Square vs NRS, and the discount that is a lock.
NRS publishes POS hardware from $499 to $1,799 and software from $19.95 to $79.95 a month — $10 to $30 cheaper per tier if you take NRS Pay processing. It publishes no processing rate, and its pricing page says a contract is required.
What this page settles.
Three questions, in the order most people ask them.
The short answer
NRS is a convenience-store system with published hardware and software prices and an unpublished processing rate. Square is a general platform with a published rate and free software.
NRS publishes real numbers, which deserves credit: PUMA at $1,299, CHEETAH at $1,799, PANTHER workstation at $1,199, a Panther tablet bundle at $499, and a self-ordering kiosk at $1,595 — plus bring-your-own-Android-tablet at $0 hardware on the Panther app. Software runs $19.95, $34.95, $49.95 and $79.95 a month with NRS Pay, or $29.95, $54.95, $74.95 and $109.95 without it.
It publishes no card processing rate at all, and its pricing page states that a contract is required without naming a term.
The structural point is the discount. Every software tier is $10 to $30 a month cheaper if you take NRS Pay processing. That is a tidy mechanism: it is not a contractual lock, it is a standing price difference that makes leaving the processing more expensive than it looks. Over four years at the Pro tier, that discount is worth $960.
Published pricing, side by side
| Square | NRS | |
|---|---|---|
| In person | 2.6% + 15¢ tapped, dipped or swiped on the free plan; 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus, 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium |
Not published |
| Keyed | 3.5% + 15¢ | Not published |
| Online | 3.3% + 30¢ 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium |
Not published |
| Pricing model | Flat rate | Hardware and software published, processing quoted |
| Monthly | $0 on the free plan; $49/mo per location (Plus); $149/mo per location (Premium) | POS software with NRS Pay: $19.95 Basic, $34.95 Pro, $49.95 Advanced, $79.95 Elite. Without NRS Pay: $29.95, $54.95, $74.95, $109.95. Additional terminals $19.95/mo each. |
| Contract | No contract. The page says “no hidden fees or locked-in contracts. Cancel or switch anytime.” | The pricing page says “contract required” and does not publish a term length |
| Monthly minimum | Not stated | Not published |
| Funding | Next business day free; instant transfer for a fee | Not published |
| Chargeback fee | Not published on the pricing page | Not published |
| Hardware | Sold outright; prices on a separate page | PUMA $1,299, CHEETAH $1,799, PANTHER workstation $1,199, PANTHER tablet bundle $499, self-ordering kiosk $1,595. Bring your own Android tablet and hardware is $0 on the Panther app. |
| Account type | Aggregator (sub-merchant under Square) | Merchant account through NRS Pay |
Square: squareup.com — read 2026-10-08. NRS: nrsplus.com — read 2026-10-08.
Published prices change. These were read on the dates above and are list prices for a business buying direct — a quote you are given may differ, and should be compared as a quote rather than against a price list.
Square, also published:
- ACH via invoice 1%, $1 minimum
- Afterpay 6% + 30¢
- EBT 1.8% + 5¢
- Custom pricing available above $250,000 a year
NRS, also published:
- Terminal assurance $6.95/mo optional; $350 per device if equipment is not returned in working condition at termination
- Cash Discount program fee $49.95/mo, waived above $18,000 a month
- The software price is $10 to $30 a month lower on every tier if you take NRS Pay processing, which is the lock
Where we stand. PosNexus is an ISO. We board merchants on platforms including CardConnect, Maverick, NRS and Payarc, and we are paid on the accounts we place — so treat anything we say about those four as coming from an interested party. Everything in the table above is quoted from the provider’s own published page, with the date we read it, so you can check it.
Where they actually differ
Who it is built for. NRS is built for convenience stores, bodegas, smoke shops and petrol forecourts — scan-heavy, high-SKU, age-verification, lottery, vendor management, customer-facing ad screens. Square is general-purpose. For that specific trade, NRS does things Square does not.
The discount that is a lock. $10 to $30 a month per tier for using NRS Pay. Add the published Cash Discount program fee of $49.95 a month (waived above $18,000 a month of processing) and the extra $30 a month on Panther stores using flat-rate NRS Pay or processing under $10,000 on Cash Discount, and the monthly picture is more layered than the headline tier suggests.
Hardware ownership and the return clause. NRS publishes $350 per device if equipment is not returned in working condition at termination, and says an NRS Pay customer who cancels early is charged standard POS prices and must repay any equipment discount. Square sells hardware outright with nothing to return. Read NRS’s clause before taking a discounted device. Agreement red flags.
The contract. NRS says a contract is required and does not publish the term. Square states no contract. Get NRS’s term, its notice window and its exit terms in writing. Auto-renewal clauses.
The rate. Square’s is published. NRS’s is not. Everything in this comparison depends on a figure you have to ask for.
Cash discount. NRS markets a cash-discount program heavily. Those programs have real network rules and real disclosure requirements, and the version that goes wrong is the one where the customer was not told at the door. Cash discount programs and what gets sold as zero-fee.
Who each one suits
NRS suits a convenience store, bodega or smoke shop that needs the trade-specific tooling — high-SKU scanning, age verification, vendor management, lottery, the ad screen — and that gets the processing rate in writing before signing.
Square suits a simpler retail counter, a business that wants no contract and no monthly software fee, and anyone who would rather own their hardware outright with nothing to return.
Neither is the cheapest processing. Square is a flat rate. NRS’s rate is unknown but tied to the system. For a store doing $60,000 a month, an interchange-plus account would usually cost less than either — and the question that unlocks that is whether the system permits an outside processor.
What the comparison does not show
Get the NRS Pay rate in writing before anything else. The hardware and software prices are published and the processing is where most of the money is. Ask for the percentage, the per-item, and whether it is flat or interchange-plus.
Add up the monthly picture properly. Software tier, plus the Cash Discount program fee if applicable, plus the $30 Panther surcharge if applicable, plus the optional $6.95 terminal assurance. Then compare.
Price the discount as a switching cost. The $10-to-$30 monthly software discount for taking NRS Pay is what you lose if you ever move the processing, and it should be in the calculation from day one rather than discovered later.
Disclosure on our side: PosNexus is an ISO and NRS is one of the platforms we board merchants on. We are paid on the accounts we place. Everything above is quoted from NRS’s own published pricing page, read on 2026-10-08, so you can check it yourself.
How to settle it with your own numbers
Half of this comparison cannot be done from a web page, because NRS publishes no rate. So the comparison has to happen on your own numbers instead, and the figure that makes it possible is your effective rate: total fees for a month divided by total card volume for that month.
Get the NRS quote in writing, with the markup as a number, the per-item, and every monthly fee named individually. Apply all of it to your own volume, your own average ticket and your own card mix, add the monthly fees, and divide by volume. That single number is the only thing comparable to Square’s published figures — or to anybody else’s. A quote that cannot be reduced to it is not a quote.
Comparing two quotes is the full method for an unpublished rate, and the calculator does the arithmetic once you have the figures.
What we charge
Interchange + 0.50% + 10¢ in person, interchange + 0.75% + 25¢ keyed, with no contract, no monthly fee and no monthly minimum.
If you are holding a quote from NRS, send it to us with one page of a statement. We will reduce the quote to an effective rate at your own volume and put it next to Square’s published figures and ours, so you are comparing three numbers of the same kind instead of a price list against a sales conversation.
While we are on the subject
What does NRS charge for processing?
Its pricing page publishes hardware and software prices and no processing rate. You have to ask, and you should get it in writing.
Does NRS require a contract?
Its pricing page says a contract is required and does not publish the term. Ask for the length, the notice window and the exit terms.
Why is NRS software cheaper with NRS Pay?
Because the processing is where the margin is. The $10-to-$30 monthly discount is a standing incentive to keep the processing with them, and it is a real switching cost if you ever move.
Can I use my own Android tablet?
NRS publishes a bring-your-own-tablet option at $0 hardware using the Panther app, with NRS Pay required and an additional $30 a month on some processing arrangements.