You’re a small business owner, so let’s assume you like accepting payments and getting paid. This article provides a brief overview of your traditional terminals and POS systems, outlines the pros and cons of each, and helps you decide which might be best suited to grow your business.

Unfortunately, merchants can fall victim to any number of scams when shopping for payment processing services. One of the most common—as well as financially damaging—is leasing a credit card terminal for credit card processing.

In case you missed it, Apple rocked the payments world on February 8 after announcing that it was rolling out “Tap to Pay” and taking aim at some of the industry’s big players, including Block (Square). Stripe will be the first platform to partner with Apple and offer the capability and is already accepting businesses to participate in the beta program. Next up will be Shopify, followed by others in the fall.  

First Data Merchant Services—which now operates as Fiserv Merchant Services—is a familiar provider of payment terminals and one of the largest payment processors in the world. Point-of-sale terminals such as the First Data FD130 have been around for ages and allow merchants to accept major credit cards, contactless payments, and gift cards. Newer models such as the First Data FD150 build on the FD130 and feature a faster processor and more memory.

Not all merchants are created equal. Nor are the payment processors that serve them. One key area where they differ is their willingness to accept risk. Some payment processors shun high-risk merchants, while others are more accommodating. This article provides an overview of high-risk merchant accounts and what it means to be a high-risk merchant.