If you plan to change your credit card machine because you are upgrading to a new EMV chip terminal, or the old one has become too obsolete and its transaction processing speed is low, you must have to dispose of the old one ethically.
An old and unused credit card machine will take up space and keep collecting dust, and this makes it unhygienic to keep around. However, you can’t just dispose of it any way you like. How you dispose of it matters because of environmental and security issues.
Ways to Dispose of Your Old Credit Card Machine
We will show you how to dispose of old credit card machines without running afoul of environmental regulations.
Destroy it
Banking information and historical batch reports are retained on credit card machines, so it is retrievable even after a long time.
As a business owner who is considering the installation of a new terminal or moving towards a technologically-advanced point-of-sale (POS) processing equipment, you can destroy the old credit card machine completely so that your business information and customers’ information can be safe.
If the credit card machine falls into the wrong hands, the credit information on it can be compromised.
Federal law governs the management and disposal of electronic terminals that collect, transmit or store business and personal financial data. So it’s wrong for you to dispose of it carelessly since you run the risk of non-compliance with the law, and also the potential risk of a serious data breach.
The perfect solution is to do on-site destruction to avoid the loss of credit data. There are companies that offer such services. They will come over to your place of business and destroy the machine in your presence.
After the destruction, these companies will also dispose of it in an ethical manner that is environmentally safe.
Recycle it
This is the disposal method a lot of people opt for, and a quick search online will confirm this. There are numerous websites offering recycling services for e-waste, so you should definitely find more than one in your city. Here is the way to go about it —
Contact the manufacturer
There is the possibility that the manufacturer of the credit card machine might offer recycling services; so it can be kept out of the landfill, and its components can be used in other electronic equipment. Find the manufacturer’s contact information on the credit card machine or their website and give them a call.
Locate a recycling company
A quick search online will provide you with a list of metal recycling companies that are in your city or even offer nationwide service. Many of these metal recycling companies accept disused electronics because they can obtain precious metals from them, so they will earn money when they sell them back to electronic companies.
Contact your city waste disposal
Every city has a disposal service and they are also in charge of recycling e-waste. Instead of throwing them in landfills, contact your city disposal service and let them know you want to dispose of a credit card machine. Once they know it is e-waste, they will provide you with a list of the appropriate places to dispose of your unwanted machine.
If your city doesn’t offer a disposal service, you can check below for other ways to go about this.
Resell it
If for one reason or the other you don’t want to recycle or destroy your old credit card machine, then you can sell it. If you make a quick search on eBay you’ll find lots of people offering their credit card machines for sale; however, this is a risky way to sell them.
What you should do is sell it to companies that specialize in buying and selling used credit card machines. As stated earlier, your business data, customer details, and personal financial details may still be on the machine. So if you want to take this route, then you’ll have to find a way to remove the data from the system. You can give it to a techie to do this for you.
Also, you need to be sure that your terminal is not locked because if it is, no one will be able to use it.
It’s worth mentioning that you won’t make a fortune from selling the machine; however, no matter how little the cash might be, it is still worth having.
Donate It
If you want to take the philanthropic route, you can donate your old credit card machine. There are different charities that accept the donation of electronic equipment; and in some cases, it is possible to write off the value of your donation during tax time.
Donating this is a way of helping new startups who find it hard to get the payment machine to run their day-to-day operations.
As stated earlier, you’ll need to delete your data and customers’ data first before you give this machine out.
How to Store Old Credit Card Machines
If you’re planning to resell or donate it, you might not find people or charities willing to accept it immediately, so it can spend more days or weeks in your home. You wouldn’t want it to get spoilt by the time you find buyers, so you need to store it carefully.
Find a box that it can fit into. Put the old credit card machine in the box and then close it. Seal the opening of the box so it protects it from dust. Find a cool dry place to store it.
Conclusion
Electronic devices get obsolete very quickly and they have to be replaced as fast as possible to keep your business operations going on.
In industries that deal with confidential data and security, the lifespan of machines is quite short because of the need for upgrades. A cash machine is one of such electronics. So if you need to dispose of it, you will have to do it with care.
