Check Out This 'Future-Proof' Universal POS TerminalPoynt's terminal accepts every form of payment, for any type of business.

October 2015 is a deadline that hundreds of thousands of U.S. merchants dread. That's when any business that swipes customers' credit cards must have swapped out its payment terminals with costly new ones that follow the EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) protocol. Those who don't make the switch will be liable for any fraud charges that may occur.

This mandatory upgrade, which will affect almost 1 billion cards and 16 million terminals in the U.S., is a once-in-a-generation undertaking, according to Osama Bedier, founder and CEO of Poynt, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company that has developed a smart payment terminal. "Think about it compared to the Euro currency change a few years back—that's how significant this is," he says.

Poynt's $299 smart terminal accepts every form of payment that consumers pack, from Apple Pay to credit and debit cards to cash. Beyond its POS basics such as a card reader and thermal receipt printer, the terminal works as a beacon (see Ask a Geek, page 66) and can connect to the internet through Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or 3G wireless data signal. Its two programmable touch displays (one facing the store employee, one facing the customer) can be customized to the retailer's wishes. It even packs a GPS system to track where sales are made (think: food trucks).