Merchants, especially new merchants who wish to set up card based payment processing will need to look at the right set of equipment along with supporting sub-systems as well as compliance with standards.
Retailers need point of sale chip and pin equipment to process
payments by card. They can choose from a variety of chip and pin machines such
as countertop PDQ that is wired to internet line and to the computer. This is
ideal for retail counters. A step up is the bluetooth or wi-fi enabled
terminals that are free of wired connections and enable a shop floor assistant
or staff in a restaurant to be on the move and accept payment anywhere within
the range of the bluetooth connection. Field sales personnel can carry a GPRS
mobile PDQ that will help them process card payments anywhere in the UK where GPRS
signals are available. This is a boon for taxi drivers, trade personnel like
electricians, plumbers and carpet cleaners and also at exhibition points.
Contactless chip and pin terminal helps retail stores process cards swiftly.
Merchants have options when it comes to installing and using the chip and pin equipment. They can opt for acquirer owned terminals. These are
given out to merchants on fixed terms such as monthly rental. Maintenance and
update of the terminal is the acquirer’s responsibility. However, it must be
kept in mind that rentals vary and if the merchant is too hasty, he can end up
with sub-optimal rental equipment and agreement and end up paying more. He has
the option to buy his own terminals and avoid paying regular rentals. In either
case, what suits the merchant best can be arrived at after a thorough analysis
of their monthly sales and other conditions, something at which Independent
Merchant Services excels. They help
merchants not only with deciding about rentals, pay as you go scheme or
self-owned equipment but also the finer points of the machines.
A terminal may accept only credit or debit cards or it may be chosen
to accept other cards such as gift cards and petrol cards. It may have a large
memory built in to store transactions or a mobile machine with a longer range
of bluetooth or wi-fi or capability to receive weak GPRS signals in remote
locations. It may be necessary, in some cases, to select a terminal with an
inbuilt printer.
Selection of such card terminals may appear to be a simple process but
there are details one should explore before making the decision. Having an
expert at hand to give informed opinions does help in long term cost reductions
as well as better security.
