Mobile Processing With a Google Integration Edge
Most mobile credit card processing platforms compete on rate and hardware. Payanywhere competes on those too, but it also does something unusual: it connects directly to your Google Business Profile, letting you manage customer reviews and track your online reputation from the same portal where you manage deposits and disputes. That alone doesn't make it the right choice for every business, but it signals a platform thinking beyond the transaction itself. We score Payanywhere 6.9 out of 10 for the credit card processing category, reflecting a capable mobile-first processor with notable limitations in scope and parent company transparency.
From Mobile Card Reader to Full POS Platform
Payanywhere started in 2011 as a simple mobile card reader, but the platform has grown into something considerably broader. Today it covers in-store payments, mobile transactions, online invoicing, a virtual terminal, and a full back-office management portal called Payments Hub. The hardware lineup alone tells the story: a Bluetooth 3-in-1 card reader for smartphones and tablets, the Smart Terminal (a portable touchscreen device with a built-in receipt printer), the Smart Flex (an 8-inch HD touchscreen with a customer-facing display), and the Smart POS+ (a 12.5-inch dual-screen countertop system). Every device runs the same Payanywhere software, so the experience stays consistent whether you're processing a payment from a food truck or a salon counter.
The parent company behind all of this is North, formerly North American Bancard. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Troy, Michigan, North processes more than $100 billion in annual transaction volume, employs over 1,300 people, and serves hundreds of thousands of merchants. The 2024 rebrand from North American Bancard to North was intended to reflect a broader focus beyond traditional merchant services, though the Payanywhere brand and product line remain unchanged. For merchants, the practical implication is significant processing infrastructure backing a product that's marketed primarily to small and mobile businesses.
Where Payanywhere distinguishes itself from the broader mobile credit card processing field is in two areas. First, its Google Business Profile integration through Payments Hub lets you monitor and respond to customer reviews, track rating trends, and manage your online reputation directly from the same portal where you handle deposits and disputes. Second, Tap to Pay on iPhone turns any iPhone XS or later into a contactless payment terminal with no additional hardware required. Both features expand what a mobile processor can do beyond just accepting cards.
The software itself operates across three themes. Terminal theme mirrors a traditional credit card terminal for quick amount entry and payment. Retail theme adds inventory management, open tabs, and split payments. A Quick Service theme introduced in October 2025 caters specifically to fast-casual restaurants with order routing, kitchen ticket printing, and faster checkout flows. Across all themes, you get employee management with role-based permissions, real-time reporting, customer directory tools, and the ability to accept EMV chip cards, contactless payments, magstripe swipes, PIN debit, and EBT.
One UX detail that's easy to miss during initial setup: the payment settings menu doesn't clearly label which options apply to the app versus the Payments Hub portal. If you toggle a setting in one place expecting it to carry over, you may find it didn't persist after logging out. Users running multiple devices on the same merchant account have reported needing to re-check these settings after app updates, which can cause confusion during busy service periods.
What Payanywhere Costs in Practice
The entry point is genuinely simple. Payanywhere's pay-as-you-go plan charges 2.69% on every card-present transaction (swipe, dip, or tap) with no per-transaction fixed fee. Keyed-in transactions, virtual terminal payments, and invoice payments run 3.49% plus $0.19 each. There are no monthly fees on the basic plan, and no long-term contract is required to start processing.
That simplicity erodes once you factor in hardware. While Payanywhere offers free hardware placement on some devices, software fees range from $9.95 to $44.95 per month per device depending on what you're using. A single Smart Terminal on Wi-Fi costs $9.95 monthly. The Smart Flex runs $19.95 per month, and if you activate its cellular SIM card for mobile use, that's an additional $19.95 monthly wireless fee. The Smart POS+ carries a $29.95 monthly software fee plus a one-time $99.95 setup charge. These aren't optional add-ons; they're the cost of using the hardware.
For a solo mobile vendor processing $5,000 per month entirely through card-present transactions, the annual processing cost at 2.69% comes to $1,614. Add the Smart Terminal software fee of $9.95 per month, and you're looking at $1,733.40 for the year. Compare that to a business running a countertop Smart Flex on Wi-Fi at $10,000 per month in mixed transactions (80% card-present, 20% keyed). The card-present portion costs $2,584 annually, while the keyed portion at 3.49% plus $0.19 per transaction (assuming a $50 average ticket) adds roughly $1,252.80 in processing fees plus $91.20 in fixed per-transaction charges. Combined with the $19.95 monthly software fee ($239.40 annually), that business pays approximately $4,167.40 per year. The only additional fee to watch for is a $3.99 monthly inactivity charge, which kicks in only if you don't process a single transaction for 12 consecutive months.
Custom pricing is available for businesses processing above $100,000 annually, though you'll need to contact Payanywhere directly. The terms aren't published, which is a due diligence concern. Before activating a custom plan, confirm whether it includes a term commitment, what the early termination language looks like, and whether any device or program fees change compared with the pay-as-you-go rate structure.
The Right Business for Payanywhere
Consider a mobile dog groomer who drives between client homes five days a week. She doesn't need a countertop POS or an e-commerce checkout page. She needs a card reader that connects to her phone, processes the payment quickly, and deposits the funds by the next morning. Payanywhere's 3-in-1 Bluetooth reader paired with the free app and Tap to Pay on iPhone covers that workflow at 2.69% per transaction with no monthly overhead. If she starts getting enough repeat clients to justify it, she can send recurring invoices directly from the app.
Now consider a small coffee shop that wants a full countertop POS without paying monthly subscription fees to a separate POS software provider. The Smart POS+ handles order entry, receipt printing, tip prompts, and customer-facing display on a single device. The Quick Service theme speeds up the checkout flow, and kitchen ticket routing keeps the back of house in sync. The tradeoff is that the POS capabilities, while functional, don't match the depth of dedicated restaurant management platforms. If you need detailed table management, advanced modifier trees, or multi-location inventory syncing, you'll outgrow the system.
Payanywhere fits best when mobility and simplicity are the priority. Contractors, market vendors, personal service providers, and single-location retail shops with straightforward inventory get the most from the platform. Users running seasonal businesses have noted that the absence of monthly fees on the basic plan keeps costs contained during slow months.
Where Payanywhere Falls Short
The platform doesn't support international payment processing. If you sell to customers outside the United States or need multi-currency acceptance, Payanywhere won't work. There's no built-in e-commerce storefront either; online payments are limited to the virtual terminal, invoicing, and payment links. Businesses that need a full online checkout experience will need a separate tool.
Keyed-in transaction rates deserve attention. At 3.49% plus $0.19, businesses that process a significant portion of their volume through phone orders or manual card entry will pay considerably more than the advertised swipe rate. For a business running $3,000 per month in keyed transactions with a $75 average ticket, that's $125.70 in percentage fees plus $7.60 in per-transaction fees each month, totaling $1,599.60 annually on keyed volume alone.
The deeper concern is the parent company's sales channel structure. North distributes through a large network of independent sales partners (ISOs), which means your onboarding experience and ongoing account management can vary significantly depending on how you signed up. If you're considering Payanywhere, the safest path is signing up directly through the Payanywhere website on the pay-as-you-go plan. Before activating through any other channel, confirm who provides first-line support, what fees apply beyond the headline rate, and whether a term commitment or cancellation window is attached to the account.
Recent Platform Updates
Payanywhere has maintained a steady release cadence through 2025. The Spring 2025 release (app version 7.1) added invoicing enhancements and security improvements including strengthened password requirements and login notifications from unrecognized browsers. The Summer 2025 release introduced ACH Pay-by-Bank for invoice and virtual terminal payments, Apple Pay checkout for browser-based invoice payments via QR code, and improvements to the chargeback dispute workflow with clearer status indicators and document upload capabilities.
The most notable addition was the Quick Service Restaurant theme in October 2025, which added dedicated order management, kitchen ticket routing, and faster checkout flows for food service businesses. The latest app version (7.3) includes Tap to Pay on iPhone performance improvements and expanded gift card support. These updates signal active product development, though the pace of feature additions still trails larger competitors with dedicated engineering teams focused solely on POS software.
The Final Word
Payanywhere's strongest appeal is its entry point: no monthly fees, a competitive 2.69% card-present rate, free hardware placement options, and a mobile app that doubles as a full POS. For a solo operator or a small team that processes most transactions in person, the annual cost stays low and the setup is fast. The Google Business Profile integration and Tap to Pay on iPhone are practical differentiators that most competitors in this price range don't offer. But the platform carries real limitations that matter as your business grows. The parent company's mixed reputation for account management, the geographic restriction to U.S.-only processing, and the gap between pay-as-you-go simplicity and the less transparent custom pricing tier all create friction points. If you stay within the pay-as-you-go model and process primarily card-present transactions, Payanywhere delivers solid value for mobile credit card processing. If your needs extend much beyond that, you'll likely find yourself looking for a broader platform sooner than you expected.