I'm a system administrator tasked with finding a credit card processing solution for our setup where there's a glass barrier between the cashiers and customers. We need a system where cashiers can enter the payment amount on their device, and that amount then displays on a customer-operated device. Ideally, the solution should use Ethernet or wired connections.
6 Answers
Including your location might help get you better suggestions. Here in the Netherlands, this kind of tech is pretty standard, but I know there are horror stories about how things are set up differently in the US, often involving older magnetic stripe technology. Overall, chip-and-pin or contactless is becoming much more common.
Ingenico has some devices that fit the bill for what you're looking for. I've seen setups that allow cashiers to enter totals which customers can then pay on a separate linked device.
I'm pretty sure my local store uses a similar system. The cashier enters the total on their terminal, and the customer just swipes or taps their card on a separate terminal. It's a pretty standard setup.
What system do you currently use for processing transactions? Typically, the register software needs to have some type of integration for the amount to be sent to a POS terminal.
Right now, we don’t have a system. Previously, without the glass wall, cashiers entered the amounts directly and handed the card reader to customers, but that won't work anymore.
Isn't this just how it works in most retail places? The cashier usually rings everything up and then inputs the amount into a POS terminal connected to a customer payment device. It seems pretty common in the US to have that setup where they are separate devices but still connected.
That's true, but I think a lot of those systems are more integrated than what I'm dealing with. I'm looking for something simpler.
You might want to look into Odoo with Stripe. You can use a web browser to input the amount, and it seamlessly sends the info to the payment device. It supports both wired and wireless connections, though you'll want to fix the device in place so it doesn’t get misplaced.
Thanks for the suggestion! Typing in amounts through a browser sounds like a great approach!
Sounds like almost any standard point-of-sale system. Generally, you've got a register connected to an external card reader via a cable. That’s how it tends to work everywhere I've seen.
Do you have a specific system in mind that you recommend?
Yeah, nowadays all our new cards have chips and tap options, which definitely makes things smoother.