To clear up the confusion on which Nurit 8000 wireless terminals are PCI compliant, you must look at the part number on the bottom of your machine. If the part number begins with 8010, it is not compliant. The only wireless part number that is compliant to include new 2010 pin entry device requirements begins with 8020.

Why does the manufacturer web site list only the 8000, when the current unit is the 8020 or 8020S? One can only guess. From a marketing standpoint, Nurit 8000 is synonymous with wireless credit card processing. Or maybe the web site is just out of date. I have no idea.

References: BOOKMARK this page BEFORE LEAVING
PCI PED security standards web site, which maintains a list of approved pin entry devices. Enter Nurit in the search bar.

Nurit 8000 official manufacturer web site info. The manufacturer site shows only “Nurit 8000″, including the brochure downloads. It does not specify whether it’s referring to an 8010, 8020 or any other unit. Verifone purchased Lipman, the original equipment manufacturer some years ago.

What are my choices if my unit is not PCI Compliant? If you want to stay in the Nurit family, check out the Nurit 8020 wireless terminal review and current sale price.

As merchants combat high interchange fees by increasing debit penetration, the debit networks are quietly increasing their fees at the same time. Interlink is the latest debit network to announce an increase.

For tier 4 merchants, the rate goes from 75 basis points and $.17 per transaction to 95 basis points and $.20, There is no cap on the percentage fee charged. That’s $.0095 times the transaction amount plus the per item fee. Compare this to the debit interchange cost of 1.03% and $.10 per transaction and it’s obvious the numbers are getting closer.

Merchants will need to weigh cost and risk to make decisions about pushing pin debit. With pin debit, all risk is removed from the merchant for chargebacks.

New rates are effective April 16, 2010.

What does it cost to process a debit transaction? A pin debit transaction? Why should you care? There are many complexities to answer the question and the chart below provides a simple way to help you compare costs. This chart can help you make decisions about which merchant terminal to choose because you can see the impact of using different payment processing types.

If you’re not familiar with the different types of debit transactions, listen to my podcast how to increase pin debit for merchants. It contains an overview before delving into specifics about increasing pin debit penetration. A  pin debit transaction occurs when the customer is present and enters their pin number. Merchants need a PED or Pin Entry Device to accept pin debit transactions, and by July 2010, all PED devices must be Triple DES certified.

Fee schedules for debit are varied and just like interchange for credit cards, it’s getting more complex all the time. The most basic interchange and debit network fees are in the chart below:

See also the related article  Compare wireless payment solutions for silent auctions, January 2010 and podcast how to increase pin debit for merchants.

By understanding the basic differences in pin debit costs, a business can analyze their situation to assist in decision making for:

• human resources- who needs more training?
• comparing hardware ROI
• software and related POS decisions
• payment processing analysis and changes needed
• balancing risk

With pin debit transaction costs now on the rise, it’s also important to understand other values of pin debit, namely that there is no risk of future chargeback.

3D Merchant provides detailed pin debit analysis for customers processing $1 million per month and up. For these merchants, the analysis will identify specific opportunities to improve interchange qualification, convert debit to pin debit, and deliver an ROI for CenPOS. CenPOS is a payment processing platform with a multitude of essential PCI Compliance, cost reduction, and fraud prevention tools larger businesses need.

What options are there to accept credit card payments at special events such as silent auctions and what are the cost differences? With debit card usage now in the 50% range, merchants should seriously consider a wireless payment option that enables entry of pin codes to qualify for pin debit transaction rates.  The chart below expands on the article How can I accept credit cards at special events?

Recommendations are not based entirely on the cost of payment processing. If you have a fundraising event, how much more money would you receive, if instead of collecting pledges on paper that you then invoiced later, you had staff that goes from table to table with a wireless terminal right after a tremendous speech and request for donations? Or what if you have a live auction? Never miss a payment again when someone ‘forgets’ after a long evening when you can get payment at the table.

Based purely on transaction costs, you’ll need to process over $100,000 annually for it to make economic sense to go with wireless.  What impact will pin debit have on your overall costs? It depends on your average sale and overall number of transactions. The cost to purchase and operate wireless equipment may outweigh any cost savings from having pin debit. However, there are also other advantages, including, no chargebacks on pin debit transactions. This may justify the cost.

* Verify you can collect invoice/PO # and sales tax AND that this data is passed through to the processor. Many systems collect the data, but do not pass it through to the processor. In that case, you may need a separate gateway that will pass the data if you want to qualify for the best interchange rates on corporate credit cards.

** Based on prices for new equipment January 2010.

See our pin-debit cost comparison chart for an example.

If you have one annual event, with volume under $100,000 the Virtual terminal may be the best solution. Merchants, including non-profits, can request a seasonal account so the merchant account is only open a short time, and avoid monthly fees. A card reader is also a good option. I recommend this instead of a wireless terminal because:

a) cost

b) virtually no training

c) no risk of lost units with volunteer staff

d) always PCI Compliant- no need to worry about equipment getting outdated or software updates

If your event is a fundraiser, and there is the opportunity to make use of the credit card terminal tableside or anywhere the donors are, I recommend a wireless terminal. Whether there is value in pin-debit, you’ll have to determine based on an analysis of needs, risk, and ROI.

Another factor to consider: mobile payments. Mobile payments, where a person makes a payment with the mobile phone and you get your money instantly is expected to take off in 2010.  If you want to accept mobile payments, please call for additional advice. With the right wireless terminal, and other items, you’ll be able to instantly accept wireless payments as it grows. Call for details.

Podcast on how to increase pin debit use so that you can lower your credit and debit payment processing costs. Actual costs of different price plans as well as potential savings examples are included.

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This podcast is for merchants looking for ways to reduce the payment processing costs. Debit cards cost a lot less to process than credit cards. Three debit card price plans explained, and how you can hit the lowest rates. Ideal podcast for expense reduction specialist, risk management, CFO, and Controller for mid to large businesses.

Yes. However three things must happen.
1. You need to have your processor set you up for the program- it is not automatic. A price sheet must be signed with the associated fees.
2. You need to get a pin pad to match your system. They start at about $75. It’s critical to get one that is triple DES, the new 2010 encryption standard or you are wasting money.
3. The pin pad must be ‘injected’. Only a handful of companies & locations in the US are authorized to do this. Essentially, the pin pad is married to the processor, the merchant id and the terminal make/model. The pin pad cannot then be unplugged and simply put on another system. There is a small fee for the injection, typically $25 wholesale.
Unless a customer already has a pinpad, the purchase is usually made from the same company as is doing the injection. The processor account rep usually handles the transaction on behalf of the merchant.  Merchants cannot buy direct that I am aware of.

This answer addresses card present transactions only.

Pin debit refers to a credit card transaction in which the buyer enters their 4 digit personal identification number (PIN) into a merchant terminal in lieu of a signature, when using a debit card.

Debit cards are usually associated with a checking account, but may also be a savings account. Regardless of the account, the card will ALWAYS have the DEBIT symbol on the front of the card. Newer cards usually have a holographic Debit symbol.

With PIN DEBIT the merchant pays a fee to the debit network instead of Visa & MasterCard interchange. This fee is under $1.00 per transaction, usually around $0.50 and the fees vary by debit network.

With SIGNATURE DEBIT, Visa & MasterCard have different interchange rates for debit card usage. With very few exceptions, such as processing greater than $420 million annually in debit or for supermarkets, the lowest rate for debit card interchange, which all payment processors pass on to merchants, is 1.03% plus $0.15 per transaction. More details are available by checking the latest interchange rates.

Pin-based debit transaction merchant fees include:
1. Per transaction charge from your Credit Card Processing services company.
2. Debit network charge (Debit Network Acquirer Fee). This fee varies depending upon your region of the country and the network that the cardmember’s issuing bank belongs to. The region determines which debit network the individual transaction will clear through.

Debit network acquirer fee examples:
Interlink Retail $0.175 + .75% (max of $0.525)
NYCE Retail Std $0.1375 + .65% (max of $0.6875)
Pulse (Includes Tyme) 0.16 + .65% (max of $0.71)
STAR (Includes MAC, Cash Station & Honor) $0.1625 + .65% (max of $0.6425)

Pin debit is best used if your average transaction is over $25. That’s generally a good break even point as to whether it’s cheaper to process via pin debit or signature debit.