TORO POS vs Clover for Tobacco Shops
Why tobacco retailers are switching from Clover to TORO
⚠️ Critical Issue: Clover Terminates Tobacco Accounts
Clover (owned by Fiserv/First Data) classifies tobacco as “high risk” and regularly shuts down tobacco merchant accounts. When this happens, they can hold your funds for 90+ days while your business loses payment processing. This is why many tobacco shops are abandoning Clover for tobacco-specific solutions.
Cost Comparison (3 Years)
Here’s the real total cost for a tobacco shop doing $50,000/month in credit card sales:
| Cost Category | Clover (3 Years) | TORO (3 Years) |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Cost | $0 – $1,500 Depends on hardware |
$5,000 |
| Monthly Software (36 mo) | $3,060 – $4,320 $85-120/mo × 36 |
$4,284 $119/mo × 36 |
| Processing Fees (36 mo) | $41,400 2.3% × $50k × 36 |
$36,000 2.0% × $50k × 36 Or $0 with fee passthrough* |
| Hardware | $1,500 Clover terminal |
$1,200 Touchscreen terminal |
| Total 3-Year Cost | $45,960 – $47,280 | $46,484 Or $10,484 with fee passthrough* |
| *Fee passthrough = customers pay credit card fees, you pay $0 in processing costs | ||
Save Up to $36,796 With Fee Passthrough
Plus: TORO uses tobacco-friendly processing – zero risk of account shutdown
Card-Not-Present Rate Comparison
Phone Orders Cost You More With Clover
Clover CNP Rate
3.5% + 10¢
Per phone/mail order transaction
TORO CNP Rate
2.0%
Same rate as in-store
Annual Savings on $10k/month Phone Orders:
$1,800/year
Clover charges $4,200/year, TORO charges $2,400/year
No Price Increase Since 2013
TORO launched in 2013 at $5,000 + $119/month.
That’s still our price today. Zero increases in 13 years.
When was Clover’s last price increase? Ask them.
Feature Comparison
Account Shutdown Risk
Clover
⚠️ HIGH RISK. Fiserv/First Data classify tobacco as prohibited. Regular account terminations. Funds held 90+ days. Often no warning. This is the most common complaint from tobacco shops using Clover.
Your payment processing can disappear overnight
TORO
✅ ZERO RISK. Uses Premium Tobacco Processing – PCA-recommended processor that specializes in tobacco. No surprise shutdowns, no held funds, no risk.
Sleep easy – your processing is safe
Multi-Pack Inventory
Clover
❌ Not supported. Must create variants for each pack size. Breaking up boxes requires manual inventory adjustments. Leads to inventory inaccuracy.
Constant manual work and errors
TORO
✅ Built-in. One product, sell at any level. Buy a box of 25, sell 3 singles and a 5-pack – inventory automatically shows 17 remaining. Perfect accuracy.
Built specifically for cigars
Age Verification
Clover
⚠️ Optional prompt. Can set up age verification but staff can skip it. No automatic enforcement. Relies on employee diligence.
Better than nothing, not mandatory
TORO
✅ Mandatory enforcement. Tobacco transactions cannot complete without ID verification. Set age limits (18/19/21+). Staff cannot bypass. Protects your license.
Non-bypassable compliance
Support
Clover
⚠️ Generic retail support. Phone support available but don’t understand tobacco. Long wait times. Support staff have no tobacco experience.
Ask about cigars, get blank stares
TORO
✅ Tobacco expert support. Unlimited phone/email/remote support from people who run tobacco shops. We know how to handle cigars in cello with no barcode. Free training included.
Real tobacco knowledge, real help
Platform
Clover
✅ Modern hardware. Sleek terminals, cloud-based, mobile app for management. Works on Clover devices. Nice-looking hardware.
Great platform and design
TORO
❌ Windows PC only. Local installation, not cloud-based. Works fully offline. Less flexible platform but more reliable.
Platform limited but dependable
What Clover Does Better
- Modern hardware: Sleek, professional-looking terminals
- Cloud platform: Manage from anywhere via mobile app
- Integrated payments: Hardware and processing in one package
- App marketplace: Lots of third-party integrations
What TORO Does Better
- No shutdown risk: Tobacco-friendly processing, your funds are always safe
- Multi-pack inventory: Sell cigars at any level, inventory stays accurate
- Lower processing rates: 2% vs 2.3% saves $1,800/year on $50k/mo
- Fee passthrough option: Pass fees to customers = $0 processing cost
- Tobacco expert support: Help from actual tobacco retailers
- Built for tobacco: Every feature designed for tobacco retail
6 Questions to Ask Clover
Before choosing Clover, ask them these questions directly:
- What is your exact in-store processing rate? (Varies by merchant, ask for YOUR rate)
- What is your card-not-present rate? (Typically 3.5% + 10¢ for phone/mail orders)
- What is your online e-commerce rate? (Ask for the exact rate)
- Do you make money from processing margins? (Yes – they mark up processing rates)
- When was your last price increase? (Ask for their pricing history)
- What is Fiserv/First Data’s policy on tobacco merchants? (Ask about shutdown risk directly)
If they won’t answer these questions clearly, that’s a red flag.
What Real Tobacco Retailers Say
“Left Clover before they shut us down. TORO’s tobacco-friendly processing gives us peace of mind.”
– Greg Zimmerman, VP PCA
Tobacco Company, Harrisburg PA
“The CNP rate difference is huge. Saving $1,800/year on phone orders alone.”
– John Anderson, President PCA
W. Curtis Draper, Washington DC
“Clover couldn’t handle our multi-pack inventory. TORO does it natively.”
– Stephen Rast
Tobacco Cabana, TX
“No price increases since 2013. That kind of stability is rare in this industry.”
– Eli Swett
SMoKE Cigar Lounge, PA
The Bottom Line
Clover looks great until they terminate your account.
The shutdown risk alone makes Clover a dangerous choice for tobacco-focused businesses. Even if you save a few hundred dollars per year in software fees, one account termination that freezes $20,000 in funds for 90 days will devastate your cash flow. Plus you’re using a system that requires workarounds for basic tobacco operations like multi-pack inventory.
Choose TORO if you…
- Sell tobacco as your primary business
- Cannot risk account shutdown and frozen funds
- Sell cigars in multiple pack sizes
- Do $30,000+ per month in sales
- Want support from tobacco experts
- Value payment processing security
Switch from Clover to TORO
Many tobacco shops are switching from Clover before they get shut down. See how TORO eliminates the shutdown risk while saving you money.