorised deposit-taking institution) that publishes its price: a 1.3% transaction fee including GST for businesses taking under $20,000 a month, terminals at $19 or $29 a month including GST, no joining fee, no lock-in and no break fee. Windcave is a New Zealand company, incorporated in Auckland in 1999 as Direct Payment Solutions and renamed Windcave in 2019, owned by its founder Andrew Cullen through a US holding company, Windcave LLC. It publishes no Australian rates or terminal prices; it quotes each merchant a blended, interchange-plus or interchange-plus-plus rate. What both do publish, under the Reserve Bank's new transparency rules, is the average merchant service fee they charged in July to September 2026. For small merchants (up to $1 million a year in card sales) taking domestic cards in person, Windcave's averages were 0.68% on debit and 1.03% on credit, against Tyro's 0.97% and 1.23%. Those are averages across each company's customers, not prices you can sign up for, and neither says whether they include GST. The contracts differ sharply. Tyro's terms let you leave on 30 days' notice with no fee. Windcave's merchant FAQ describes a 36-month term, and its Australian terms require one to three months' notice (two clauses differ) and set an exit fee of at least A$400 (excluding GST) per merchant facility if you leave within the term.

Key Takeaways

• ✓Tyro is the better fit for most small Australian shops, cafés and practices: it publishes its price (a 1.3% transaction fee including GST under $20,000 a month in card sales, terminals $19 or $29 a month), has no lock-in and no break fee, and can settle takings the same day, seven days a week, into its own transaction account.
• ✓Windcave publishes no Australian card rates or terminal prices; every rate is quoted. Its merchant FAQ says acquiring agreements run for 36 months, and its Australian terms set an exit fee of the greater of 25% of your average monthly service fee times the months left, or A$400 excluding GST, per merchant facility.
• ✓On the Reserve Bank's quarterly disclosures for July to September 2026, Windcave's small-merchant averages for domestic cards in person (0.68% debit, 1.03% credit) were lower than Tyro's (0.97% and 1.23%). These are averages, not quotes, and Tyro's cover merchants on its flat 1.3% plan as well as custom-priced ones.
• ✓Windcave suits unattended operators (parking, vending and other self-service sites) and businesses that want one gateway, terminal and acquiring provider across New Zealand, Australia and other countries.
• ✓Tyro is offering new customers who already take more than $20,000 a month a 1% rate and free Pro terminal rental until 31 March 2027, if their application is approved and set up by 9am Sydney time on 24 November 2026; franchise and corporate groups, partner referrals and the Tap to Pay app are excluded. Then 1.3% and normal rental apply unless Tyro agrees otherwise in writing.