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Explore all of the considerations about credit card readers for your small business so you can make the most informed choice!
Jason has been writing about small business software platforms, services, and financing since 2015. Jason’s expertise has been featured in Yahoo Finance, Time/NextAdvisor, Home Business Magazine, CreditCards.com, GoBankingRates, TheLadders.com, and other publications. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Diego State University.
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Jason VissersJason has been writing about small business software platforms, services, and financing since 2015. Jason’s expertise has been featured in Yahoo Finance, Time/NextAdvisor, Home Business Magazine, CreditCards.com, GoBankingRates, TheLadders.com, and other publications. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Diego State University.
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Matt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.
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Matt ShermanMatt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.
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A credit card reader enables your business to take payments from customers in any physical setting. We wrote this article to help you in choosing a credit card reader that meets your business needs.
Factor in the following when choosing your card reader:
What is your monthly processing volume? A higher-volume merchant processing over $10K/month should benefit from a mobile reader that comes with your own merchant account. For newer/smaller businesses, a card reader from a payment service provider like Square or Shopify should work well.
Do you sell online or only in person? Online merchants need a mobile POS app for eCommerce. If your business doesn’t have an online component, you don’t need to take eCommerce considerations when thinking about mobile POS apps.
Your industry, budget, and customer needs are also important. If you own a restaurant or retail business, choose a reader that’s compatible with the best restaurant POS software or the best retail POS systems.
Do you already have a full countertop register but want a backup card reader in case your main POS goes down? If so, the super-basic Square Reader for magstripe might fit your needs. As we noted in our piece on the Square magstripe-only reader, you can get a magstripe reader and Square’s POS for free, so even if you never use it, you won’t have spent any money. However, magstripe tech is outdated security-wise, so don’t use it as your primary card reader.
10 Things To Look For When Choosing A Credit Card Reader For Your Small Business
Look for the following when seeking a credit card reader for your business.
Offline Mode
If you have any experience with selling at farmers’ markets, craft fairs, or other large gatherings, you know that internet availability can be spotty at best in these settings. If your card reader’s mobile POS has a good offline mode, you can take payments while offline, then process them once you establish a connection. Square provides a great offline mode with its devices.
No Long-Term Contract
Pay-as-you-go (e.g., Square) or month-to-month pricing (e.g., Helcim) is ideal. You don’t want to be stuck in a pricey contract for a service you don’t like.
However, if your business is considered high-risk, it’s likely that you won’t be offered a choice, and will have to accept a multi-year contract to obtain a merchant account.
A Solid POS App
Choosing the right card reader means looking at the POS app that accompanies the reader, not just the reader itself.
Your mobile POS app needs to be robust and easy to use, with all the features your business needs. The cost of POS can differ greatly from provider to provider, so keep your budget in mind.
EMV Support
Being able to accept chip cards makes things easier for customers to pay (not all cards have a magnetic stripe nowadays) and protects your business in terms of your EMV liability.
NFC Support
NFC support makes it easy for customers to pay with their phone, Apple Watch, or contactless credit card. More and more, customers are expecting NFC support, especially during these germ-conscious times.
Good Battery Life
Since you’ll likely be using the reader on the go, you need one that will go at least a day without a charge.
Fast Funding Times
One to three days is standard, but ideally, it’s nice to have next-day deposits and an instant transfer option.
Good Customer Support
Things can easily go wrong in payment processing, so reliable 24/7 support is a must.
Bluetooth Connectivity
It’s certainly not bad to have a plugin reader as a backup, but a wireless Bluetooth credit card reader ensures maximum compatibility, regardless of the phone or tablet maker/model.
A wireless credit card reader that connects via Bluetooth will also be EMV-capable and usually (though not always) be able to accept NFC payments as well.
Support For Alternative Payments
With most customers carrying smartphones, you should be prepared to handle payment links and QR codes as well, both of which can expedite mobile payments.
With all the different models and types of credit card readers out there, there’s one for just about any business that takes physical payments from customers.
Jason has been writing about small business software platforms, services, and financing since 2015. Jason’s expertise has been featured in Yahoo Finance, Time/NextAdvisor, Home Business Magazine, CreditCards.com, GoBankingRates, TheLadders.com, and other publications. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Diego State University.
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We Recommend Square POS For Your Business 🏆User-friendly & feature-rich point of sale system with affordable pricing.Square POS is an intuitive and simple point of sale platform. It offers customizable tools and a variety of add-ons to fit your business needs and reach your goals.Get StartedNo credit card required
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We Recommend Square POS For Your Business 🏆User-friendly & feature-rich point of sale system with affordable pricing.Square POS is an intuitive and simple point of sale platform. It offers customizable tools and a variety of add-ons to fit your business needs and reach your goals.Get StartedNo credit card required