Integrating Tender Retail's suite of products into your software benefits your program's overall appeal in a number of ways. Its addition allows for the implementation of high demand value added features such as gift card and loyalty card functionality. In addition, the Merchant Connect suite gives your program maximum flexibility because of its ability to seamlessly switch protocols, PINpads and transaction processors. This measure of independence is highly appealing to merchants.

Looking into the future... Tender Retail is always looking at and working with new partners and technology. New PINpads, card readers, signature capture devices and value-added software are continuously being evaluated. Once certified, they will be introduced into the already wide range of equipment available for Tender Retail's Merchant Connect suite of products.

All of our Merchant Connect products are designed to integrate seamlessly with all POS systems. In addition, most of our product suite can be configured to adapt to any in-house proprietary systems and, conversely, most can be utilized as standalone programs.

Tender Retail's Suite of Products supports multiple protocols ranging from your standard phone line to dedicated high-speed connections. While the processing time for a dedicated line (TCP/IP) is under six seconds, they do cost substantially more. For single terminal locations, a standard dial-up line usually makes the best business sense.

TCP/IP enables chain stores to have one connection to a centralized "router". The "router" will recognize the IP address of the call and transfer it accordingly. The advantage of using TCP/IP connectivity is the line is not dedicated solely to card processing but can be used for internal communications (stock transfers, e-mail etc.)

Even better, today more and more processors are receiving transactions via VPN/IP and native IP. Transaction processing times are quicker than 6 seconds and the cost to operate is substantially lower.

No. Our Merchant Connect suite of products use the printer attached to your PC and require a bank approved PINpad. The newer PINpads have built-in magnetic swipe readers, which allow you to swipe debit and credit cards, eliminating the need and cost of a separate reader. These are normally rented through your financial institution or third party service provider or purchased directly from the manufacturer. Contact your Relationship Manger at your financial institution for more information regarding PINpad deployment.

You name the operating system and we have a fit. For simpler operations, Merchant Connect Direct (MCD) and Merchant Connect Batch (MCB) are both PC based software packages. These products are available in Windows versions. Merchant Connect Multi (MCM) runs on both thin or fat client applications as well as being capable to run LINUX, UNIX, JAVA, or AS 400 applications.

First, call your POS software developers. They may have already done the work and a simple update to your program maybe all that is required. If not, there are several methods for developers to enhance their program using our Merchant Connect Toolbox. Please contact info@tender-retail.com for further information and to obtain a copy of the Merchant Connect Toolbox.

Transaction response time with a 3101 line (normal phone lines) is usually within 30 seconds. With a 3201 (a polled line), x25 line or TCP/IP the response time is between 4-6 seconds. VPN/IP and native IP can be between 2-5 seconds.

For new POS integrations, developers are required to purchase our software developer's kit (Merchant Connect Toolbox). For each POS, there is the one-time purchase price of a software license for either Merchant Connect Direct or Merchant Connect Multi. We also offer a yearly maintenance fee. Compared to renting point of payment systems from your financial institution, we generally find that Tender Retail's suite of products pay for themselves within 18 months.