What is a wireless card machine?

A wireless card machine is exactly that. It’s a card machine with no wires!

There are two different types – one that works on Bluetooth and another that works on 3G. Which one’s right for you will depend on how you want to use it – we’ll cover this off shortly.

Wireless card machines are great for any business that wants to accept credit card and debit card payments either around your premises, or whilst you’re out on the road.

How do wireless card machines work?

Well, this will depend on the one you choose. There are generally two different types available:

Portable

If you serve customers around your business, whether that’s at a table in a restaurant or café, or along the bar in a pub, a portable card machine is a great solution.

It comes in two parts - the card machine itself, which you can carry round with you, and a base unit which you’ll use to charge it. This bit will need to be plugged into the electric and also your broadband or phoneline.

When you take a card payment, the two parts speak to each other using Bluetooth technology. You’ll need to be within 50m of the base unit for it to work.

Mobile

If you don’t have a fixed business premises, like a tradesperson, taxi driver, courier or if you want to take cards at events and exhibitions, a mobile machine will be best.

This mobile card machine also comes in two parts, but it doesn’t need the base unit to make the connection. The base unit is simply so you can charge it.

The handset has a built-in SIM card which will connect to the strongest 3G mobile network available, such as EE, Vodafone, Virgin or O2 to process a payment.

That means if your work takes you away from your premises, or if you don’t have one, you’re still able to offer card payments to your customers, no matter where you are in the UK.

Contactless enabled

As well as using traditional chip and PIN technology, our wireless card machines all accept contactless payments too, so your customers can just tap to pay for anything up to £30.

They also come with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay technology, so you can take payments from customers through their smartphones, or even smartwatches!

How much do they cost?

This will depend on the card payment provider you choose, along with the type of terminal you go for and other factors. Most providers take a one size fits all approach and don’t always time to understand what type of card payments suits how your business runs.

That’s where we’re different.

At takepayments, one of our local card payment specialists will come out and meet you to learn more about your business. They’ll then work with you to create a pricing package personalised to you.

We’ll take into consideration your current or expected card turnover, what type of business you run and what machine you choose.

There are no set-up fees when you join, plus if you choose to leave at the end of your contract, there are no exit fees either.

We also offer a 12-month contract, which is currently one of the shortest available on the market.

Get in touch today to see how we can help you.

Vanessa Littler

Digital Marketing Executive