Manual Credit Card Machine
Lots of great information about choosing the best manual credit card machine for your business.
Credit cards have been introduced in the industry of marketing way back in the 1960s. During this time, the cards still carried the card number, cardholder name,expiration date-all embossed or the letters raised from the plastic card surface. This led to the development of a manual credit card machine which could be used to print and record credit card slips from reading those raised alphaneumerics. For many years since then, those credit card slips were used as an evidence that the transaction took place by depositing it in the merchant's bank account. As time has passed, new developments arouse and the credit card now carries with it a magnetic strip that is swiped and read through electronic devices that are able to read and transmit the card information for the authorization of the sale. The verification of such purchase or transaction can only be done by the respective processing centers.
Due to the current advancements in technology,electronic processing had become standardized in the trade industry. Just last year, Visa made the announcement that they will be presenting the new face of credit cards. They described these future credit cards to be flat and the information that the card carries will only be accessed through the magnetic strip at the back. Accompanying these changes would be phasing out the embossed card informationon credit cards type. Other associations that are known to utilize credit cards and the like are expected to follow the suit in a short span of time.
Although manually taking imprints on cards are still done by a number of merchants, it is done only for the cases of food deliveries or for the services of those which are ordered through phone. This is done for verification processes, ensuring that there is a card presented to the sales representative of the restaurant, for that matter, thus preventing fraudulent payments. However, the disadvantage would be if the costumer is already using the new no-embossed card information credit card.
Since then, a manual credit card machine has basically become obsolete since the new standard has been established. The standard entails swiping the card through a terminal. The terminal could be beside the cash register, inside the store, or in a sale system,depending on the owner or the merchant's prerogative. A wireless terminal may also be necessary and used to the customer for payment in cases such as deliveries and the like.
Business orders taken through the phone line or mail requires manually keying the credit card numbers into the terminal you are using. In doing so, you are paying a whole lot more in additional card processing fees. These transactions done manually are more often than not, not honored or considered as “non-qualified” transactions since there is a greater risk of accepting fraud and unreliable payments due to the absence of the card physically. As a result, it would be at your expense since it will be costing you double than the basic rate.
This new advancement in the field of trade has become the downfall of counterfeiting thus assuring every merchant a safe business. However, it has also resulted in a manual credit card machine being replaced by an electronic one. Despite this, there is still a place for a manual credit card machine despite the higher costs, because most frauds are changing their tactics to go after the new transaction types, leading some retailers to conclude that reverting back to manual transactions may in fact be in ther best interest as long as their merchant account provider continues to accept them.
