credit card terminals

Hi,

Hope this is the correct forum. A friend of mine, a retailer, has a number of credit card terminals in his shop. All of them currentrly verify credit card transactions via dial up over an analogue line. He has broadband into his premises, and I was thinking would it not be more effeceint if he could have his machines verify over the bb connection, rather than via dial up ? Would be faster and cheaper by a long run. Is this possible, and can anyone point me in the right direction to look this up ?
Regards,
Wexfordman

Yes, his phone bill must be huge...Go on www.getbroadband.ie to get the best deal in your area. I use Imagine they were the cheapest when I got it installed a year ago. Easy to set up with a router (wired version) Got great
assistance via email. They've a great web site too and will answer any queries you have quickly.

i doubt the terminal providers will allow CC number be sent over the internet, a dial up connection to a particular number is much more secure for them, AFAIK they dial lo-call/free phone numbers

Yes, it's possible to do authorisation over broadband and other IP connections (e.g. mobile GPRS). There are two main ways to do it -- either replace/upgrade the terminals so they connect to broadband directly, or install a "bridge" device that sits between your existing terminals and your broadband router. The advantages are, as you say, reduced line rental costs, and faster authorisations. Security isn't an issue as an encrypted tunnel is used.

However, I'm not sure if anyone is offering this to small merchants in Ireland (yet.). You can't roll your own solution, as you need a processor to accept your "cardholder present" requests over IP, and route them to the provider of your merchant account.

Looks like Integral offer this in Ireland.