Aug
02
2016
Terminal
August 2nd, 2016 by Elma Jane

Credit card machine or point of sale terminals are used for processing debit and credit card transactions and are often integrated into a Point of Sale System. Let’s take a look at the POS terminal evolution.

Manual Imprinters – although the process was time consuming and did not offer the speed or instant transfer capabilities, manual imprinters have been around since the start of a wide acceptance of credit cards. Manual imprinters are still widely used and are considered a great backup processing method.

imprinter

Electronic Authorizations – Merchants had the choice of calling in for an authorization or imprinting their transactions. The first electronic credit card authorizations were done over the phone, but many businesses opted voice authorization only on larger transactions because of the long waiting time for authorizing a transaction over the phone,

Point of Sale Terminals: Point of sale terminals emerged in 1979, which was a turning point in the credit card processing industry. Visa introduced a bulky electronic data capturing terminal. This was the first of credit card machine or terminal as we know them today, it has greatly reduced the time required to process a credit card. MasterCharge became MasterCard in the same year and credit cards were replaced to include a magnetic information stripe which now has become EMV/chip and PIN.

The Future: There’s a lot of room for advancement when it comes to Credit card processing technology. Increasing processing speed, reliability and security are driving forces behind processing technology advancement. Today’s credit card terminals are faster and more reliable with convenient new capabilities including contactless and Mobile NFC acceptance. The processing industry will definitely be adapting new technologies in the near future and has a lot to look forward to.

 

 

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Near Field Communication Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Feb
27
2015
February 27th, 2015 by Elma Jane

Here are the Frequently Asked Questions:

You’re probably finding yourself staring at your old credit card machine and worrying about the cost of buying a new machine. The transition doesn’t have to be an expensive one, but it pays to be educated as you consider this important upgrade.

Things you need to know in the form of a brief FAQ.

Where To Buy an EMV Credit Card Terminal?

All the same places you can buy or rent a non-EMV terminal, for the most part. The vast majority of the time supported EMV machines can be reprogrammed just like their non-EMV predecessors. While credit card terminal tampering has occurred in the past, it is not common and is even less easily achieved with new EMV terminals.Terminals have built-in anti-tampering features to prevent this. Your provider is free to either charge a reprograming fee, or simply refuse to reprogram outside machines. While they can reprogram, there’s no law saying that they have to.

Is It A Must to Have an EMV-Compliant Machine?

NO BUT THERE IS RISK. NFC (Near Field Communication) is the technology used by digital wallets for contactless payments. NFC EMV terminals can be considerably more expensive than standard EMV terminals. You can buy a separate NFC reader without replacing your existing EMV terminal.

Does an EMV Chip Card Reader Cost Much?

NOT VERY MUCH! These terminals are really not more expensive that the old terminals. You can find them as cheap, especially if it’s refurbished. There’s no reason to sign on to an expensive non-cancellable lease. If you’d rather rent than own, at least look for inexpensive rental options. If you want a wireless terminal or an NFC-capable terminal, the prices will be a little bit higher. But for baseline EMV-compatible chip card readers, it’s a pretty minor investment even for a very small business.

Does EMV Terminal Upgrade Really Needed?

Technically? No, but it would be like buying a new computer and not getting a virus protection program. Worse because you have financial data on. Your CUSTOMER! Practically? You should!

If you stick with your old non-chip credit card terminal, you will still be able to run transactions. All chip cards are also equipped with the same magnetic stripe used previously, so you can still swipe them. The difference is that if one of those chip cards that you swipe is used fraudulently, you will now be liable. The rationale behind this is that if you had upgraded your terminal, the fraud could have been prevented. Therefore you are held accountable. You might be tempted to think that your small businesses is unlikely to be a victim of such fraud because it hasn’t happened in the past. But consider that all of the big retailers will be upgrading to the EMV terminals, which is likely to drive fraudsters to more vulnerable outlets (ie, small businesses). So I don’t want to be a fear-mongerer but for the fairly small business expense of a terminal upgrade you get a lot of fraud protection. If it prevents just one instance of fraud in the years to come, it has likely paid for itself many times over.

For most merchants, it’s not that expensive or difficult to switch over to EMV equipment and the insurance that the switch will provide you with is well worth the effort. So start thinking about it, and don’t wait until the last minute. The last month before the liability shift occurs in the US, equipment providers will be backed up with orders, making the transition less smooth. So there’s no time like the present to start looking into chip card machines. It might even be a good time to think about switching providers.

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, Credit Card Security, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,