What is NFC (Near Field Contactless) Payments and how do they work?
Near Field Contactless (NFC) payments are the wave of the future with most new consumer credit cards and many new mobile phones coming equipment to make contactless payments. As such, contactless payment terminals have become the present and future of credit card transactions. Also known as "tap and pay," contactless payment provides benefits to retailers and consumers alike, particularly in the areas of speed and convenience.
Contactless payments are simply transactions that do not require physical connection between your customers' credit card and the terminal. Smart chip technology, otherwise known as RFID, is supported by a secure controller, internal memory, and a small built-in antenna that transmits information to a reader through radio frequency.
The primary advantages of a contactless payment reader over traditional swipe cards are speed and convenience. Consumers can just tap the contactless payment terminal, eliminating the need for a transfer of hands with a credit card and a receipt signature. In turn, check-out lines become shorter as transaction times become faster.
Contactless payments are best suited for quick-service retailers, such as convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, movie theaters, pharmacy / drug stores, and gas stations and for those whose average ticket is $25 or less.
Retailers with major POS terminal providers can easily upgrade their existing system with a plug-and-play contactless payment device.
Do I need software or a terminal?
Deciding on whether you want to use a credit card terminal or some form of payment processing software to handle card transactions should is usually fairly straightforward. The answer generally depends on the physical environment in which you will be accepting the charges.
Most simply put, the decision usually boils down to whether or not you will have easy access to a computer when you need to charge cards and what kind of transactions systems you already have in place.
If a computer is readily available payment processing software often provides numerous benefits over traditional credit card terminals. Most users love the reporting features available to them and find it helpful to go back and look up a previous transaction. Payment processing software is also usually less expensive and more user friendly than most new credit card terminals.
There are logical reasons why many businesses may be better off with a terminal however. To start with, many businesses already have invested in some sort of cash register or POS system. While some of these can be integrated with payment processing software, many can not. In these cases, it is usually simpler to use a credit card machine rather than cluttering your valuable counter space.
Another circumstance when a terminal may be preferable is when your computer may not always be on or may be in an inconvenient location. If you need to take payments in real-time and can’t be inconvenienced with accessing your PC, then you may be better off with a credit card terminal.
Does my business need a wireless credit card terminal?
Is your business suffering because you’re unable to accept credit cards while on the road? Or worse, are you losing sales to declined credit cards processed off-location, without the customer or card present? If so, your business may need a wireless credit card terminal.
For mobile businesses (i.e. Transportation and Towing services, Contractors, Delivery services, Direct Sales, Trade Show and Flea Market merchants, etc.), a wireless credit card terminal enhances business mobility and efficiency, simplifies the billing and payment process, and increases sales and revenue.
Wireless terminals allow mobile merchants to:
Accept payments from anyone, anywhere, anytime:
- Wireless terminals offer mobile businesses a solution for accepting credit card payments in real time and on-location.
- With connections to multiple cell phone networks, wireless coverage is provided throughout the country.
- To enable continued operation in low-coverage areas, wireless terminals have a “Store and Forward” security feature that provides an offline capture of transactions.
- Wireless terminals deliver a rapid check-out process, with verified transactions received in 2-3 seconds.
- Wireless terminals are compact, and easy to deploy and use.
- By accepting payments real-time, you can avoid losing sales from declined credit cards processed off-site.
- By accepting credit cards on-site, you can reduce the risk of carrying large sums of cash or receiving bad checks.
- Wireless processing is an affordable solution for mobile merchants; since swiping a credit card with the customer present involves less risk, processing costs are lower compared to manually key-entering card information at a later time.
How do I select Credit Card Equipment right for me?
With so many different types of credit card equipment on the market these days, choosing the correct type for your business can be a confusing task. In order to help guide you towards the correct choices, here are some questions you should ask yourself when shopping for credit card equipment.
Will customers be using their credit or debit cards at my physical business location or will I be collecting the card information through another means?
- If you will be swiping cards directly from your customers, your best option for credit card equipment is probably some sort of credit card terminal and printer combination. If you will not be swiping the cards manually, many merchants will want credit card equipment that is more suited to their specific needs. Software packages are available if there is a PC at the business location or a standard terminal and credit card printer may work just fine.
- Merchants who have "quick service" retail operations, and whose average ticket is $25 or less, may benefit from Contactless Payment credit card equipment. The "tap and pay" technology has proven to be most valuable for convenience stores, fast food restaurants, pharmacies, movie theaters and other merchants who rely on faster transaction times and shorter wait times for customers. Merchants can also upgrade their existing credit card equipment to a contactless payment reader without disrupting their operations.
- Most businesses have at least one phone line at their business location and, these days, most have some sort of “always on” internet connection. For these businesses, there are many choices for credit card equipment. Most credit card equipment can share a phone line with a fax, or even the main phone if calls are infrequent and some of the newer terminals can utilize broadband internet for even faster transactions. If no phone or intent is available, such as at a trade-show or for delivery companies, etc, merchants should consider either a battery powered credit card terminal or wireless credit card machines that work over the cell phone networks.
- For those merchants that think they will be accepting debit cards they should consider adding credit card equipment like a PIN Pad to give their customers additional payment options. As described in this article about debit card processing, accepting PIN based transactions may save you money and add value to your customer’s experience.
- For almost all businesses the answer is one. There are examples however where multiple merchant accounts are either desirable or a necessity. These merchants will want a piece of credit card equipment that can handle more than one merchant account. There are inexpensive terminals which handle two accounts and more robust units which can handle up to 99. A qualified merchant account sales person should be able to recommend the correct credit card equipment for your specific situation.
- Since most of the major credit card equipment manufacturers are producing high quality and feature rich products these days, you really can’t go wrong whatever brand you choose. That said, some of the processors may work better with a particular brand of credit card equipment and some newer pieces of equipment are not certified at every processor immediately upon their release. Again, this is a situation where it is best to let your merchant account sales representative guide you as to the best options given your particular processor and needs.
How do I choose an Online Payment Gateway right for me?
While many online payment gateway options are feature rich you still want to spend some time comparing them. This article explains how to go about determining the best online payment gateway option for your business.
Some may prove better in different environments and the reasons can sometimes be quite technical. Take the time to read up on the specs and compatibilities of the different online payment gateway packages. If there is any confusion, or you aren’t certain what might be the best product for you, be sure to call and ask your salesperson questions. Any experienced sales person should be able to fit you with the correct product and describe the pros and cons.
If you already have an ecommerce website and a shopping cart, simply mention this to your sales person when you call. Most off-the-shelf shopping cart packages are compatible with all major online payment gateway products. If your company has built its own shopping cart and database systems you may want to consider having your technical person review the documentation for the gateway you choose.
Payline offers our own industry leading solution but we also carry all of the major online payment gateways on the market today. You can browse through all of them in our section for payment gateways.
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Payline Data Services, LLC | 225 West Washington Street, Suite 2200 Chicago, IL 60606
PHONE: 800-284-7401 | FAX: 800-660-0318 | Donations made through Payline Giving
Payline Data Services, LLC, a registered ISO/MSP in association with First National Bank of Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska, Member FDIC.
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