What processing terminal should I buy?
Buying a credit card terminal can be a substantial investment for many small businesses. Getting the right terminal from the start is important, both financially and operationally, as some terminals can be frustrating and time consuming to operate.
Business who need a credit card terminal fall into three groups. The first group is planning on swiping their customers cards, and the second is going to key in most of their transactions, and the third is a business looking for a wireless terminal.
Credit Card Machines for Swiped Businesses:
The Basics: The majority of businesses will be completely satisfied with the most basic credit card terminal. The Nurit 2085, Omni 3200SE, and Hypercom T7 Plus are all low-cost, reliable, and easy to use processing terminals that will suite the needs of most businesses. All three also feature thermal printers, eliminating the need to replace ink ribbons or cartridges.
Pin Debit Terminals: Businesses who require the pin-debit ability directly integrated into their terminal, should look at a more advanced terminal. The Nurit 8400, and the Omni 3740 or 3750 are great terminals with the added capability of pin based debit.
Ethernet: Ethernet compatible terminals include the Hypercom T4100 and the Verifone VX570 with the Dual Comm module. Ethernet processing allows a business to plug their terminal into their broadband internet connection and is the fastest possible way to process credit cards.
Multiple Merchant Accounts: Some businesses like to operate a keyed and swiped account to separate transaction types and save money. Nurit terminals are best suited to handle multiple merchant accounts, where the Nurit 2085 can handle 9 merchant accounts and the Nurit 8400 can handle 11 merchant accounts on the same terminal. The VX 570 can also handle multiple merchant accounts.
Credit Card Machines for Keyed Businesses:
Don't need a printer, at all: For businesses who would like to key their transactions into a terminal but do not need to print a receipt, a simple Tranz 330, or Tranz 380 will still be the best option. A printer can be added later if the merchant desires, but these terminals are fast, very reliable, and offer the lowest cost of any terminal.
Still need to print a receipt: For businesses who plan to key in their transactions, but would still like to print a receipt for their own keeping, or to send to their customers, the Nurit 2085, Omni 3200SE, and Hypercom T7 Plus will be the most efficient and lowest cost solution.
Wireless Terminals:
Currently the only reliable, completely certified wireless terminals are made by Lipman (Nurit). The Nurit 3010 has just been replaced by the Nurit 8000, and the newer Nurit 8000 GPRS has the widest coverage of any wireless terminal available. Verifone also has two wireless terminals, the Verifone VX 610 GPRS, and the VX 610 CDMA.
