January 11th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Chase Commerce Solutions, the global payment processing and merchant acquiring business of JPMorgan Chase & Co., sold its entire portfolio of Independent Sales Organization (ISO) accounts and associated contracts.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Chase has been decreasing the number of merchant relationships it supports through traditional ISOs and increasing the number of direct acquiring relationships it has with merchants since it formed Chase Merchant Services, a partnership with Visa that began 2013.
During that time it has focused more on e-commerce, reports said, though the biggest news for Chase Commerce Solutions recently was its agreement with Starbucks in November to take over processing of all its non-mobile payments.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: Commerce Solutions, e-commerce, Independent Sales Organization, ISO, merchant, merchant services, Mobile Payments, payment processing, visa
January 6th, 2016 by Elma Jane
A company is teaming up with MasterCard to help other companies integrate mobile payments into their fitness devices, smart watches, jewelry, or clothing. Anything and everything that can fit an NFC chip inside it.
The program is a small iteration on something MasterCard announced last October, in which MasterCard was setting up essentially the same thing: Tokenized payment systems device makers could embed in virtually anything.
To start, the two companies have partnerships set up with Atlas, Moov and Omate, all of whom make wearable or fitness devices. The idea is that if you’re out for a run, you can just use the fitness band you’ve already got on you to buy something. That makes sense, but it also may mean you’ve got yet another payment system to set up and think about, one that presumably isn’t fully integrated either into your Apple Pay or Android Pay setup.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/6/10704812/coin-mastercard-partnership-ces-2016-atlas-wearables-moov-ornate
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: Mobile Payments, nfc, payment system
December 21st, 2015 by Elma Jane
You will think United States or China are the two world’s biggest market when it comes to digital payments and other cashless spending systems. But according to a study, the answer is a less likely source: Sweden is actually on its way to becoming a fully cashless society.
Several factors have come together to give the Swedes an unexpected edge, a combination of IT awareness, and a growing number of useful mobile payments solutions.
The entire country currently only has about 80 billion Swedish crowns in circulation, and as users more often turn to mobile payment systems, the need for cash only declines. About 20 percent of all purchases made in cash in Swedish retail, and that number is falling off almost daily.
Some transactions can only be carried out by digital payments, since the mobile apps are convenient, free to use, and generally regarded as secure, there’s not much impediment for users to turn to such systems.
A truly cashless society is probably a bridge too far; there will always be those who’d rather handle cash. Only time will tell if the market shapes up looking like this, but even with lower actual results than projected, that’s still a lot of people turning to mobile payment and other cashless payment systems. There will still be a huge majority trending toward cashless society.
http://paymentweek.com/2015-12-18-world-leader-in-cashless-trading-an-unexpected-source-9182/
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: digital payments, mobile payment systems, Mobile Payments, mobile payments solutions, payment systems, payments solutions
December 17th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Mobile Payments – It is bound to see more actions with tech giants Apple, Google and Samsung in mobile payment trends. We will also see new technologies like smartwatches, bracelets and rings that will give us the ability to provide payment options.
NFC – Near Field Communication, another familiar face among the payment trends. NFC, however, goes way beyond making payments using smartphones. These speed up POS payment processing quickly and easily without requiring a PIN or signature. While there are other POS payment methods, such as QR codes, NFC will come out on top. Merchants should ensure they have an overview of the current Point-of-Sale options and should, if needed, upgrade to the latest technology.
Security: Tokenization and biometric authentication will have a strong influence on the payment industry.
Tokenization – when applied to data security, is an extremely interesting method of securing credit card data. As the credit card numbers are substituted by tokens that has no value, then no harm can be done if tokens are stolen, which makes tokenization a secure process.
There are several new inventions when it comes to payment processing authentication such as password, PIN, and fingerprint methods. But they are weak so two-factor authentication is increasingly used to improve security.
Biometrics Authentication – like finger print scan, facial recognition, voice recognition, and pulse recognition are set to become increasingly significant. This will increase both security and convenience.
International E-Commerce – It’s important that merchants offer shoppers their preferred local payment method. Merchants who are looking for e-commerce success will need to create an international strategy. Merchants should also consider checking with their payment service providers. Providers know their way around to alternative payment methods.
Cash on the Retreat – Cashless Society? Some countries in Europe are certainly cutting down on the usage of cash. In Sweden, it is now almost impossible to use cash to pay for bus tickets. Acceptable payment methods include customer cards, credit cards, and payments via smartphone apps. Traditional cash-based bakeries no longer exist and instead, now display signs requesting that customers use cashless payment methods for even the smallest amounts. The situation in Denmark is similar; the government is currently debating whether or not to release smaller retailers from the obligation of having to accept cash as a payment method. Cash is on the retreat, and alternative payment methods are advancing. However, cash is still on the list.
Real-Time Payments (Instant Payments) – The European Central Bank (ECB) will bring instant payments strongly in the near future. Instant or real-time payments are a trend which will be with us for a long time to come.
Regulatory Changes – The first Payment Services Directive (PSD) from 2007 is still currently implemented domestically. After a tough two-year negotiation period, the EU has now, finally, agreed on a second payment services directive (PSD2). The European Banking Authority (EBA) is set to develop more detailed guidelines and regulatory standards for various industries. Payment industries should begin preparing themselves now for implementation, doing this will allow them to be ready for the appropriate steps necessary in 2016/2017.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Near Field Communication, Point of Sale, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: Apple, biometric, credit card, data security, e-commerce, google, merchants, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, nfc, payment industry, payment methods, payment options, payment processing, payment service providers, payment services, payment trends, payments, PIN, point of sale, POS, qr codes, real-time payments, Samsung, tokenization
December 11th, 2015 by Elma Jane
The use of in-store mobile payments increased in the US this year, from 5% in 2014 to 18% in 2015, research reveals, with approximately one in five consumers using their phone to make a payment at the point of sale.
The most popular uses of mobile payments in the US:
Public Parking (19%)
Gas Station Purchases (18%)
Coffee Shops and Fast Food Dining (17%)
Paying for Groceries (16%)
Public Transportation (16%)
Paying for a Taxi (16%)
Paying for restaurant bills (15%)
Checking out of a Hotel and Paying the Bill (13%)
Shopping for Clothing (12%)
Shopping in General on the High Street or in the Mall (10%)
Other (7%)
US consumers aged between 25 – 34 were seen as driving the largest portion of mobile payment activity at 36%, with those aged from 45-74 accounting for less than 10% of activity.
Half of the survey’s 2,000 respondents in the US cited security concerns as the main reason for not using mobile devices for in-store payments, while consumers place the greatest trust in traditional financial institutions like banks (49%) for provision of payment services.
Mobile technology is now moving beyond simply being a mode of communication and advancing towards the era of the always-connected consumer, says US telecommunications sector leader at Deloitte.
http://www.nfcworld.com/2015/12/11/340588/store-mobile-payments-increase-four-fold-across-us/
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale Tagged with: banks, financial institutions, Mobile Payments, payment services, payments, point of sale
December 3rd, 2015 by Elma Jane
Industry professionals agree that mobile payments technology has surpassed e-commerce as the trend in the daily spending behavior of modern retail customers.
E-commerce’s impact on consumer spending has actually decreased, but it seems that the ability to pay with mobile devices has finally swayed consumers away from their computers.
The payments outlook has changed rapidly with the increasing availability of mobile technologies to the average retail consumer within the last year. Products like Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay have totally altered the landscape of payment options.
Small Businesses will have to adapt in order to keep up with the rapid pace of technological developments. The evolution of payments technologies not only alters how consumers spend their money, but how that money is processed during a transaction.
There are still some concerns over cyber risks and data security, which led 58 percent of surveyed professionals to agree that point-of-sale debit and credit card transactions were still the safest form of payment, while mobile payments garnered 20 percent of support. But hypothetical worries over security aren’t real enough to slow mobile payments’ momentum moving forward.
Mobile payments transaction value is expected to hit $8.71 billion by the end of 2015. That figure will triple to $27.05 billion in comparison to 2016, according to new research; as a bigger base of consumers begin to use their phones for point-of-sale transactions and a wider range of merchants begin to accept mobile payments. By 2019, essentially all mobile payment transactions will be done on smartphones.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Mobile Payments, Point of Sale Tagged with: credit card, credit card transactions, debit, e-commerce, merchants, Mobile Payments, payments technologies, point of sale
November 6th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Money 20/20 was billed as the largest convention in payments history held in Las Las Vegas, during the last week of October 2015.
The show delivered well-organized, incisive content such as Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) migration, mobile payments, security and omnichannel commerce.
20/20 Highlights
- Alternative lending and credit.
- Bill Payments, Financial Services: Newly released market research provides insights into the future of household bill payments, millennials, and financial services.
- Connected Commerce and the Mobile Enterprise: The Internet of Things is changing the way that consumers interact with their environments. Analysts predict up to 30 billion interactive devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020, noting that many of these devices will be payment-enabled.
- Marketing and Customer Experience: Most marketers agree that the era of demographic profiles and pull marketing is over. Retailers, card brands and information technology professionals looked at the customer experience in the digital world. They explored new marketing practices, trends in e-commerce and mobile commerce, and big data findings in other industries that may be useful to financial service companies.
- Mobile Banking: Banks are undergoing an incremental transformation as they learn to compete with nonbank lenders, balance cash management with digital currencies, and shift from local branches to online and mobile forms of banking.
- Mobile Payments: Payments analysts reviewed Apple Pay a year after its launch and a range of other mobile wallet offerings, and they speculated on how third-party wallets will impact bank apps.
- Payment Card Evolution: Payment card issuers, processors and network service providers analyzed the changing look, feel and role of payment cards in the greater ecosystem. Discussions ranged from card linking to the coolness factor of gift cards to how e-cards are expanding market opportunities.
- POS, Processing and Open Platforms: Executive roundtables with leading acquirers explored front-end and back-end technology and omnichannel commerce for small and midsize businesses.
- Regulatory Landscape: Increased federal and state oversight has had a significant impact on the financial services sector.
- Security: Security analysts made in-depth presentations on tokenization, end-to-end encryption, and secure methods of authentication designed to protect consumers, merchants and industry stakeholders from cybercriminals. Many agreed that EMV implementation in the United States will drive fraudsters to the card-not-present space. They discussed how EMV adoption has changed fraud patterns in other regions and offered examples of best practices geared toward identifying and preventing electronic payment fraud.
More than 10,000 attendees and 3,000 exhibitors from 75 countries attended Money20/20. Financial services professionals from mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology met at what show organizers described as the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology.
The years to come will be a turning point in the payments sector, and with the recent shift to EMV, the entire conference confirmed that all the players are more interested than ever in finding innovative solutions for combating online fraud.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: Apple Pay, big data, bill payments, card-not-present, e-commerce, electronic payment, EMV, EuroPay, financial services, Gift Cards, MasterCard, merchants, Mobile Payments, mobile wallet, payments, POS, processors, Service providers, tokenization, visa
November 5th, 2015 by Elma Jane
EMV-compliant POS systems are now being equipped with NFC technology to accept contactless payments. What does this mean for the future of payments?
EMV lays the foundation for increased card-present and contactless payments security, with EMV, magnetic stripe cards are soon to be a bygone technology. Plastic EMV cards will not have a long lifespan as payments move into a more digital space, security and NFC upgrades merchants and consumers now will carry over into the digital and mobile payments space.
Consumers are constantly looking for more convenient ways to transact, which is made possible by the simultaneous adoption of EMV and NFC. While EMV supports plastic chip cards, payments are going digital and POS systems equipped with NFC technology save consumers from digging through their wallets, making it easier for consumers to transact via mobile devices. Mobile payments should be simple, scalable and affordable in today’s payment landscape and consumers should have the option to securely store and use multiple cards within their digital wallets or applications they most often use.
EMV standards increase security for card-present payments, which are relevant to many consumers today, but the convenience of mobile and contactless payments is the future. In an era of EMV, NFC plays as critical a role in propelling both technologies forward. Retailers and card issuers alike must recognize the opportunity to take advantage of both.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Security, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Smartphone Tagged with: (POS) systems, card present, chip cards, contactless payments, Digital wallets, EMV, magnetic stripe cards, merchants, Mobile Payments, nfc technology, payments
October 22nd, 2015 by Elma Jane
Adoption of EMV technology in the U.S is important, because it provides protection against losses from counterfeit cards.
EMV, or chip cards, are the standard for secure point-of-sale (POS) transactions. Unlike magnetic stripe cards, chip cards are very difficult to counterfeit because of an embedded microchip that exchanges unique, dynamic data with a terminal each time it’s used.
To encourage the timely adoption of EMV, the leading payment networks have implemented an EMV Fraud Liability Shift that began in October 2015.
Both parties, card issuer and the merchant need to invest with EMV technology. If only one party has adopted EMV technology, the party that didn’t make the investment will be held liable.
For the card issuer, they came out with the chip cards, where all credit and debit cards have this security chips that are harder to counterfeit than magnetic strips.
For the merchant, an EMV capable terminals or POS hardware that can take advantage of the card’s security chip is needed.
With any new technology, there is a learning curve, and here are the things that you need to know.
For cardholders – with a chip card instead of swiping your card, you are going to do what is called card dipping; by inserting your card face-up and chip-first into the terminal slot. Wait and follow the terminal prompts, and only remove your card once the transaction is complete.
If you did a swipe on a chip card, an EMV-enabled terminal should prompt you to insert the card instead. If the terminal is not enabled for chip, you can still be able to swipe your card.
Employees will benefit from training – Once a merchant enables their EMV terminals, it is important to train your staff with talking points about why chip cards benefit consumers with greater security, and how they are used by helping customers with the new checkout process.
New mobile payment methods leverage both EMV and NFC, so the industry is now seeing greater interest in mobile payments among merchants and consumers.
There’s a lot of resources out there to help businesses make the transition with this EMV technology.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Security, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Near Field Communication Tagged with: card issuer, chip cards, debit cards, EMV, magnetic stripe, merchants, microchip, Mobile Payments, nfc, payment networks, point of sale, POS, terminal slot
September 29th, 2015 by Elma Jane
There are three contenders competing for dominance in mobile payments.
NFC – or near-field communication, is a contactless data transfer system similar to RFID. When two NFC-enabled devices come into range, you can transfer data from one to the other (such as bringing a phone in range of a credit card terminal).
NFC is found in a lot of phones, especially the flagship devices from Samsung, LG, and Sony. Apple finally jumped into the NFC game in 2014, and Google relaunched its mobile payments service as Android Pay in 2015. Samsung also launched its own app, aptly named Samsung Pay, in 2015.
NFC is a safe method for payments. Sensitive data is stored in a secure element, either built into the SIM card of a phone or placed in a separate chip. In most cases, retailers never actually see your card or bank account data.
QR Codes – or quick-response codes, have the sort of ubiquity that NFC lacks. They work a bit like your standard bar codes, except that instead of relying on one-dimensional analog scanning, they are digital. That means that with a QR code reader app, your smartphone’s camera can be temporarily converted into a scanner. QR codes can embed way more information than your standard bar codes, which gives them the power to do things like open mobile sites, direct you to YouTube Videos, and even enable you to complete mobile payments.
iBeacon – is an Apple-developed technology that uses Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE, or sometimes also called Bluetooth Smart). Unlike the other two types of technology, it’s really still in the developmental stages. While it can be used for mobile payments, at the moment the biggest application for iBeacon is actually as proximity alert or geo-fence that can go where GPS doesn’t.
It works like this: iBeacon units are set up throughout a building (such as a department store). When someone with an iBeacon-enabled device comes into range of those beacons, they transmit information. Some of the ways this technology could be used would be to transmit mobile coupons or other special offers, to guide customers throughout the store by department, or even to help them find specific items on a shopping list.
NFC devices need to be within 8 inches (though 2 inches is really most effective). iBeacons, on the other hand, have a range of 50 meters, or about 165 feet.
For payments, iBeacons would work nearly the same as NFC: the phone would wirelessly transmit payment information to the terminal or beacon via Bluetooth.
It’s also worth noting that while iBeacons are Apple technology, they are not exclusive to iOS devices. The phone just needs to have Bluetooth Smart and the appropriate app.
Samsung announced its own version of the iBeacon, called Proximity, at its 2014 developer conference in November. it works the same way as iBeacons, but rather than going through an app, Proximity works directly with the phone’s hardware.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: Android Pay, Apple, bank, card, credit card terminal, google, iBeacon, LG, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, nfc, payments, qr codes, Samsung, Samsung Pay, Sony