Merchant Account
Simply put, a merchant account is a bridge that links your bank account and your online gateway* together. It is used to process Credit Card authorizations. Your merchant account allows you access to the credit card verification used by banks to validate credit cards, and to transfer money to your accounts when a credit card transaction is completed.
*In order to accept online payments, you need a gateway. Your website will communicate with the gateway, sending credit card numbers and customer information as criteria used to authorize a credit card transaction. The gateway is basically the communication channel used to bridge your website and your merchant account. There is usually a monthly fee for gateway access, however with MerchantPlus, our personal gateway, NaviGate, is absolutely free.
Retail Terminals
A retail terminal is a stand-alone piece of electronic equipment that allows a merchant to swipe or key-enter a credit card's information as well as additional information required to process a credit card transaction. In addition to credit cards, most retail terminals have the capability to process gift cards and also perform check verification. Terminals are usually plugged in to a power supply and connected to a telephone line. However, some terminals may be battery powered, communicate over the Internet or even through the cellular phone networks. When a credit card is processed (either swiped through the magnetic stripe reader or keyed in to the keypad), it contacts the network to verify if the credit card can be authorized. At the end of day, a batch of all the authorizations from the terminal are sent out to be processed.
Wireless Terminals
A wireless terminal operates essentially the same way that a retail terminal does with the exception that it is not hardwired to a landline. It communicates via a wireless modem through a cellular phone network. These devices are also battery operated and provides clients with the all the mobility that they might need in their business.
Virtual Terminals
A virtual terminal allows you to manually process credit card transactions from anywhere in the world as long as you have access to an Internet connection. You simply sign in to a secure website with a login and password and you are able to charge cards, refund money, perform authorizations, automatically bill customers for recurring charges, and even process credits. You will also have complete online reporting of all your transactions and orders.
POS (Point-Of-Sale) Systems
Point of sale or point of service (POS or PoS) basically refers to any location where a transaction occurs. It can be at a mean a retail outlet, a checkout counter in a shop, or at your local grocery store. More specifically, the point of sale often refers to the hardware (cash drawers, receipt printers, pole displays, ID verification devices) and the software used for checkouts -- the equivalent of an electronic cash register. Point of sale systems are used in supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, stadiums, and casinos, as well as almost any type of retail establishment.
