Posts filed under 'Credit Card Equipment'
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
There are about thirty credit card terminals that are currently being used for credit card processing in the United States. Of these, about five make up 90% of the terminals currently being distributed in the country.
Business owners are often told that they need some specific terminal, when in reality they are being sold something much more advanced and more expensive than they will ever need.
A few misconceptions
- Terminals must be purchased from the company you are going to process with.
- You should always buy the most recent, advanced terminal you can afford.
- Terminals are expensive.
Terminals must be purchased from the company you are going to process with.
This is only true when you process with a company that has their own proprietary equipment, or one that must make a huge profit from equipment sales. The majority of processors support a wide variety of terminals from different manufacturers. I personally recommend staying away from companies that use only proprietary terminals, or ones that force you to buy excessively marked-up equipment from them. Also, free terminal programs use proprietary equipment, but this is so they can protect their investment in the equipment, and the proprietary equipment rule doesn’t apply the same to this situation.
You should always buy the most recent, advanced terminal you can afford.
This is far from the truth. While some new terminals offer additional features like WiFi, or Internet (IP Based) processing, older terminal models are generally more reliable and much cheaper than the newer terminals. The more features a terminal has, the more complicated it is to use. I can’t count how many businesses I know that still use an old Tranz 330 and P 250 combination and have no intention of switching until the last possible second. Newer is not always better.
Terminals are expensive.
There are a number of terminals that are under $200, and even advanced terminals are normally under $500 if you buy them from the right place. If you were offered some terminal for a thousand dollars, it was most likely from a company that is trying to make a huge profit from their equipment sales. You will usually see this price right before you are offered a lease. There isn’t a single terminal that is available directly to businesses that costs over a thousand dollars. Not even a wireless terminal. Do a search on Google for the terminal you are being offered and you will quickly find what it is actually worth.
So, which terminal?
Since the ability to process over an IP connection became a very desired option, I classify terminals into three categories, Land-line, Ethernet compatible, and Wireless.
Land-line:
For most businesses I recommend a Nurit 2085, or Hypercom T7 Plus, or Omni 3730LE /VX510LE (if your processor supports it, 3730 is better supported and costs ~$250). These terminals are all easy to use, very reliable, and cheap (<$200). The Nurit can handle multiple merchant accounts, and all have thermal printers. You wont have the ability to process over an IP connection with these, but all support additional peripherals like pinpads, smart card readers, or check scanners. Most small retail businesses will be perfectly content using one of these lower cost terminals.
Ethernet:
If you don’t want to use up a phone line, are planning on switching your business services to the internet, or you already have a broadband internet connection and a router / switch, then an Ethernet compatible terminal is probably going to be your best bet. Currently the Omni 3750 has by far the best support for IP processing, but the Nurit 8320, and the Hypercom Optimum T4100 are also becoming more supported. These terminals will cost from $300 - $500 with Ethernet compatibility (about $100 less for land-line only). You should be absolutely sure that your provider supports the terminal you are interested in for IP processing before you go to purchase one. Many processors do not yet support the Nurit’s or Hypercom’s for IP processing, but almost all support the Omni.
These terminals all have a built in pinpad for PIN debit processing. (The entire terminal needs to be encrypted with your processor before you can use PIN debit with it.) All terminals have a thermal printer and the Omni 3750 and Hypercom T4100 come standard with a smart card reader.
These terminals are about as technologically advanced as any retail business will need at the present time.
Wireless:
Wireless terminals have advanced a long way in the past five years, and their price has dropped dramatically. Wireless terminals can be easily found between $500 and $700. My personal favorite is the Nurit 8000 GPRS, but the Way Systems terminals are coming in at a close second. There aren’t many options for wireless terminal. The Nurit 8000 is really the only well supported full-featured terminal, and the rest of the market is between the smaller wireless specific equipment manufacturers (Way Systems, Comstar, eProcessing Network, etc.).
Be careful when you do go to purchase a wireless terminal, especially if you decide to buy one from a company that you don’t have history with. Take a look at: How to safely Purchase a Wireless Credit Card Terminal to ensure that you aren’t buying something that you don’t want.
Conclusion:
Other than these, I can’t recommend any other terminal except for some specific business related circumstances. One of these terminals should fit the needs of almost every business that will need a credit card terminal. You should definitely be planning for the future when you purchase a terminal, but just because a salesman said you need some advanced terminal, doesn’t always mean it’s true.
Some related reading:
Verifone Omni Ethernet and IP Network Setup
May 11th, 2007
About three times a week, I come across someone looking to get out of their lease for their credit card terminal. I wish that I could say that there is a simple solution for this situation, but unfortunately there isn’t a quick fix.
First off, I highly recommend not leasing a credit card machine. If you want to see just how much a lease can cost you extra, check out the lease cost calculator, and the: Why would you ever lease processing equipment? Furthermore, if there is any business type that should not lease, it would have to be new businesses. Many new businesses will not be successful, and the last thing that you want is a bill that lasts three years longer than your business. If your business doesn’t make it, then you will still have to pay off the rest of the lease.
Now onto how to get out…
Getting out of your lease is something that is dependant on exactly what you agreed to when you signed the lease. Leases tend to be some of the toughest contracts on earth, and it is nearly impossible to simply walk away. Some leases will even survive your death or bankruptcy, and all will keep going if you go out of business.
With that being said, there are only two effective ways to get out of a lease.
- Find someone to take over the lease.
- Pay it off.
Find someone to take over the lease:
Generally you can have another person take over your lease. This can be difficult because that person will go through a credit check, and you may not feel good trapping a friend in something that you don’t want. But, it is probably the least painful way to get out of the lease. This is also dependant on having the option written in your contract, but most lease contracts allow this.
Pay it off:
Paying off the lease is always an option, but really isn’t going to be a good outcome, as you will most definitely pay a lot of money to get it settled, and you are trying to get out of your lease without paying. A few things that you need to look into before you go and pay off your lease. Make sure you are aware of any early closing fees, whether you actually own the equipment, and what the buyout is for the equipment before you pay it off.
Last Resorts:
In the end if you want nothing less than to get out of the lease, but you cannot pay for it, you should consult a lawyer and see if there is any chance to get out of it. Even then, it is unlikely that you can get out without paying off the lease. The only times I have heard of this working, the lease company made some illegal actions to get the lease approved. Now, lease companies are required to call you and get a second confirmation over the phone before the lease is effective. Some very bad sales agents will sometimes give a lease company their own phone number, and confirm the lease in your name. This is very illegal, but it is hard to prove unless the agent’s personal phone number was listed on the lease application instead of the business’s number.
Defaulting: If you decide to default on the lease, you can be assured that the lease company will quickly attempt to reclaim the payoff amount. They will immediately send the account to a collection agency if they don’t have one in-house, and eventually they will probably try to garnish wages, repossess assets, or take out a lawsuit against you. There is probably a clause in the contract that allows them to automatically debit your bank account, as well.
Conclusion:
In the end, the best option is to not lease unless it is absolutely necessary, and the only time that I see it even remotely justifiable is when purchasing very expensive equipment is necessary. This really only applies to POS systems and some wireless terminals, and even in these situations, it is a good idea to look at alternative funding sources as well.
April 23rd, 2007
I have been getting a plethora of emails recently from people who’s current processor is insisting that they need to upgrade their credit card terminal. While older Tranz, Zon, Linkpoint, and some older Hypercom T7P terminals are being phased out, the terminals that many of these businesses have are still well supported and very popular.
The Nurit 2085 seems to be number one of terminals that processors are trying to get their customers to upgrade from. In most cases much more expensive terminals were being suggested to replace the Nurit 2085.
Businesses shouldn’t need a new terminal:
The Nurit 2085 uses an operating system called NOS (Nurit Operating System). Right now there are two NOS versions commonly being used. NOS 6 and NOS 7. Terminals that are currently being manufactured are all NOS 7 as far as I know, while existing stock and older terminals will most likely still have NOS 6 on them. Both NOS 6 and NOS 7 are still functional, but some business types and applications will need a specific NOS version to operate correctly. With that being said, it is also possible to change the NOS version on a Nurit terminal. This is a fairly simple download that allows the operating system to be changed.
So, there is really no reason that you should have to upgrade your terminal, unless you need to use a feature that is not available with a Nurit 2085. Examples of these would be Ethernet, WiFi, high memory applications, unsupported 3rd party apps, or features and programs not compatible with your terminal.
The two exceptions:
There is one version of the Nurit 2085 that is not upgradeable. I’m not even sure on the exact model number, because we have only seen one of them is the last five years, but that one model cannot be upgraded to the recent NOS 6 or NOS 7 operating systems. If you are unlucky enough to have one of those terminals, then you may be in a position where you have to upgrade. But, the un-upgradeable model is extremely rare. By my guess these consist of less than .01% of Nurit 2085s in circulation. Secondly, your processor may be phasing out Nurit 2085 terminals. There isn’t any good explanation that I can come up with as to why to do this, but from the sheer number of questions about this I am getting, it looks like it may be happening with a few processors.
Personal Outtake:
So far I haven’t seen any solid info that any processors are phasing out Nurit 2085’s. Unless I missed some gigantic press release, I have no reason to think that this terminal wont work for years to come. I do know for a fact that 2085’s are still supported with most processors, and they are still the terminal that I recommend for entry-level needs. If you are confronted with this situation, I strongly suggest that you get an actual reason why you need to upgrade. You shouldn’t have to spend extra money replacing something that works perfectly fine.
April 13th, 2007
A year ago this month, Verifone made a move to acquire the processing equipment manufacturer Lipman Electronic Engineering. This acquisition effectively combined the number one and number two processing equipment manufacturers into a single company. Since then, Verifone has slowly started to assimilate the Lipman brand into it’s own Verifone name.
While this move showed little significance on the front of traditional land-line processing equipment, Lipman owned about 90% of the wireless processing market. With Verifone’s already huge grip on the land-line equipment market, and the now complete domination on the wireless market, Verifone is now in a superior position for all types of processing equipment in the world.
So where’s wireless going?
Currently, wireless processing is shifting away from the Mobitex and Motient networks that most popular terminals operate on. The newer networks, the GPRS (TDMA) and the CDMA wireless networks are beginning to see wireless terminals process on them. Lipman has all but cut manufacturing for anything but the Nurit 8000 GPRS terminal. The Nurit 8000 GPRS is a very good terminal, with much improvement in reliability over the standard Nurit 8000. However, it doesn’t look like Verifone plans to keep the Lipman brand going for a long time.
Verifone has it’s own wireless terminal (VX 610). The VX 610 is apparently compatible on the GPRS, CDMA, and WiFi, but it is not being well supported by most processors. It costs about the same as the Nurit 8000 GPRS, but the complete lack of compatibility keeps it from getting off the ground.
Meanwhile, companies like Way Systems, Comstar, and eProcessing Network are quickly growing in the wireless processing community. All of these companies make portable wireless terminals, that are becoming very popular, especially with businesses selling at trade-shows and businesses that need very portable terminals. Many of these terminals have better connectivity than the Nurit 8000 GPRS which processes on Cingular’s GPRS Edge network.
The only setback for these companies that I currently see, is that their price is not low enough under the Lipman or Verifone wireless terminals, to make purchasing them worth it. Right now they all cost just a little less than the Verifone and Lipman wireless terminals. Once these companies figure out how to decrease the price by about half, I can see a major shift in wireless processing scene. The low price in conjunction with Verifone moving to their own wireless terminal, and Lipman terminals becoming unavailable, will give the smaller wireless terminal manufacturers the chance to make major ground on the wireless equipment market.
My prediction:
If Verifone decides to get rid of the Lipman wireless terminals, and they don’t make some major initiative to get processors to support and promote their terminal, an industry-wide shift is almost inevitable. Conversely, if Verifone decides to keep the Lipman brand of wireless terminals going, I think that the smaller wireless manufacturers will reach a wall in growth, unless they can price their terminals substantially lower than what they currently are.
If Verifone looses it’s position on the wireless terminal market, it will effectively negate the billions of dollars that they spent to acquire Lipman because the wireless market is what was gained when they got Lipman.
April 9th, 2007
If you are starting a business or you follow the trends of the processing industry, you would know about the free terminal programs that are being offered by many merchant account providers. If you have been watching a little closer, you would also see a division in merchant providers. Some think the free terminal programs are a great idea, and some think that they are not. I personally fall on the “free terminals are a bad idea” side, but even so, free terminals programs are very popular and continue to be a strong marketing tool for many providers in the industry.
This brings me to the question, is it better to get a free terminal, or purchase one outright?
First off, free terminal programs are not ownership programs. I cant speak for the specifics of every program out there, but generally they are a free rental of processing equipment. If the business closes their merchant account, switches companies, or needs to upgrade they must give the terminal back or pay for it.
Free terminal programs can be great for new businesses that don’t want to spend a lot to accept credit cards. These programs offer them a way to start accepting cards with a terminal, sometimes a wireless terminal, without any upfront cost.
On the other hand, purchasing a terminal is for an outright ownership of the terminal. You can choose what processor you do business with, and you don’t have to give your terminal back if you do decide to switch. You do have an upfront cost, but many terminals are reasonably priced and there can be less strings attached in your contract.
Neither of these are a best solution for every business. Different businesses have different needs, and the business should choose what is best for their business.
Why I don’t like free terminal programs:
The reason that I don’t like free terminal programs, is that they force processors to add extra fees in other places. Since processors normally compete with each other on price (Another truly terrible practice) they have to at the least make their cost appear to be comparable. But, they are taking a several hundred dollar gamble on the business processing with them. Multiply this several hundred dollars per business across hundreds or thousands of businesses, and the cost to the processor can be well into the millions. Since it may take several years for the processor to make up this money from a single business’s free terminal, they try and make some of it more quickly. This is done with higher monthly and statement fees, sometimes yearly fees, higher processing rates, and other fees. What makes the matter worse is that since the processor wants to look competitive they very often get ‘creative’ with their application. They obscure fees and change the normal structure of the fees so that the extra cost is easily overlooked. They will almost always raise their termination fee, so that if the business leaves them before the contract is up (normally 2 - 3 years) they will get the cost of that terminal back immediately.
I am quickly seeing myself head towards a previous post which I don’t want to do, but the point is, that the processor will make up that money somewhere else. As a business owner, I would much rather know what all of the fees I will pay are, than have my bill be much higher than I originally planned because of factors I never accounted for. I hate surprises in situations like this.
On the other side of the fence, purchasing a terminal is not always the best idea. There are proprietary terminals that keep merchants with certain processors (Linkpoint, FD100, Eclipse). Terminals can break, and even if the terminal is under warranty it is still a major inconvenience to get it replaced. Hopefully you have some sort of overnight replacement program with your processor, and if not, how do you accept cards without your terminal. If the terminal becomes outdated, you need to get a new one. This is happening more often since some platforms are disqualifying older terminals with lower memory due to security concerns(Older T7P’s, Tranz 330’s, ZON’s, Some Linkpoints). Credit card terminals are normally inexpensive to maintain, and are very reliable, but the cost of high end terminals can be substantial. Since most free terminal programs have overnight replacement warranties, it is another reason for businesses to like them, especially if higher-end terminals are offered.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you weigh your options knowing exactly what you are getting into.
April 5th, 2007
Store and forward is an application that some credit card terminals can run, that allows transactions to be taken without the terminal being connected to a phone line. The transactions are later processed when a connection is available.
Most wireless terminals have the ability to do store and forward, when there is no cellular coverage. But, there are also some land-line terminals that support store and forward. These terminals are a lot cheaper than wireless terminals, some having battery packs, making them moderately portable.
Store and forward on a land-line terminal can be a good solution for low volume mobile businesses, and can make a great backup for a wireless terminal. If you use a manual imprinter for your transactions, a store and forward battery operated terminal can be a good low cost step, without going to a wireless terminal.
What terminals work:
It’s not quite as simple as which terminals can support store and forward, because the correct terminal also has to be with the correct processing bank in order for the store and forward to be programmed correctly. Overall Lipman ‘Nurit’ terminals are the only ones that support store and forward. The wireless terminals (Nurit 3010, Nurit 8000) can be programmed with store and forward through at least Nova and FDMS, and the land-line terminals can potentially support store and forward at FDMS only.
As far as battery powered terminals go, there is the Nurit 2085U, the Nurit 3020U, and the Nurit 8320U, that have battery packs. These terminals are more difficult to obtain than the standard models, and will probably have to be special ordered, but are still much cheaper than wireless terminal.
Also, in the case of these terminals, you processor may charge extra to program these terminals with store and forward because the programming is almost always outsourced to the processing bank, who charges for it. Even if this normally wouldn’t be an issue, it is something to be aware of.
Store and forward isn’t perfect:
Store and forward creates an illusion that you are processing your customer’s cards just like normal, but this isn’t the case. No actual authorization is being made when using store and forward, so there is a chance that the card will decline when you finally go to run it. The second drawback is that if you don’t process the stored transactions quickly enough, they can all downgrade.
So, if you have an abnormally large transaction, or you have a bad feeling that the card may be no good, I recommend making a voice authorization before accepting the card. Businesses that get a lot of declined cards probably want to stay away from store and forward because all those declines will hurt your business and your time. Also, make sure to batch all of the transactions out of the terminal every day that you process to prevent downgrading.
March 28th, 2007
Credit card terminal technology is finally starting to progress into 1990’s technology. However, how much technology does it take to process a credit card?
With the exception of businesses needing to process over an Ethernet / IP connection, the simplest terminals are still the best choice for most businesses.
With the cost of higher-end terminals approaching $500 when purchased from an online retailer, what does $200 get you nowadays? For $200 or less, most businesses can get a terminal that is perfectly acceptable for their business’s processing needs. These terminals all have thermal printer, can accept PIN pads, smart card readers, check readers, contactless readers, and just about any other peripheral that you need.
The only thing that they cant do is process over an IP connection, and they cant handle some more advanced processing applications (which most businesses will never need).
Terminals under $200:
- Nurit 2085
- Omni 3730LE / VX 510LE
- Hypercom T7P / T7 Plus
If you are in the market for a new terminal, and you are perfectly happy with processing over a standard telephone line, save yourself some money and stick to a basic terminal. Don’t let someone (including yourself) talk you into something that you don’t need, just because it is the next great thing. Apart from the price, these low cost terminals are easier to operate, more reliable, and much less expensive to replace than higher-end terminals.
March 9th, 2007
We have had some renewed interest recently in wireless processing on a PC. After some research and a few experimental merchants, we found it is extremely easy to setup a laptop with some PC Processing software, a card reader, and a wireless or cellular PC card. In the end, the business can have a completely wireless credit card terminal, that has far more advanced abilities than any off the shelf wireless terminal.
Here’s what you need:
- Laptop - In this case the smaller the better, and it is important that it has a good battery life (> 3 Hours Preferably). Or get lots of extra batteries.
- PC Processing Software - I recommend PC Charge Pro for this purpose.
- PC Compatible Card Reader - A USB card reader is going to be the easiest to setup in this situation, but PS2 and Serial card readers are also available. There are also keyboards with attached card readers, if an external keyboard is something that could be feasible.
- Wireless LAN PC card or cellular PC card - The LAN card will let you process over a WiFi connection, while the cellular card allows your computer to use cellular phone networks. The cellular card would also require cellular service, but most cell phone carriers can add this to your existing cellular account.
- Merchant account - It is important to ensure that your merchant account provider can setup PC Charge for processing over the internet.
Why this system is great:
First off, PC charge is a very good program. It is in my opinion the best PC based processing program on the market. It is relatively cheap <$300, very easy to use, and it is compatible with just about every processing platform out there. A business can manually enter transactions on their computer, or they can add the card reader and swipe their customer’s cards into the program. The support is good and one year is now included with each license. The reporting with PC Charge is more advanced than with most terminal. PC Charge is also PCI / CISP compliant, so you wont need to worry about that at a later time.
Second, there are a lot of businesses that already have one or more existing laptops. It doesn’t take a super fast, top of the line computer to process credit cards. You could probably buy a sub $200 laptop on ebay and get more than satisfactory results with it.
Third, WiFi is almost everywhere. I see WiFi access points all over the place. A wireless PC card is really cheap, and some businesses can get away without ever needing a cellular setup. Note: Make sure that you process only on a WiFi connection that is secure. Do not connect to, or trust non-secure wireless connections. When you connect to them, anyone on that network has direct access to your computer.
The cellular problem:
Here is the only major concern that I find with this setup. When using a cellular PC card, you must also have a service with a cellular provider. Unfortunately, Verizon and Cingular charge a lot for using their wireless internet networks that allow your computer to connect to the internet. If you already have a cellular service, you may be able to add this service at an more-affordable price, but from what I have seen it isn’t really cheap. Both Verizon and Cingular offer wireless PC Internet services, and you will need to check with them to see what the monthly cost would be.
Getting it setup:
Assuming that you already have the laptop, the first thing to do is to get the wireless internet going on your computer. Whether you are using a WiFi card or a cellular card, you will need configure your system to connect to the internet using the method that you chose. Here’s an excellent guide on setting up a WiFi card on your computer. Setting up a cellular PC card, will be almost the same process, except there will some required software and some additional user info and passwords to enter. These will be provided by your cellular service provider.
Once you have your laptop connected to the internet, and your merchant account is setup, you will need to install the PC Charge software. This is a simple process, consisting of inserting the CD and installing the program like you would any other. PC Charge comes with one year of support, so if you run into problems, you can call to get help from PC Charge. There are also some business specific information about the processing network your business is using, so normally you will setup some of the specifics in PC charge with the assistance of your merchant account provider, or PC Charge support.
If you are planning on using a card scanner you should now attach it to your USB port. If you’re using Windows XP or better, it should automatically be detected. Otherwise go to your control panel, and use the add-remove program application. PC Charge normally will automatically use the card reader that you plug into it. If it doesn’t work, call their support and they should be able to get you going. Make sure you use a card reader that is compatible with PC Charge. There are also PS2 (Keyboard connection) versions of card readers, but I recommend the USB versions.
Finally:
Now you’re ready to go. Anywhere that you have an internet connection and enough battery to keep your computer going, you should be able to electronically process credit cards. You can get a car charger for your computer, and can add portable printers if you want to be able to print receipts. This setup may not be as compact as a wireless terminal, but it doesn’t lack anything in speed and usability.
Everyone that I have seen use this setup was extremely satisfied with it. We recently has a customer recommend it to over two hundred associates in their industry, and not one of them using it has had anything but praise for it. The setup can occasionally lead to some snags, but once everything is running properly you have a excellent processing method.
Useful References:
Card Readers Compatible with PC Charge
February 27th, 2007
I have blogged in the past about how slow the processing industry is moving towards adopting smart cards and contactless payments.
These two technologies present some major benefits and some major flaws compared to the ancient magnetic stripes that we have all come to know. For anyone not knowing what RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) contactless payments are, check out: New-wave pay plan. Smart card credit cards are credit cards with an embeded smart chip in them in addition to or in replacement of the magnetic stripe. The smart chip can securely store a lot of information compared to a traditional credit card.
Now, at some point I think that either smart cards, or RFID contactless payments are going to make a jump. If I were to bet on it, I would have to bet on contactless payments.
Here’s why contactless payments are going to be ‘the next big thing’ in payment processing!
Smart cards have been around for quite a while now. But, they have never gotten anywhere in payment processing in the US. They offer superior security compares to the current situation, so much that a person’s PIN number can be safely stored on the card itself. Smart cards have the potential to make the entire process of processing, much simpler.
However, smart cards are expensive, and they have never been that much better to justify the cost, time, and difficulty required to replace magnetic cards, to really catch on. They aren’t that much faster than normal credit cards if any, and how much information do you really want to store on your credit card?
Contactless payments on the other hand are in a position to become the standard, very quickly. Nowadays, processing cards is all about speed and convenience. I regularly see mom-and-pop businesses setting up their terminals through an Ethernet connection, because it is so much faster than dial up. Fast food restaurants are always looking for ways to speed up the ordering process. Sonic recently started using QSR self serve terminals at many of their locations. For these high output businesses where budgeting is calculated on hundredths of a penny, even a few seconds extra per person costs a lot in the long run.
Contactless payments simply have several key ingredients in every necessary sector which sets them apart from Smart Cards.
First off, contactless processing is cool.
Swiping your key chain or wallet over a terminal to pay is much more amusing than handing your card to a cashier. MasterCard curently uses a keychain tag for their contactless program. The cell phone ringtone industry is currently grossing more than 3 Billion dollars per year in the US. Believe me when I say that the coolness factor is a big part of it for consumers.
Second, it is more secure.
Since the card never leaves your hand, there is very little chance that your information can be illegally recorded. Yes it is true that someone could potentially intercept the radio signal that transmits your information from the card to the terminal, but this information is encrypted, and the equipment to do it is a little more complicated than a pen and paper. If you’re really worried about it, then you can get a RFID shield. Information on RFID payment cards is encrypted anyway, so if someone decides to scan your card while you’re walking by, the data wont be readable.
Third, they are very, very, fast.
RFID is significantly faster than swiping a card through a machine and even faster than processing a smart card. It takes only a second or two to hold the card over the reader, then green light you’re done. This will please even the most time-conscious McDonalds restaurant, and they don’t even have to reach out to grab the card.
Four, the technology is already there.
Contactless RFID systems have been used in many country’s train and other transportation systems for years. RFID is a well developed technology that will migrate perfectly into credit card processing.
Fifth, magnetic strips are old, have limited storage, are unsecure, and simply suck.
Magnetic strips were first added to credit cards in 1979 before the first IBM PC was created. Lets just say that technology has moved on a little bit, and sometimes old technologies are due to be retired. magnetic strips can only hold a few bytes of data on them, and they aren’t encrypted. Anyone with a computer and a card reader can get all of the data on the card. With a RFID or Smart Card the data can be encrypted so that it cannot be read by simply swiping it onto a computer. When you scratch your stripe it stops working. Magnetic stripes are very weak and can easily be destroyed. Even placing your wallet neat a magnet or a checkout scanner can wipe the data on your card. Stripes were great when they were invented, but it’s time to move processing into the 21st century.
Sixth, they are cheap.
With smart cards coming in at several dollars per card, the sub $1 price of RFID tags is another hugely important factor for the banks that issue the cards. Replacing millions of cards costs a lot of money, and by saving over a dollar per card, banks will be much more likely to take the initiative.
Contactless programs already being pushed:
Mastercard Paypass
Amex ExpressPay
Visa Contactless
With the increased awareness in transaction security from consumers and businesses, and an ever present belief that things need to go faster, contactless cards are in the position to become the standard. Obviously this change will take years to complete, but when compared to smart cards, contactless look to be far superior, and in a far better position to make a move.
Related Articles:
Contactless payments take hold
February 15th, 2007
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