The short answer
- It is Canadian and processor-neutral. Tender Retail was founded in 1985 and has offices in Toronto and Montreal. It says it works with many processors rather than one.
- It drives terminals from several makers. Tender Retail names Ingenico, Verifone and Castles, and its parking page covers unattended kiosks and exit terminals.
- It covers more than card sales. Gift cards from many programs, sales stored during outages, hotel pre-authorizations and tokens are all on its pages.
- Interac is not named on its public pages. Cashback and a credit and debit server are mentioned, so confirm Interac for your setup.
- It is built for changing processors, with conditions. Tender Retail says retailers can change or add processors without re-certifying their POS. The new processor still has to be certified for your setup.
What Tender Retail does
Tender Retail takes the sale from your POS, runs the card terminal and sends the payment straight to your payment processor for approval.
- Your POS
- Tender Retail
- The terminal
- The processor
- Your bank account
Your cashier rings up the sale, Tender Retail asks the terminal to take the card, the processor approves it, and the money reaches your bank account once the day's sales settle.
Terminals it runs on
Tender Retail names Ingenico, Verifone and Castles as terminal makers it works with, and only a few exact models appear on public pages.
| Device | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ingenico terminals | PIN pads and readers | Named by Tender Retail among the terminals it integrates |
| Verifone terminals | PIN pads and readers | Named by Tender Retail among the terminals it integrates |
| Verifone MX915, MX925 | Older PIN pads | Listed with Tender Retail in Oracle's Xstore guide |
| Verifone VX820 | Older counter PIN pad | Used with Tender Retail in 45 Canadian stores and 240 lanes, per a February 2017 release |
| Castles terminals | Payment terminals | Named by Tender Retail among the terminals it integrates |
| Kiosks and exit terminals | Unattended | Tender Retail's parking page lists unattended terminal support |
Some counters have an Ingenico Lane PIN pad or a newer smart terminal. If yours does, ask Tender Retail or your POS reseller to confirm the exact model and software version. We did not find a public list of current models.
What it handles
Tender Retail's own pages cover wallets, gift cards, sales stored during outages, tokens and hotel pre-authorizations, but they do not name Interac, fleet cards or phone orders.
| Feature | What the public pages say |
|---|---|
| Cards and wallets | Tap, chip, swipe and mobile wallet payments. Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay through QR code and barcode flows |
| Interac debit and cashback | Interac is not named. Oracle's guide refers to Tender Retail's credit and debit server, and the grocery page lists cashback at checkout |
| Gift cards | Givex, SVS, Blackhawk, InComm, Data Candy, Flexecash and other gift hosts, plus a store's own gift program |
| Offline sales | Supported sales, such as credit, are stored during an outage and sent when the connection returns. Limits follow business rules, risk limits and the processor's agreement |
| Tokens | Card data is replaced with tokens. Oracle lists refunds by token |
| Pre-authorization and completion | For hotels: pre-authorization, extra authorizations during a stay, completion, partial reversals and card checks |
| Fuel and convenience | Fuel and in-store sales together, with pre-authorization flows. Fleet cards are not named |
| Phone and mail orders | Not named on the public pages |
| Encryption | Card data is encrypted from the terminal to the processor. Tender Retail says neither your systems nor its platform store card data. We found no PCI listing |
| Remote management | Set up, update and watch terminals across all stores from one place |
| Standards | Supports the nexo payment standards between POS, terminals and processors |
Who uses it
Tender Retail says it supports Tier 1 and Tier 2 retailers across North America. It says it has more than 200,000 deployments. Its industry pages cover groceries, food and beverage, sports and entertainment, discount stores, hotels and lodging, convenience stores, pharmacies, parking and liquor stores.
Two POS makers document it in public. Oracle Retail Xstore connects to the Tender Retail program, which runs on the same computer as the POS. LS Retail's LS NAV was rolled out with Tender Retail at a Canadian toy chain in 2017. ACCEO Solutions, its parent from 2012, still lists it on its retail page. If you run another POS, your POS reseller can tell you whether it uses Tender Retail. Our pages on integrated POS and semi-integrated POS explain how these connections differ.
Keeping your POS when you change processors
Middleware is what makes this possible. Your POS talks to Tender Retail, not to the processor. Tender Retail says retailers can change or add processors without re-certifying their POS. Its news page lists new processor connections announced in 2026.
For that to work in your store, five things have to be true:
- Your POS and its version use Tender Retail. Check the version of the POS and of the Tender Retail software.
- The new processor is certified with Tender Retail for your setup. That covers your terminals, the cards you take and any gift card program. Tender Retail does not publish a full list.
- A new merchant account is opened. Your old merchant ID does not move to a new processor. See merchant account.
- Your terminals may need to be re-keyed or replaced. A payment terminal set up for one processor does not always work for another.
- Your POS reseller usually does the install. They change the Tender Retail settings and test each lane.
None of this is a promise. Some setups need a POS or Tender Retail upgrade first, and a processor that is not certified with Tender Retail cannot be used through it.
What to check before a change
Your exact version
Ask your POS reseller for the POS version and the Tender Retail version. Oracle's Xstore setup, for example, needs EFTLink 20.0 or later to talk to Tender Retail.
Your terminals
List each terminal model, including unattended readers at gates or kiosks. Older models may need to be replaced for a new processor.
Interac and cashback
Confirm Interac debit, cashback and debit refunds with the new processor. Test them on a live lane before the old account closes.
Gift cards and loyalty
Tender Retail lists many gift hosts. Check that your gift card program works with the new setup, and that cards already sold still redeem.
Offline, hotels and phone orders
Ask how the limits on stored sales change with the new processor, whether hotel pre-authorizations carry over, and whether keyed phone orders stay switched on.
Where CleverPays fits
Tender Retail builds and supports the middleware. Your POS reseller installs and sets it up. The processor approves each payment and settles it to your bank account. CleverPays makes none of these and does not certify Tender Retail.
We read your setup and name each part: the POS and its version, the Tender Retail version, each terminal, and the processor behind it today. Then we tell you in writing whether a change is possible and what it would affect, before anything moves.
Sources
- Our Story, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Home page, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- In-person payments, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Alternate payments, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Network outage prevention, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Cybersecurity, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Estate management, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Nexo standards, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Lodging and hospitality, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Convenience stores, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Groceries, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Parking, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- Acquirers and banks, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- All retail, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- News, Tender Retail, read 29 October 2026
- EFTLink Core Configuration Guide 24.0: Tender Retail, Oracle, read 29 October 2026
- EFTLink 24.0: Xstore and EFTLink core compatibility, Oracle, read 29 October 2026
- Retail solutions, ACCEO Solutions, read 29 October 2026
- Constellation Software's Harris Operating Group acquires Acceo Solutions, 16 January 2018, Constellation Software, read 29 October 2026
- Gfi Informatique press release, 10 January 2012, Gfi Informatique, read 29 October 2026
- GFI Solutions becomes ACCEO Solutions, 25 September 2012, Electrical Business, read 29 October 2026
- ACCEO and BDO IT Solutions team up for retailers using LS Retail, 22 February 2017, PR Newswire, read 29 October 2026
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