PAX A920 vs Clover vs Square Terminal.

The short answer: the PAX A920 Pro, Clover, and Square Terminal are all capable Android smart terminals, but they differ most in who controls them. Square and Clover bundle hardware, software, and processing into one closed ecosystem; the PAX A920 Pro is an open, PCI PTS 7.x-certified terminal you deploy through the processor of your choice — which, with Lifted Pay, means interchange-plus pricing and one accountable team instead of a platform you can't leave.

Below is a spec-by-spec breakdown with every figure sourced, followed by an honest read on where each option wins. Hardware and pricing move fast, so numbers here were verified against the manufacturers' own pages as of July 2026 — confirm current pricing before you buy.

Quick comparison

PAX A920 Pro

The PAX A920 Pro is a portable Android smart terminal built for merchants who want dedicated payment hardware rather than a phone-plus-dongle. Per PAX's own product page, it pairs a 6.56″ HD+ main display with a 1.99″ customer-facing screen, an octa-core processor (dual Cortex-A75 + six Cortex-A55), a 6000mAh battery, 4G, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0, an 80mm/s thermal printer, front and rear cameras plus a dedicated top-side scanner, and Android 14. Critically, it carries a PCI PTS 7.x certification with SRED — the current-generation hardware security standard.

The A920 Pro is the terminal Lifted Pay is built for. The older base A920 is now flagged end-of-life on PAX's site, so the meaningful three-way comparison is the A920 Pro against Clover and Square — not the prior-generation A920. For hands-on setup, see the PAX A920 setup and app guide.

Clover (Station, Flex, Mini)

Clover, owned by Fiserv, is a family of terminals rather than a single device. Per Clover's device specs, the Station Solo is a stationary 14.0″ 1920×1080 countertop unit on a Snapdragon 660 with a built-in printer and Ethernet/Wi-Fi/4G LTE; the Flex is a 5.99″ handheld (1440×720) with a 5MP camera for 1D/2D barcode scanning, Bluetooth, and an internal printer; and the Mini is an 8″ (1280×800) countertop with a front-facing scanning camera.

Clover's strength is its app marketplace and all-in-one counter setup — and its cost. Per Tech.co's pricing breakdown (as of mid-2026), the Station Solo runs about $1,799 upfront or roughly $174–$179/mo on a 36-month term, the Flex around $749 upfront or from $40/mo, and the Mini around $849 upfront or $45/mo — each on top of a separate software plan that ranges from about $16 to over $350 per month, with card-present processing quoted around 2.3%–2.6% + 10¢. Clover devices are generally locked to Clover's ecosystem, and hardware is typically sold on a multi-year term through a reseller.

Square Terminal

The Square Terminal is the simplest all-in-one of the three. Per Square's spec page, it has a 5.5″ display, measures 5.6″×2.5″×3.4″ at 417g, prints on 57mm receipt paper, and connects over Wi-Fi or Ethernet — but Ethernet requires the separate Square Terminal Hub accessory. It supports offline payments as long as the device reconnects within 24 hours to sync.

The real limitation: the Square Terminal does not support Bluetooth peripherals, so it won't pair with a Bluetooth barcode scanner (confirmed in Merchant Maverick's review) — you'd add wired accessories through the Hub. Pricing is transparent and commitment-light: $299 one-time or $27/mo over 12 months, with a flat 2.6% + 15¢ per tapped, dipped, or swiped card. If you're weighing Square specifically, we cover it in depth in Lifted Payments vs Square.

Side-by-side specs

A few cells read "not publicly specified" on purpose: Square doesn't disclose its terminal's battery capacity, processor, or camera, and neither Clover nor Square publishes a PCI PTS version, so we don't invent one. The A920 Pro's PCI PTS 7.x + SRED is the one hardware-security figure any of the three states outright.

Where each one wins

Where Clover wins

If you want a large stationary touchscreen at the counter with a deep app marketplace, Clover is hard to beat. The Station Solo's 14″ display and integrated printer make it a strong all-in-one for a fixed restaurant or retail station, and the Flex adds capable built-in barcode scanning for handheld use — all inside one polished ecosystem.

Where Square wins

Square wins on simplicity and commitment. It's the most turnkey out of the box, its flat 2.6% + 15¢ pricing is easy to understand, the brand is trusted, and there's no multi-year hardware contract to sign. For a simple counter that doesn't need Bluetooth accessories or rate negotiation, that's a genuinely good fit.

Where the PAX A920 Pro (via Lifted Pay) wins

• Open hardware, your choice of processor. The A920 Pro isn't tied to one company's platform, so the terminal and the rate are decoupled — you can hold your processor accountable instead of being locked in.
• Current-generation security. PCI PTS 7.x with SRED and E2EE tokenization via Voltage, supporting a SAQ-A posture for card-present acceptance — see tokenization and SAQ-A compliance.
• Interchange-plus, not flat-rate. With Lifted Pay you get interchange-plus pricing quoted after one statement review — usually the cheaper structure above modest volume (see interchange-plus vs flat-rate).
• Automatic Level 2/3 on commercial cards. If you sell B2B or B2G, Level 2/3 data can drop interchange on business, corporate, and purchasing cards — something the flat-rate bundles don't optimize.
• Hardware that earns its keep. A 6000mAh battery, dedicated scanner camera, and both card and ACH rails in one relationship — card on the Maverick gateway, ACH/eCheck on NMI.

The real tradeoff

Clover and Square bundle hardware, software, and processing into a single contract. That's simpler to buy and simpler to blame when something breaks — but it means flat-rate pricing and a platform you can't easily leave. A PAX terminal is deployed by the processor you choose, so the real decision isn't just "which box" — it's "which processor," which is where your rate, your support, and your Level 2/3 eligibility actually live. That's more flexible, and it's the honest reason to spend a minute on the processor behind the terminal.

To be equally honest about Lifted Pay: it's newer than Square or Clover, and its catalog, invoicing, and payment-link features are on the roadmap, not live today. The Lifted Pay terminal app is PAX-signed and PayDroid-certified. It handles keypad sales, tips, refunds, batch, and receipts on the device itself, proven on live PAX A920 Pro hardware, and a merchant portal covers a virtual terminal, transactions, customers and cards on file, and reporting. Pricing is interchange-plus with no application fee, and software is $15/month per device.

Not sure how your current rate compares? Run your last statement through the effective-rate calculator, or read how to choose a payment gateway before you commit to any terminal.