Payment terminal
Also known as: POS terminal, Card machine, TPE
A payment terminal is the device that reads a card, takes the PIN if one is needed and sends the payment for authorisation. Those that handle PINs are tested against the PCI PTS POI standard, and PCI SSC publishes a listing of approved devices.
Last reviewed
Example
The card machine on a café counter that you tap or insert your card into, and that prints or shows the receipt.
A payment terminal is the thing on the counter that a customer taps, inserts or swipes a card on. In French it is the TPE, terminal de paiement électronique. In shops it is also called the card machine, the POS terminal or the PED.
Its job is narrow. It reads the card, asks for a PIN when the rules require one, and passes an encrypted payment request on for authorisation. It does not hold the money and it does not decide whether the payment is approved. The card's issuer decides that.
What is inside
A modern terminal speaks the EMV specifications for chip and contactless cards. It also has a secure area that protects the PIN and the card data while they are inside the device. This is why terminals are built like small safes and are not just tablets with a card reader stuck on.
The security of that hardware is tested. The PCI Security Standards Council's PTS POI standard sets requirements for devices that protect cardholder PINs. Independent laboratories evaluate devices against it, and the Council keeps a list of approved ones. The Council encourages merchants and their acquirers to choose from that list.
Terminal versus the rest of the system
The terminal is the part you see. It does the least deciding. Behind it sit the acquirer, the card scheme and the issuer, each doing their own step.
A card machine can be bought, rented or supplied as part of a payment contract. The device is also not the only way in: a phone can do the same job, as described under tap to pay.
Choose the terminal for the day you are busiest, not the day you are quietest.
