Moneris Go is Moneris's small-business line: handheld terminals, POS apps, and phone-based payments, all with published pricing — a rarity for Moneris, whose core interchange-plus pricing is quote-only. The rates themselves are unremarkable. The hardware economics are the story: the Go Terminal rents at $34.95/month, typically on a 36-month term, which totals $1,258 for a device a competitor sells outright for $429. This guide maps the four Go flavours, totals the rental, and names the fees the pricing pages skip.
The Go line, mapped
| Plan | Monthly cost | Processing rate | Hardware |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go Terminal | $34.95/mo rental | Flat-rate (plan-dependent) | Handheld: tap, chip, swipe, printer, barcode camera |
| Go Retail | App from $10/mo | Flat-rate | Runs on Go devices, tablets, or phones via the Go portal |
| Go Restaurant | $64.94/mo (software + terminal) | 2.35% + 10¢ credit · $0.12 Interac debit | Optional bundles: Starter $499 / Core $999 one-time |
| Tap-to-Pay (phone) | $0/mo | Flat-rate | Your phone — no extra hardware; iPhone live, Android expanding |
The Go Restaurant bundle is the most complete offer: $64.94/month covers the POS software and the terminal, with menu management, reporting, and employee permissions, plus optional cash drawer, receipt printer, and kitchen display bundles. Tap-to-Pay is the opposite end — contactless acceptance on your own phone with no monthly fee, aimed at food trucks, market vendors, and home-based artisans. Note the fragmentation: these are four products sharing a brand, not one plan with tiers. Price the one you'll actually use.
The hardware rental: $34.95 × 36 = $1,258
The Go Terminal's $34.95/month is a rental, not a purchase — over a standard 36-month term you pay $1,258 for the device and own nothing at the end. The comparable buy-outright alternative (Helcim's Smart Terminal) costs $329–$429 once. The Go Terminal also ships with Clover POS pre-loaded, whose software plans add $14.95–$89.95+/month per location plus ~$14.95/month per additional device. None of this is hidden — it's just never totalled on the pricing page. Older comparisons cite a $30/month terminal figure with a $9.95 account-service package and 0.20%-over-interchange pricing; treat those as stale and price from the current $34.95 figure.
The small-fee layer the pricing pages skip
Customer reviews cited in independent comparisons point to three costs that don't appear in Moneris's Go marketing: expensive early termination fees and equipment refurbishing fees when leaving multi-year merchant-account contracts, and small operational charges like aged close batch fees ($2.50) and paper statement fees that accumulate on statements. Moneris's published pricing covers only its PAYD and Go flat-rate offerings; anything resembling traditional interchange-plus ("Moneris Core") is quote-only by phone. The pattern from documented processor migrations is consistent: Moneris setups typically arrive bundled with a POS rollout — budget the hardware, the software subscriptions, and the retraining alongside the rate.
Worked math: 36-month total vs buy-outright
The setup: $20,000/month in-person, $45 average ticket (~444 transactions/month), 36 months.
Moneris Go path: hardware $34.95 × 36 = $1,258; processing at 2.65% + 10¢: $530 + $44.40 = $574.40/month × 36 = $20,678. 36-month total: ~$21,936 (before Clover software plans).
Buy-outright path (Helcim): terminal $429 once; processing at 0.40% + 8¢ over ~1.4% interchange: ~$280 + $80 + $35.52 = $395.52/month × 36 = $14,239. 36-month total: ~$14,668.
The gap: roughly $7,270 over three years — about $929 in hardware and $6,340 in processing. The Go Terminal's convenience (cellular backup, built-in printer, barcode camera) is real; at this volume it costs roughly $200/month versus the alternative. Below ~$8,000/month the dollar gap shrinks enough that the simplicity argument gets fairer — run your own volume through both.
Decision framework: buy vs rent
- Total the term, not the month. Multiply every "per month" figure — terminal, software, account fees — by the contract length before comparing.
- Separate hardware from processing. A good rate with a bad rental is still a bad deal; price them as two decisions.
- Ask about the exit fees up front: early termination, equipment refurbishing, and what happens to the rented terminal on cancellation.
- Phone-first businesses: price Tap-to-Pay ($0/month hardware) before any terminal — it may make the whole comparison moot.
- Need interchange-plus? That's Moneris Core, quote-only — don't benchmark Go's flat rates against it.
A note on steps: this is a pricing review with a buy-vs-rent procedure — the framework above is the actionable part.
FAQ
How much does the Moneris Go Terminal cost?
$34.95/month as a rental — $1,258 over a standard 36-month term, after which you own nothing. Buy-outright alternatives run $329–$429 once.
What is the difference between Go Terminal, Go Retail, and Go Restaurant?
Go Terminal is the rented handheld; Go Retail is the POS app (from $10/month) running on Go devices or your own hardware; Go Restaurant is the bundled restaurant package ($64.94/month with 2.35% + 10¢ processing). Tap-to-Pay turns your phone into the terminal at $0/month.
Are there hidden Moneris Go fees?
Reviews cite early termination fees, equipment refurbishing fees on exit, aged close batch fees (~$2.50), and paper statement fees — none on the pricing pages. Ask for each by name before signing.