Breadcrumb, Groupon’s payments platform, has ditched its $15 fee for credit card readers.
Breadcrumb is Groupon’s payment system for businesses that includes a retail POS, as well as a POS just for restaurants called Breadcrumb PRO.
Breadcrumb Payments — Groupon’s version of Square — is the product that ditched the card reader charge. Breadcrumb payments has long offered merchants $5,000 of complimentary transactions.
A request for comment from Breadcrumb has not yet been answered.
Groupon launched Breadcrumb last fall.
Novel payments startups in recent years — most notably Square — have been built by offering free hardware. Famously, the Square dongle remains free — at least from Square itself. Retailers that distribute the dongle charge money. Target, for example, sells it for $9.99.
After the first $5,000 of complimentary transactions, Breadcrumb costs 1.8% and $0.15 per swipe for Visa/Mastercard/Discover charges, while American Express charges cost 2.3% and $0.15 per “keyed” or card-not-present transactions. Square, meanwhile, charges 2.75% no matter which card is used. Square charges 3.5% and $0.15 for manually keyed transactions.
it’s not free you flapping liar!. show me where it says free. Even in this article it doesnt mention where you can get the FREE Reader!. Groupon still wants $15 so stop posting a bunch of misinformed lies! I hate websites that promote lies and post worthless information that doesnt apply to (Groupon makes card reader free)
Beware of Groupon’s Breadcrumb Payments if you value the timely transfer of your revenue.
Breadcrumb reserves the right, at their sole discretion, to confiscate your revenue and hold it for 60 days and they don’t hesitate to do so.
If your business is fortunate enough to generate a larger than average sale, Groupon will turn off your accounts transfers and send you a lengthy information request which you must respond to if you hope to have any chance of receiving your revenue from them.
The initial round of requests is as follows:
1. A detailed description of your product/service.
2. What is the average selling price of your product/service?
3. What is the estimated daily/weekly/monthly volume for your business?
4. Will you be processing card present or card not present transactions? (If you decide to process both types, can you describe the business circumstances under which you will use each?)
5. The duration of your business since it was formed.
6. Previous processing statements or business history to confirm the volume.
Subsequent requests include copies of signed receipts, sales invoices and past transactions.
Effectively, you’ll be required to explain how your entire business works and lay bare all of your finances as your grovel for Groupon to transfer your revenue into your bank account (something they claim they’ll do next business day on their website) .
However, even after you supply Groupon with everything they request and beg them to return your revenue, you may (as was our case) be told that they are still going to hold your money for 60 days so they can be absolutely certain that no charge-backs or disputes will occur.
Groupon wants to be your partner as long as they can grab a piece of your revenue with each credit card charge you accept, but at the slightest sign of risk, they grab your money and hide, leaving you and your business dangling in the wind with your merchandise out the door and your revenue locked in Groupon’s bank.
In our case, the questioned sale and confiscated revenue were from a well-known customer whose credit worthiness, reputation and standing in the community are beyond reproach. Other than the transaction being larger than Groupon’s arbitrarily set maximum monthly transfer limit, there was no basis for suspecting any issue with the transaction.
Why should we have to beg our credit card processor for our revenue? Why should we have to ask our credit card processor’s permission to make a sale? If you’re as tired as we are of having business service providers, like Groupon prove themselves to be providers of ill-liquidity, frustration and disappointment, vote with your wallet and take your credit card processing business away from them as we eagerly have.