How this actually works.

A headline rate tells you very little on its own. This page sets out the lines that actually make up an Irish card machine bill and how to compare two quotes fairly.

An integrated terminal takes the amount from the till instead of a staff member keying it. This page explains what that changes in a restaurant and what to check before committing.

Pay at table moves the payment to the customer rather than moving the customer to the till. It depends on what your EPOS supports, so the workflow is worth checking before you buy hardware.

An unattended reader lives or dies on the parts nobody photographs: the controller protocol, the enclosure, the power and the signal. This page sets out how a deployment is assessed.

Adding card acceptance to a vending estate is a fleet project, not a single install. The economics depend on machine throughput, site signal and how quickly a dead reader is replaced.

Charge point operators need outdoor-rated acceptance that survives Irish weather and keeps working when the site link is poor. The assessment covers the charger, the enclosure and the connectivity.

Most reconciliation pain comes from the gap between what the till says, what the terminal batched and what lands in the bank. This page explains where the differences come from.

Switching provider is mostly a contract and logistics exercise. The payment part is straightforward; the notice periods, returns and integration re-testing are where switches go wrong.