Hardware: Readers & Terminals

There is an extensive array of point of sale and access control devices from all over the world available to application developers, and you can rely on the engineers at CardSmart to specify the right ones for your application. Our solutions utilize a large variety of different electronic transaction devices including: credit card terminals, electronic cash registers (ECR's), RFID, virtual terminals, PCs, wireless, cellular, mobile and even rewritable terminals, which are capable of changing the variable printing on the face of the card. And there are many other specialty devices with which CardSmart engineers have experience.

In short, our transaction platforms and systems are designed to interact with practically any electronic transaction device.

Low cost card readers with limited intelligence. These require a host machine usually a PC to manage the instructions that are sent to the reader and card. Some have the card reader built into a keyboard as shown on the right.

Terminals and electronic cash registers (ECR's) are self-contained programmable devices which, in addition to having a built in card reader, may include a display, keypad, modem and/or receipt printer. These options are ideal for point of sale (POS) retail applications where counter space is at a premium. CardSmart can help you choose from among the many variations offered by major manufacturers.

There is a wide variety of vending and kiosk style readers including: laundry, parking, food/ beverage, copy/repro, and other self service. The kiosk at right was developed for LoyaltyCard™ from Reynolds & Reynolds, a smart card based customer retention solution for new car buyers, launched throughout North America.

The CardSmart Virtual Terminal™ looks and operates like an actual terminal that might be located at the point of sale, except it runs inside an Internet browser and conforms to the same script and business rules that are in place for a physical terminal.

Some merchants rely on the CardSmart Virtual Terminal™ as a backup in the unlikely event that a problem occurs with their POS terminal. And, of course, we can create a customized virtual terminal interface based on your application's specific requirements.

Next generation, small, mobile readers are increasingly popular. Form factors include attachments to PDA and smart phones, built-in chip and swipe readers, as well as balance checkers and programmable multi-functional units.