Terminals

Is a terminal required?

If you’re accepting credit cards in person, a credit card terminal is usually the best option – but not always!  Typically, we recommend credit card terminals for merchants who are in the following categories:

• Low-average-ticket merchants usually prefer terminals. This is due to the fact that terminals process quickly, and can be configured to not require a signature. This means that quick-service merchants or retailers with long lines will usually prefer terminals.
• If you’re physically swiping the credit card the majority of the time. Merchants who are keying-in most of their transactions may benefit more from a Virtual Terminal.
• If your customers require a paper receipt. Many non-profits need to provide receipts to donors, and a standalone terminal is the easiest and fastest way to provide them.

Terminals versus a Point of Sale system

A Point-of-Sale (POS) system can be invaluable to certain types of merchants, and is a “must have” in certain retail/restaurant industries. However, many businesses will have little to no use for a POS, since they aren’t customer-facing or they don’t have fast-moving inventory levels. The majority of businesses can get by with a hardware terminal, or a virtual terminal.

However, for mobile-first merchants, the line becomes a bit blurred as few terminals support 4G or have built-in batteries, whereas a virtual terminal on a mobile device or a dedicated mobile POS such as Clover Flex may better suit your needs. Ultimately the decision on hardware terminal, virtual terminal or POS all come down to your business and your primary mode of interacting with your customer.

Full-Featured FD-150 Terminal: $295

The FD-150 is First Data’s flagship terminal, allowing merchants to accept Chip+PIN as well as adjust for tips on EMV sales. This terminal is perfect for restaurants or any fast-paced business, and has all of the most desirable features offered in standalone terminals, including a WiFi credit card reader. Please note, this terminal is only available on the First Data platform. With the FD-150, you can accept every form of payment, in the most secure way possible:

• Accept EMV (chip) sales and magnetic stripe cards
• EMV tip adjustment, so that you can take tips on your EMV sales
• Allows for Chip+PIN, for the most secure transaction possible
• Connect via IP or Dial, or utilize a wireless (WiFi) connection
• Color, touch screen for quick and easy navigation
• Take NFC payments, such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet
• Can be setup as “Multi-merchant” terminals so that multiple businesses can share the same terminal
• Easy-to-read receipts and simple drop-in paper loading
• Easy-to-print batch reports, server reports, and tip reports
• Automatic over-the-air updates
• Simple, straight-forward menu structures
• Connects to optional RP-10 customer-facing PinPad for an additional $185
• Allows for lodging application, B2B acceptance for level 2 processing, and other upper-level features
• See an interactive demo here
• Available for the First Data / Fiserv processing platform only. Cannot be used on the TSYS or MX Merchant platforms.

FD-150 Terminal $295

FD-150 Terminal + RP-10 PinPad: $480

The FD-150 and RP-10 make for a powerful combination. Together, you can accept EMV payments with tips, right at the point of sale. Simply enter the transaction amount on the terminal, and the customer will be prompted to enter the tip. Then, they can “dip” their chip-card or swipe their credit card, all through the RP-10 device, completing the sale. Here are the features:

• Fully EMV capable – take EMV cards through the terminal or the PinPad.
• WiFi capable, Internal Ethernet (IP) connection, and a dial-up phone line
• Chip+Signature and Chip+PIN available today
• NFC and Apple Pay capable. Let people pay with their iPhone or any other smartphone with NFC technology, directly through the customer-facing PinPad.
• Accept tips directly through the customer-facing PinPad. The customer will be able to discreetly enter their tip without your input, so that you don’t have to manually adjust your sales for tips every evening.
• The RP-10 has a customer-facing PinPad for taking PIN debit sales.

First Data FD-150 and RP-10 PinPad: Just $480