What’s the Difference Between Integrated & Non-Integrated Payment Processing?

Integrated Payment Processing

What’s the Difference Between Integrated & Non-Integrated Payment Processing?

Online transactions are a fact of life. From online shopping to online banking, we rely on digital transactions in our day-to-day lives. These days, two main ways of processing these digital transactions are integrated and non-integrated.

Integrated payment processing is when the merchant and the various banks work together to process the transaction from start to finish; that includes aspects like registration and approval, card issuance, fraud monitoring, refunds, etc. Non-integrated payment processing is when one bank takes care of all these functions for their clients; it can involve multiple levels of payment processors or even manual data entry by an individual bank employee.

Credit card processing has two main systems: open and closed. Open payment processing is when a merchant uses two different processors to process the credit card data – the merchant’s processor and one provided by the acquiring bank. The acquiring bank’s processor is known as an “acquirer” or “Merchant Service Provider (MSP).” Closed payment processing allows a merchant to use only one of these processors.

 

What is integrated payment processing?

Integrated payment processing means that with certain types of credit card service providers – American Express, Discover, JCB International Card Association, MasterCard Worldwide, and Visa U.S., Inc. – a merchant can bypass the acquirer and use the card associations’ processor. This saves a merchant money because there is no longer an intermediary, but it does not reduce the interchange fees paid by the merchant.

Imagine that you want to go to the mall and buy something from Puma. You look at two stores: one where you pay the cashier directly and one where you pay first and then get a slip of paper, which you take to a person behind a counter who then tickets you. You would find that in the second option, where an intermediary manages your credit card payment, you also have higher costs for your merchandise because that individual or third party has to be paid somehow.

 

What is non-integrated payment processing?

Non-integrated payment processing is a closed payment processing system. In a nutshell, if you go with a merchant service provider to accept credit cards and they provide their processor and gateway, then you have non-integrated payment processing. When a payment processor is considered non-integrated, they do not use any third-party acquirer. Instead, they provide their proprietary processor and gateway for credit card transactions.

Non-integrated payment processing is a system in which a merchant uses only one processor to process credit card data. The processor handles the routing and processing of the credit card data and sends funds to the merchant’s bank account. This system is more common than open payment processing because it allows merchants more control over their processors, reduces costs, and avoids the hassle of opening (and managing) another account with another processor.

 

How do these systems work?

A company must decide if they want to be integrated, depending on the benefits they are looking for. For example, an integrator uses one system to process payments, while a non-integrator uses two systems.

An integrator has more benefits than just one single system. This includes accepting all forms of credit cards, handling refunds automatically, and accessing risk management tools. Integrators are also less expensive because they can integrate with providers like Visa and MasterCard at low rates.

When processing your customer’s credit card, the integrated payment processor sends the sale total from your retail account to the card reader or terminal. The billing type (e.g., credit card, cash, check, debit) and amount are recorded in your retail reporting once the payment has been captured and the sale has been completed.

During a sale in a non-integrated system, you manually update the sale total at your card machine or terminal when charging the customer’s card. Following that, you must select the customer’s payment method and specify the amount billed to their card.

 

Integrated payment processing VS Non-Integrated payment processing

There are some significant differences between these two types of payment processing.
– Merchants can use integrated processors to process a transaction in real-time; non-integrated processors may require a manual approval step, and the transaction may take days to go through.
– Integrated processors allow a merchant to offer their customers multiple payment methods; non-integrated payment gateways limit a merchant’s options as they are often linked to specific banks or credit unions.
– Integrated gateways allow merchants to accept offline payments (such as checks and money orders) online; non-integrated payment gateways generally do not support such transactions.
– Integrated payment processors often come with a recurring billing solution; non-integrated payment gateways do not.
– Integrated processors are often more expensive to implement than non-integrated payment gateways.
– Large e-commerce merchants only use integrated processing systems. Non-integrated payment gateways are the preferred solution for smaller sites due to their lower cost and ease of setup.
– In addition, non-integrated payment gateways generally have lower transaction processing fees than integrated ones.
– Integrated payment processors are more secure than non-integrated ones because they require the customer and merchant ID and payment information to be passed through a secure connection. Non-integrated gateway security is dependent on the security of the merchant’s website.

 

Conclusion

While there are many benefits to integrated payment processing, using a non-integrated payment gateway may be more cost-effective and allow merchants to offer their customers options they wouldn’t otherwise have.

Your customers need accessible, secure, and competitively priced processing services that will provide the best customer experience possible. The right business credit card processing company will help you meet these goals. In addition, working with a knowledgeable merchant service provider can help you optimize your bottom line and keep you competitive in an increasingly complex marketplace.

The payment integration system you choose for your business depends entirely on your needs, budget, and what works best for you. We hope this article has given some insights into the type of payment processor your business would need.

Liquor Store POS Systems – All Features You Could (AND COULD NOT) Think of!

liquor store pos system

Liquor Store POS Systems – All Features You Could (AND COULD NOT) Think of!

When you walk into a liquor store pos, what do you see? What do you hear? To answer these questions, many liquor stores have installed point-of-sale or “POS” systems—computers that sit behind the register.

These POS systems have all your personal computer features and are always scanning for card swipes and reprinting receipts. With such a wide variety of features available, there is bound to be something that will interest anyone in the market for a new Retail POS system on their business premises.

In this article, we will give an overview of the various features of some of these popular POS systems and how they could benefit your business operation.
 

What do Liquor Store POS systems do?

A POS (point-of-sale) system is a device that keeps track of the wine, spirits, and beer items a liquor store is selling and manages the transactions. The system keeps track of all the wine, beer, and spirits products a store has available and how much they have left. It also keeps track of the prices customers pay for each item. When customers order drinks, they get a receipt with their purchase information. If someone buys multiple items during one transaction, they get multiple receipts.

Several things happen automatically with systems:

  • Billing customers.
  • Keeping receipts for tax purposes.
  • Storing information on who bought what and when they did it.

This POS system can be designed to do much more than that: it can be fully customized by businesses to fit their specific needs. It doesn’t necessarily have to just manage wine, though — many stores also use it for other products.
 

Features of Liquor store POS systems

Liquor store brick-and-mortar POS systems have been evolving for over 20 years. Most retailers in the U.S. are adopting new technology due to retailers competing on social media and online rankings.

Boost Sales with Product Recommendations:
POS systems enable liquor stores to add almost any feature they can think of. You can become an expert by integrating your database of notes from liquor manufacturers, wineries, and breweries (this advanced feature requires your setup and configuration). The liquor POS system can pull up the necessary information when a customer asks for a recommendation. With POS systems, you can position yourself as the expert and increase sales.

Customer Facing Displays:
Your customers can see the details of their transactions as well as promotional videos or graphics highlighting your current sales or seasonal products. A customer may decide to use one of your featured products.

Digital Touchscreen:
As off-premises retail continues to grow, touchscreen technology has provided a new way of interacting with consumers. Rather than turning your back on customers, you can now be working around them without losing any customer interaction.

Integrated Sales Floor Management:
A major advantage that starting off-premise operations has is being able to focus more solely on sales floor management for better customer service and increased profit margins.
Real-time inventory management:

Many brick-and-mortar liquor stores do not know the inventory count in the store when they are open, which leads retailers to pay a lot more on inventory than necessary because it is very costly to order more of an item. This is the case for many liquor stores that still operate cash registers and have no way of tracking inventory in real-time.

Digital Signage:
The ability to attach digital signage allows liquor stores to display important information like happy hour information in digital signs throughout their store. Most importantly, this allows retailers to change the displays at will, something that not every retailer has been able to do due to space or cost restraints.

POS designed for off-premise:
An extremely important distinction between traditional Point of Sale Software and newer systems is that they have to be designed specifically for the liquor industry. Very few retailers have taken advantage of POS that is designed specifically for the liquor industry.

Reliable ID Verification
As technology advances, it becomes more difficult for liquor store pos owners and employees to tell the difference between a real ID and a fake ID. Before a sale can begin, the POS system for liquor stores requires all driver’s licenses or state ID cards to be scanned. The sale will be canceled if the system discovers that the potential customer is underage or that the ID card is not genuine.

Gift and Loyalty Programs
Liquor and wine make excellent gifts. It may be difficult, however, to always get it right when it comes to what friends and family members prefer. Your liquor store can help your customers give the perfect gift without having to guess what the recipient likes by providing a gift solution, such as gift cards. They make excellent gifts and can be used at the recipient’s leisure.

Payment Processing Alternatives
Customers’ payment options within your locations are expanding as retail and liquor store technology evolves. New payment methods are emerging in addition to traditional payment methods, such as cash and credit or debit cards.

A Strong Back Office Suite
Your back-office software must be used for all aspects of your liquor store operation. From employee scheduling to inventory management and vendor management, you need a back-office solution that is powerful enough to run all aspects of your business.

Future-Proof integrations
It is impossible to anticipate what the future will carry. However, as you plan and prepare, keep your liquor store tech in mind and what you will require to succeed. Retail Ecommerce is the future, and it would be prudent to invest in technology that not only assists with your liquor store’s in-store functions but also easily and efficiently integrates with one’s liquor store POS system to close both online and in-store sales.
 

Bottom line

Business owners can benefit from liquor store POS systems in a variety of ways. Liquor store POS systems make it easier for business owners to manage their stores by automating tasks and tracking inventory. Furthermore, liquor store POS systems can help boost sales by making it easier for customers to buy items.

5 Best Liquor Store POS Systems in 2022

5 Best Liquor Store POS Systems in 2022

You’re in for a dizzying array of choices when it comes to buying liquor POS systems. But what will be the best brands in 2022? We are so glad you asked! We’ve compiled our top picks for 2022, and we’re going to tell you all about them.

The liquor store POS system is the bedrock of any convenience store pos. If you want to sell liquor at your store, you need a good liquor POS system that can process credit cards and save data to make your life easier. Superior liquor stores are always looking for new ways to drum up revenue. One way is by instituting a point-of-sale system that helps out customers by handling the most tedious and time-consuming tasks. A great way to entice new customers is by giving them a reason to spend more money, and one strategy is creating a retail POS system that can help sell drinks more efficiently.

The article will tell you which are the best liquor store POS systems in 2022 and what to look for when you’re buying one.

 

Why choose the best POS system?

One of the most important business decisions that new convenience stores that want to sell alcohol must make is what type of point-of-sale (POS) software they should use. Liquor POS systems assist liquor store owners in selling more liquor both in-store and online, as well as providing important business management features. A good liquor store POS system will be simple to use, offer curbside and delivery options, inventory management features, and more.

Age verification for alcohol purchases is another industry-specific feature of liquor store POS systems. A liquor POS system can also allow you to set multiple sales tax rates for different types of alcohol and provide robust reporting features for compliance.

 

5 best POS systems for liquor stores

 

KORONA

KORONA uses existing hardware providing robust inventory tracking with vendor management, Case promotions, and case-break tools. We get several options for a payment processor. Though Inventory management tools are not available in the basic plan and native online store functionality is absent, KORONA still tops our list.

KORONA is extremely simple to set up. You sign up for a KORONA account and immediately gain access to a KORONA management dashboard. You can use a free demo version of the app to test all of the features and see if KORONA is a good fit for your liquor store. Users can also rely on KORONA to assist them in locating the best payment processing rates.

 

POS Nation

POS Nation can integrate with a variety of payment processors. Age verification is also easy here. We also find cash discount options and case-break inventory tracking. Except for the fact that there are limited e-commerce capabilities, the need to buy extra hardware and payment processing, and customer service restrictions in the subscription tiers, POS Nation still tops in the 5 best POS systems.

Many liquor store support tools, such as age verification prompts and barcode-scanned inventory counts, are included in POS Nation. POS Nation, like KORONA, integrates with several payment processors. Monthly users must use Worldpay. Other POS Nation users, on the other hand, have the option of using Worldpay, First American, Evo, Heartland, Priority I.S., or North American Bancard.

 

Harbortouch

Harbortouch comes with included hardware at affordable prices. It also includes an age verification system. Though it’s one of the best retail POS systems, we shouldn’t forget it is locked into Shift4 Payments and lacks liquor industry e-commerce integrations. A subscription is a long-term contract. It also lacks payroll integrations.

Harbortouch, like the majority of the other systems on this list, includes age verification prompts and comprehensive inventory tools with vendor management. Harbortouch also has slightly more robust payroll reporting than KORONA and POS Nation; users of Harbortouch can track overtime hours and export time clock records to an external payroll system.

 

Lightspeed Retail

Lightspeed Retail works well on iPads. It’s also easy to self-install. The system has comprehensive inventory tools. The demerits are that it requires a strong internet connection. Subscription prices are at the higher end. Hardware is also priced on a customized basis.

Lightspeed Retail is the sleek, modern brother or sister to the older desktop computer POS systems on this list. The iPad-based point-of-sale system is mobile and adaptable. You can use the iPad POS in your shop to count inventory or show customers product images. The low-profile terminals make it simple for your employees to interact with customers, and the iPad interface is familiar to anyone who has used a smartphone.

 

Retailz POS

RetailzPOS has customizable touchscreens, security integration with remote eyes, age verification, and case-break inventory and pricing tools. But, on-site help for the system costs more. The system doesn’t have any email marketing tools and not many liquor industry-specific integrations.

It includes all of the features required by a liquor store, such as inventory tracking with vendor management and low stock alerts, age verification, and case-break pricing. RetailzPOS, in addition to these features, runs on industry-grade hardware with customer-facing displays and countersunk pos barcode scanners to support high-volume store operations.

 

Bottom line

Choosing a liquor store POS system entails more than just having the tools to ring in sales at the lowest possible cost. Liquor store owners require inventory control and sales management tools that are unique to their industry. To successfully meet customer demands, liquor store owners must outsource their POS applications and implement a system capable of accurately managing inventory, sales, labor, and management while also connecting to payment processing systems. We hope this article has helped you decide on which is the best liquor store POS system.