How to Determine the Best POS System for your Business

Jun 2, 2025
4 minutes Read
Your POS system could be so much more than a tool to facilitate payment. Keep reading to find out what you POS system could be doing.
How to Determine the Best POS System for your Business

Finding the Best POS System for your Business

Some retailers see their POS system as just a tool to take and process payments. Smart retailers know it can be so much more.

  • Your POS system can leave a lasting impression at the most important moment in the transaction—boosting the chances that customers (a) remember your brand and (b) want to return.
  • Your POS system can reduce unnecessary headaches by combining payment acceptance and processing into one streamlined service.
  • Your POS system can unify the in-store and online shopping experience, helping customers feel equally confident in both—and reinforcing your brand at every step in the best possible way.
  • Your POS system can help you reach new markets and attract new customers by offering a wider range of payment methods. But more importantly, it can protect the sales you’ve already earned: 50% of shoppers will abandon a purchase if their preferred payment method isn’t available.

What is a POS system?

A POS system allows merchants and retailers to accept payments from their customers. It consists of two parts: the front end and the back end.

The front end is where the customer completes their payment. This typically includes a cash register, a card reader, and a computer system that tracks purchases and revenue.

The back end is where payments are processed. A fully processed payment goes through several steps—most of which happen in just milliseconds:

  1. When your customer makes a payment using something other than cash, the POS system runs an initial fraud check. If the customer passes, their payment data is sent to the merchant acquirer (your business bank).
  2. Your bank secures the data again and forwards it to the appropriate payment network (Visa, MasterCard, Alipay, etc.) for another fraud check. The request is then routed to the issuing bank—your customer’s bank.
  3. The issuing bank verifies the customer’s information, confirms there are sufficient funds, and sends back either an approval or a decline.
  4. That response travels back through the payment gateway and is delivered to your customer, completing the transaction.
Business owner holding an OTT Pay Smart POS Terminal towards a customer while customer pays with their credit card

Not all POS systems offer this level of service.

POS systems that both accept AND process payments are known as end-to-end systems. The key benefit of choosing a system with both front- and back-end capabilities is seamlessness—you get one solution and one point of contact for everything related to payments.

Some POS systems go further.

If you sell online, your POS system should be able to process both online and in-person payments. Ideally, your customer’s experience should feel the same in both places. POS systems that deliver this kind of consistency are called omnichannel systems.

Almost all POS systems meet basic security requirements. Some go further.

Most POS systems on your shortlist will comply with the PCI DSS compliance standard. But if you’re concerned about cybercrime, it’s worth digging deeper into how each system handles security before making a final decision.

Small Business Owner holding an OTT Pay Smart POS Terminal as a customer uses their smartphone to pay

POS systems will generally offer one of two fee structures.

You’ll either be charged a small per-transaction fee or a small percentage of each transaction. The best option for you will depend on what you sell and what makes the most sense. If your items are inexpensive and your volume is high, you may prefer a percentage of sales. On the flip side, if your items are pricey and your sales volume is low, choosing a per-transaction fee may be the smarter choice.

Canada Trusts OTT Pay’s POS System

With the Smart POS Terminal’s 12 payment methods (Visa, MasterCard, Interac, Apple Pay, Google Pay, American Express, Discover Card, Diner’s Club Card, JCB, UnionPay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay), OTT Pay is setting the bar for payment flexibility in Canada. It’s an omnichannel service that retailers can label with their branding.

And because OTT Pay’s POS system supports QR code payments, you can experiment with letting customers pay anywhere in the store—using their phone camera to scan QR codes right at the shelf. No more waiting in line for them, and no more long queues snaking through your store.

With one-third of Canadian businesses investing in improvements to their customer experiences, enhancing the all-important final step of the shopping journey is quickly becoming a top priority for 2025. And the smartest retailers are taking a serious look at the acceptance, speed, simplicity, and comprehensiveness of the Smart POS terminal from OTT Pay.

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