Product: PayPad V3 payment terminal
Company: 3PEA International Inc.

Plug and play (PnP) sounds like something Jimi Hendrix would have worked magic with. This feature, which allows PCs to recognize and operate peripherals without installing special software drivers, has been around for years.

With the explosion of PCs and peripherals at the POS, PnP devices are becoming useful tools for the merchant level salesperson.

3PEA International Inc. just introduced one such PnP peripheral: The PayPad V3 payment terminal addresses the needs of the PC-based POS market.

It integrates form with function into one of the smallest footprints among payment terminals, according to the company. The unit measures 4.7 by 4.1 inches.

The PayPad V3 is compatible with any gateway or processor, said 3PEA spokesman Mark Newcomer.

Designed as a hand-held POS device, the terminal incorporates a magnetic stripe reader (tracks 1 and 2), an encrypting PIN pad, a Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV)-L1-certified smart card reader and a liquid crystal display.

The unit was designed for seamless integration with Windows operating systems (2003, XP and Vista) and allows developers to turn any Windows application into a fully functioning payment terminal.

PnP functionality comes into play through the terminal's Universal Serial Bus 2.0 (high-speed USB) port, one of V3's most advanced features. The unit is said to be compliant with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard.

It also supports the data encryption standards DES, 3DES, DUKPT (derived unique key per transaction) and 3DES DUKPT encryption. The unit is tamper-resistant to meet PCI compliance. The processor and memory chips are encased in epoxy.

Merchants won't get any "Star Spangled Banner"-style guitar licks out of a payment terminal, but plug-and-play can still be music to their ears.

3PEA International Inc.
800-460-0811
702-453-2221
www.paypad.com