Payment Processing Blog

Choosing the Best Bank Card Terminal for Your Business

a credit card being held up at a business

To accept payment in person you will need a bank card terminal. There are plenty of terminals to choose from, so it's really up to you and your business to find which terminal and payment processing provider is the best for you. This article has narrowed down the different types of bank card terminals so you can select the best terminal for your business.

If you have just started your business and you are ready to start accepting payment, you'll need a bank card terminal, also known as a credit card machine or point-of-sale (POS) system. Here are a few things you should consider when choosing the best bank card terminal for you business. 

What bank card terminal features does your business need?

The first thing you should consider is your customer base. How they typically like paying for your products or services, what kind of cards or devices they use to pay, or how you can make the transaction process even better.

Near-field communication

How do you think they will like to experience your payment and checkout process? These days most people use contactless payments, so we suggest that you choose a bank card terminal with near field communication (NFC).

NFC establishes a wireless connection between the card and the card readers, only requiring the customer to hover their card over the machine in order to process the transaction. This allows your customers to have a quick, smooth and efficient payment process where they don’t even need to touch the bank card terminal. This will enable their ability to use smart devices such as a phone or watch to pay contactless. 

Integrated terminal

An integrated bank card terminal is the multitasker of all POS systems. With one of these devices you can incorporate other important parts of your business such as ordering, accounting and inventory. These terminals are far more customizable and can keep track of your inventory, manage menus, schedules, employee hours and more. 

Portable terminals

If your business requires you to be on the job, you might want to consider a wireless credit card terminal. This will allow your customer to pay on the spot. If portability is your concern you can buy tablet or smartphone plug-in or software-based POS systems, so you don’t have to rely on a stable internet connection. These POS systems are often very straight-forward, easy to understand, and do not require any training or prior knowledge. 

The cost of bank card terminals

You can work within your budget when deciding on a bank card terminal. With many options available on the market today, they vary in price. You can get a bank card terminal that is simple, straight-forward and low cost that will do its job. These days even the most basic bank card terminals come equipped with NFC technology to accept digital wallets. 

Penni offers low-cost payment processing as we believe our company can act as a tool for your business, and shouldn't just be an added expense. The most popular processors on today's market are very expensive with high transaction fees, which is not the best choice for most small or start-up businesses.

Only you can decide what is right for your business. As long as you know what you need and you choose a reliable and reputable payment processor and POS machine, you will be ready to start accepting payment from your customers.