POS for bars: taking payments at the counter, at the tables and on the terrace

Saturday night, the terrace is packed. Table six wants to pay, table two wants to split the bill four ways, and the terminal is at the counter under a pile of receipts. A bar doesn’t lose money on the price of a coffee: it loses it in the minutes customers spend waiting to pay.

What a bar’s POS needs to do

A bar has different needs from a shop: lots of small amounts, lots of payments in a short time, staff moving between counter and tables. The right setup has to:

• accept what customers use: debit cards, TWINT, credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. According to the Swiss National Bank, the debit card remains the most used means of payment at the point of sale, with payment apps growing;
• move with the staff, without cables and without depending on Wi-Fi;
• cost little on small amounts, because a coffee can’t carry a high fixed fee.

Three tools to combine

The terminal at the counter

The 1pay.ch POS terminal is a Nexgo N86 with a printer or a compact N6, at CHF 25.- a month, with the SIM included and no upfront costs. It has its own connection, so it also works on the terrace or at a festival. The N86 prints a receipt for anyone who asks, such as customers at a business lunch.

Tap to Pay for the floor

Tap to Pay turns a staff member’s Android smartphone into a terminal: the customer taps their card or phone and pays. It also accepts TWINT, with a QR for the exact amount shown on screen. It’s free on one device on every plan: the second “terminal” for busy evenings costs you nothing.

The QR code on the table

A QR Pay code printed on the table lets customers pay when they want, without calling anyone over. With the TWINT app they pay with TWINT; with the camera they open a page with every method. Printing the QR codes costs nothing: you only pay the fee when you get paid.

Which tool for which moment

What it really costs

The features are the same on every plan. Only the fees change, and in a bar it’s mostly the fixed part that counts.

In-store debit card fees (price list October 2026)

TWINT and credit cards cost a little more in store (Starter 2.9% + 0.30, Large 1.55% + 0.20). The terminal costs CHF 25.- a month on every plan.

VAT in a bar

Different rates apply side by side in a bar: drinks and food consumed on the premises and alcoholic drinks are subject to the standard rate of 8.1%, while takeaway food and soft drinks can fall under the reduced rate of 2.6%. The current rates are on the Federal Tax Administration website. In the 1pay.ch dashboard every payment arrives with date, amount and method, and at the end of the year you export everything for your accountant in one click.

How to get started

1. Sign up for free: email, name, and your account is open. Verification usually comes within one working day.
2. While you wait, print the QR codes for the tables and order the terminal.
3. Install Tap to Pay on the phones of your floor staff.
4. Your takings arrive in your account every week.