Update or High-Speed Digital Telephone Lines to

Before upgrading your business telephone lines, digital or high-speed, contact your merchant service provider for the first time, it is important that you could end up losing the ability to accept credit cards.

As the business grows and as technology, many business owners will choose to update a few lines of a digital phone system, or the increasingly popular Voice over IP package, which combines a phone and an Internet connection of one high-speed line (Examples of Optimum Online, Verizon FiOS, Vonage, Comcast and so on).

These types of data communications and updates can do much to enhance business productivity, but if you take the plunge, but for the first time, considering the Point of Sale device and its capabilities, the impact can be catastrophic.

How can upgrade your business phones or Internet services affect their credit card processing?

Most of the countertop POS terminal (POS = credit card processing machines), for small businesses to operate a traditional analog phone line. These POS terminals, often using a dial-up modem, it is very similar to those used in fax machines. If an analog, dial-up telephone line is eliminated, your POS terminal loses its ability to connect to your network marketing services. If the terminal can not connect, the sale could not be confirmed by the cardholder's bank. Would lose the ability to process credit cards.

What should I do if I accept credit cards, and I need to upgrade your business phone line?

First, the make and model of your POS terminal. Then call your merchant service provider. The best thing is to talk knowledgeable support representative, and let him or her know what you're going to do with your phone / internet system. The support rep can help you find the right type of credit card processing device to match your planned system upgrade.

What are my options?

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) allows a number of credit card processing capabilities. First, you can upgrade your POS terminals to IP (high speed) to the model, so that the terminal uses the Internet instead of telephone cable wire. Transaction processing time will drop dramatically.

Another option is a virtual terminal. Virtual terminals or the Internet or a computer program that allows your computer to a POS terminal (ie, Federal Payments SafePay). Credit card information can be manually keyed, for a cart, or if you are face to face business card reader can be connected to a PC via a USB cable, swipe access.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) allows you the same options as above, but traders can also add a DSL filter (available for less than $ 20) and analog POS still function. New equipment is not necessary. DSL Internet connection is often slower than VoIP, because it has become less popular option, but it does not allow business to continue using dial-up technology, as needed (eg, older and more basic credit card terminal).

Digital phone lines (voice only - no internet) - a special challenge when the credit card processing. POS terminals, the number of designs that can operate the phone system a few or none. In some cases, the POS terminal can operate sporadically, working fine one day and not the rest. If your business requires a digital phone system (typically used for multi-line conversion systems), it is highly recommended that you leave a separate analog line position POS terminal, or to introduce high-speed Internet connection IP terminal or virtual terminal.

In summary ...

Unfortunately, some telecommunications companies pitching and installing these systems on the Internet and telephone companies, POS terminals, the compatibility issue is rarely mentioned. We hope that this article provides information to help you make an informed decision about how and when to upgrade, that your chances are to receive payments from customers are not distorted.