Groupon is set to add credit card terminals to its existing payments suite for merchants. With the addition, the company said in a news release, its payments services now include the most common methods for businesses to accept credit cards.

The company will provide three options to implement its payments service on a credit card terminal: configure an existing Verifone and Ingenico device; purchase a Verifone vx520 from Groupon for $150 (with no monthly contract or fees); or rent a Verifone vx520 to own for $15 per month (for 12 months).

With the ability to run across mobile, iPad and terminal point-of-sale devices, Groupon said, it now caters to every type of small business.

"While merchants are attracted to the easy signup, low and transparent pricing and powerful analytics provided by our payments service, not all merchants are ready to immediately adopt an iPad or iPhone for their credit card processing needs," Sean Harper, director of product, Groupon, said in the release. "We anticipate that most merchants will eventually migrate their payments to tablet and mobile POS systems, but for now, this option lets them use familiar hardware and still benefit from the features of our payments service to save money and better manage their businesses."

In addition to having a cost-effective hardware package, the pre-programmed device offers:

• Low-price guarantee — Groupon's low-price guarantee to beat any competitors' rates on credit card transaction fees. Rates of 1.8 percent plus $0.15 per transaction (MasterCard, Visa and Discover) with no hidden costs or monthly fees.
• Free processing — No processing fees on the first $5,000 in credit card transactions (promotional offer).
• Payments center — 24/7 ability to access important business analytics from all Groupon POS devices, including the ability to run reports on payments trends, top customers, refund amounts and tip totals.

The new service will be available only in the U.S. for now. Groupon said it expects to add its payments service to additional mobile, tablet and terminal point-of-sale devices in the future. Merchants interested in learning more about Groupon's suite of iPad and mobile point-of-sale and payments solutions for local businesses can visit breadcrumb.groupon.com.

In addition to payments, Groupon offers the Breadcrumb point-of-sale suite for merchants:

• Breadcrumb POS — Provides merchants with a way to replace cash registers with an easy-to-use point-of-sale solution that offers a low-price guarantee on credit card transaction fees.
• Breadcrumb PRO — Caters exclusively to restaurants and bars that require a more extensive set of features such as check and table management and time clock functionality.

Some restrictions apply on the low-price guarantee. Details of the terms and conditions are available at breadcrumb.groupon.com.

Learn more about mobile point of sale.