What’s important when choosing a credit card machine?
There are hundreds of different credit card machines available as competitive products are available from various suppliers and older models as far back as 10 or more years continue to be supported by credit card processors. Not all machines are created equal and most importantly not all machines comply with today’s security standards. Credit card machines can stop working for various reasons, maybe you spill a cup of coffee on your machine, but few resources exist to help you decide. Your rep, might sell you the best machine or maybe he/she will only sell you the one that gives them the best profit margin, so how do you know?
We’ve worked with thousands of terminals and clients know firsthand which machines work best. Not all machines are the same. So as a business owner you simply don’t have time to compare Hypercom, Verifone, First Data or any of the other current or past manufacturers such as Ingenico, Exadigm, Nurit, Lipman, LinkPoint, RDM, Way Systems, Magtek, Spectrum or Pax to determine which machine is the best for you and supported by your processor. So, we’ve rated the machines on real world metrics because no one really cares how much RAM is included. What we do care about is can the machine process my transactions fast and reliably. Today all machines come with built-in thermal printers, keypads that can be used as PIN Pads, and support all transaction types. So we’ve identified the key differences to help you find the best machine for your business.
Complete Ratings:
Note on First Data or FD-50, FD-100 and FD-200 terminals – We did not include these devices in our review because they can only be used with one credit card processor – First Data. All terminals reviewed here will work with all processors.
Here are the factors that we used to rate credit card terminals:
- Speed – The real difference in speed is between Dial-Up and Internet Connected (IP) terminals. In our experience the time required to receive a transaction approval on a dial-up transaction is 5-8 seconds, whereas on an IP terminal it’s 1-2 seconds. This makes a huge difference at a high volume location.
- Screen – There are 2 basic different screen types, green LCD screens and back-lit bright LCD screens. The difference is significant and immediately noticeable. We prefer the back-lit screens as they are simply easier to see and the text is clearer with low or even bright lighting.
- Options – Main Screen – This is important because if the function you need is on the main screen, you don’t have to dig through menus each time you need to do something besides a sale. The fewer the options on the first screen the lower the rating received.
- Support – Transaction and Business Type – There are a few rare situations such as hotels and gas stations that require special programming and options when processing transactions, so special credit card machines are required as well. Typically all machines process all transaction types, so little differentiates one machine from the rest. All our machines support credit, debit, gift cards, electronic checks, and all transactions types such as sale, void, refund, tips, etc.
- Reliability – You want your credit card machine to work, today, tomorrow and even after the warranty expires. We find that the current Hypercom/Equinox T4200 series terminals are simply more reliable than the second most popular Verifone terminals. Verifone terminals are plagued with an internal battery issue, so over time the machine will display “Tamper” or “Bad RTC Chip” due to battery failure, and the machine must be serviced by an authorized dealer to fix this issue.
- Price – While cost is always important, the competitive nature of terminal manufacturing has driven the costs down so that similar models from different manufacturers are almost always priced within a few dollars of each other. A dial-up terminal with a bright screen from Hypercom/Equinox costs basically the same as a comparable terminal from Verifone or First Data, so other factors besides price become more important. As a merchant you can’t buy direct, you need to use a reseller such as Leap Payments, and it’s important to find an honest reseller. We’ve seen processors charge $600 or significantly more for a $199 terminal. So working with an honest credit card processor your costs will be minimized and selecting the right device can spell fewer headaches for you in the future.
As you can see from our table our current favorite terminals (as of 1/2012) are the Hypercom/EquinoxT4200 series machines, not because anyone pays us to say this, but simply because these machines cost the same and are easier to use with the best reliability as experienced by our real merchants. Slowly the Hypercom name will be disappearing in the US as the company has re-branded itself Equniox, but the machines remain the same.
