Payment processing trends are ever changing. To stay competitive in the 21st century keeping up with future trends is imperative. Ever since the EMV liability shift, merchants have been switching over to a smart payment terminal and throwing out the standard merchant payment processing machines. A smart terminal not only will it better suit your business, but it will better suit your customer’s needs as well. If you aren’t familiar with smart payment terminals, there’s no need to panic. Keep reading.
What are smart terminals?
Smart terminals are a new and exciting way of doing business. They are basically a mobile device combined with a standard credit card terminal, which not only allows you to process transactions but also allows business owners to manage their businesses more efficiently.
Accepts everything
Whether you run a restaurant or a retail store, a smart terminal is WiFi and 3G enabled which allows you to take payments anywhere; at your place of business, on the go, or simply at the counter. With a single slot card entry, most smart terminals allow you to accept all payment types from magstripe cards to EMV chip cards, as well as NFC mobile payments such as Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay. The versatility allows you to accommodate all your customers preferred payment methods. Having the capability to accept various methods of payment is very important. According to NFC World, “The global value of contactless transactions made via payment cards, mobile and wearables will reach $1.3 trillion by 2019, more than doubling from an estimated $590 billion in 2017 … contactless card levels will continue to dominate transaction values, accounting for 80% of total contactless transactions in 2019.”
Signature capture
With most payment processing terminals, you are required to print the receipt and collect signatures. With smart terminals, you can capture the signatures directly on the device, which allows the smart terminal to correspond with a virtual terminal to log all transaction history. Once it is time to print out the receipt you can let your customers choose how they want to receive their receipt, either print one out, send it via text, or email. This will enable you to save money on receipt paper and ensure for faster transactions.
Reporting and business management
Gone are the days where you have to print out your batch reports from your terminal. Since most smart terminals are connected through a virtual terminal it saves all the information on your computer for you. With cloud-based reporting, you can monitor sales data, see transactions, and settlements in real-time.
The field of payment processing technology is ever growing and changing, and it’s up to you to decide which trends will benefit your business in the long run. The bottom line is any technology, process, or technique which saves your company time, and money while providing greater customer satisfaction is well worth adopting!
Take a look at some of the best smart terminals available
Poynt
| Payments | Connectivity | Display | Processor | Electronic Signatures | Features | Battery Life | PCI Compliant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSR, EMV, NFC Payments, QR Code, and Bluetooth Low Energy | WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G/4G, and Ethernet | 7’’ touchscreen 800 (w) x 1280 (h) pixels 4.3” Secure touchscreen display 800 (w) x 480 (h) pixels Simultaneous 10 finger capacitive multitouch | 4 core 1.8 Ghz Cortex A15 application processor 108 Mhz Cortex M3 security processor | – | Front and back camera Front Camera: 5MP I autofocus (7cm to infinity) Back camera: VGA Audio / Microphone Built in speaker and microphone | 8 hours | PCI PTS PED and SRED 4.0, End to end encryption Supports TLS 1.2 |
Clover Flex
| Payments | Connectivity | Display | Processor | Electronic Signatures | Features | Battery Life | PCI Compliant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magstripe, EMV smartcard, EMV contactless (including Apple Pay®) | 3G and WiFi enabled | Antimicrobial Corning® Gorilla® Glass; 5 inch HD display with a 1280 x 720 LCD color screen for clear, crisp images | 1.6GHz Quad Core A7 | Accepts electronic signatures on-screen; emails, texts, and stores digital receipts | Receipt printer, 1D/2D barcode scanner/camera | Supports up to 8 hours of use for a typical SMB (Lithium-ion 15.56Wh, 2100mAh @ 7.6V) | Security PCI PTS V5.0 |
Clover Mini
| Payments | Connectivity | Display | Hub | Electronic Signatures | Features | Body | PCI Compliant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit and EBT card swipes, EMV® chip + PIN and EMV® chip + signature, contactless payments | 3G, WiFi or ethernet enabled | Large touchscreen 7″, 1280px x 800px | Charging port: Type B USB; Ethernet 4 Type A USB ports | On-screen signature capture | Built-in scanner for fast order-taking and inventory control | Brushed aluminum with white glass accents with Antimicrobial Corning® Gorilla® Glass | “Level 3” payment certified to payment processors and gateway. Connect your POS to Clover Mini/Mobile using USB, LAN (Ethernet or WiFi) or Cloud. Integrate quickly using our platform specific libraries (Windows SDK, JS SDK, Android SDK) |
