[RetailEdge Moderator]

We can sell you the credit card swipers. They are simple USB devices and are $55.00 each. However, the PINPads you should go with whomever you end up processing with. The PINPads are setup with an encryption key that is specific to the processor. We could sell you one, but since the PINPad must be "injected" with this key, we have opted not to supply them. We would have to order them, have them sent to the processor, then send them to you. This would take too much time and would be prone to mistakes. If the device was not injected properly, then we would have to go through the process all over again.

A quick overview on PIN Debit.

1. The PINPads are only available in Serial. So you need to have a serial port available to plug it into.
2. Most Debit cards today have a MC/VISA logo on them so you don't need to have a PIN Pad to process them. The will process as a normal credit card does. You can also process them as a Debit card by requesting a PIN be entered at the time of sale. The difference is that when you process it as a credit card you get charged the rate you get charged on a typical credit card transaction, when you process it as PIN Debit, you get charged a flat transaction fee. Either way the funds are removed from the customers bank account directly.

Typically (and this depends on the rates you are getting) for transactions over $35.00, you want to ask the customer for a PIN on a debit card transaction. Some other things you might want to factor into you decision are:

a. PIN Debit is a card only transaction. You can't do phone orders this way.
b. Training clerks can be an issue. Do you want to have to train your clerks to ask for a PIN when the transaction is over a certain amount?
c. The cost of the PIN Pads (around $200).
d. How many debit cards you are currently taking.
e. How many debit cards you see taking in the future. We have always heard that PIN Debit transactions were going to become less and less and so we postponed putting this in the program for a long time. However, many customers said that they do a lot of PIN Debit. Since we are always trying to have program features in the program (like gift cards and loyalty programs), we added the PIN Debit.

The two merchant accounts we work with are listed below. Both should be able to provide you with the lowest processing rates (meet or beat) so that you will be able to save money processing credit cards.

Payment Processing, Inc. (PPI)
Mercury Payment Systems (MPS)

Please contact us if you need additional information on these Merchant Accounts.

More information can be found at the following link

http://www.retailedge.com/phpBB/viewtop ... 355&p=1592

[RetailEdge Moderator]

A couple of addenda to this topic.

1. MPS does not provide PIN Pads since they are too hard for them to support. We do support and sell the PIN Pads that work with Mercury. So if you are going to setup an account with Mercury then you need to contact us if you are going to do PIN Debit.

2. The rates for PIN Debit have changed. The average transaction value for PIN Debit can be fairly low ($10-$11) for a transaction where getting a customer's PIN will save you money on the transaction. It depends on which processor you are using to handle the debit transaction. You can check with Payment Processing or Mercury when setting up with them to see what your "break even" point will be.

3. We do not support PIN Debit using PCCharge. Since each PINPad is injected to work with a different processor, we can't certify that we will be able to work with each different PINPad Injection. We have tested and certified with MPS and PPI but we are not in the business of certifying with each processor injection and so can guarrantee that this will work and can't support it. We have had some customers have success using a PIN Pad with RetailEdge and PCCharge but only with Versions 8.1.2 and below. Our Version 8.1.3 is really the PADSS Validated version. Version 8.1.3 started to talk to PCCharge through their socket (TCP/IP) method because it is more secure and part of our PA DSS validation requirement. We know that this has caused more PIN Debit failures and will only increase the likelyhood of PIN Debit not working. So if you want PIN Debit, you best bet is to use PPI or MPS. Both these solutions will save you money with processing and using PIN Debit can also save you money.