Internet Credit and Debit

Internet Credit and Debit, what’s the fuss all about?

Up until 2 years ago fast authorization times for credit and debit transactions were left for the large retailers who could afford the high speed data pac lines or T-1 phone lines. The cost to put the T – 1 line or data pac line into business ranging between $ 800 - $ 1000, and the monthly fees for these could be as high as $200.00 per month.

For larger retailers the cost was worth it as they were able to reduce wait times at the tills, provide customers with better shopping experience, and move more customers through the tills. For small to medium businesses who would have liked to have had the same benefits the up front installation costs and monthly fees were cost prohibitive and would take a very long time to recoup the costs.

So what has changed?

The internet has now allowed small to medium businesses to benefit from high speed authorizations. Depending on your POS software selections transaction times can be quick as
5–10 seconds.

Internet credit and debit is affordable as well. Typically the monthly cost of business high speed line averages $60.00 a month. The bonus being if you have several lanes of POS you still only need 1 high speed connection.

Business owners report they are very satisfied with the new service and improved customer experience at the tills.

What do you need to experience this new technology?

There are some considerations to keep in mind if you want to move into this new technology and some additional fees that may be required. We will attempt to outline the most common additional considerations, although you will need to consult with your sales person to ensure you have all the information.

1) The first thing you need is to ensure you have a secure router with a built in firewall and encryption in place for your internet access. The best definition in laymen’s terms of a router that I could find is a piece of hardware that connects 2 or more networks together and allows data transfer to take place. So what this means is the router allows your POS system to talk to the bank that authorizes credit and debit accounts

Our recommendation is to ensure your router is designed for credit authorization and ensure it has a back up modem that will dial out should the internet go down. The Modem till allow you to still get authorizations, slower than normal, but at least you can get the authorizations done until the internet returns. These routers are more expensive than the ones you might find at a computer store; they are not the same item. This is one area NOT to compromise in.

2) Check with your software provider to ensure your system has credit and debit software and that the software is certified to work on the internet. This software may be at an additional charge. Check as well for any additional costs for installation. There will typically be additional costs for the technician’s time either on site, by internet or dial in. It might be wise to ask for an estimate well in advance.

3) Your pin pads will need to be purchased or leased. The option to purchase or lease will depend on your banking provider. The one recommendation AM.PM Service would make is ensure you have a back up pin pad. Most warranties that come with the pin pads are depot warranty where you must send it back to the supplier for service. The last thing you want to happen is to get caught short of a pin pad in the event of a problem.

4) Check with your back or service provider to better understand any additional fees they may have for internet authorization, or perhaps reductions in credit card discount.

This article has attempted to outline the new internet credit and debit technology. The information provided is only intended to highlight the new technology and point out some areas for the customer’s consideration. Ultimately the customer will need to contact their sales person to ensure they have up to date information.

If we can answer any questions for you please contact us with form below or call at
1-800-336-2622.