Point of sale (POS) systems

POS stands for point of sale and represents the time and place where a sale transaction is completed. A POS system can reference the simplest of the terminal or device that allows a business to process a payment from a customer. Alternatively, it can be a robust customized software, like talech, that provides additional value-add services like inventory management, barcode printing, employee management, appointment scheduling and more.

NFC stands for Near Field Communication technology. It essentially lets a consumer’s smartphone communicate with a POS terminal. The cardholder simply holds their smartphone a few inches from the terminal to complete a transaction. Consumers may also recognize this as a ‘tap-and-go’ payment experience.

EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) is a global standard for payment cards using chip technology allowing you to more confidently validate and accept payments. Sometimes referred to as “chip cards,” “chip and PIN” or “chip and signature,” the embedded technology is considered better for card authorization and validation than legacy magnetic stripe cards, which can all too easily be skimmed for counterfeit purposes. EMV-enabled terminals allow you to support both chip and magnetic stripe cards for existing customer preferences. A notable difference to you and the cardholder is that when using EMV cards and terminals, the card never leaves your customer’s hand. You will present the terminal or PIN Pad to your customer for payment, even in restaurant environments.

Benefits of EMV:

• More powerful card authentication to protect against counterfeit cards
• PIN-based verification to protect against lost/stolen cards allowing cardholder validation
• Fewer fraud-related chargebacks from stolen/skimmed cards

Your customers benefit as well, with the greater peace of mind that comes with improved technology, and a seamless experience while they checkout, whether their card is swiped, inserted, or tap-and-go.

A mobile wallet is an option on smartphones or smartwatches that allow your customers to make purchases from there devices. Examples of mobile wallets include Apple Pay™, Google Pay or Samsung Pay. They can provide stronger security than traditional payment methods through tokenization technology. A token replaces a cardholder’s payment card numbers, rendering the information useless to hackers in the event of a breach. Mobile wallets use NFC technology, so you’ll want to ensure you have a modern terminal that is NFC-enabled.