Is Your Credit Card Machine an Antique?

November 01, 2009

In the everyday hustle and bustle of running your business you may have gotten so used to running your credit card purchases on your faithful old credit card machine that haven't realized how out-of-date it really is. First and foremost, you must be sure your credit card machines are truncating credit card numbers so they aren't showing on your sales receipts. Failure to do this could put you in violation of local, state or even federal laws.

In the everyday hustle and bustle of running your business you may have gotten so used to running your credit card purchases on your faithful old credit card machine that haven't realized how out-of-date it really is. First and foremost, you must be sure your credit card machines are truncating credit card numbers so they aren't showing on your sales receipts. Failure to do this could put you in violation of local, state or even federal laws. Once you have determined that your credit card machine is at least capable of processing transactions effectively and legally it is time to think about what other reason you may have to replace it with a more modern version.

Newer credit card machines have a lot more advanced functions that can help you improve customer service. Some credit cards cannot be processed on the old credit card machines and if you are limited to only accepting Visa and MasterCard you may be missing out on a large number of purchases. Most newer credit card machines also have the ability to run checks electronically which can save your business lots of time and money.

Another service that might help improve your business is having the ability to sell and redeem your own store gift cards. An old antiquated credit card machine will not allow you to add this feature like a newer machine will. This is a great way to increase customer loyalty. A person who receives a gift card from your store will have to shop with you in order to use their gift. This may give you an opportunity to serve and win over a brand new customer. On top of that, most people don't spend the entire value of the gift card in one trip so you will get a second opportunity to impress them and win their business, plus when they do come back they may just purchase additional items over and above the amount of the gift card. Also, keep in mind that every time they see the gift card in their wallet with your store's name on it that is free advertising for you.

There are plenty of reasons to update your old credit card machine with a new one. One final reason you might consider is that new credit card machines process transactions more quickly just like a new computer loads programs more quickly, because the technology is constantly improving just like your business must be in order to survive.