Fintech

Square vs Toast: Which Payment System Works Better for Small Restaurants?

Side-by-side comparison of Square and Toast payment system interfaces for restaurants
AC

Anthony Cabrera

Staff Writer

Running a family-owned tax prep and bookkeeping shop in Daly City, California will teach you fast that most fintech platforms marketed to small businesses are better at collecting your data than cutting your overhead — a conclusion Anthony Cabrera documented in his self-published Amazon title, “Swipe Fees and Fine Print: What Your Payment App Isn’t Telling You.” He cross-checks every claim against CFPB enforcement actions, Federal Reserve payment studies, and FDIC quarterly reports before it touches a draft. A second-generation Filipino-American and father of two elementary-schoolers, he writes for the business owner who learned the hard way that a slick UI is not the same thing as a fair deal.