Get a card terminal and boost your business

A card terminal is a device that allows you to do transactions with a credit card. In other words it is a credit card processing machine. It is a Point of Sale or POS terminal. Most merchants have credit card machines that allow then to transfer cash via credit cards. A credit card can be read by the machine by just swiping it, inserting it, or maybe by manually entering the data by typing it. The data is then authorized by the merchant’s service provider and after authentication, the funds are transferred to the merchants account.

Why get a card terminal

A card terminal is safe and an easy way to transfer cash. It is a convenient method too. With a credit card machine, it becomes easy on the merchant’s end to do business with the customer. As for the customer, the bank often offers a lot of facilities while using the credit card. So, in short, the credit card is profitable for the merchant as it is for the buyer. So, by getting a card terminal, you can easily boost your business.

How it works

A card terminal works by using the phone line. They can also use the internet connect. The internet connection may be wired or wireless. There are other wireless systems too that use satellite or cellular networks to communicate with the service provider. The newer models come with a lot of other features too that just reading credit cards. They can also read other media, like debit cards, gift cards and cheques. Some of them have internal memory so that the data can be cached. The transaction data cannot be verified immediately. So, the data is temporarily in memory and is authenticated once the connection is available.

Different types of terminals

There are different types of terminals. These terminals are designed with some specific purpose in mind. When you get a card terminal, it should be able to help you boost your business. Therefore, based on your type of business, you should choose a card terminal. All the card terminals have the same features when it comes to credit card processing. These include basic transaction and cash back functionality, along with gratuity functionality, pre-authorization and currency conversion. There are different terminals for businesses like a restaurant and a departmental store. Roughly, they can be of four types.

Countertop terminal

The countertop terminal is the most common and the most versatile version of a credit card machine. These sit on your counter or table, and takes up very little space. These are usually tough and can take the rough handling of daily use. They also have an integrated thermal printer to print transaction details.

Contactless terminal

These are the fastest terminal available that uses contactless cards. Transaction can be done with a quick tap of the card on the screen

Mobile terminal

These terminals need a SIM card and work using GSM or GPRS networks. It is ideal for mobile business.

Portable terminal

These terminals communicate with a base station via Bluetooth through which the transactions take place. They are ideal for places like restaurants and bars.

So, get a card terminal that is suitable for your business and let it grow.