Credit Card Terminal Definition

Merchant Account Credit Card Terminal Explained:

What is a Credit Card Terminal? A Credit Card Terminal, also called an Electronic Data Capture Terminal or EDC Terminal for short, is an electronic device that enables merchants to accept credit cards at the point of sale. Terminals are available in wired dial-in phone line, VoiP, and mobile wireless options. Additionally, many can be paired with debit pin-pads to accept pin-based debit card transactions.

Credit card terminals can be bought or leased. The cost of buying a terminal can range from $99 to $1000+ depending on the features that the merchant desires. Leases can range from just a few dollars a month to over $100 per month. Merchants are advised to buy terminals whenever possible as leases are often much more expensive and require long service contracts. If a credit card processor requires the use of a specific terminal that will only work with that provider's services, you may want to shop for a different processor that allows for the use of various third-party terminals.

Common Credit Card Terminal Brands

  • Verifone
  • Hypercom
  • Lipman/Nurit
  • Omni
  • Ingenico
  • Dejavoo

Tell Us How They Treated You

Sharing your experience influences our rating and helps other business owners make informed decisions. Please take a moment to tell us if they are serving you well. Your email address will never be published, shared or sold. We only use it to authenticate that you are a real person and, if you select the option for it, to let you know if someone replies to your comment. Required fields are marked *

Comments must contain details about your experience. Please do not use ALL CAPS. Self-promotion, marketing content, or contact information of any kind will not be published. By submitting a comment, you are agreeing to our Comment Policy

Copyright

Copyright © CardPaymentOptions.com, Inc. (Digital Fingerprint: 0d38c6720f0d78a701b74d58653af608). Getting paid to re-write this page? Click here to earn a reward.

Any unauthorized copying and reproduction of the content of this page, including all meta data and computer code, is strictly prohibited. While the information in the above article is believed to be accurate as of its publish date, the author and publisher make no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents. The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable to any party for any direct, indirect, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of this material, which is provided “as is,” and without warranties. Any and all use of trade names and/or marks are for identification purposes only and shall not be construed as a claim of affiliation, or otherwise, with CardPaymentOptions.com, Inc. ("CPO") in any form. The sole purpose of the material presented herein is to alert, educate, and inform readers. It is not intended as legal or financial advice. We may earn revenue if you obtain services from a provider that we recommend. See this page to learn how we support our operations.

Our Top Pick of 2022
helcim logo
star star star star star
Helcim Payments
done
No Monthly or Annual Fees
done
Super Low Processing Rates
done
POS, Mobile, and Online Payments
Sales & Support: (888) 506-7812
Thinking of working in merchant services? Download our free ebook first.
An Honest Buck ebook cover
Most Ethical Processor of 2024

The most ethical providers offer rock-bottom rates, no monthly fees, no contract, and superb customer support. Below we break them down by specialty and industry:

▶ Retail
▶ Restaurant
▶ Card-Not-Present
▶ Invoicing
▶ Online Checkout
▶ E-Commerce Store Creation
▶ Subscriptions & Recurring
▶ Web Developer Tools
▶ Mobile
▶ Non-Profit
▶ Canadian
▶ Seasonal
▶ Quickbooks Intergration
▶ Free (Zero-Fee) Processing