Card Terminal

A card terminal (also known as a point-of-sale (POS) terminal or card machine) is a device that enables merchants to accept card payments in person.

It securely reads a customer’s debit, credit, or contactless card, communicates with the acquirer and card schemes for authorisation, and processes the transaction in seconds. Terminals can be fixed, portable, or mobile, and many now support contactless, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

Example:

A café uses a SumUp terminal to accept customer payments. When a customer taps their card for £5, the terminal sends the encrypted transaction to the acquirer, receives approval, and prints a receipt — with funds settled to the café’s account within 1–2 business days.

Used in:

Retail and hospitality payments, point-of-sale systems, and in-person card acceptance.