Magnetic Card Reader

Amigo Pos 7includes support for keyboard wedge (USB or PS2 interface) and USB HID credit card readers listed on the certified hardware page. Many card readers will work without additional setup. Drivers are not required for either card reader type, regardless of interface.

Keyboard wedge readers must be configured as shown below:

Note for keyboard wedge interface scanner and magnetic card reader users: Amigo Pos supports both keyboard wedge magnetic card readers and keyboard wedge scanners. The output from keyboard wedge devices appears as text typed from a keyboard to both Windows and Amigo Pos. Since Amigo Pos does not force the user to select a text box or open a popup window before scanning a barcode or swiping a credit card, Amigo Pos must be able to determine if the output is from a magnetic card reader or barcode scanner. The simplest method is to append a character to the end of the barcode scan and append a single carriage return to the end of the card swipe.

PCCharge Payment Server users:

After installing PCCharge Payment Server, verify that you can run a test transaction using the PCCharge Payment Server GUI (graphical user interface). Then configure Amigo Pos to communicate with PCCharge Payment Server before testing the card reader.

Attempt a test transaction in Amigo Pos. If the transaction is successful, a status message will appear on the screen and a customer receipt will print automatically. During configuration and testing, the most common error received in Amigo Pos is "Invalid Swipe". This error occurs when the magnetic card reader does not parse and decode the credit card in a format acceptable to Amigo Pos. Note that a successful transaction in PCCharge does not mean that your magnetic card reader is set up correctly for use with Amigo Pos. PCCharge is capable of decoding almost any magnetic card reader configuration - Amigo Pos requires a standard format as described below. This will ensure that Amigo Pos can use employee swipe cards, in-house gift cards as well as credit cards.

The following information requires that you obtain a copy of the magnetic card reader's user manual, generally downloadable from the manufacturer's web site in PDF format. You may also need to download a utility that will allow you to communicate with the magnetic card reader to change the settings as required.

•	If using a IdTech or Pos-X magnetic card reader, refer to the next topic for easy setup instructions.

•	If using a Magtek (stand-alone or preinstalled on ELO touchscreens), the card reader should already work with Amigo Pos

Configuring the Magnetic Card Reader

In order to ensure proper formatting of the swipe for card readers with keyboard emulation, the following rules must be observed:

· The reader must not send a carriage return after each Track as shown in Example 2; the entire swipe must appear on a single line as shown in Example 1

· The reader must send a carriage return after each swipe is complete. This can be observed in notepad when the cursor jumps to the next (blank) line when the swipe is complete.

· Be sure that the proper delimiters are used, i.e. ^, ?, %. These are generally correct on the vast majority of card readers and do not require modification.

Back Office > Configuration > Peripherals

The most common type of reader interface is a USB with keyboard wedge emulation. Select the card reader type as shown below at each pos station. Note that a keyboard wedge reader is different than an OPOS reader and OPOS is rarely used but may be required for some legacy devices.

Keyboard Wedge Reader Configuration

Open Windows notepad on your pos station and ensure that word wrap is not enabled (on the top menu, select format and uncheck Word Wrap). Note that the swipe must appear entirely on a single line, as shown in Example A.

Right!

%B9991112223334445^PUBLIC/JOHN Q^1112223334445557778881112223331?;3444555777888999=88999000111222333444?

Example 1: A properly formatted swipe

Example 2 shows an incorrectly formatted swipe, where a carriage return is sent after each track. This will cause a swipe error in Amigo Pos.

Wrong!

%B8768010000381411^PUBLIC/JOHN Q

^0807101006510000000000381000000?

;8768010000381411=08071010381000065100?

Example 2: An improperly formatted swipe

A popular magnetic card reader is the Magtek MiniMag wedge reader. If you do not already have the user manual, download it here and refer to the section entitled "Track Separator Selection" on page 9. The MiniMag automatically sends a carriage return "<ENTER>" after each track. This must be disabled as described in the manual. After the track separator is disabled, the magnetic card reader is ready for use with Amigo Pos.

Most magnetic card readers are either correctly configured for use with Amigo Pos from the factory or require slight adjustments. Since each magnetic card reader is different, you must consult your user manual for instructions; we are very limited in the support we can offer for hardware configuration.

Magnetic Stripe Encoding

Gift, Loyalty and Employee Id cards must be properly encoded on 2 tracks to work with Amigo Pos. Refer to the Sample Gift Card Configuration help topic for card encoding instructions.

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