Card terminal in Austria: rent or buy — and why the question is really a different one
In Austria the major providers sell neither a device nor network operation on its own, but a package of terminal and transactions. Anyone comparing renting with buying is therefore comparing a flat rate with a percentage. With worked examples from the published price lists, as of 23 September 2026.
The short answer
In Austria, buying is only cheaper at low card turnover: at the prices published today, a purchased device with a 1.39 per cent fee comes out ahead up to just under 3,000 euros of card turnover a month; above that, the rental flat rate with included volume wins. The real question, though, is not rent versus buy but flat rate versus percentage — because the major providers almost never sell the device separately from the transactions.
Anyone coming from Germany or reading German guides tends to calculate terminal rental plus merchant discount rate plus payment network operator (Netzbetreiber). The Austrian market is not built that way.
Why there is no network operator contract in Austria
In Germany many merchants sign two things: a contract for the device and network operation, and one for credit card acquiring. That is a consequence of the girocard system. In Austria, domestic debit traffic runs over the Bankomat system, and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank knows network operation only as a task of the service provider, which provides “the technical infrastructure (network operation)” as well as processing, settlement and clearing (OeNB, retrieved 23 September 2026). A separate merchant-facing role of “network operator” does not exist.
In practice this means: PAYONE, Nexi, hobex, card complete or Global Payments act as a single contractual partner. Banks are often just a sales channel — BAWAG, for example, passes enquiries for POS terminals on to PAYONE (bawag.at, retrieved 23 September 2026). Anyone who has a terminal “from their bank” usually has a contract with one of these providers.
Then there is the card itself. The former Maestro Bankomat card has been replaced by Debit Mastercard and Visa Debit since 2019; around 11 million debit cards were in circulation in 2024, with almost 1.8 billion transactions, nine out of ten of them contactless (OeNB, card payments, retrieved 23 September 2026). A terminal acquired in 2026 must handle these debit cards cleanly and contactlessly — an old device from the Maestro era is not a bargain but a risk.
What providers charge publicly
Most Austrian providers do not publish complete prices. Here is everything that was on the providers’ pages on 23 September 2026:
| Provider | Model | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| PAYONE All Card Flat | Rental, terminal and transactions in a fixed price | 29.90 € (1,000 € volume) to 79.90 € (12,000 €) a month on 36 months; 34.90 € to 84.90 € on 24 months; above that 1.99 % |
| PAYONE Tap on Mobile | Smartphone as terminal, no device | from 0.00 € a month, 0.89 % debit, 1.95 % credit |
| SumUp | Purchase | Terminal 109 € net (130.80 € incl. VAT), 1.39 % per in-person payment, no monthly fee; alternatively 19 € a month and 0.79 % |
| Nexi Austria | Rental | “from 14.95 euros per month”, transaction prices not published |
| BAWAG (via PAYONE) | Rental | “rent free for 12 months” on a 36-month rental term, rental price not published |
| hobex, card complete | on request | no prices on the website |
The amounts are stated as the providers show them. Whether the PAYONE price is net or gross is not stated on the page — clarify it in writing with any offer.
Worked example: flat rate versus purchased device
The following table is a model calculation based on the price lists above. Assumptions: all payments by debit or standard credit card (on SumUp’s 19-euro plan, American Express and premium cards cost 1.39 %), turnover sits exactly on the flat-rate tier, 36-month term at PAYONE.
| Card turnover per month | PAYONE All Card Flat | SumUp 1.39 % | SumUp 19 € + 0.79 % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 € | 29.90 € (2.99 %) | 13.90 € | 26.90 € |
| 3,000 € | 39.90 € (1.33 %) | 41.70 € | 42.70 € |
| 6,000 € | 54.90 € (0.92 %) | 83.40 € | 66.40 € |
| 9,000 € | 69.90 € (0.78 %) | 125.10 € | 90.10 € |
| 12,000 € | 79.90 € (0.67 %) | 166.80 € | 113.80 € |
With the purchased device, a one-off 109 euros net is added. Over 36 months, a business with 3,000 euros of card turnover pays 1,436.40 euros on the flat rate and 1,610.20 euros with the purchased device. At 9,000 euros of card turnover it is 2,516.40 euros against 3,352.60 euros on the cheaper SumUp plan.
The tipping point of the 3,000-euro tier lies at 2,870 euros of monthly turnover (39.90 euros divided by 1.39 per cent). Below it the purchased device is cheaper, above it the flat rate.
The flat-rate trap: your turnover fluctuates, the tier does not
The table uses turnover that sits exactly on the tier. Reality does not. An ice-cream parlour with 2,000 euros in March and 6,000 euros in July pays 39.90 euros in March on the 3,000-euro tier — effectively 2.0 per cent — and in July 39.90 euros plus 3,000 euros times 1.99 per cent, i.e. 99.60 euros. The overage costs more than any percentage in the table.
Two further points belong in every calculation. First, the term: on the 3,000-euro tier, the 36-month variant saves 5 euros a month compared with 24 months, but binds you for a year longer. Second, free months: twelve free months on a 36-month contract cut the average rent by a third, but do not change the fact that you are bound for three years. How term and break-even point interact in Germany is covered in the article Card terminal: rent or buy.
Two Austrian rules that shift every calculation
No fee for the customer. § 56(3) ZaDiG 2018 declares the levying of charges by the payee for the use of a particular payment instrument impermissible. There is therefore no card surcharge in Austria; every cent of terminal cost comes out of your margin. Your payment service provider may not, on the other hand, prevent you from offering a reduction for a particular means of payment.
Card is cash turnover. § 131b(1) no. 3 BAO: “Payment by Bankomat or credit card or by other comparable electronic forms of payment also counts as cash payment.” Under no. 2, the cash register obligation applies from 15,000 euros of annual turnover per business, provided cash turnover exceeds 7,500 euros. Anyone who thinks pure card payment lets them escape the cash register is mistaken: the terminal does not replace the cash register, and card turnover counts towards the threshold. Anyone who needs a cash register anyway should first ask whether the terminal can be connected to it.
What to do now
- Write down card turnover for each of the last twelve months, not the average. The fluctuation decides the flat-rate tier.
- Below around 2,900 euros of card turnover a month, calculate a purchased device with a percentage fee and no term; above it, a flat rate — always with the weakest and the strongest month.
- For any flat rate, ask for the overage rate and factor it into the peak season month.
- Convert free months into the total over the full term, not into the monthly rate.
- Have it confirmed in writing whether prices are net or gross and which cards (Debit Mastercard, Visa Debit, American Express) run at which rate.
- Before buying, clarify whether the terminal can be connected to your cash register — under § 131b BAO, card turnover belongs in the register.
Sources
- PAYONE Österreich: All Card Flat, Preisstaffel nach Umsatz und Laufzeit
- PAYONE Österreich: Bankomat-Kassen, Tarife Individual, All Card Flat, Tap on Mobile
- SumUp Österreich: Gebührenübersicht und Gerätepreise
- Bundesabgabenordnung § 131b (RIS, konsolidierte Fassung)
- Zahlungsdienstegesetz 2018 § 56 (RIS, konsolidierte Fassung)
- OeNB: Beziehungen im Kartengeschäft und Kartenzahlungen in Österreich