According to Bill Treciak, president of Electronic Data Payment Systems (EDPS) in Dover, Ohio, the iPhone took “the electronic wallet concept and partnered with certain banks and credit cards.” In other words, only some merchants and credit cards were compatible with Apple Pay. More specifically, says Treciak, “Mom and Pops small business owners don’t have an idea how to participate in Apple Pay.”

That’s where businesses like Treciak’s come in. While providing support to small business owners seeking to embrace the virtual wallet concept is one sector of EDPS’s market, the company is also a full-service payment processing entity.

Using the ‘If you can’t beat them, join them,’ philosophy is wise if small businesses want to compete with the merchants, banks and credit cards already partnered with Apple Pay.

Is that really possible? Absolutely, says Treciak. “All it takes is the right terminal,” he says.

Not only is playing in the Big Leagues of virtual payments easy for the small business owner, it is also not as expensive as one might think. Treciak suggests the small business owner buy, and not lease, a countertop terminal for Apple Pay and other virtual wallets.

“Never lease a countertop terminal. It’s not a good deal financially,” he warns. Why? Because buying a machine allows the purchaser know their costs upfront, rather than paying a monthly lease fee. For example, when a customer buys a countertop terminal designed to accept virtual payments from Treciak, there are no additional monthly charges (other than the usual processing fees the terminal’s owner would pay, anyway). And his company offers support from the beginning of the sale until the day the client severs the relationship. That support includes setup, training and follow-up needed by the small business owner, all at no extra charge.

But virtual wallets are not the only change in the payment processing world. A major overhaul in the industry that will impact all merchants, retailers, credit cards and banks that accept credit cards comes this October, says Treciak. That’s when “EMV” technology will be required of outlets accepting credit cards for face-to-face purchases.

Just what is EMV? The acronym stands for ‘Euro MasterCard Visa,’ and come October, all merchants will be required to have equipment capable of reading “chip-based credit cards,” he says. The new stipulation is not due to Congressional action to prevent credit card fraud, but proactive action the banking industry is taking on its own to reduce fraudulent credit card use.

So what does EMV mean for all retailers come October? “All merchants who accept face-to-face payments must be able to process chip-based credit card payments” that month, says Treciak.

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Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer. She may be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or @girlwithapen.