TSYS Lines Up Behind ShopKeep’s Tablet-Based POS System

Tablet-based point-of-sale provider ShopKeep.com Inc. has lined up payment-processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) as a reseller.

Columbus, Ga.-based TSYS will offer ShopKeep products in addition to traditional POS terminals, contactless readers, mobile payments, and online payment acceptance.

TSYS say it added ShopKeep because it knows merchants have a need for tablet-based POS products, and it wants to provide a quality, easy-to-use product, a TSYS spokesman says. “ShopKeep allows us to add a tablet-based offering into our overall solutions mix,” he says. TSYS expects to make ShopKeep available to its resellers at a future, unspecified date.

The non-exclusive deal with TSYS is a continuation of ShopKeep’s channel-partner strategy, says Todd Lasher, vice president and general manager of ShopKeep’s channel business. New York-based ShopKeep has similar deals with other payment providers, including Global Payments Inc., independent sales organizations, and value-added resellers, he says.

TSYS also says it is working on lining up other tablet-based options for merchants.

ShopKeep pricing is no different in this distribution deal than if the merchant went direct to ShopKeep, Lasher says. The basic hardware setup, which includes a stand for an iPad Air, a receipt printer, cash drawer, card reader, and an iPad charging cable, sells for $649. That does not include the price of an iPad. The monthly ShopKeep fee is $49. That does not include payment processing.

Merchants that sign up for ShopKeep service via TSYS will use the payment processor for their credit and debit card transactions, Lasher says.

Selecting the right tablet-based POS system partner is a concern for many payments executives, says Adil Moussa, principal at Adil Consulting, an Omaha, Neb.-consulting firm. “The issue in the merchant acquiring industry is that it is difficult for executives to choose the right partner and the right product, especially when it comes to POS technology.” Moussa says. “In a report that will be published later this month, 41% of executives told me that they are struggling to make the right POS choice.”

ShopKeep is one of several tablet-based POS providers gaining ground with merchants. The company recently surpassed 10,000 customers in the United States and Canada, which have $1.8 billion in annual retail transactions, ShopKeep says.

In April, ShopKeep secured $25 million in funding to expand its offices, hire more employees, and improve its product. In February, ShopKeep opened a Belfast, Ireland, office and plans to open a West Coast U.S. location soon.