How does an EMV terminal differ from a dial terminal?

An EMV terminal is designed to read chip-embedded card data, which is an important aspect of its functionality. EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa, and it refers to the technology that allows credit and debit cards to contain an embedded chip. This chip enhances security by generating a unique transaction code for each purchase, which helps to prevent fraud and card skimming.

The primary distinction of EMV terminals lies in their ability to interact with these chip-enabled cards, providing a more secure transaction process compared to traditional magnetic stripe-only terminals. In contrast, a dial terminal does not have this capability, as it typically operates using magnetic stripe information.

The other options do not accurately reflect the characteristics of an EMV terminal. For instance, EMV terminals process card transactions rather than strictly cash transactions. They generally require some form of connectivity to authenticate the card and process the transaction, which contradicts the notion that they can function without connectivity. Additionally, the processing capacity of an EMV terminal is not inherently smaller; in many cases, they are designed to handle more complex transactions due to their chip-reading capabilities.