Magnetic Swipe Readers for Point of Sale Requirements – Verosa

Overview

Our integration supports a variety of standardized magnetic stripe readers. On supported gateways, these will be reported as a swiped transaction, which may improve how your gateway processed/bills for that transaction. Review below for a list of compatible readers. These readers must be operating in un-encrypted keyboard emulation mode. If you're unsure if your reader operates in this method, there's a handful of easy steps to identify if your reader will work with our software.

Testing Keyboard Emulation

It's incredibly easy to test keyboard emulation - on a Windows machine, open up Notepad by opening the Start Menu, type notepad.exe, and press enter.
When Notepad launches, make sure your reader is connected, and slide a card through the reader a few times.

This should read the stripe's contents (it will not charge an amount to the card). If you see text inputted in to Notepad, your reader should be okay.
This text should include full card number, name on card, and the expiration date - the remaining information is not relevant to our integration.

Requirements

1. Must be reading a magnetic strip - not the EMV chip/NFC

EMV support is separate from reading from a magnetic strip - therefore, if your reader reads EMV (chip), NFC (for tap-and-pay, Apple Pay, Android Pay and similar), in addition to magnetic strip, it's probably an EMV terminal, and not supported under this class of readers.

2. Must be operating in keyboard emulation mode

Supported readers will read off the data stored on the magnetic strip as keyboard characters, while acting just like a standard keyboard. This is generally called "keyboard emulation," "keyboard wedge," and/or "legacy" mode. Note that readers operating in non-keyboard emulation modes (such as "HID," and/or "Interface" mode) will not function with our integration - consult your device's manual to check if it supports keyboard emulation mode.

The following readers are known to work with our integration:

MagTek Mini USB Swipe Card Reader

Part Number: MAG21040145
Magnetic Stripe Reader – Color: Black
Dimensions: 1.23” Height x 1.28” Width x 3.94” Length
Length: Interfaces/Ports: USB - 2.0 USB
System: Windows/macOS via USB
Type: Keyboard Emulation

MagTek Dynamag USB Swipe Card Reader

Part Number: MAG21073062
Magnetic Stripe Reader – Color: Black
Dimensions: 1.23” Height x 1.28” Width x 3.94” Length
Length: Interfaces/Ports: USB - 2.0 USB
Keyboard Wedge: Certifications & Standards
System: Windows/macOS device via USB
Type: Keyboard Emulation

3. Must be running in non-encrypted mode

Some gateways/service providers (including Authorize.net and others) will ship encrypted magnetic strip readers. These readers obscure vital card information, and are not compatible with our integration.

If, when testing a card (e.g. using the above method), you see a different value each time, and/or the output doesn't include card details, it may be encrypted or malfunctioning - contact your merchant services provider for assistance.