Credit Card Terminals

Industry Overview

Historical data shows that over that last 15 years, merchants have slowly seen an increase in credit card sales to make more of their total business. Most small to mid size business process transactions through a Point of Sales (POS) terminal. As a result, credit cards have become the most popular method of payment in all kinds of stores.

Credit Card Terminals

There are many manufacturers of credit card terminals. Verifone, Nurit, Hypercom, Omni and PAI Trex are among some of the most common brands. The features in each terminal vary from the speed of the transaction, memory of the terminal, capacity for numerous applications and much more!

Credit Card terminals are fairly inexpensive. They can vary in range from around $300 to over $500 depending on the features or Wireless terminals. Due to the expense, it’s not worth going wireless unless you really need the remote access. Watch out for deals that are, “Too Good To Be True”. Some existing business may qualify to receive a free terminal based on their monthly volume of debit/credit card transactions.

Pricing

The fees charged for processing transactions can vary since there are more than 150 rate categories charged by Visa and MasterCard. The “Qualified Rate” is the safest and often times the lowest rate since the credit card is present and swiped through a terminal. Other factors will increase the rate, such as, having to key the transaction, telephone or mail orders. A “Non-Qualified Rate” will apply when merchants process corporate cards, international or foreign cards, and government cards. In this scenario the rate will not change even if the card is keyed or swiped.