This article was originally published in Elavon’s Payment Smart newsletter. The Washington Hospitality Association’s payments processing system is backed by U.S. Bank/Elavon. Click here to learn more about the program.

As businesses are incrementally given the authorization to reopen with appropriate safety measures in place, we want to make you aware of the touch-free payment options available for point-of-sale checkout that require little or no effort to set up.

TAP-AND-PAY
Elavon Poynt, Ingenico and Verifone point-of-sale devices are enabled for contactless payment, such as tap-and-pay cards and mobile wallets, like Apple Pay, as long as you are using the most up-to-date software versions for these solutions. Devices receive software updates based on your scheduled maintenance and update window. Manual software download instructions can also be found in Payments Insider.

Remember, tap-and-pay payments are not to be confused with manual key entry. If you key in your customer’s card information on your payment device, you’ll receive a higher interchange rate for the transaction.

HOW TO BYPASS PIN ENTRY
In some circumstances, cardholders using debit cards can be prompted to enter a PIN, requiring them to touch a keypad or device screen. With cardholder approval, you can bypass the PIN entry step, but be aware that if you bypass PIN entry on a debit card payment, you’ll be charged your existing signature debit rate for the transaction. Based on your device, follow these instructions to bypass PIN entry.

NO SIGNATURE REQUIRED
In accordance with the latest card brand guidelines, our chip-enabled solutions don’t require a signature to complete the card transaction authorization. This helps reduce physical contact and also shortens the total interaction time between you and your customers. 

There are still times when your customers may need to touch your payment device. Check out these Device Cleaning Tips for the best way to keep your equipment clean.

 

Click here to learn more about our Payments Processing program and take advantage of these contactless payment options.