mPower Beverage is a popular liquor store POS software that’s built for retailers in the beer, wine, and liquor space. It’s an all-in-one solution for inventory management, purchase orders, integrated payment processing, employee management, and more.
You can even set it up for online purchases, and other cool features to support singles, case breaks, mix & match pricing, and customer loyalty rewards.
Read on for our in-depth review of mPower Beverage, with a full breakdown of its integrated payment processing solution.
Our Quick Take on mPower Beverage
Our first-hand experience with mPower Beverage is directly tied to its payment processing options (with Global Payments and OpenEdge). We’ve helped negotiate better rates for our clients of all sizes in the beer, wine, and liquor space, and we’re sharing our insider take on mPower Beverage so you know what to expect.
Pros
- Robust real-time inventory management features.
- Works for both single-location and multi-location retailers.
- Supports integrated processing with interchange-plus pricing available.
- Good for in-store, online, and delivery orders.
- Integrates with QuickBooks for streamlined bookkeeping and accounting reconciliation.
- Extensive feature list, allowing you to keep things simple or customize to your preferences.
Cons
- High upfront cost to deploy plus ongoing subscription fees (should just be one or the other).
- Reporting and data insights are fairly basic.
- Limited options for payment processing, which results in higher costs.
- Tech support response times are inconsistent and often too slow to resolve time-sensitive problems.
- Interface feels dated, especially compared to newer POS systems on the market.
- Only designed for traditional retailers (not breweries or wineries with on-site restaurants or food).
mPower Beverage Pricing and Fees
mPower Beverage’s pricing is based on how many locations, registers, and software licenses you need.
- $1,000 upfront fee for the first software deployment
- $120 per month for one register at your first location
- $250 upfront fee, plus $120 per month for each additional register
For a single-location store with just two registers, mPower Beverage will cost you over $4,000 in your first year, which definitely isn’t cheap.
That number doesn’t include hardware, either. It’s just the software license. Hardware can be purchased directly from mPower Beverage or a third party.
It’s also worth noting that to qualify for mPower Beverage’s subscription pricing, you need to use integrated processing with one of their providers (which is basically just one option). We’ll cover this in greater detail shortly, but that’s likely because mPower is getting a commission on processing volume.
Key Features
Here’s a quick overview of what you can get with mPower Beverage:
- Point of sale (POS) software
- Barcode scanning
- Age verification
- Real-time inventory management
- Tax calculations
- Customer loyalty and rewards
- Suggested ordering based on inventory and sales history
- Vendor invoicing
mPower also offers some state-specific tools—including software for Pennsylvania Beer Distributors and wholesale software for Texas liquor stores. Each of these solutions supports state requirements (like Malt Beverage Tax Report 1014s in PA and TABC reports/stickers in Texas).
Integrated Payment Processing With mPower Beverage
mPower Beverage doesn’t directly offer built-in payment processing with its POS software. Instead, payments can be accepted through an integrated processor (a third-party provider that integrates into the system).
According to mPower’s website, they integrate with “several” payment processors. But for some reason, they don’t actually advertise who, and when you reach out and ask, they don’t tell you either.
We’ve only seen them integrate with Global Payments. And based on customer reviews I’ve seen online (not from our clients), it looks like they also integrate with OpenEdge. But OpenEdge is actually owned by Global Payments, so it’s really the same company with different branding.
While I don’t have concrete proof, I personally suspect that mPower’s definition of “several” is just Global Payments and maybe one or two Global subsidiaries. If there were truly more, mPower would be happy to advertise and promote them.
What to Know About Using Global Payments to Accept Credit Cards via mPower Beverage
Integrated processing is essentially a must-have for any modern beer, wine, and liquor retailer. But unfortunately, having Global Payments as your only option isn’t ideal.
Global Payments is notorious for its high rates, hidden fees, and unethical practices.
Worst of all, Global does this stuff just for regular payment processing. Integrated processing always costs more due to the extra setup (and potentially so Global can pay a commission back to mPower). So expect your rates here to be even higher than normal.
Check out these resources for additional insights:
- Global Payments Review and Statement Audit
- Global Payments Pricing and Rate Increases
- Global Payments Outrageous Fees Exposed
Payment Processing Fees to Look Out For
If you’re currently set up for integrated payments from mPower Beverage, pull out your last few statements and see if you can spot any of the following:
- Settlement Funding Fee
- Risk Assessment Fee
- Auto Enrollment Fee
- Global VPN Fee
- Analytics Reputation Management Fee
- Network and Compliance Fee
- CE Suite Fee
- Deposit Service Fee
These are all bogus charges that we’ve found on Global Payments statements over the years, resulting in thousands (and sometimes tens of thousands) in unnecessary overages being charged every month.
You also need to keep an eye out for padded assessments. This is when your processor inflates legitimate charges from the card networks and pockets the difference. It’s incredibly deceptive and difficult to spot, which is why it’s so important to understand how to read your monthly processing statements.
How to Lower Your Payment Processing Rates From mPower Beverage
If you’re paying more than 50 basis points over the interchange rate to accept payments in mPower Beverage, then you’re paying too much.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you are paying 3-4x more than this rate (because we see it all the time from Global. In addition to the cost per transaction, other bogus fees on your statement could easily be pushing your effective rate closer to 250 to 300 basis points higher than it should be.
I know what some of you are thinking. If Global Payments (or OpenEdge, or another Global division) is my only option, what can actually be done about this?
Just because Global is the only game in town here, you can still lower your rates and keep your existing setup in mPower Beverage.
First, you need to contact Global directly to negotiate things. Contacting mPower Beverage is useless because they aren’t actually handling the processing.
From there, you need to be able to identify which fees on your statement are bogus. Ask for them to be removed, and don’t accept no for an answer. Next, negotiate a lower rate. Despite what the rep tells you, you’re actually in the driver’s seat here because Global doesn’t want to lose your business.
If you’re struggling with this process, don’t know which fees are legit, or Global won’t budge, then contact our team here at MCC for assistance. We have dozens of clients using Global Payments (including ones using mPower Beverage). Since we’ve successfully removed fees and negotiated better terms on behalf of our clients, we actually know Global’s rock-bottom number and we’ll make sure you get it.
Final Thoughts
Overall, mPower Beverage is a solid POS solution for any beer, wine, and liquor retailer. But the software itself is pricey, and we hate the idea that you have to pay such a high upfront cost just for the right to pay a subscription for the software. I think mPower should either charge a license fee or a monthly software fee—not both.
But the software does its job. Despite feeling like a solution from 15+ years ago, it’s pretty decent and most users are happy with it.
In terms of payment processing, it would be nice if mPower were a bit more transparent about your options. Based on our experience, you’re likely stuck with Global Payments.
But just because you’re forced to use Global, it doesn’t mean you should just accept the sky-high rates you’re being offered. You have more leverage than you realize, and we’re happy to help negotiate better terms on your behalf. So you can keep using mPower without having to switch processors—you’ll just pay less to do so.