Lopay

Lopay is a payment platform for small businesses that combines card acceptance, payment links and a phone- or tablet-based point of sale. It is a strong fit for sole traders and growing operators who need both face-to-face and remote payments without a monthly software charge. The best choice depends on how quickly you need payouts, which phone you use and whether your accounting setup meets its integration requirements.

Overview

Lopay serves a broad group of owner-operated businesses, including taxi drivers, barbers, pet groomers, builders, market traders and dry cleaners. Its three named plans have no monthly fee and allow unlimited team members, so adding staff does not create a seat-cost penalty. The trade-off is that payout timing and rewards differ by plan, and buying dedicated hardware adds an upfront expense.

Businesses can accept payments in person or remotely, then use the same service for basic sales and stock workflows. That combination is practical for a small operation that sells at a counter, on site or at events and also needs to take deposits or remote-service payments.

Key features

Supported payment methods include chip and PIN, contactless and wallet payments, NFC and wearables, Tap to Pay, QR codes, invoicing, refunds, subscriptions and donations. Payment links can be sent for deposits or remote work as either one-off or recurring charges. This is particularly useful when a customer is not physically present, although a link-based workflow is not a substitute for a full online-store platform.

The point-of-sale feature lets merchants organize products, manage stock and complete checkout on a smartphone or tablet. It gives a small seller a useful product-and-stock layer without requiring a separate till, but the stated features do not establish the depth of inventory controls found in specialist systems.

Lopay documents integrations with Xero and QuickBooks, and links can be added to Intuit invoices. Xero users need to check the accounting plan carefully: one Lopay account supports one Xero organization, and daily syncing requires a supported Xero plan. Ignite and lower or free Xero plans do not support that daily sync, which makes Lopay less suitable for businesses relying on automated bookkeeping at those tiers.

Tap to Pay removes the need for a separate reader when the device qualifies. It requires an iPhone XS or later with iOS 16.4 or later, or an Android device running Android 10 or later with NFC enabled. Lopay states that it is PCI DSS compliant, with encrypted and tokenized payment data independently verified by an accredited third-party assessor. In-app, email and phone support, guided onboarding and more than 60 help articles provide several routes to assistance.

Pricing

Plan	Price	What you get
Essential	free	No monthly fee, unlimited team members, Thursday payouts to your bank, and $10 in processing fees waived per $100 spent on card.
Standard	free	No monthly fee, unlimited team members, next-day, weekly or monthly payouts, $50 in processing fees waived per $100 spent on card, and 2x rewards.
Instant to bank	free	No monthly fee, unlimited team members, instant bank payouts 24/7, weekend and bank-holiday payouts, and 2x rewards.

Essential suits businesses that can wait for a Thursday payout and want the simplest no-fee entry point. Standard is more flexible for cash-flow planning because it offers several payout schedules and a larger stated processing-fee waiver. Instant to bank is the clearest choice when access to funds outside banking days matters, but the published plan information does not quantify any difference in transaction pricing between plans.

Tap to Pay is supported without a reader. If you want dedicated hardware, the US site lists a card reader at $35 upfront plus shipping and a business terminal at $299 plus shipping. Those costs matter for occasional sellers deciding whether phone-only acceptance is enough.

Platforms

Lopay is available on Android, iOS and the web. Tap to Pay has the device and operating-system limits above; a reader is not required for that feature, while a dedicated reader or terminal remains an option.

Who it's for

Lopay is well matched to sole traders, side hustlers and small teams that need card acceptance, occasional remote billing and straightforward product checkout in one service. It is especially useful for mobile businesses such as tradespeople, market sellers and service providers collecting deposits. Consider another system if your operation needs multiple Xero organizations, daily Xero syncing on an Ignite or free plan, or a more specialized inventory environment.

Pros and cons

Pros

• No monthly fee on all three named plans and unlimited team members, keeping the software cost predictable for small teams.
• Broad acceptance options, including wallets, wearables, QR codes, subscriptions, donations and recurring payment links.
• Instant-to-bank plan includes 24/7, weekend and bank-holiday payouts, which can improve cash access.
• Tap to Pay can avoid buying a reader when the phone meets the requirements.
• PCI DSS compliance, encryption and tokenization provide a defined security foundation.

Cons

• Essential restricts bank payouts to Thursdays, so it is a poor fit for businesses needing frequent access to revenue.
• Xero daily syncing excludes Ignite and lower or free plans, and each Lopay account supports only one Xero organization.
• Tap to Pay is limited to relatively recent operating systems and NFC-capable devices.
• Dedicated hardware costs extra, with a much higher upfront price for the business terminal.

Alternatives

PayPal Invoicing is a better fit when creating and sending invoices without setup or subscription fees is the priority; transaction fees still apply when customers pay.

Helcim suits businesses wanting no account monthly fees with interchange-plus processing rates that vary by volume.

PayAnywhere is worth considering if you prefer a pay-as-you-go model with stated swipe, dip, tap and keyed transaction rates.

Zeller is an alternative for merchants using its terminal-based POS with no monthly subscription or software licence fee, plus transaction fees.

SwipeSimple may suit eligible businesses that can use its zero-processing option while card-paying customers cover a 3.5% fee.

Paid for Stripe is a mobile option with no monthly or setup fees and a 0.99% fee added to Stripe's standard transaction fees.

QuickBooks GoPayment is the natural alternative when you already use QuickBooks Payments and meet its eligibility and approval requirements.

SumUp Invoices is preferable when unlimited invoices and quotes, recurring invoices and related document tools are the main requirement.

For a wider comparison, see the Mobile Payment Processing Software list.

Verdict

Choose Lopay if you are a small business or solo operator that needs in-person acceptance, remote payment links and basic POS in one no-monthly-fee service, especially when flexible or instant payouts matter. Look elsewhere if your accounting depends on unsupported Xero plans, you need more than one Xero organization, or your device cannot meet Tap to Pay requirements.