Business Corner

The changing face of payment terminals

If your terminal resembles the little gray box like the one pictured here, chances are that it was originally designed nearly 20 years ago. You may want to investigate upgrading to a newer terminal that allows you to meet the latest security, regulatory and performance requirements.

Let’s take a look at the changing face of payment terminals and examine the features and functions designed to bring your business into the 21st Century.

Do you have a separate printer with lots of cables and power packs cluttering your counter?
Terminals today feature an “all-in-one” design that includes an integrated thermal printer to quietly print receipts and reports at over 12 lines per second. And the printer won’t run out of ink or jam. Newer terminals feature ATM-style displays, a small footprint, and only one power pack.

Does your system print the entire card account number on the customer receipt?
Truncating account numbers and only printing only the last four digits on the customer receipt reduces card number theft and fraud. In states where this is mandated, liability for these transactions shifts to the merchant. Visa and MasterCard also have published mandates for card truncation, and you’ll want to be in compliance within the next year to avoid the liability shift.

Have you had many charge backs with your phone order or non-swipe transactions?
Newer terminals support CVV2/CVC2. When activated, and the card number is entered manually, the terminal will prompt and provide a match/no match response for “card code.” In addition to reducing fraud, newer terminals can help decrease the number of chargebacks and cardholder disputes and improve merchant satisfaction through increased security for Card Not Present transactions. Utilizing these features can decrease your cost of accepting credit card transactions.

Have you incurred any additional fees on your statement because of Card Not Present transactions?
AVS (Address Verification) is supported on newer terminals. AVS prompts for zip code entry on manual, card present transactions and zip code and street number for mail order transactions. Compliant AVS entries will provide better Interchange qualification and lower rate on these keyed transactions.

Would you like to accept Electronic Checks or Electronic Gift Cards?
Newer terminals support value-added applications that improve customer service and cash flow while reducing costs. Electronic Check Services allow you to convert paper checks received at the point of sale into safe and efficient “electronic checks.” By submitting checks through the same system that authorizes credit cards, you can experience faster funding and eliminate the paperwork of accepting checks. Same goes for gift cards; they become a “portable billboard” for you business, carried in consumers’ wallets.

Do you ever need to batch out more than once a day, or do you forget to settle?
Newer terminals hold more memory -- holding up to 500 transactions in one batch -- plenty of space for one day’s worth of transactions. Terminals that support auto-settle features ensure that you settle within 24 hours, reducing the surcharges incurred from forgetting to perform batch settlement.

How much employee turnover do you have?
The newer and more convenient terminals are a lot easier to use. This reduces the need for additional training of new employees.

To learn about the advantages of a terminal upgrade, contact Kimberly Layton at 1-866-638-8614.

Reprinted from Central Vac Professional, July 2008