Simply put a Payment Gateway is an essential piece of online payment processing. It is a software application that allows the secure transfer of information between the online payment processesor, whether it is an ecommerce website, phone or mobile payment processor etc and the credit card processing bank.

The online payment gateway is a part of having a merchant account, but they are not the same thing. The merchant account is the term for the overall process of being able to take credit cards and the payment gateway is a software application that allows the process to occur securely.

The most popular payment gateway is currently authorize.net, however there are other companies on the market, including CDGcommerce and Quantum Gateway and often one of these will be offered as part of a bundle package from a merchant account company when applying for a merchant account.

Some of the main features offered by payment gateways are:

A Virtual Terminal
This is an online version of a credit card processing machine. It means that the a customer’s card details can be input online either via a web form, or browser and allows the transaction to be processed online as it would be normally.

Secure Processing
The credit card information has to be encrypted before it is sent to the processing bank to prevent fraud.

Recurring Billing
For companies that offer memberships, or subscriptions the option to process payments on a recurring basis is necessary. A payment gateway makes this possible.

PCI Compliance
PCI compliance is a very hot topic at the moment and is absolutely necessary to avoid hefy fines and there are payment gateways on the market that make the process of being PCI compliant much more simple. They do this by processing transactions on the gateway’s servers for ecommerce merchants without secure websites.

It basically means that no credit card data touches the software, servers or networks of the merchant, so they do not have to worry about achieving full PCI compliance, (more information on PCI compliance can be found here).

This is most beneficial for small merchants who can’t afford the estimated $50k to $250k needed to make an ecommerce website fully PCI compliant.

CDGcommerce is one such company that offers this at the moment and they insure that no card data comes into contact with, or is stored on any client server, network or software.

After choosing a payment gateway, it’s then important to look at payment gateway integration. This is basically how the payment gateway connects to where the customer enters their card details. This is normally in the form of a shopping cart. With major shopping cart providers such as Shopify or

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The Lipman Nurit 3000 credit card terminal is quite a sophisticated piece of point of sale equipment. This is an all in one compact terminal and is very easy to use and comes with a number of features that will ensure that all kinds of transactions are completed in a timely manner.

The main reasons along with its price that are helping to make this a very popular credit card terminal are as follows:

1. People find that replacing the paper rolls is easy to accomplish because of the automatic paper feed.

2. Also they like the built in thermal printer which not only generates high quality receipts at all times but doesn’t make a great deal of noise. Plus of course when the ink finally runs out they aren’t faced with the messy task of replacing ribbons but instead of replacing the unit as a whole.

3. Finally of course when it comes to the Nurit 3000 the reason so many businesses are investing in one is how quickly it is able to complete transactions. For something so small you will be amazed that this particular credit card terminal is able to complete any given transaction in a time of between 7 and 10 seconds.

This like all other models of credit card terminals offered by Hypercom today the Hypercom T8 is able to make a connection for a transaction to be completed in less than 10 seconds. So not only will a business reduce their telephone charges but will also save money for their customers when phoning through an order and paying for it at the same time.

Another practical feature that is of value to any business on what is a very reasonably priced terminal is it comes with 35 pre programmable keys. So performing any kind of transaction, whether taking a payment or crediting a customer back only takes the touch of one button. Furthermore, although the memory provided on this model may be smaller than on some others, it is still capable of storing details of more than 100 transactions at any given time.

Of course what you also want is a terminal that you don’t have to waste time on when it comes to replacing the rolls of paper to provide your customers with receipts. Unlike the older models available when it comes to the Hypercom T8 as soon as you notice the paper is starting to run out you simply the roll inside it and drop another one into its place.

A MagTek card reader is a very versatile piece of equipment for any business to have. They are considerably smaller in size compared to other terminals available in fact some being only slightly longer than a credit card. Although you can actually have them on the counter if space is limited then you can actually mount them on a wall, and you don’t need to drill any holes as it comes with self mounting adhesive tapes.

Other features that are worth considering and why so many people are opting to purchase a MagTek card reader include the following:

1. It not only has dual and three track capability but also bidirectional read capability.

2. It is capable of reading encoded cards that meet ANSI, ISO, AAMVA and CDL standards.

3. There is a green and red LED status indicator on this machine that allows you to know when the machine is ready to use.

4. You can purchase a Windows driver for the MagTek Card Reader, which in turn allows you to simplify the programming of various applications on this machine.

5. Finally all MagTek Card Readers are provided with a 1-year warranty, so these are items that really can be relied on. In fact many businesses that have already purchased such equipment have found that the build quality of these machines is such that they have never had to actually make a claim against the warranty provided.

The LinkPoint AIO is one of the most technologically advanced types of credit card readers available today. It is the type of reader that should happily satisfy the needs of any business, as it is capable of supporting a wide range of payment methods. Plus it also comes with multiple merchant identifications and applications.

This particular credit card terminal is able to complete transactions in a much shorter space of time due to the Z180 CPU microprocessor and being fitted with 1MB of memory. 512K of this is battery backed RAM and a further 512K is flash.

Also what further helps to make the LinkPoint AIO a versatile piece of equipment is its 2-line 20-character LCD backlit display. So reading the commands that need to be followed when a transaction is being carried out is much easier not only for the owner of the business, but also their customers.

Even though the standard model is a track 1 and track 2, bidirectional kind, if the need arises for an additional sum you can order specially from the company that make the LinkPoint AIO a track 1, 2 and 3 model.

The DejaVoo C5 credit card terminal is one of the most compact terminals available and yet it performs extremely well.

Although this isn’t a very large credit card terminal it certainly packs some great features and also makes it very easy to handle. The features that are certainly of benefit to any business are the back lit display and keys so they are all much easier to read. Also unlike other models this one actually comes with 4Mb flash data as well as 16Mb SDRAM so it is capable of retaining a great deal more information so producing reports and tracking payments is a lot easier.

As for the carrying out of payment transactions you will find that these can be completed in a much shorter space of time. This is down to the fact that the DejaVoo C5 is fitted with a dual 32-bit core architecture processor along with a 32-bits ARM9 microprocessor. In fact the processors help to make it a more intuitive piece of equipment and this in turn makes it much more user friendly so learning how to use it won’t take long at all.

The MagneSafe BT90 Bluetooth Card Reader is one of the most flexible credit card terminals you will find available today. Unlike other models this one actually works directly with not only PC’s, but also with mobile phones and is an excellent piece of equipment for businesses on the go.

Some may be concerned about the security aspects relating to this particular credit card terminal, however you needn’t be as this particular model keeps all transactions safe as the data from any card swiped through it is immediately encrypted. Also, it actually protects the business against fraudulent purchases as when the card is swiped it immediately authenticates it.

But these aren’t the only features that make this particular credit card terminal a decent investment for any business today. It is portable and can be used at a distance of around 10 metres (30 feet) away from the main body of the unit.

Also it doesn’t need to be charge constantly. In fact, the MagneSafe BT90 Bluetooth Card Reader can perform hundreds of transactions before the need to charge it and to recharge it only requires the use of standard USB cable. Furthermore the rechargeable battery installed comes with a 5-year life guarantee.

Finally, what may really sell a business into getting this particular machine is the price. For such a high quality piece of equipment the MagneSafe BT90 Bluetooth Card Reader is very reasonably priced. Some stores are selling it for as little as $150.