Information on Merchant Accounts,
Ecommerce and Credit Card Processing

November 16th, 2006 by Jamie Estep

First Data’s FD 100, Not as cheap as planned

Filed in: Credit Card Equipment | 10 comments

Originally First Data released an initial price of the new FD-100 terminal to be around $200.

Sadly, I learned a few days ago that this was a completely incorrect initial statement. The actual price of the FD-100 is most likely going to be in the $400 – $500 price range.

To me this is quite a lot of money for a terminal that can only be used on FDMS processing platforms. Yes, the terminal does have a ton of features, but some like USB ports aren’t able to be used by the majority of peripherals. The original $200 tag was low enough that it made the terminal worth the cost despite the drawback of being proprietary. I imagine that the $500 version is going to be much more difficult to push into the marketplace, when terminals like the Omni 3750, Hypercom T4100 and a few Nurit terminals have the same features, at a lower price, and they can be used with any processor.

The original FD100 post

10 Responses to “First Data’s FD 100, Not as cheap as planned”

  1. William J Sommers November 29, 2006 at 2:35 pm

    I just received their lastest promo piece.
    they want to sell me the FD-100 for $898.
    No where did they say it was proprietary,
    but it did state “the First Data FD-100 terminal easily integrates, supports various communication interfaces, and can be adapted to changing environments and circumstances.”
    Is this a true statement or does it only work with their system?

  2. jestep November 29, 2006 at 2:43 pm

    That price just keeps going up. $900 seems just way too much to me.

    You will be able to use it through any provider that that uses the FDMS platforms. That means cardservice, Ipayment, TMS, and most everyone else will be OK. The ones it will not be compatible with are Global, Nova, EVO, and the processors that don’t use FDMS platforms.

    Since over 60% of all transactions in the US go across the FDMS platform, it will still be very widely accepted, so their statement is still mostly true.

  3. jim December 17, 2006 at 8:12 pm

    the FD-100 is the best new terminal on the market- the 3750 is like windows NT- had some good ideas- but just Not There

    Hypercom 4100 is still buggy IMO

    FD-100- super fast DL- loads of RAM- USB- IP
    i paid $850

  4. ged March 21, 2007 at 9:34 am

    We have an old Veriphone 380 which is starting to give us trouble. Our credit card processor is offering us the FD100 for $899. This seems steep, but it appears that’s the going rate. We’re a B&B and processing speed is NOT that big a deal. Just reliability. Any other ideas for a reliable, inexpensive machine compatible with FDMS? Thanks

  5. jestep March 21, 2007 at 9:57 am

    Personally, I would go for a low cost Nurit 2085, Hypercom T7 Plus, or one of the lower cost Omni\’s (3200SE, 3730, 3730LE). The Nurit, the Hypercom and the 3200SE are all extremely reliable, and have been around long enough to be well tested. Since you don\’t need to use a Ethernet line, there really isn\’t any reason to spend that much on a terminal. These terminals should all be under $300, with most being under $200. They will all accept Pinpads, external printers, and a variety of other peripherals.

  6. Sue June 25, 2007 at 3:32 pm

    The real problem with it being propretary is that they are only making secondary applications available for the companies that THEY OWN.
    If you want check services you HAVE TO sign with TeleCheck, if you want gift it has to be ValuLink their going to be offering their own prepaid and their own age verification. So if you already have somebody else’s Gift card program you’re out of luck.

    Have a better check service for your industry then TeleCheck tough luck you have to sign with TeleCheck or get a second terminal for your checks.

    If you’re selling phone cards you have to do it through First Data. It’s like in Scrooge when Marley has all of these weights attached to chains. You’re locked into FD for every service that you want to run on the terminal. They aren’t even offering some of the other things that you can get with Verifone or Hypercom like medical eligability or Dynamic currency conversion.

    If you buy that terminal your married to FD for EVERYTHING. better think twice.

  7. Robert Johnson October 19, 2007 at 3:23 pm

    Don’t waste your time with this FD-100; it has limited memory for future downloads/upgrades (important if you want to NOT have to replace your terminal every 3-4 years). I have resources to companies that offer brand new terminals at no cost, no leasing, no loaner fees, no annual fees, etc…I can be reached at # 248-283-6302

  8. Matthew Ide November 2, 2007 at 9:12 am

    Well we work with First Data and cannot setup this terminal. Why? Because this terminal only works on ONE of First Data’s platforms (First Data has many). So you are still VERY limited with this terminal. Don’t go proprietary – go with an open terminal that runs on any platform, that way you can switch providers if you need to. Any Verifone, Hypercom, or Lipman (Nurit) will do, and is much cheaper.

  9. mike November 2, 2007 at 5:32 pm

    comment #7….you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. The FD100 has more memory than any other terminal on the market. This machine will the last one you will ever need.

  10. kevin December 17, 2007 at 4:13 pm

    Gotcha all beat, 4yrs, $48 per mo lease x 2