What Type of Credit Card Terminal is Best for My Business?

With the rapid changes in technology and security requirements in payment processing, merchants have many choices on how they accept credit, check and stored value cards from their customers. Is a countertop terminal always the best solution? What about POS Systems? And what exactly is a Virtual terminal?

The first step in finding the best solution for your business is to determine how you are taking payments. Are your customers physically present, are you accepting payments over the phone, in the field or over the internet? These are a few of the factors that can help you determine the most secure and cost effective method for you to accept electronic payments.

For the average brick and mortar merchant accepting payments in a card present environment it’s simply a matter of preference. Countertop credit card terminals provide you with secure payment acceptance and basic reporting features while keeping your rates and fees as low as possible. Some merchants are still using dial-up terminals, but today’s customers are demanding better and faster service. Verifone’s VX Series of countertop terminals are remarkably fast, completing Ethernet transactions in just seconds. And Verifone has already released their EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) chip ready credit card terminals to support future payment acceptance security requirements. The Verifone Vx 520 terminal and Vx 805 PIN Pad are two examples of EMV ready equipment.

If you prefer more features and benefits from your payment system, like more robust reporting, inventory control and employee time management, an All-in-One touchscreen POS System like the HioPOS might be a better solution. This system works in a Windows operating environment and is considered the next step to joining your cash register with your countertop terminal. Like countertop terminals, the HioPOS supports all forms of payment acceptance and gift card programs.

Some merchants prefer to have a wireless unit in their business so they can take the terminal home with them at the end of the day. Wireless terminals are also a great solution for merchants who attend trade shows or weekend farmer’s markets and are more commonly used for mobile merchants, such as towing companies, plumbing and contractors.

In fact, according to First Data, with projected gross dollar volume growth at 127% by 2015, the mobile POS segment represents the second largest mobile payment opportunity in the US in the next few years. For merchants who process 50 or less transactions per month, First Data’s Mobile solutions give merchants the option of processing transactions virtually anywhere they have a cellular or internet connection by turning an existing smartphone / mobile phone in to a point of sale device. And with more software developers like GoPago entering the payments space, you might prefer taking payments in your storefront business on your iPad or Android tablet.

A Virtual Terminal / Payment Gateway is an ecommerce application that authorizes payments and facilitates the transfer of information between a payment portal (such as a website) and the front end processor. It gives you the ability to turn any web browser in to a credit card terminal by accepting high-speed ecommerce, MOTO, and even card-present transactions with reduced risk. It is the piece that processes the transactions in a website shopping cart, but you can also access it on your desktop or laptop computer by going directly to the website provided by your credit card processor. Enter your exclusive username and password, and now you can run transactions, manage your customer information and more. For property management, storage, medical facilities, or any time you want to set up regularly scheduled payments, Virtual Terminals are a great solution to capture future payments. Merchants who use a Virtual Terminal to accept payments over the phone, internet, fax or mail should always get signed authorization and/or an imprint of the customer’s credit or check card. Keep in mind that even though Virtual Terminals are equipped with enhanced security features, card-not present transactions carry higher risk and, therefore, are subject to higher interchange rates and fees.

Regardless of your payment system of choice, the card brands and processors require that all merchants maintain PCI Compliance. For broadband, mobile and wireless merchants you may require quarterly scans. But, whatever payment system you choose, you’ll want to make sure you are accepting all forms of payments and providing your customers with the safest and fastest payment options available today.