Top safety tips when using mobile card readers

Mobile card machines and portable card machines can be a great way of opening yourself and your business up and accepting payments from your dedicated customers virtually anywhere. Whether you’re moving around a busy set of premises, or need to travel to various locations for work, you’ll always have the technology you need to receive payment promptly and grow your business.

But using these kinds of card machines comes with a risk – because they’re not bolted down like traditional countertop card machines, they are far more prone to drops, spills, accidents or getting lost. This is easily done, especially if you’re a busy working professional with a lot of things going on.

With this in mind, here are a few top tips on keeping your mobile card machine in the best shape possible, so you’ll always have a way of accepting payments from your clients and customers.

1 – Proper handling

When you’re rushed off your feet or on the move, it can be easy to simply toss your card machine around like a baseball, with little to no care for where or how it lands. But while many mobile card machines – like the Saturn Android Smart Terminal – are incredibly durable, unnecessary impacts will only contribute to the lessening of your machine’s lifespan and increase the risk of sustained damage.

So the next time you’re finished using your mobile card reader, be sure to set it down gently and avoid slamming it down on your countertop or dashboard as if it did something wrong!

2 – Keep it in a familiar spot

Because most mobile card machines are no bigger than the average smartphone, we can easily lose track of where we’re putting them now and again. The only downside is that, unlike a smartphone, we can’t give it a ring to follow the sound and scope it out!

In these scenarios, the machine has likely slid down the side of a chair, the back of a cabinet or somewhere equally silly, so it will turn up eventually. But losing your mobile card machine, even in the short term, could cost you something in the way of payments. To solve this, commit to always leaving your card reader in the same spot on your premises, or a familiar pocket or bag if you’re out and about.

3 – Don’t keep it on show all the time

Stealing a mobile card machine wouldn’t be very useful to amateur thieves – they wouldn’t be able to retrieve any sensitive financial data from it even if they tried. But that doesn’t stop some people from having a go! If you have a tendency to leave your card machines lying around your premises, or if you run an on-the-move business and leave your card machine on show in your car, try to avoid it.

There’s no harm in setting your card machine down and returning to it relatively quickly. But the longer it is out in the open, the more of a chance there is that someone may see it and try something stupid. So when it’s not in use regularly, keep it out of sight for your own peace of mind.

4 – Cleaning and general maintenance

If you’re going to be using your mobile card machine regularly every day, or if you work in particularly messy environments like a restaurant, building site or hairdressers, your card machine may end up on the grimy side if it’s not kept out of the line of fire.

Stray dust, debris and other nasty elements may stick to your machine and clog the buttons (if it has them) or make the screen mucky. That’s why giving your card machine a spruce-up every few days is a good idea. There are special wipes you can buy that are designed to be used on tech items like tablets and laptops – yes, these will work on card machines too!

5 – Don’t overcharge it

While it may sound like a good idea to have your mobile card reader on charge for long periods, in actuality, this practice can be harmful to batteries that are designed to power mobile technology.

Not only can it waste unnecessary electricity, it can shorten the lifespan and capacity of your battery, meaning you’ll have less time to accept payments from customers. Stopping charging the device before it reaches 100% is a good strategy and will help the battery serve you well for years to come.

Choose a mobile card reader from an experienced and reputable vendor

If you’re on the lookout for a new mobile card reader or want to explore accepting card payments in your small business for the first time, working with an experienced and reliable card machine vendor is always the best route. Not only can they offer you fantastic rates on card machines, but they can also often assist with such things as accepting online payments and managing merchant accounts as well.