Posts filed under 'Credit Card Equipment'
Ingenico made an offer to purchase Hypercom corporation.
Ingenico and Hypercom are two of the largest credit card terminal manufacturers after Verifone. Verifone made a purchase of the Lipman corporation about a year and a half ago, which set their market share far ahead of any competitor.
The combination of Ingenico and Hypercom would create a company with an annual revenue of around 800M. Verifone is currently at about 2B so there is still a sizable gap, but this could create some real competition for Verifone.
Ingenico is less popular in the US than in other countries, but they make some very interesting products, and was one of the first to offer a reliable pay at the table solution. Hypercom is the number two terminal manufacturer in the US. Hypercom would be an excellent medium for Ingenico to grow their US presence.
I think that this would be a very smart acquisition for both Hypecom and Ingenico.
February 11th, 2008
Credit card terminals have a history of being about twenty years behind any current technology, and have always been designed for function only.
Here's a few newer terminals that are finally catching up with technology, and style! My personal favorite is the Hypercom M4100, but several of these terminals are amazing.
Verifone VX 670
This the same terminal that Verifone uses for their pay at the table processing. This is a super fast battery operated WiFi terminal that is going to start getting very popular for high-end restaurants.
Verifone VX 810
The VX 810 is a high-end PINpad that is made in a hand-over design. Because of its high price for a PINpad, it's unlikely that the 810 will ever become a mainstream PINpad.
Hypercom M4100
The M4100 is Hypercom's answer to all other wireless terminals. It is made to compete with the ultra-compact terminals from Way Systems, Comstar and Apriva, but is rock solid and ready to use for any size merchant. It's GPRS and WiFi enabled, includes an internal PINpad, and fits in a pocket.
Thales Artema Mobile
Thales terminals are not common in the US, but they are fairly popular in some other countries. The Artema Mobile is a GPRS wireless terminal with a printer and PINpad. It is one of the smallest wireless terminals available that has a printer attached.
Ingenico i7300 - i7910+
Ingenico has been making some very interesting terminals for several years, but most US processors do not support them. The i7*** series terminals come in just about any configuration a business would want, GPRS, WiFi, multi-terminal server, etc. These terminals are very small and have attached printers.
Exadigm XD2000
Exadigm is another brand that is rarely seen in the US. The XD2000 comes with an internal PINpad, smart card reader, and full size printer. It can be configured for dial, Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPRS, CDMA, and runs on a very basic Linux operating system. It's slightly larger than some other wireless terminals, but has more features available than any other terminal.
Blue Bamboo H50
The Blue Bamboo H50 is a compact terminal, that is full featured and is relatively inexpensive. This is a newcomer to the processing industry but the price, size and features, make it likely to gain popularity with some mobile businesses.
Way Systems 1581
This is the newest terminal from Way Systems and is scheduled to be in operation in the next few months. This appears to be a vast improvement over the functional, but ugly MTT 1551 and 1556, and is still based on a Siemens mobile phone.
January 10th, 2008
We recently installed a Verifone pay-at-the-table system in a restaurant here in Austin. Our customer, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, is the first restaurant in Texas to use a table payment system, and so far the result is very positive.
Pay at the table is something that has been around in Europe for a long time, but is just now gaining popularity in the US. Table payment offers much better card security (if setup correctly), and is a way to increase the speed of processing customer transactions.
Benefits of pay-at-the-table processing:
- Card skimming potential is eliminated.
- Customer can process their own payment with tip, without ever handing over their card.
- Faster than using a central location for processing.
The biggest benefit from any standpoint, is the increased security that customers have by not ever handing over their credit card. Card skimming is eliminated entirely, which protects business owners and their customers from bad employees. This is one of the few systems that truly benefit both the customer and the business.
Setup a pay-at-the-table system for your business:
The system that we used in the case of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is a custom Verifone system called "On The Spot". This is not the only system available but it is ready virtually out of the box using WiFi Verifone VX 670 terminals, and it provides centralized reporting for any number of terminals being used with the system. VX 670 terminals work with most wireless networks, and if you already have one setup, integrating should be fairly easy.
Other possible methods include standard WiFi or Wireless terminals. These systems would lack the centralized reporting that On The Spot provides, but would be substantially lower priced. WiFi would be preferable to avoid wireless access fees. Wireless terminals are getting to a price that almost makes them affordable for a system like this, and a true wireless terminals would eliminate the need for a WiFi network, and would be much more portable than a WiFi terminal.
Both Verifone and Hypercom appear to be developing WiFi battery operated terminals for this specific purpose, so pay at the table may become mainstream rapidly. Once the prices on these terminals go down, I think that table payments will become common in the US.
If you're interested in using a pay at the table processing, check out the On the Spot system that we offer.
December 12th, 2007
After December, PCI-PED compliance takes effect for all new terminals, and as a result some of the most popular terminals are going away.
PED is basically a standard set by card issuers that sets technical specifications for PINpads and credit card terminals with internal PINpads. Since there needs to be a lot of security when handling the transmission of PIN numbers, the new PCI-PED is a way to better control how terminals process a transaction, and how they handle PIN security. Most PIN devices were previously using Visa-PED, which is being replaced with a more universal PCI-PED.
The most noteworthy terminals that are going to be discontinued, are the Omni 3750, and the Nurit 8320. The Omni 3750 is being replaced by the VX 570 which is available in Dial and Ethernet versions, and is basically a more advanced Omni 3750. The Nurit 8320 is being replaced by the Nurit 8400 which is identical except the PED compliance. Current 3750's and 8320's should still be fine until at least 2010, and if you don't use the internal pinpad for PIN debit processing, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
This is a great time to get a good terminal for cheap, as these terminals most likely will not be available after the new year, and existing terminals are being liquidated.
December 11th, 2007
Credit card terminals are vital pieces of equipment for millions of businesses in the world. They are also more abused than any other office equipment that I have seen.
While most credit card machines only cost a few hundred dollars, it is a good idea to protect your investment, and get the most life out of your terminal. Terminals can last for ten or more years if they are well maintained, even if they are heavily used.
Common terminal killers:
- Heat
- Liquid
- Extreme cold
- Mechanical agitation
- Power surges
Heat is an enemy of electronic components.
Heat causes the resistance of electronic components to change and also causes silicon chips to change their properties on a molecular level. These changes cause variations in voltages inside the terminal, and can eventually cause something to break. Luckily, credit card terminals are nowhere near as complicated as computers, but in the case of newer terminals, there is a lot of electronics inside a very small space. Try to keep the terminal in a somewhat open area, where there is decent ventilation, not in the exhaust path of a cash register.
More so than heat, liquids will definitely destroy a terminal.
I can't even count how many times I have heard of someone spilling a coffee or sofa on a credit card terminal, causing it to fail. This is a no-brainer, keep drinks and other liquids away from your credit card terminal. If you do spill something on it, you should unplug it immediately, and try to wipe off as much liquid as possible before it seeps further in. Drink spillage is normally not covered by terminal warranties FYI.
Extreme cold.
A lot of the country has nothing to worry about, but in those areas that it does freeze a lot during the winter, try to keep you terminal somewhere that it will not. If it is going to get very cold where your terminal is, keep it running. The biggest problem comes when a frozen terminal warms back up, and condensation shorts it out. Frozen terminals are also prone to loosing the internal battery (or the main battery for wireless terminal) which depending on the model, can cause the loss of information or may just mess-up the internal clock.
The quickest way to break a terminal is to drop it.
Some of the older terminals can take some major abuse, but the newer ones are not likely to take a large fall well. Even if nothing internally is damaged, it's pretty easy to crack the screen making it unusable. Attaching it with the wall mounts, or using some non-skid rubber tape can keep your terminal from sliding around if the factory rubber-bumps are worn off.
Power surges break terminals.
Power surges can break the terminal from the electrical plug, and from the modem. It's a good idea to get a good power strip or UPS (Uninterpretable Power Supply) with phone jack, and Ethernet protection. Power outage tip: If you are using an analog phone line (the lines where your phone still works when the power is out) you can use a UPS power supply to retain your ability to process, even during a complete power outage. A small UPS should cost a little over $100, and since terminals have low power consumption, your terminal could be operating for several hours of power outage. It's a good idea to have so that you can at least ring-up any customers that are in the store when the power goes out, and you can get your batch out for the day.
Final tip: Keep your terminal on unless you absolutely need to reset it or turn it off. It is very rare for any electronic component to fail while operating at a steady state. Power cycles take their toll on electronics, so the less you can get away with, the better off your terminal will be in the long-run.
October 23rd, 2007
When you purchase processing equipment online, or with a company that you do not process with, it sometimes does not have an overlay and usually doesn't have product manuals that come with it. One of the biggest support requests that I see, are people looking for product manuals for terminals, and quick reference guides. Unlike most other products in existence, processing equipment manufacturer can rarely provide accurate operating manuals for their own equipment.
Most terminals do not have functions hard-encoded in their keys, meaning that when a terminal is used with different processors and with different business types, the keys change. This is the reason that there is often no quick reference manual available for operating a terminal. Most processors do have some sort of manual on how to operate different equipment, but these are largely depending on how common a business type is and how popular the specific terminal is.
When you need a quick reference manual or user guide for a terminal, the best place to check is with your current processor, since they will know who your back-end processor is, and exactly what manual you need.
An example of multiple uses for one terminal:
September 18th, 2007
If you work in the merchant services industry, you quickly learn that equipment manufacturers produce new equipment much faster than anyone is ready to use it. Many of the terminals and equipment never get picked up by processors and are lost in history.
From a business standpoint, it is fairly common for a new or potential customer to be asking about some new super terminal that they just read about. Most of the time these terminals are not properly certified with a particular processing bank, or they just aren't available through any of the terminal wholesalers.
Before a terminal ever makes it to the hands of a business owner, several things must happen. First off, it must be certified with Visa and MasterCard, before is it ever looked at. This is usually done before the company even releases the terminal publicly. If it can't get certified on this level, there's no reason for anyone to know about it at all.
Secondly, the terminal must have some new desired feature or new technology before a processor will take the steps to support it. If the terminal does the exact same thing as every other terminal before it, there really isn't any reason to switch to it. It usually has to offer some additional function that current terminals do not have, and customers want. Additionally, it is always good if it is replacing an aging terminal model, or replacing a terminal that is no longer technically competent or secure.
Terminals certification with a credit card processor is one of the biggest hurdles for a machine to become popular. Visa and MasterCard certification is something that every terminal will get before anyone outside the company ever hears about it, but processor certification is what ultimately decides whether a terminal will be used. Processors have to do a lot of work to support new terminals, and they do not certify new terminals easily.
Processor certification levels:
- Level A - Fully certified and supported by the processor.
- Level B - The equipment works with the processor, but the processor will not support any problems or troubleshooting.
- Level C - The processor does not guarantee that the terminal will work on their platform, and will not support it in any way.
Level A, Level B, and Level C are the three certification levels that processors have, and unless a terminal is certified A, it will rarely be used anywhere. B+ is also common, and is the only non-A certification where a terminal may still be commonly used.
In theory, just about any terminal can be made to process with any processor (Putting proprietary terminals aside), but it takes a lot of testing to ensure the terminal works in many different situations. Since a terminal uses a different program for retail businesses, restaurants, gas stations, and any other type of business, a completely unique program must be built for each business type. Each of these programs must be tested and certified as well, which is why some terminals work with some processors with certain business types, while they don't work at other processors for the same business type. The best bet is always to use the terminal that your processor recommends (Unless it is something that you just don't need, or is proprietary!), because they most likely can provide the best support for that terminal.
When you need a new terminal don't go for the newest thing out there unless it has some feature that no other terminal has, and you really need that feature. The tried-and-true terminals (Nurit 2085, Hypercom t7 plus, Omni 3200SE, etc.) have been very popular for a long time and are still very popular. These terminals are fast (enough), reliable, and cheap. For most small businesses they will be great terminals. Here's a quick guide on what terminal to purchase when you do need a new one. The Omni 3750 is by far the best terminal for IP based processing. The Nurit 8000 GPRS is the best full-featured wireless terminal.
September 14th, 2007
I just learned that Verifone is rumored to be planning on phasing out a lot of their current terminals, for technical reasons. Supposedly, by the beginning of next year it looks like we will be using an entirely different line of Verifone terminals.
Among those that are rumored to be going away are the Omni 3740, 3750, and the Nurit 8000. These will be replaced by the Verifone VX 570, and the Lipman Nurit 8200 / 8020 (?? - Not entirely sure on this one). The VX 610 still hasn't gotten off the ground, and because of past performance, I think they will stick with another wireless terminal based on the Nurit line.
There hasn't been any official release from Verifone about this, but if it plays out, Verifone will be scrambling to get processors to certify and support the newer terminals this fall. Additionally, I don't think this will have any effect on current 3750 or 8000 users, as these terminals are still very new, and the impact would be huge on the current processing industry, if they stopped supporting these.
Overall, this is not bad news, since the price of the Omni's and most other Verifone terminals recently went up, while the VX 570 stayed about the same. Anyway, be watching Verifone over the next few months to see if this actually plays out.
July 19th, 2007
This is the list of routers that Verifone has tested to work with the Omni 3740 and 3750 with IP processing capabilities. These two terminals should work with just about any hardware, but these have been tested to work by Verifone, and are some of the more common hardware that small businesses are likely to use.
Dial Routers: (You probably won't ever need one of these!):
SMC Barricade 7004ABR and 7004AWBR
3COM 3C886 and 3C888
Ethernet Routers (Wired):
D-link DI-604
Netgear 614V2
Linksys BEFSR41 and BEFSRX41
SMC Barricade 7004ABR
Cisco 813, SOHO91, 2500, 2600
Ethernet Routers (Wireless):
D-link DI-624
Netgear 813V2 and 813V3
Linksys BEFW1154, WRT54G, WAP11 (Access Point)
SMC Barricade 7004AWBR
Microsoft MN-700
2Wire Home Portal 1700HW
Sonic Wall TZ170 and TZW
Related Posts:
Verifone Omni Ethernet and IP Network Setup
Convert an Omni 3740 or 3750 for Ethernet Processing
June 29th, 2007
I just got my hands on a Verifone Omni 3750 WiFi module. The module replaces the dial, or Ethernet module on an Omni 3750, and it has a small Compact-Flash wireless card in it that allows it to connect to a wireless network. The module is a little hard to get a hold of. We had to check out suppliers and special order one, which took about a week extra to get. The other drawback with the WiFi module is that it is a bit expensive (about $200), and while many businesses could benefit from using one, it may not be worth the extra $200.
So I devised another way to connect an IP capable Omni 3740 or 3750 or other Ethernet compatible terminal to a wireless network.
Here's what you need:
- An Ethernet compatible terminal that is currently able to process transactions over an IP connection.
- An encrypted wireless network. (WPA not WEP!)
- A wireless (WiFi) gaming adapter or wireless access point. (Must support WPA encryption!)
- One small length of CAT 5 / 5E / 6 Ethernet cable.
- A PC or laptop (Used only to configure the wireless adapter)
Introduction:
The idea behind this is that once your terminal has the ability to process over an IP connection, it really doesn't matter how the terminal is actually connected to the internet. A WiFi connection through an adapter is no different to a credit card terminal than connecting directly to a switch or router.
Who this guide applies to:
This guide will be most useful for businesses that have an existing wireless network, and have an IP capable terminal, and they can benefit in some way from connecting their terminal to the wireless network instead of the wired network.
Typical Network Setup Diagram
It it important to be able to already process over an IP connection before you start setting this up. This will eliminate the terminal setup being the problem if something doesn't work correctly.
Step 1 - Setup the wireless network:
Here's a great guide from Microsoft on how to setup a wireless network. Make sure you enable WPA encryption when you setup your connection. The recent TJ Max security breach was thought to originate from an unsecured wireless network. Additionally, WEP encryption is not a sufficient form of protecting a wireless network so WPA or WPA2 encryption should be used instead of WEP. If you are interested, here's a detailed summary of why WEP encryption is not sufficient.Personally I recommend D-Link brand components for home and small business networking. From my experiences, their reliability, price and ease of use is far better than other manufacturers (Linksys, Netgear, 3com, Cisco, etc.) for non-enterprise level wireless networking.
Step 2 - Setup the wireless adapter:
The D-Link DWL-G820 is the wireless adapter that I recommend for this guide. It's small, cheap (~$60), and it supports WPA encryption. You will need connect the adapter to a PC or laptop and follow the installation instructions to properly setup the adapter. This should take about five minutes to complete and essentially consists of the following.
Basic steps to setup wireless adapter:
- Plug Ethernet cable from wireless adapter to computer.
- Connect AC adapter from electrical outlet to wireless adapter.
- Point web browser to 192.168.0.35
- Configure wireless adapter to connect to wireless network.
- Enable WPA encryption, enter the network pass-phrase, and restart the wireless adapter.
- Once the adapter restarts, verify the internet connection with the computer that is still attached.
- Done…
Once you verify that the computer is able to connect to the internet with the wireless adapter, and that the adapter is connecting using WPA encryption, the adapter is configured.
Step 3 - Connect terminal to wireless adapter.
Connect the terminal with CAT 5 / 5E / 6 Ethernet cable from the Ethernet port on the terminal to the Ethernet port on the wireless adapter. Depending on how close the terminal is to the adapter, you may only need a few inches of Ethernet cable to connect the two together.
Step 4 - Run a test transaction.
In theory, everything should work properly now. You should however run a test transaction to verify this. Run a $1 transaction (Don't use the merchant account owner's credit card). As long as the transaction processes the way it should have, everything is setup and ready to go. You can now move the terminal and wireless adapter anywhere that is within range of the wireless network.
You now have a secure WiFi processing terminal
Otherwise, If the transaction did not process correctly you need to find where the problem is happening at, and correct it. Re-check the internet connection, and that the adapter is still properly connecting to the wireless network. If necessary, run a test transaction with the terminal plugged into the Ethernet connection to rule out any terminal problems.
Related Posts:
Verifone Omni Ethernet and IP Network Setup
Convert an Omni 3740 or 3750 for Ethernet Processing
May 15th, 2007
Previous Posts
