Countertop Card Readers For Restaurants: The Ultimate Guide
Credit card readers are payment processing device that reads information from a customer’s credit or debit card and sends it to the financial institution for approval. But what are the best Countertop Card Readers for restaurants? Well, There are various types of credit card readers on the market – from countertop models to mobile, portable and softPOS options . All accept various card payments for a secure and swift customer checkout experience. For further information and pricing on card machines click here .
Card payment machines for small businesses:
Company
Takepayments
MyPOS
Barclaycard
Sumup
Worldpay
Zettle
Square
Customer Rating
4/5
3.5/5
3.5/5
4.5/5
3.5/5
3/5
4.5/5
Card Machine
£7.50+/mo (rental)
£39–£209 (purchase)
£10+/mo (rental)
£39–£129 (purchase)
£17.95+/mo (rental)
£29–£199 (purchase)
£16–£149 (purchase)
Costs
1- or 12-month contract & £0-£150 setup fee
No monthly fee & no lock-in
12-18 months’ contract & £150 setup fee
No monthly fee & no lock-in
18-month contract & mix of costs
No monthly fee & no lock-in
No monthly fee & no lock-in
Sign-up
Get quote, personalised onboarding
Online registration with verification steps
Get quote, online sign-up
Short online form, quick acceptance.
Tailored quote, personalised onboarding
Short online form, quick acceptance
Short online form, quick acceptance.
Key Facts
Tailored packages, great customer service
Flexible across borders
Great for existing Barclays customers
Low fixed rate, Cheapest terminals
24/7 sales support, better fees for £250k + turnover
Easy-to-use app
Best free POS and payment tools
Countertop Card Readers: iDynamo 6 MagTek’s
iDynamo 6 is designed with mobile convenience, offering restaurants, boutiques and airlines the next generation of secure card reader authenticators (SCRAs).
Capable of reading magnetic stripe cards, contact and contactless EMV chip cards, as well as NFC wallets – it’s ready to accept Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay a nd more through USB-C connections on iOS, Windows or Android platforms with a universal mounting bracket that attaches directly to any host for a secure swipe, dip or tap experience.
iDynamo offers the MagneSafe security architecture to protect payment applications with encryption, tokenisation, counterfeit detection and tamper recognition, dynamic digital transaction signatures and other layered protections that surpass PCI standards.
This robust, scalable solution is designed to safeguard consumers and their personal information throughout the payment process by encrypting data inside the read head of a reader and immediately tokenising it.
MagTek iDynamo 6 brings magstripe, EMV contact and contactless, and NFC contactless transactions onto your countertop with its sleek form factor that works with wireless and wired connections. Thanks to its dual interface capability, users can accept magnetic stripe and contact EMV transactions on one device, saving them time and money in the long run.
Countertop Card Readers: tDynamo SCRA
tDynamo SCR A is a MagTek card reader designed for ease of use in many environments, from mobile POSs to fixed countertop systems. It accepts magnetic stripes, chip cards and contactless payments with its straightforward form factor and easy-to-use user interface. Retailers and business owners alike need to safeguard their customers’ information. With tDynamo, merchants can rest assured that their clients’ details remain secure.
The tDynamo can be mounted to a countertop or placed into an optional charging stand for mobility.
Its compact form takes up minimal counter space and uses minimal real estate during payment processing, giving customers a faster checkout experience. QwickPAY and tDynamo offer MagneSafeTM security to protect data from unauthorised access and tokenisation and MagnePrint card authentication for enhanced fraud prevention.
This enables businesses to safely accept multiple forms of payment at one point of sale, eliminating check handling and teller line transactions while increasing revenue.
Countertop Card Readers: Toast
Toast is the premier provider of restaurant technology solutions, including a point-of-sale system, payment processing and online ordering. While many competitors provide similar combined services, Toast stands out by designing its software and hardware specifically for restaurants.
Toast offers various plans for its POS systems, such as the Starter plan, which includes both a tablet and credit card reader. Y
ou pay a monthly fee plus credit card transaction fees which range from 2.99% to 2.49%, plus £0.15 per transaction. The Starter plan is ideal for restaurants that want to get started at low costs without needing additional hardware.
Toast’s Flex POS system is another Android-based countertop card reader that supports contactless and keyed-in transactions.
It’s user-friendly with a touchscreen interface and compatible with various kitchen display equipment. This Point-of-Sale system (POS) features include menu management, staff scheduling, inventory and sales tracking, reporting, credit card processing and customer loyalty programs.
Countertop Card Readers: SumUp Plus
SumUp Plus is a card reader designed for small businesses that don’t require complex POS features. It connects to a mobile device via Bluetooth and can process up to 500 transactions on one charge.
This card reader accepts magstripe, chip and contactless payments from any phone, including Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Furthermore, it supports Apple’s PIN pad for debit cards. SumUp Plus offers a card reader with several functional POS software features like managing products in your catalogue, monitoring sales, sending digital receipts and controlling employee accounts.
SumUp may have a more comprehensive feature set than Square’s mobile POS, but it offers excellent value for the money. Its payment processing rates are straightforward, and no monthly fee or long-term contract is involved. SumUp Plus also has the advantage of accepting remote payments via a link or QR code, making it ideal for restaurants and hospitality businesses that need to accept customer-facing payments from mobile devices. However, you must obtain approval to use a virtual terminal to accept these hidden payments.
Countertop Card Readers: Square
Square’s Countertop Card Reader is a user-friendly credit card processing solution for small businesses. It accepts cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, EFTPOS and JCB networks .
This device supports contactless payments – making it ideal for mobile retailers and restaurants who need an efficient yet straightforward method to process customer payments quickly and conveniently.
Merchants can utilise the mobile app to accept card payments and transfer them immediately to their bank account after processing.
Furthermore, they can enable Instant Deposit at 1% per deposit for funds transfer within one to two business days – perfect for busy entrepreneurs!
The square reader comes in two varieties: magstripe version and contactless and chip model . The former only accept magnetic stripe cards, while the latter can swipe all significant types of credit cards.
Both models work with the Square POS app, which is available for iOS and Android.
Countertop Card Readers – Find out more about card machines here .
Countertop Card Readers – Other Useful links about card machines:
Which is the Best Swipe Machine for Small Businesses?
Should I Buy My Credit Card Terminal?
Can I Use My iPhone As a Credit Card Reader?
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