Credit card terminals collect payment data in a variety of ways. EMV and magstripe terminals read data encoded directly onto your customer’s card through a magnetic stripe or an embedded EMV chip. NFC-equipped terminals use near-field communication to transmit and receive data wirelessly between either the customer’s card (tap-to-pay) or mobile device (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.). The terminal sends this data to your provider’s payment processing network through a landline, cellphone, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi connection. Modern terminals increasingly communicate with your processor via a payment gateway for enhanced security and cloud-based data synchronization.