Credit & Debit Card Terminals

Often called "debit machines", a credit card terminal is an electronic device that is directly connected to your merchant account and allows you to swipe credit and debit transactions. There are various types of terminals:

Wired Terminals:
These are the most common types of terminals. They are powered by a wall plug and connect using a telephone line or network cable for high-speed internet connections.

Short-Range Wireless:
Often used by restaurants, short-range wireless terminals are sometimes called "handhelds" or "pay-at-the-table" terminals. They are battery-operated and are usually recharged by placing them back on their "parent" base unit. These terminals usually use a Bluetooth or WIFI connection and can usually be taken as far as a few hundred feet from their base. The base units themselves are powered by a wall plug and connect using a telephone line or a wired high-speed internet connection.

Long-Range Wireless:
Unlike the short-range wireless units that are dependent on their parent base unit, long-range wireless units are stand-alone and operate on the cellular phone networks. They are most commonly used by delivery services such as pizza chains, or by taxi services.

Frequently Asked Questions

How difficult is it to setup the equipment?

Helcim's wired terminals are plug-and-play equipment and are delivered to your business ready to be used. All that needs to be done is plug-in the power cord as well as the phone line or internet connection. Your terminal will boot-up and await its first transaction.

How do I use the high-speed connectivity?

For high-speed connectivity, all you need to do is plug-in your terminal to your internet modem or router using a standard network cable. Most modern credit & debit terminals support dynamic DHCP or a static IP address. Your terminal will automatically start using the high-speed internet connection by default.