Terminal and cash register integration

At points of sale accepting electronic payments by cards you can usually find a retail system (cash register) and EFTPOS terminal (Electronic Fund Transfer at Point of Sale).

Integration of these two units, the cash register and the EFTPOS terminal in one payment system, physically coupled, considerably increases the practicality of the payment system at the point of sale, and in consequence, its attractiveness for the salesmen.

Terminal systems software

PROCARD is the author of Communication protocol Cash Register -EFTPOS Terminal specification, the original study of our Company. This protocol had been created for many years, and its present form is the result of many years' experience, with regard to Polish market characteristics. This protocol is the only one implemented and verified in operation, and thus is a Polish de facto standard.

Integration of these two units comes down to a determination of data flow rules and messages format, transferred between the cash register and the EFTPOS terminal, however, in such a way that at any moment there are no ambiguities about the stage of the transaction. Communication protocol Cash Register -EFTPOS Terminal covers administration and transaction commands, and in its complex version it covers exchange of data for payment transactions by credit cards, fleet, loyal and pre-paid sale system cards.

Integration of cash register and EFTPOS terminal by means of their physical coupling and determination of one communication protocol allows to

• fully automate the payment process (electronic transfer of transaction data)
• avoid mistakes (connected with manual introduction of data)
• decrease the duration of transaction
• limit potential frauds made by cashiers

System composed of separate units - retail (cash register system) and EFTPOS terminal, is the best configuration of tools at many sale points. The merits of such a solution are presented below:

• Separation of management of electronic payments system carried out by Settlement Centre (accepting transactions) from the management of retail system (cash register, storage) carried out by the salesman
• Application of standard methods of remote management of terminal application. EFTPOS terminals usually have implemented - as standard - methods of managing a terminal application (remote modification of applications and application parameters) which are necessary to change the terminal operation parameters by the Settlement Centre.
• System composed of modules enables to replace independently one of the elements of the system with no need of replacing another one (e.g. in case of equipment breakdown or replacing with a new model)