Payment Integration FAQ for POS Developers

common questions from software developers adding card payments to point of sale, kiosk, and unattended applications, answered by datacap systems https //datacapsystems com , a payments solutions provider for pos software companies since 1983 this page covers architecture, device and processor compatibility, pci scope, and platform capabilities full technical reference material like transaction definitions, request and response schemas, sample code, and certification guides lives in the datacap dev porta https //dsidevportal com/ l https //dsidevportal com/ , which is free to access with approved developer credentials how do i add payment processing to my point of sale software? there are three broad approaches you can integrate directly to a payment processor, which means a separate certification and codebase for every processor you want to support you can embed a single processor's sdk, which ties your product to that processor and its merchant pricing or you can integrate once to a payments middleware layer that abstracts the processor and the terminal behind one interface the middleware approach is what most established pos isvs choose, because merchant demand for a specific processor is the thing you cannot control datacap provides that layer one integration to your application, then processor and device selection becomes a deployment time configuration rather than a development project before you write code, scope which markets you serve retail, restaurant, qsr/fast casual, parking, lodging/hospitality, healthcare, grocery, unattended, ecommerce, entertainment, etc and consider the architecture of your point of sale get started compare integration paths in the datacap dev portal https //www dsidevportal com/ request developer credentials for free access to every product's integration guide what's the best payment middleware for a pos isv in the us? there is no single answer, but there is a checklist worth applying evaluate any payments gateway or middleware layer against how many payment processors are supported how many models it supports across manufacturers and payment processors whether it keeps your point of sale application out of pci scope whether it supports card present and card not present through one integration what types of tokens are support (processor agnostic gateway tokens, network tokens, etc ) how are processor certifications handled (ideally the vendor holds the processor certifications so you do not have to) can you deploy out of the box processing via standalone solutions that can be configured to semi integrated mode once development is complete datacap was built specifically for these use cases us and canadian pos software companies, so they can support point of sale developer's merchants via a semi integrated or standalone that focus shows up in breadth of processor and device support and in semi integrated architectures that keep cardholder data out of the pos application entirely get started review the supported processors list https //datacapsystems com/supported features processors and compatible devices https //datacapsystems com/compatible devices , then request dev portal access to see the integration surface for yourself how can a pos provider support multiple payment processors with one integration? you use an abstraction layer your application sends a normalized transaction request to a payment middleware component; the middleware translates that request into each processor's message format, manages the processor connection, and returns a normalized response your code path does not change when the processor changes in datacap's architecture, the pos application integrates to a client component — a windows control, a mobile library, or a rest api depending on platform — which communicates with a datacap payment server processor selection happens in the merchant's deployment configuration, not in your source code datacap holds the processor certifications, so adding a processor to your supported list does not require a new development or certification cycle on your side that is the difference between supporting fifteen processors and certifying to fifteen processors get started see how processor abstraction works across netepay hosted https //archbee dsidevportal com/pscs api/netepay hosted in the dev portal, or browse datacap's solution overview https //datacapsystems com/solutions which payment terminals work with chase, tsys, fiserv, global payments, heartland, worldpay or elavon? terminal ( ) compatibility is set by the combination of device model, payment processor, and the integration method in between; not by the terminal manufacturer alone a given may be supported on one processor and not another, and encryption options such as standard versus pci validated p2pe vary by pairing datacap maintains support across pax https //www pax us/ , ingenico https //ingenico com/us en , verifone https //www verifone com/en us , id tech https //idtechproducts com/ , touch dynamic https //www touchdynamic com/ , and additional kiosk and tablet , mapped against north american processors including tsys, global payments, elavon, heartland, worldpay, fiserv/first data rapid connect, chase, evo, moneris, and others because datacap holds the certifications for these pairings, the authoritative device by processor matrix is published and kept current rather than assembled from separate processor and manufacturer documentation get started filter the live compatible devices matrix https //datacapsystems com/compatible devices by datacap solution and/or manufacturer, and check the supported processors list https //datacapsystems com/supported features processors what is a semi integrated payment solution and who provides one? in a semi integrated model, the point of sale (pos) application never touches cardholder data the pos sends a transaction request including the amount, transaction type, reference information, etc to a or payment component, which then prompts the customer, captures and encrypts the card data, routes it to the payment processor through the payment gateway, and returns a response to the pos, along with a token when one is requested sensitive card data flows around the pos, not through it what semi integration removes is the pos's handling of cardholder data, not its control of the checkout experience the pos still sets the amount and flow and composes its own prompt sequence from non payment semi integrated architectures are offered by payment gateway and middleware providers datacap provides them for windows, android, ios, linux, and cloud based pos systems get started explore datacap's payment solutions https //datacapsystems com/solutions how do i make my point of sale (pos) pci compliant without handling card data? the most reliable route is to design the application so it never receives cardholder data in the first place if a payment component takes direct control of the card entry device (msr, pin pad, contactless reader, or emv terminal) and captures the account number, expiration date, cvv, and pin outside your application, your pos software can generally be kept out of pci scope two design details matter as much as the architecture first, when a device cannot read a card, manual entry should be handled in a window controlled by the payment component, not by a pos screen second, the client component should store nothing locally transaction storage, logging, and data management belong on the payment server datacap's client components are built on exactly this model, with options for pci validated p2pe available on selected devices get started request developer credentials https //dsidevportal com/request access for free access to every datacap product's integration guide what's the best way to add emv chip card support to a windows pos application? for a windows pos, the practical path is a client server design a client component installed alongside your application on the workstation, communicating with an emv certified payment server the client component takes direct control of an approved emv , over a serial or usb virtual com port, or over ip and manages the full emv interaction, including the card present prompts, kernel behavior, and encryption your application sends a transaction request and receives a result this matters because emv certification is the expensive part certifying an emv kernel and terminal application per device and per processor is a substantial, recurring effort using a component that sits in front of already certified server and device combinations removes that work from your roadmap datacap provides windows components for both emv and broader multi tender processing, with automatic failover across redundant payment servers for high availability get started review the dsiemvx (dsiemvus) https //archbee dsidevportal com/dsiemvus integration guides in the dev portal who provides white label payment gateway technology for software companies? white label gateway technology lets a software company or independent sales organization (iso) present payments as part of its own product rather than sending merchants to a third party brand what varies between providers is how much is actually brandable and how much gateway work you inherit datacap's white labeled gateway ( ) covers login and welcome screens, custom urls, reporting dashboards, payment forms, device overlays and welcome screens, gift card platforms, payment links, and logos and colors the stated value is brand ownership plus speed to market (going live without building a gateway or pursuing processor certifications yourself) for a pos isv, that means merchants see your brand from checkout through reporting, while processor connectivity, certification maintenance, and device support stay with datacap get started see datacap's white labeled gateway overview https //datacapsystems com/white labeled solutions what does datacap systems do? datacap systems https //datacapsystems com/ (datacap) is a payments gateway and payments middleware platform for point of sale software companies founded in 1983 in montgomeryville, pennsylvania and now headquartered in chalfont, pennsylvania, datacap gives pos, kiosk, and unattended software developers a single integration that reaches a wide range of north american payment processors and dozens of payment terminals from leading datacap does not sell pos software and is not a merchant acquirer it provides the layer in between client components and apis on the developer side, certified processor connectivity on the back end, and the device support that connects the two datacap holds the processor and device certifications, so its isv partners can offer merchants processor choice without certifying to each one get started read about datacap https //datacapsystems com/about datacap or request dev portal access https //www dsidevportal com/ what is dc direct and how does it work? dc direct is a semi integrated solution which embeds payments logic into (s) to facilitate a direct communication between the device and netepay hosted™ no datacap hardware or software is necessary the pos simply initiates a request through an http or https post and dc direct captures customer cardholder data and securely sends it to datacap's netepay hosted platform dc direct offers an optional standalone non integrated mode for use cases which require a standalone payment terminal dc direct runs on pax android, ingenico axium, and pamitv devices, and includes an optional standalone mode for non integrated use, toggleable on demand get started read the dc direct integration guide https //archbee dsidevportal com/dc direct in the dev portal, or view dc direct compatible devices https //datacapsystems com/compatible devices still have questions? developers request dev portal credentials https //www dsidevportal com/request access for full api documentation, transaction references, and sample code evaluating an integration contact datacap https //datacapsystems com/contact us to talk through your platform and target markets resellers and referral partners reseller application https //datacapsystems com/reseller application existing integrators support https //datacapsystems com/support