Payment terminal

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

PAX Technology S90 credit card terminal with a Visa card inserted.

A payment terminal, also known as a point of sale (POS) terminal, credit card machine, card reader, PIN pad,

payment network
for authorization.

A payment terminal allows a merchant to capture required credit and debit card information and to transmit this data to the merchant services provider or bank for authorization and finally, to transfer funds to the merchant. The terminal allows the merchant or their client to swipe, insert or hold a card near the device to capture the information. They are often connected to point of sale systems so that payment amounts and confirmation of payment can be transferred automatically to the merchant's retail management system. Terminals can also be used in stand alone mode, where the merchant keys the amount into the terminal before the customer present their card and personal identification number (PIN).

The majority of card terminals today transmit data over

satellite networks
in remote areas and onboard airplanes.

Prior to the development of payment terminals, merchants would capture card information manually using

skimming at card terminals and this led to the move away from using the magnetic strip to instead capturing information using EMV standards.[3]

History

A typical fixed install card terminal from 2006

Prior to the development of payment terminals, merchants would use manual imprinters (also known as ZipZap machines) to capture the information from the embossed information on a credit card onto a paper slip with carbon-paper copies. These paper slips had to be taken to the bank for processing. This was a cumbersome and time-consuming process.

Point of sale terminals emerged in 1979, when Visa introduced a bulky electronic data capturing terminal which was the first payment terminal. In the same year

magnetic stripes
were added to credit cards for the first time. This allowed card information to be captured electronically and led to the development of payment terminals.

A typical counter-top payment terminal from 2007

One of the first companies to produce dedicated payment terminals was Verifone. It started in 1981 in Hawaii as a small electronic company. In 1983 they introduced the ZON terminal series, which would become the standard for modern payment terminals.

Hungarian-born George Wallner in

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]

Over a decade later in 1994, Lipman Electronic Engineering, Ltd. was established in Israel. Lipman manufactured the Nurit line of processing terminals. Because of Verifone's already firm place in the payment processing industry when Lipman was established, Lipman targeted an untapped niche in the processing industry. While, Lipman held about a 10% share in wired credit card terminals, they were the undisputed leader, with more than 95% share in wireless processing terminals in the late 1990s.

Verifone would later acquire both of these major rivals, acquiring Lipman in 2006 and the payment part of the Hypercom business including its brand in 2011.

In 1980, Jean-Jacques Poutrel and Michel Malhouitre established

promotional source?
]

Initially, information was captured from the magnetic strip on the back of the card, by swiping the card through the terminal. In the late 1990s, this started to be replaced by

near field communication
(NFC) technology.

Typical features

An older generation Ingenico credit card terminal and separate keypad from 2006
  • Key entry (for
    customer not present
    mail and telephone order)
  • Tips/gratuities
  • Refunds and adjustments
  • Settlement (including automatic)
  • Pre-authorisation
  • Payments using
    near field communication
    enabled devices
  • Remote initialisation and software update
  • Point of sale (POS) integration
  • Multi-merchant capabilities
  • Pen or PIN authorization by the customer
  • Surcharge function
  • Secure password operation
  • Additional PIN pad attachments

Like

promotional source?
]

Major manufacturers

payment networks or financial institutions
.

Alternatives

A touch screen based VeriFone MX 915 series payment terminal.

A merchant can replace the functionality of dedicated credit card terminal hardware using a

NFC technology to accommodate contactless or mobile device payment methods, often without requiring additional external hardware.[10]

Some

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]

Mobile payment systems such as those based on QR code payments bypass the need for payment terminals altogether, relying on smartphones and a printed QR code.

See also

References

  1. ^ Transversal, James Leslie at. "Ask Barclaycard a question". ask.barclaycard.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Ingenico Group – Expertise – Pay-at-the-Table". ingenico.us. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b "ATM 'Shimmers' Target Chip-Based Cards — Krebs on Security". krebsonsecurity.com. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  4. ^ "A First Look at the Target Intrusion, Malware – Krebs on Security". 16 January 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Hypercom Corporation History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Ingenico – Our history". Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  7. ^ "iSC Touch 480". ingenico.us. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Talking ATM Overview – Wells Fargo". www.wellsfargo.com. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  9. ^ "How the Top 3 Card Machine Manufacturers are Redefining the Payment Industry". ExpertSure. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  10. ^ Whitney, Lance (24 March 2011). "App turns Google Nexus phone into payment tool". CNET. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  11. ^ "MX 915". Verifone.com. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
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