Credit card terminals are the devices used to process credit card or debit card payments. These technologies enable businesses to take card information and send them over to their payment processing partners. The transmission of card information from the use of these terminals can be made over the telephone, the Internet, or satellite networks.
The latest developments available in the payment processing market even allow for the employment of cellular networks for the transmission process and using mobile phones for the card swiping process.
The current state of credit card terminals can be classified into three fundamental types. The following is a brief guide to help you determine which type of terminal is best for your business processing needs:
Traditional credit card terminals
These are the terminals used by most merchants in their physical business operations. These terminals are often connected to cash registers for manageable payment transactions or synched via a telephone line or internet connection to your merchant account for processing.
Your typical terminal will include a printer and most are equipped with the functionality to take debit card payments or credit cards interchangeably.Wireless credit card terminals
By being wireless, this type of credit card terminal is portable but can perform the same functions as its traditional counterpart. The advantages of a wireless terminal are pretty apparent, but just to review:
Virtual credit card terminals
Common to merchants who do business over the internet and over the phone; this type of terminal is possible with software or can be accessed through the web. This is beneficial for example to the outsourcing businesses involving call centers as it allows for virtual management, batch processing and accounting. A few advantages are as follows:
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