Accept Credit Cards & Increase Sales
 Point of sale card swipe systems require a merchant to run a customer credit card through a machine that reads the magnetic strip on the back of that American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa credit card. The customer then signs the slip ensuring they will pay the money and any fees that will be charged for this transaction. This is the easiest way for a store to accept payments for their product or service, and usually it involves the lowest fees because it is most secure.
As the card is read by the credit card company machine, their system will make sure there is enough money left on the credit card to allow the charge to be processed, that the customer is not late with his or her payment, that the card is not expired, and that the card has not been reported stolen. Providing all is okay, the credit card company then tallies up the store’s sales for the day and submit payment to that company account through an electronic bank deposit. These deposits generally take no more than three days, so money reaches the account in only a few days. This makes it faster than waiting for banks to process personal check payments where the check must clear your bank and then the customer’s bank before payment is submitted to your account.
To set up your storefront with a point of sale card swipe system, you will need to ensure that every cash register has access to a telephone jack where the card system is plugged in to transmit the information via the telephone lines. For this reason, your store should have separate telephone lines—one for credit card transactions and one for customers to be able to reach the store with questions. If you will also be accepting debit credit cards, you will need to install PIN entry pads at each register. This machinery can be costly, so you must plan for that expense.
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