Payment middleware in Canada: the software between your POS and your card terminal.

The short answer

• Middleware is the go-between. It talks to your POS on one side and to the processor on the other, and it runs the terminal in the middle.
• It is why staff do not key the amount twice. The total goes from the register to the terminal, and the result comes back to the POS on its own.
• It can let you keep your POS. When a middleware is certified with more than one processor, the processor can change while the POS, the menus and the staff routine stay.
• Your exact setup decides it. Certification is checked for the middleware, its version, your POS and your terminals together. A product name alone does not answer it.
• Your POS reseller usually knows which one you run. The company that installed your POS set the middleware up, and it is the first call before any change.

How middleware fits

A card sale passes through five parts, and the middleware is the one that joins the POS to everything after it.

The POS sends the amount to the middleware, the middleware runs the terminal and sends the card sale to the processor, the processor approves and settles it, and the money reaches your bank account. The approval comes back the same way, so the POS records the sale without anyone typing it in. For the terminal side of this, see semi-integrated POS.

The middleware we cover

These eight products cover retail and restaurant counters, large multi-lane stores, gas stations and self-service machines.

Each page explains what the product does, what it handles, and what to check before you change the processor behind it.

How to tell which one you have

Most owners do not know the name of their middleware, and they do not need to. These are the quickest ways to find out.

• Ask your POS reseller. The company that installed or supports your POS chose the middleware and can name it and its version.
• Look at your POS payment settings. The tender or payment setup screen often names the payment software it talks to.
• Look at the terminal. The start-up screen or the payment app on the terminal sometimes shows the middleware's name.
• Look at your invoices. A middleware licence or support line may appear on your POS reseller's bill.
• At a gas station, check the pump and the counter separately. The pump reader and the store counter often run different software.

Keeping your POS when you change processors

Changing processors without changing your POS is often possible, but only when every part of your setup lines up.

• The new processor has to be certified with your middleware. Each middleware keeps its own list of the processors it is certified with, and it can differ by version and by terminal.
• Your POS version has to be on the list too. Some middleware certifications are for specific POS products and versions.
• You open a new merchant account. A merchant number belongs to the processor that issued it and does not move to another one. See merchant account.
• Your terminals may change. The new processor may need your terminals re-keyed, re-loaded or replaced.
• Your POS reseller usually does the work. The switch is a configuration change on your POS and middleware, and the reseller is often the one who makes it.

When any of these does not line up, the change becomes a POS project rather than a settings change. That is worth knowing before you sign anything.

What to check before a change

Where CleverPays fits

The middleware company builds the software. Your POS reseller installs and supports it. The company that processes your card payments approves and settles each sale. CleverPays makes none of the software on these pages.

We can read your setup and name each part: the POS, its version, the middleware, the terminals and the processor behind them. Then we tell you in writing what a change would affect, before anything moves.