Having the right credit card processing equipment is important for any business. You can decide to buy, lease, or purchase credit card processing equipment. Even though each approach has its pros and cons, equipment leasing is among the most unfair and dishonest practices. For a while, equipment leasing was viable; however, it is no longer affordable compared to purchasing your equipment. Last few years, competition led to a drastic decrease in hardware prices. Today, mobile payment systems allow you to receive credit card payments on your smartphone or tablet through an affordable card reader. Technically, free credit card processing terminals are never free. In case your credit card processor gives you a ‘free’ credit card terminal, it recoups its money somehow in the contract, either through fees or surcharges. For instance, most free terminals are proprietary, supporting only specific credit card processors. So, a “free” terminal is not free, after all.