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Contents
The popularity of payment terminals was due to the emergence of cell phones available to the general public. In the late nineties and early 2000s, bank cards were not common as they are now. Services such as mobile banking or Internet banking were also underdeveloped, with the help of which you can replenish your phone from a card account with just one movement of your hand. The only way out for people was to visit the offices of telephone operators or mobile phone stores with their obligatory attribute - queues to a cashier. Therefore, the appearance in many crowded places of terminals with a touch screen, allowing in a matter of seconds and in anonymous mode to deposit money into a phone account, even with a commission, was received with a bang.
Despite the fact that nowadays, cell phones are replenished in this way much less often, the popularity of payment terminals has not fallen, and their number is also growing. They almost completely cover the need of the average citizen to pay for the services he demanded. Surely you will be interested to know how the payment terminal works, what is inside it and how does it differ from an ATM?
Payment terminal. What it is?
Payment terminal (from the Latin "terminalis" - end, border) - an autonomous device (hardware and software complex) that allows you to accept payments from individuals in self-service mode. A feature of such devices is a software interface configured for the most accessible perception of information. Users should not have any questions about how to work with them - everything should be clear, simple and as accessible as possible.
With the help of payment terminals, you can make almost any payments against various service providers (providers). You can pay:
In addition, the terminals allow you to transfer funds to another person's card account, replenish an electronic wallet or account in a payment system (QIWI, Leader, etc.), make a transfer to a fast transfer system (Contact, Western Union, etc.). You have the opportunity to transfer the payment to the account of a charitable organization or use the service of the payment system itself, for example, open a virtual card or create your own electronic wallet, and, finally, top up your account in some massive multiplayer online game.
Where did such a sea of possibilities come from (and the number of service providers may differ for terminals under different brands) and why is a percentage taken for payments in favor of some suppliers, but not in favor of others? We will answer this question and at the same time consider the principle of operation of the payment terminal.
Principle of operation
Let's talk about how the terminal works, starting from the actions of an individual - the payer, and ending with real payment in favor of a particular organization. Let's start with the fact that each payment terminal has its own owner (legal entity or individual entrepreneur), who receives a reward by deducting a certain percentage from each payment. The terminal itself is the final component of the system, to which its owner is connected by signing an agreement on joining this system. The system itself, using the example of QIWI, consists of several participants. To put it simply, these are: agent (terminal owner), system operator, settlement bank and payment provider (supplier). Other well-known brands are built according to a similar scheme: Eleksnet, Leader, DeltaPay, ComePay and more than a dozen.
The central role in the functioning of such a system is played by its operator. He is responsible for coordinating and supporting the activities of the entire system as a whole, providing information and technological interaction of all its participants. The settlement bank is responsible for settlements (payments), in the case of QIWI, this is the QIWI bank. In the clearing bank, the operator has a clearing account, to which agents transfer a certain amount of money - the so-called guarantee fund. Such a fund is necessary to ensure the fulfillment of the obligations of the owner of the payment terminal to transfer the accepted payments.
After physical. the person (payer) selects the required service on the terminal screen, enters details (for example, a phone number), enters the required amount into the terminal (inserting banknotes into the bill acceptor) and presses the pay button, then the terminal sends a request via GSM (or a dedicated channel) to the system operator, where the processing of this transaction begins. Accordingly, in the settlement bank, the agent's guarantee fund is reduced by the amount of the accepted payment (by debiting from the operator's personal account), and the payment itself goes to the accounts of the payment provider in whose favor the payment was accepted. For example, if you want to replenish your mobile account with the mobile operator MTS, then it will be the payment provider.
The terminal owner receives his remuneration (commission) from each payment. It is also possible additional remuneration from service providers based on the results for a certain period of time. The commission can be fixed from all payments or individual from each payment. The maximum commission depends on the tariff plan provided by the system operator. The operator and the settlement bank also take their commission.
The presence of a service provider in a particular system means that an agreement has been concluded between the system and the supplier to accept payments. The more suppliers, the better for the payer - the wider the range of possible payments.
The commission that is withheld from the payer must be shown on the screen of the payment terminal without fail before paying for the service. Different terminals may have different fees. This means that the machines are owned by different owners who have set different amounts of their commissions. It happens that the commission is not at all withheld when paying for a service, for example, when repaying microloans, many microfinance organizations declare a 0% commission when repaying through terminals related to certain payment systems. This suggests that companies (in this case, MFOs) pay the commission themselves on the terms specified in the payment acceptance agreement. They lose a little in the cost of loans, but gain additional loyalty from their borrowers.
How does the terminal work?
Terminals are of two types, depending on the installation location: indoor (floor-standing, wall-mounted, built-in, desktop) and outdoor (wall-mounted, built-in and installed as free-standing racks). But at the same time, their design practically does not differ. The only difference can be in the design of the case: anti-vandal, moisture resistant, etc.
Any such device is equipped with:
The difference between a payment terminal and an ATM
At first glance, these two devices are absolutely identical. Both handle money, process payments, and print checks and mini-statements. However, there are fundamental differences between them. How is a payment terminal different from an ATM? The differences are as follows:
1. The main purpose of the terminal is to accept money for making a payment, and the ATM is to issue it. Although there are ATMs with the function of accepting cash (Cash-in), which can also accept money to repay a loan or to pay various payments.
2. Operations at an ATM are carried out exclusively using a plastic card and on its account. Moreover, to make a payment, you need to identify the cardholder (enter a pin code). The terminal can work with or without a card. In the latter case, identification of the identity of the payer is not required (anonymity is maintained).
3. Payments made by payers through the terminal are debited from the account of the system operator (from the guarantee fund), and at the ATM all crediting / debiting operations are carried out with the account of the card holder.
4. ATMs belong to banks, while terminals can belong to individual entrepreneurs or legal entities without a banking license who conclude an agreement to join the system (in other words, buy a franchise).
5. The terminals have a wider range of services.
6. The ATM processes transactions a little longer than the payment terminal, but in practice it is not so noticeable (in more detail, what is a transaction?).
7. The ATM is more secure both at the software level and at the physical level. The thing is that the likely damage from direct or software hacking of ATMs is incomparably greater (this is not only more money loaded into the ATM, but the possibility of hacking the software filling, which can give all this money to a fraudster, see ATM fraud methods in this article). But both those and other devices are hacked, although terminals get more because of their prevalence.
- 1. Payment terminal. What it is?
- 2. How it works
- 3. How does the terminal work?
- 4. The difference between a payment terminal and an ATM
The popularity of payment terminals was due to the emergence of cell phones available to the general public. In the late nineties and early 2000s, bank cards were not common as they are now. Services such as mobile banking or Internet banking were also underdeveloped, with the help of which you can replenish your phone from a card account with just one movement of your hand. The only way out for people was to visit the offices of telephone operators or mobile phone stores with their obligatory attribute - queues to a cashier. Therefore, the appearance in many crowded places of terminals with a touch screen, allowing in a matter of seconds and in anonymous mode to deposit money into a phone account, even with a commission, was received with a bang.
Despite the fact that nowadays, cell phones are replenished in this way much less often, the popularity of payment terminals has not fallen, and their number is also growing. They almost completely cover the need of the average citizen to pay for the services he demanded. Surely you will be interested to know how the payment terminal works, what is inside it and how does it differ from an ATM?
Payment terminal. What it is?
Payment terminal (from the Latin "terminalis" - end, border) - an autonomous device (hardware and software complex) that allows you to accept payments from individuals in self-service mode. A feature of such devices is a software interface configured for the most accessible perception of information. Users should not have any questions about how to work with them - everything should be clear, simple and as accessible as possible.
With the help of payment terminals, you can make almost any payments against various service providers (providers). You can pay:
- mobile communication (everything started with it);
- services of Internet providers, cable TV providers and other providers of modern digital services;
- communal payments;
- fines and various types of taxes;
- monthly installment on a loan (due to the development of the microfinance industry, terminals were very useful for repaying microloans);
- online shopping.
In addition, the terminals allow you to transfer funds to another person's card account, replenish an electronic wallet or account in a payment system (QIWI, Leader, etc.), make a transfer to a fast transfer system (Contact, Western Union, etc.). You have the opportunity to transfer the payment to the account of a charitable organization or use the service of the payment system itself, for example, open a virtual card or create your own electronic wallet, and, finally, top up your account in some massive multiplayer online game.
Where did such a sea of possibilities come from (and the number of service providers may differ for terminals under different brands) and why is a percentage taken for payments in favor of some suppliers, but not in favor of others? We will answer this question and at the same time consider the principle of operation of the payment terminal.
Principle of operation
Let's talk about how the terminal works, starting from the actions of an individual - the payer, and ending with real payment in favor of a particular organization. Let's start with the fact that each payment terminal has its own owner (legal entity or individual entrepreneur), who receives a reward by deducting a certain percentage from each payment. The terminal itself is the final component of the system, to which its owner is connected by signing an agreement on joining this system. The system itself, using the example of QIWI, consists of several participants. To put it simply, these are: agent (terminal owner), system operator, settlement bank and payment provider (supplier). Other well-known brands are built according to a similar scheme: Eleksnet, Leader, DeltaPay, ComePay and more than a dozen.
The central role in the functioning of such a system is played by its operator. He is responsible for coordinating and supporting the activities of the entire system as a whole, providing information and technological interaction of all its participants. The settlement bank is responsible for settlements (payments), in the case of QIWI, this is the QIWI bank. In the clearing bank, the operator has a clearing account, to which agents transfer a certain amount of money - the so-called guarantee fund. Such a fund is necessary to ensure the fulfillment of the obligations of the owner of the payment terminal to transfer the accepted payments.
After physical. the person (payer) selects the required service on the terminal screen, enters details (for example, a phone number), enters the required amount into the terminal (inserting banknotes into the bill acceptor) and presses the pay button, then the terminal sends a request via GSM (or a dedicated channel) to the system operator, where the processing of this transaction begins. Accordingly, in the settlement bank, the agent's guarantee fund is reduced by the amount of the accepted payment (by debiting from the operator's personal account), and the payment itself goes to the accounts of the payment provider in whose favor the payment was accepted. For example, if you want to replenish your mobile account with the mobile operator MTS, then it will be the payment provider.
The terminal owner receives his remuneration (commission) from each payment. It is also possible additional remuneration from service providers based on the results for a certain period of time. The commission can be fixed from all payments or individual from each payment. The maximum commission depends on the tariff plan provided by the system operator. The operator and the settlement bank also take their commission.
The presence of a service provider in a particular system means that an agreement has been concluded between the system and the supplier to accept payments. The more suppliers, the better for the payer - the wider the range of possible payments.
The commission that is withheld from the payer must be shown on the screen of the payment terminal without fail before paying for the service. Different terminals may have different fees. This means that the machines are owned by different owners who have set different amounts of their commissions. It happens that the commission is not at all withheld when paying for a service, for example, when repaying microloans, many microfinance organizations declare a 0% commission when repaying through terminals related to certain payment systems. This suggests that companies (in this case, MFOs) pay the commission themselves on the terms specified in the payment acceptance agreement. They lose a little in the cost of loans, but gain additional loyalty from their borrowers.
How does the terminal work?
Terminals are of two types, depending on the installation location: indoor (floor-standing, wall-mounted, built-in, desktop) and outdoor (wall-mounted, built-in and installed as free-standing racks). But at the same time, their design practically does not differ. The only difference can be in the design of the case: anti-vandal, moisture resistant, etc.
Any such device is equipped with:
- a body (made of metal or metal-plastic) made of steel with a thickness of at least 1.5 mm, which allows it to withstand intense mechanical stress;
- a computer with appropriate software provided by the system operator;
- touch, vandal-resistant TFT screen (monitor);
- keyboard in the absence of a touch screen;
- bill acceptor, which determines the denomination of the accepted bill and verifies its authenticity. Accepted bills are stored in a special box - a stacker, which is removed when collecting a payment terminal;
- a printer for printing receipts;
- uninterruptible power supply;
- wireless modem for Internet access and GSM antenna;
- watchdog timer, which is a device for monitoring software performance, controlling a GSM modem and a computer (automatic restart of the modem and computer when it hangs).
The difference between a payment terminal and an ATM
At first glance, these two devices are absolutely identical. Both handle money, process payments, and print checks and mini-statements. However, there are fundamental differences between them. How is a payment terminal different from an ATM? The differences are as follows:
1. The main purpose of the terminal is to accept money for making a payment, and the ATM is to issue it. Although there are ATMs with the function of accepting cash (Cash-in), which can also accept money to repay a loan or to pay various payments.
2. Operations at an ATM are carried out exclusively using a plastic card and on its account. Moreover, to make a payment, you need to identify the cardholder (enter a pin code). The terminal can work with or without a card. In the latter case, identification of the identity of the payer is not required (anonymity is maintained).
3. Payments made by payers through the terminal are debited from the account of the system operator (from the guarantee fund), and at the ATM all crediting / debiting operations are carried out with the account of the card holder.
4. ATMs belong to banks, while terminals can belong to individual entrepreneurs or legal entities without a banking license who conclude an agreement to join the system (in other words, buy a franchise).
5. The terminals have a wider range of services.
6. The ATM processes transactions a little longer than the payment terminal, but in practice it is not so noticeable (in more detail, what is a transaction?).
7. The ATM is more secure both at the software level and at the physical level. The thing is that the likely damage from direct or software hacking of ATMs is incomparably greater (this is not only more money loaded into the ATM, but the possibility of hacking the software filling, which can give all this money to a fraudster, see ATM fraud methods in this article). But both those and other devices are hacked, although terminals get more because of their prevalence.
