Did you know, in 2021, four out of five Americans used some kind of digital payment? As more and more consumers gravitate towards eCommerce and electronic payment methods, there is a growing need for businesses to adopt virtual terminals. This is especially true for merchants who mostly take remote orders and can’t afford to invest in costly payment software or hardware.
Both the Stax and Sage virtual terminals allow merchants to accept electronic payments easily and securely, but which of them might be better suited for your business? In this article, we’ll help you determine just that by comparing the features, pricing, and reviews of these solutions.
TL;DR
- Both the Stax and the Sage virtual terminals can be accessed from a PC or smartphone with an internet connection, and are particularly useful for professional services, food delivery, or freelance businesses that take phone orders, charge recurring subscription fees, send electronic invoices, or process payments on the go.
- Both solutions are easy to use, support multiple payment methods and integrations, and offer robust reporting and customer management features.
- Sage doesn’t disclose pricing and locks merchants into three-year contracts with auto-renewal clauses and hefty liquidation damages. In contrast, Stax shines due to its transparent membership pricing model, superior customer support, and the absence of long-term contracts or cancellation fees.
Stax vs Sage Virtual Terminal: Overview
Founded in 2006, Sage Payment Solutions is an American payment processing services provider that was later rebranded as Paya in 2018. One of the company’s offerings for merchants is the Sage virtual terminal—a web-based payment processing solution that runs on a computer or mobile device, converting it into a payment terminal.
The virtual terminal facilitates the easy processing of ACH/eChecks, debit cards, and credit card transactions online. You can key in payment information manually (for card-not-present transactions) or use a USB-connected credit card reader. No other software is needed.
Similarly, the Stax virtual terminal is an offering from Stax—a merchant services provider whose all-in-one payments platform includes payment processing, billing and invoicing, merchant accounts, reporting, and a whole lot more. The Stax virtual terminal allows merchants to convert any mobile device or computer into a mobile point of sale (mPOS) as long as they have an internet connection.
Stax Virtual Terminal: Features
Let’s take a look at the key features of each solution, starting off with Stax.
1. User interface and ease of use
The Stax virtual terminal—powered by Stax’s payment gateway—can be accessed easily from your PC or smartphone. All you need to do is log in to the virtual terminal and enter the customer’s payment info into a form. The payment will be then processed in just a few clicks. You’ll also have access to features for invoicing, inventory management, and a customer database.
2. Payment processing options
The Stax virtual terminal supports a wide range of payment options including keyed-in payments, card-present payments (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, etc.) against invoices, recurring billing, ACH payments, and payment links via email and text messages.
Merchants also have the ability to process partial payments against an invoice and store payment information securely for recurring payments (so they don’t need to ask their customers for payment info every time).
3. Customer management
With Stax, you can securely tokenize and store customer payment info and their preferred payment methods for future use (recurring payments or other personalized payment schedules).
The solution is PCI-compliant and capable of updating card information automatically for expired cards. It emails a receipt to the customer upon every payment. The invoicing feature also syncs with your catalog and customer database to automatically populate key transaction details, thus saving you time and reducing manual work.
4. Reporting and analytics
Stax’s robust reporting features allow you to track all your transactions, deposits, inventory, scheduled recurring invoices, account receivables, and outstanding invoices from the dashboard. You can also view sales trends, payment trends, inventory status, and other useful insights in real-time to make better decisions that help your business grow and thrive.
5. Integration options
Stax’s developer-friendly APIs and SDKs allow for easy integration with several tools and platforms like WooCommerce, Shopify, Zoho, Salesforce, Antamedia, Invoiced, etc., and a 2-way sync with QuickBooks (so you get an accurate picture of your business financials with zero manual reconciliation).
Sage Virtual Terminal: Features
Let us now take a look at the features that the Sage virtual terminal offers.
1. User interface and ease of use
The Sage visual terminal is completely web-based, so merchants can use it to process payments from their PCs or smartphones in real time. All they need is an internet connection.
Merchants may key in transactions manually or even use a USB-connected card reader. No other software or hardware is required.
2. Payment processing options
The Sage virtual terminal supports a variety of payment methods including ACH debit and credit, loyalty and gift card payments, keyed-in payments, invoicing, payment links, and recurring billing.
3. Customer management
The virtual terminal is PCI-compliant with 128-bit data encryption that keeps your transactions secure and stores customer and payment info securely for recurring billing. Expired card information also gets updated automatically. In addition, the solution can automatically fill in returning customer info and allows you to manage access levels for your virtual terminal users easily.
4. Reporting and analytics
Paya offers a robust web-based reporting tool that allows merchants to track transactions, view statements and transaction history, reconcile billing, view the demographic data of their customers, and much more.
5. Integration options
Paya integrates with several accounting platforms, ERP solutions, and shopping carts.
Stax vs Sage Virtual Terminal: Pricing
Merchants get access to the Sage virtual terminal when they sign up with Paya for a merchant account. The company does not disclose pricing on its website, but customers have reported a standard three-year contract with automatic renewal and hefty liquidated damages on early termination.
At $25 for every month that remains on your contract, it may cost you as much as $875 (if you want to close your account after a month). Paya also assesses an annual PCI compliance fee of $75, plus $35 for each month a merchant isn’t PCI compliant.
In contrast, Stax offers a transparent membership-based pricing model whereby merchants get access to its wholesale credit card processing rates. There are no contracts, no hidden fees, and no cancellation fees. All you pay is a monthly membership in exchange for the direct cost of interchange.
Stax vs Sage Virtual Terminal: Merchant Reviews
Paya isn’t accredited by the Better Business Bureau. Most merchant reviews and complaints revolve around its hefty cancellation fees, PCI compliance and non-compliance fees, and the lack of adequate support. For the same reasons, Merchant Maverick has given it a 3/5 rating.
Stax, on the other hand, is BBB accredited and has an A+ rating. Most of its reviews on popular forums like Trustpilot are positive, with merchants praising the company’s support, transparent pricing model, and ability to save them money on payment processing fees. Merchant Maverick has given Stax a rating of 5/5.
Final Verdict
Both the Stax and the Sage virtual terminals offer great features—particularly useful for professional services, food delivery, or freelance businesses that take phone orders, charge recurring subscription fees, send electronic invoices, or process payments on the go.
However, Sage doesn’t disclose pricing and locks merchants into three-year contracts with auto-renewal clauses and hefty liquidation damages. In contrast, Stax shines due to its transparent membership pricing model, superior customer support, and the absence of long-term contracts or cancellation fees.
