GPRS Wireless Credit Card Processing

Wireless credit card processing is not a new technology. It has been around for several years, and has been slowly growing in popularity and in the technology that it uses.

Several months ago, the GPRS wireless network, which is a network that many cellular phones currently use, opened up to wireless credit card processing. Before, wireless processing was limited to the Mobitex and Motient wireless networks. Both of these networks are severely limited in their area coverage with several states having no coverage at all. To further make matters worse, the expansion of the Motient and Mobitex networks, which are considered business networks, is completely stagnant. There is very little coverage expansion on these networks. With GPRS, all fifty states have at least some wireless coverage, and cellular carriers are continuously increasing the coverage range for the GPRS network.

GPRS Processing Coverage

Mobitex Processing Coverage

Currently there is only one wireless credit card machine, the Lipman Nurit 8000G, that has the necessary certifications to process on the GPRS network. The Nurit 8000G is the GPRS version of the popular Nurit 8000. It has a thermal printer, a signature accepting screen, and is a very fast and reliable wireless terminal. This terminal is quickly becoming the standard for wireless credit card processing.

The Nurit 8000G is available through many merchant service providers but currently must process through First Data. If you are planning on purchasing a Nurit 8000G, make sure that it is coming from a reputable dealer. There is no way to differentiate a Nurit 8000 from an 8000G until programming is attempted. The Nurit 8000G will cost around $800 from a good online retailer. You may also have to purchase a SIM card which will run an extra $20 – $30. Wireless processing also has an extra monthly fee for use of the cellular service which is usually $20 – $30 / month.

GPRS processing is a huge step in the wireless processing industry, and although it may be still to expensive for some businesses, it is a perfect solution for others. Either way, GPRS processing offers a vast improvement over any previously available wireless processing at no additional cost. If you are looking to start wireless processing for your business, there is no other way that I would recommend.