Embedded Payment Terminal Solutions

Written by

James Davis

Written by James Davis

Senior Technical Writer at United Thinkers

Author of the Paylosophy blog, a veteran writer, and a stock analyst with extensive knowledge and experience in the financial services industry that allows me to cover the latest payment industry news, developments, and insights. Read more

Reviewed by

Kathrine Pensatori

Reviewed by Kathrine Pensatori

Product Specialist at United Thinkers

Product specialist with more than 10 years of experience in the Payment Processing Industry. I help payment facilitators and PSPs solve their various payment processing issues. Read more

Historically, non-embedded terminal solutions were the first to dominate the payment terminal industry. Their history spans about three decades and they are still industry-accepted worldwide. However, with evolution of connectivity methods, when RS 232 connection ports were replaced by Ethernet ports and wireless connection, embedded payment terminal solutions started to gain popularity.

Both embedded and non-embedded payment terminal solutions have their strong points and weak points.

For instance, while non-embedded terminal solutions are more common for the industry, they require the installation of the special payment terminal management software on the workstation, called “a local footprint”. This local footprint touches cardholder data, so it might require PA-DSS certification. The arrangement also makes point-to-point encryption more problematic to implement. Embedded payment terminal solutions, in their turn, do not require any local footprints, and simplify point-to-point encryption. On the other hand, they do require Ethernet connection and remote software updating mechanisms. While non-embedded payment terminal solutions depend on the operating system, installed on the workstation (which is a drawback), they are easier to implement in terms of fulfillment (which is an advantage).

Consequently, if you want to find a suitable payment terminal solution for your business, you need to consider all the pros and cons of both options. You can find more information on advantages and disadvantages of embedded and non-embedded payment terminal solutions in the respective article on #Paylosophy.