Okuzeka
Finance & Banking vocabulary · Payments & Cards

POS terminal

Meaning in finance & banking, with examples

nounCommon term

In finance & banking, POS terminal means: A device at a point of sale, such as a shop counter, that reads payment cards or phones and sends the payment for approval.

In Turkish: POS cihazı, ödeme terminali

How it is used

POS stands for point of sale. Banks install, rent out and update POS terminals for merchants; online shops use a virtual POS or payment gateway. In everyday speech people also say 'card reader' or, in the UK, 'card machine'.

Example sentences

  1. The POS terminal at the checkout is offline, so we can only take cash today.

  2. Our new POS terminals accept contactless payments and QR codes.

Common collocations

  • install a POS terminal
  • POS transaction
  • virtual POS
  • mobile POS
  • merchantA business that accepts card or digital payments from customers for goods or services, such as a shop, restaurant or online store.
  • contactless paymentPaying by holding a card, phone or watch near a card reader, without inserting the card or, for small amounts, entering a PIN.
  • debit cardA card linked to your bank account that takes money directly from your balance when you pay or use a cash machine.
  • transactionA single movement of money, such as a payment, transfer, deposit or withdrawal, recorded on an account or card.

More terms: Payments & Cards

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.