With the advent of portable internet-connected devices, the standardization of operating systems (e.g. Android), payment processing protocols (e.g. Nexo), and contactless payment acceptance (e.g. EMV Contacless), the next generation of payment terminals set out to turn the world of retail payments into a convenient, straightforward operation.

The Switch Terminal Application splits the typical communication flow into two steps. Firstly, the payment data is locally encrypted and sent to the Switch Processing Application, hosted in the cloud, which will leverage the entire Switch Platform (e.g. Dynamic Routing, Risk, Analytics) to route transactions to any given acquirer processor on a true omnichannel experience.

Besides, it is fully agnostic, meaning you can choose which terminal vendors, acquirers, and acquirer processors you want to work with. With the Switch Terminal Application, you can have full control over your terminal operations and set up payment in-store through a user-friendly, future proof system.

Terminal Specifications

When using Switch’s Terminal Application you will encounter specific terms which we address in the following table.

Terminal Setup

Our Merchant and Terminal APIs allow you to automatically manage and onboard merchants, and also set up accounts and channels, providing the perfect infrastructure to manage your entire terminal fleet.

When setting up your terminal operation it is important to know how to add and make changes to terminals by tapping into your device’s details and settings.

Multiple payment methods are made available through our Terminal Application and supported by the Switch Hosted Checkout, a solution that is sure to make your customers’ lives easier.

Add Terminal

Terminals can be created using the Switch Dashboard or following the path described in the instructions below. You can use POST for creating new terminals, apply PATCH to make changes to existing terminals and DELETE outdated terminals.

When creating a Terminal there is some required information which you should keep in mind to configure settings effectively.

POST /v1/terminals

REQUEST
    $ curl -vX POST
  https://merchant-api-test.switchpayments.com/v1/terminals?merchant_id=accountId -u accountId:MerchantAPIKey
  {
  	"terminal_model": "castles_saturn_1000",
  	"authorization_group": "bf3350f69a1a1ef50b587d7837b1c9a",
  	"processing_public_key": "{{PUBLIC-KEY}}",
  	"settings": {
  		"language": "en",
  		"supervisor_pin": "1234",
  		"maintenance_pin": "4321",
  		"daily_session_end": "12:12",
  		"merchant_name": "name",
  	},
  	"metadata": {
  		"x": "y"
  	}
  }

Users are able to set customized parameters under metadata. This field might come in handy when you intend to register specific messages for your collaborators or intend to add tracking numbers to your devices. Here are some examples of metadata parameters to clarify its functionality.

RESPONSE: HTTP 200
    {id: "4971cd5732e4e5e21cf488f61db64d6f7f227fcc5ebe6c15"}
             authorization_group_id: "bf3350f69a1a1ef50b587d7837b1"
             created_at: "2020-05-15T10:16:53.101636+00:00"
             id: "4971cd5732e4e5e21cf488f61db64d6f7f227fcc5ebe6c15"
             merchant_id: "Lq9aVoz7eI852ID7ffNgGD9rr9Grv3ZQeE9dt"
             processing_public_key: "123abc"
             settings: {language: "en", merchant_name: "Name", supervisor_pin: "1234", maintenance_pin: "4321"}
       daily_session_end: "12:12"
       language: "en"
       maintenance_pin: "4321"
       merchant_name: "Name"
       supervisor_pin: "1234"
  terminal_model: "castles_saturn_1000"
  updated_at: "2020-05-19T18:26:19.210989+00:00"

Terminal Details

When you access the details of a specific Terminal, you should be able to find specific identifiers of your device, the necessary keys to access it and the dates in which it was created or modified.

Terminal Settings

Terminal Settings have to do with how you operate your device. These concern your customer’s and collaborator’s user experience with the Terminal, how they identify your device, the payment methods they can employ and the ways in which they handle and retrieve information.

Search Terminal

You are able to find Terminal Details and Settings by going over your list of Terminals in the Switch Dashboard or by employing a GET call to our Merchant API using the Terminal ID, as follows.

GET /v1/terminals/{id}

REQUEST
    $ curl -vX POST
  https://merchant-api-test.switchpayments.com/v1/terminals/{id}?merchant_id=accountId -u accountId:MerchantAPIKey

RESPONSE: HTTP 201
    {id: "4971cd5732e4e5e21cf488f61db64d6f7f227fcc5ebe6c15"}
              authorization_group_id: "bf3350f69a1a1ef50b587d7837b1c9a130a56f"
              created_at: "2020-05-15T10:16:53.101636+00:00"
              id: "4971cd5732e4e5e21cf488f61db64d6f7f227fcc5ebe6c15"
              merchant_id: "Lq9aVoz7eI852ID7ffNgGD9rr9Grv3ZQeE9dtfF0KvE6QxGQLwmjCPFkqmpP6td"
              processing_public_key: "123abc"
              settings: {language: "en", merchant_name: "Name", supervisor_pin: "1234", maintenance_pin: "4321"}
        daily_session_end: "12:12"
        language: "en"
        maintenance_pin: "4321"
        merchant_name: "Name"
        supervisor_pin: "1234"
  terminal_model: "castles_saturn_1000"
  updated_at: "2020-05-19T18:26:19.210989+00:00"

Terminal User Guide

The workflow in the Switch Terminal Application was designed to be user-friendly, simple, and future-proof.

Most operations you are able to execute when using the Terminal Application are linear and produce clear results, making the interaction simple and straightforward. You have access to multiple tools to help you search transactions and the details of your operation so that you can always keep an eye on your store’s performance.

Payments

1. Input amount using the Terminal screen. In the Terminal, a calculator is available to ease cash payments.
2. Consumers can choose whether they would like to add a tip to the original price or not, just use the Add Tip option. Tips can be calculated by a percentage of the amount to be paid or you can input a specific value.
3. Consumers can choose how they want to pay. They can make use of their card as usual, or proceed with the alternative payment methods you decide to remotely deploy to the POS (e.g. PayPal, Alipay). When using alternative payment methods, the user interface will display a QR code that customers can scan using their mobile devices. This will redirect them to a checkout page where they can proceed with the payment.
4. After each payment, consumers can choose between a printed or digital receipt.

Transactions and Refunds

All transactions are listed on the Switch Dashboard, but you also have access to the ones processed during the current session right on the Terminal Application.

1. To search transactions, you can use the QR code on each receipt or any other detail about the transaction. This includes the timeframe in which the transaction was handled and the payment instrument used. Everything is searchable and all data is available in real-time.
2. To proceed with refunds, simply find the transaction you would like to refund and establish the refund amount, you can create partial or total refunds.