Genius by Global Payments review

Genius is the restaurant POS sold on heartland.us under the Global Payments name, and it is one of the few in this list with starting prices on the page. Essentials starts at $0 per month, Advanced at $42 and Complete at $129, each with an in-person card rate of 2.6% plus 10 cents. The fine print says those prices cover software for a single station on a standard configuration and exclude interchange and other processing charges. Features cover countertop and handheld devices, on-premise, off-premise and online ordering, employee management with tipouts, scheduling and attendance, loyalty and marketing, and a self-ordering kiosk with a kitchen display system, plus third-party app integrations. The restaurant page names counter service, full service, bars, QSR, food service management and stadium venues as targets. Online and card-not-present rates are not published, and final pricing is subject to underwriting, so compare a written quote with Square and SpotOn before choosing.

Who it is for

Counter-service restaurants, cafes, diners and venues that want low published software fees from a large processor.

Price

Essentials from $0 per month; Advanced from $42 and Complete from $129 per month, plus 2.6% + $0.10 per in-person transaction.

Starting at $42 per month* and 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 7, 2026.

Key features

• Countertop and handheld POS devices
• On-premise, off-premise and online ordering management
• Employee management, tipouts, scheduling and attendance
• Guest management, loyalty programs and marketing
• Self-ordering kiosk and kitchen display system

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Essentials software tier starts at $0 per month
• Strength: Published in-person rate of 2.6% + $0.10 on all three tiers
• Strength: Covers counter service, full service, bars and stadium venues
• Weakness: Starting prices are for a single station and standard setup
• Weakness: Online and card-not-present rates are not published
• Weakness: Final pricing depends on underwriting and agreements

Key facts

• Essentials: From $0 per month
• Advanced: From $42 per month
• Complete: From $129 per month
• In-person card rate: 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction
• Venues: Counter service, full service, bars, QSR, sports and entertainment

Where it ranks

Genius by Global Payments is No. 6 in our Best POS Systems for Restaurants verdict.