Integrated Credit Card and EPOS Till System

Integrated Payments Explained

Integrated payments are the essence of a modern business outlet. They make sure your business is productive and streamlined. So what are integrated payments? It simply means your credit card or PDQ terminal is linked to and communicates directly with your EPOS till system.

When the sales are rung through your EPOS and then totalled, the till sends the information straight to your card machine. The machine is then ready to accept customers payments within seconds.

This is a speedier, streamlined solution compared to older methods of taking non cash payments.

Smoother Till Payments

Integrated payments are transactions that are linked automatically to your credit card machine from your EPOS till system. They simplify the everyday transactions that your till handles with payment by card or cashless apps. Staff will enter sales as normal into the till and subtotal to let the customer how much they need to pay.

If the customer wishes to pay by card the sales total is seamlessly transferred to the card machine terminal where it can be accessed by the customer. The customer then enters their PIN and completes the transaction. The till sale will then be paid for and finalised in total.

Transactions can also be completed using the contactless feature on the card machine. The customer simply holds their card over the machine and the payment is made and the sale finalised in the same way as before.

Mobile phone, apple pay and google pay transactions can also be completed in the same way. Customers choosing to pay by one of these ‘cashless’ apps will simply hold their device over the PDQ machine. The payment will be taken and the till finalised.

The till will automatically show that payment has been taken and a receipt,will be issued. A credit card slip will also be issued to the customer for their records. Staff can then continue to serve customers in the same manner.

Are We Heading To A Cashless Society?

There is evidence backed by data within the finance industry that debit card payments will overtake the amount of cash sales within the next decade. By 2028 it is estimated that cash payments will be 78% lower than in 2018. And debit cards will see the same percentage gain. We are not set to see the end of cash transactions but they will become increasingly rare in shops, pubs and restaurants.

If Businesses want to keep up with the consumer they have to make progress work for their outlet. Integrated payments will ensure that you keep customers and staff happy. Customers will come to expect that businesses accept more popular and easier payment options as we head into this ‘reduced cash’ society. As a business can you afford not to take integrated card payments?

Consumer Driven Seamless Payments

Integrating your EPOS till system and credit card machine may not just be about benefits to your business : consider the benefits to customers. Customers are increasingly driving the way forward for business. They have great expectations of how they want to pay and how they want you as a business to recognise their requirements. Research carried out by Paymentsense shows that Consumers lose patience with cash-only businesses. After five months of asking if they accept cards most customers give up. New businesses that don’t offer a quick, easy and secure method of payment may end up seeing customers walking away.

Integrated payments mean that the till and credit card machine talk to each other. As with any great relationship talking reduces mixed messages and keeps things clear and simple. Your PDQ machine will have all the information it needs directly from your till . This ensures the customer is charged the correct amount for goods. This gives customers confidence, too. Most customers hate queueing. So it makes sense the faster and easier you can make the whole payment process  the better. And the more they will come back to spend in your outlet.

Swift And Simple Transactions

The main benefits to your business are processing time is minimal due to the technology behind the solution, errors are reduced and cashing up is easier. Because the EPOS sends information direct to the PDQ machine there is no fumbling about with entering details manually.

Without an integrated solution staff will have to key in the amount of the sale from the till onto the machine themselves. Think of all the issues that could be caused by human error. Mis-keyed amounts could cost your business lost revenue and profits. The process itself will certainly take longer especially if the card machine is at the other end of the counter or is the only machine in the store.

Staff will then have to return to the till to finalise the sale and issue a receipt. The clock’s ticking and your customers are getting restless perhaps next time they will go to your competitor who has faster payments!

Take The Headache Out Of Cashing Up

Reports from the credit card terminal will be issued automatically at the end of your trading day. These will give you totals of all the days transactions through the machine. Just match up with your EPOS till system reports and it’s all sorted. And one last thing to mention think of all that time you’ll save counting cash and balancing the books. You can get on to doing something much more interesting.

So really the question you should be asking yourself is why wouldn’t I accept integrated card payments alongside my EPOS till system?

Setting Up Business Payment Integration

There are lots of options open to a business if they want to benefit from integrated systems at the point of taking payments. If you already have EPOS you will need to contact your supplier and ask about the options available to you. Your business may already be taking payments but you wish to streamline the process with the terminal communicating with your till. Again your EPOS till system supplier or dealer should be able to advise and set you in the right direction.

Your bank will also be a good place to contact as you need a merchant account set up in order to take payments through your business. This can sometimes take a while to arrange so if you are a new business don’t leave it all to the last minute.

Make sure that you are using a provider of PDQ machines that is recognised and well respected in the industry. There are so many options out there for transaction services and they are not all the same. So do your homework and make sure that you are armed with the facts before you decide. Fees again differ so much and you may find you have to sign up for a long term contract to get a ‘good deal’. Support is one area to look at as you need to have peace of mind. You need to know you can contact support services and that they are helpful and approachable.

Sourcing The Right Solution For Your Business

The solution you decide on needs to be suitable for your needs, now and in the future. It needs to be able to support your business in it’s simple yet capable technology. In short integrated payments need to add value to your business.

Look out for integrated payment services that offer you flexibility – you may want one PDQ terminal to two tills. You may wish to offer pay at table services, or a mixture of both a till and mobile options. Not all businesses are the same so don’t be treated like everyone else if it doesn’t suit.

PaymentSense – It Makes Good Business Sense

Breezy Tech is proud to be partnered with Paymentsense to offer integrated payment solutions for businesses like yours. We think that running a business is demanding and challenging and so any support that makes life easier is worth having.

Paymentsense are a leading provider of payment solutions for lots of different businesses. They recognise that the best technology, great support and good rates should be available to all business owners. And we echo those sentiments here at Breezy Tech.

There are so many benefits to using integrated payments via Paymentsense. There are far too many to go into here, so if you want to know more about Breezy Tech EPOS and Paymentsense pop over to our webpage. We’re here to help.

Legal Compliance Requirements

All businesses that accept card payments need to be PCI compliant. This is the global standard for handling card data as required by The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This can take some time to set up and you may even consider using an expert in the field to help with this procedure.
Furthermore all businesses accepting face-to-face or online card payments will need to comply with SCA by March 2021.This takes into account a new EU initiative to improve payments security with Strong Customer Authentication.

Tried And Tested For UK Approval

Card terminal security is taken very seriously in the UK. It is important that with the increase of card payments taken over the counter or at the table that a business can trust the payments system in its entirety. Ingenico machines approved by the Common.SECC consortium can be seen on the UK Finance website.

Trust in the security of payments by card machine is paramount for both the customer and the business owner. UK finance ensures that only pdq machines that have been rigorously tested for security within a laboratory environment are able to be supplied within the UK market. The body is also keen to test for usability to ensure that all customers have access to a credit card machine that suits their physical needs. Usability in the UK is often tested by the Royal National Institute For Blind People.