POS terminal

A POS terminal (Point of Sale terminal) is a asset that allows the customer to pay without cash at the point of purchase.

A POS terminal is a asset that allows you to pay without cash at the point of purchase. Today we just keep it there our touch card or our phone close to the terminal, and the transaction is already completed, we can go. 

But it wasn't always like that. In the heyday of POS terminals, in the 70s and 80s, signatures and to PIN code was also necessary. Many people also remember that 10-15 years ago, the bank card had to be handed over to the seller, and he pulled off the magnetic strip in the terminal.

Today, in contrast, we are at the point where we can slowly pay with a chip implanted under our skin. This is indeed feasible, but we still have to wait for this reform, and it is also a question of how much real social demand there is for such a solution. However, we are already there that the our bank card or we can also pay by bringing our phone close to the terminal. 

This is the miracle RFID thanks to technology. The essence of this is that the magnetic field generated by the terminal induces a voltage in the small circuit built into our card or phone. This activates it and starts broadcasting the learned signals: "I am this and this card, owned by cardholder XY, from card-issuing bank Z. Can I pay?” 

These signals are sent in an encrypted form to the to card companies, then to the banks of the seller and the buyer, where the card are authorized, i.e. they establish that it really exists, is valid, and can be used to pay (it has money on it). The owner too authenticated, i.e. with the help of the PIN code, they make sure that he really is the owner of the given card. 

The buyer's bank then indicates that the transaction is OK on its part, the OK message arrives on the terminal, and the cashier presses the block into our hands. At the same time, the bank will debit the amount in question from the customer's account. After that, the two involved bank settle the evening settlement through the mediation of the card company, and the seller's bank credits the amount of the purchase to the seller's account. 

A recurring concern with POS terminals and the RFID technology used by them and the card is that the card's circuit can be activated by mobile "pseudo-POS terminals", let's say that someone is close to them on public transport. However, the fact is that this type of bank card theft is difficult to carry out and is therefore very rare.