More than an EFTPOS machine: managing cashflow just got a whole lot easier

A third of businesses fail within two years of launching, Experian data shows. It’s become even harder to stay afloat in the face of a cost-of-living crisis that is forcing consumers to tighten their belts. In what’s becoming known as an insolvency tsunami, Aussie business failures are at a 10-year-high, with inadequate cashflow or high cash use the most common causes, according to ASIC.

“The ability to be able to see the financial health of your business in real time is enormously beneficial,” says Ben Pfisterer, the co-founder and CEO of the business banking provider Zeller. “The more businesses embrace technology that enables this, the better their chances of succeeding in those first few years.”

Zeller is an all-in-one payment and point-of-sale solution for business owners seeking a streamlined, easy way to manage their cashflow.

Solving pain points

Launched by Pfisterer and three co-founders in 2021, Zeller provides a secure, reliable and intuitive payment system and app that allows businesses of all sizes to track their cashflow in real time, and see an instant overview of their business’s financial health from anywhere.

Having worked for decades in the payments industry with the likes of Visa and Square, Pfisterer saw an opportunity in Australia to make it easier and cheaper for people to launch and run their businesses.

• Zeller Terminal 2 is designed for businesses of all sizes. Picture: Supplied

“Business owners and entrepreneurs’ passion isn’t and shouldn’t have to be financial services,” Pfisterer says. “Our philosophy is that the less business owners have to handle, manage or think about their cashflow, the better.”

Zeller offers an alternative to the EFTPOS solution available from the big four banks, which he says has little integration between invoicing, credit cards, payments and the tracking of cashflow.

“It’s an arduous process and they still have that massive cobweb of an ecosystem where you can’t see the health of your business at a single point,” Pfisterer says.

When something goes wrong, business owners have also come to expect long waits on the phone, Pfisterer says. “The banks don’t invest enough time in making their products simple, which requires you having to call up call centres more than you want to.”

Uninterrupted sales

Since introducing its first EFTPOS terminal in 2021, Zeller has redefined its offering with Terminal 2. Along with bigger, brighter, customisable screens and longer battery life, the latest terminal promises greater connectivity, reliability and high-level security.

“We set out to make our products easy to use and easy to set up, so you don’t have to rely on call-centre support,” Pfisterer says. When business owners do need a hand, Zeller’s average wait times are less than a minute.

While 30 years ago, customers transacted solely with cash, today many people don’t carry any cash at all. When wifi goes down and customers can’t make a payment electronically, businesses risk losing out. Pfisterer says the Zeller Terminal 2, which was designed and engineered in Melbourne, has a 99.9% uptime, the best in the industry. When wifi goes down, merchants can transact using the app on their mobile phones, ensuring no interruption to sales.

Zeller has been growing at pace over the past three years. Its 65,000 customers range from startups to multi-location big businesses such as Domino’s and July, and renowned restaurant groups including Trader House (Supernormal, Gimlet) and Lucas Restaurants (Chin Chin, Grill Americano).

Intuitive and secure

Zeller Terminal 2 accepts payments from EMV and contactless cards and mobile wallets, but does away with the traditional magstripe card reader. This alone reduces the risk of credit card fraud, which the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates affected more than 1.8 million Australians in 2022-23.

“The vectors that are being used to perpetrate fraud constantly change,” Pfisterer says. “We have two-factor authentication on all transactions, and we monitor it non-stop. Technology is built into our systems to make sure you know if there is an anomalous transaction.”

• Credit card fraud is on the rise in Australia. Picture: Getty

Zeller Terminal 2 comes with its own built-in point-of-sale, which enables merchants to create items and send receipts for products or services sold. It also integrates seamlessly with more than 600 third-party point-of-sale systems and allows split payments, automated tipping prompts and surcharging.

With a full-colour HD display, customisable screen saver, light and dark screen mode options and wifi, 4G SIM card and ethernet connectivity, Terminal 2 also comes in three different colours – black, white and graphite – to complement a business’s aesthetics.

There are no monthly fees or lock-in contracts, and a flat-rate transaction fee (1.4%) for all cards, including American Express.

Zeller is on track to becoming an Australian success story on a global scale, and plans to be a leading force in making customer transactions and business financial management more efficient.

“Although ours is the most efficient ecosystem in the world, we think that there’s a lot more that can be done,” Pfisterer says. “We’re looking forward to it and we’re moving fast on it. We love innovation and when businesses partner with us, that’s a responsibility that we take on our shoulders.”

Learn more or buy Zeller Terminal 2 for $199, with free express shipping nationwide.