Category: Best Practices for Merchants
April 26th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants
April 26th, 2016 by Elma Jane
The PCI-DSS is a security standard for organizations that handle branded credit cards from the major card including Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, and JCB. It is designed to ensure that ALL companies that process credit card information maintain a secure environment.
PCI applies to organization or merchant, that has a Merchant ID (MID), regardless of size or number of transactions, that accepts credit card.
Merchants will fall into one of the four merchant levels based on Visa transaction volume over a 12-month period.
| Merchant Level |
Description |
| 1 |
Any merchant — regardless of acceptance channel — processing over 6M Visa transactions per year. Any merchant that Visa, at its sole discretion, determines should meet the Level 1 merchant requirements to minimize risk to the Visa system. |
| 2 |
Any merchant — regardless of acceptance channel — processing 1M to 6M Visa transactions per year. |
| 3 |
Any merchant processing 20,000 to 1M Visa e-commerce transactions per year. |
| 4 |
Any merchant processing fewer than 20,000 Visa e-commerce transactions per year, and all other merchants — regardless of acceptance channel — processing up to 1M Visa transactions per year. |
Does is each location required to validate PCI Compliance for multiple business locations?
If a business locations process under the same Tax ID, then you are only required to validate once annually for all locations.
Penalties for non-compliance
The payment brands may fine an acquiring bank $5,000 to $100,000 per month for PCI compliance violations. The banks will pass this fine along until it eventually hits the merchant. The bank will also terminate your relationship or increase transaction fees.
PCI Compliance Manager
To help you achieve and report compliance, we have Trustwave PCI Compliance Manager. It’s an online portal that enables you to understand requirements that apply to your business, and guides you through your self-assessment, step by step.
If you have any questions regarding your PCI Compliance please call our office at 888-996-2273. We would be more than happy to help.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Security, Payment Card Industry PCI Security Tagged with: banks, credit cards, merchant, PCI-DSS, Security, transactions
April 25th, 2016 by Elma Jane
There are a lot more details of what makes up a credit card rate, this information is a good start to know more about a merchant account. All merchant accounts are subject to the same costs with respect to interchange fees and assessments.
Most rates are made up of three parts:
Assessments – are paid directly to card network associations (Visa, MasterCard, Amex, etc.)
Interchange – are paid to the issuing bank that issued the card, and is typically made up of a flat rate.
Card present transactions (the card is physically present or swiped) are typically lower than card-not-present transactions (the card is keyed-In like e-commerce and mail-order transactions).
Card-not-present transactions have higher interchange rates because they are riskier.
Processor fees – the fees involved with providing the service, risk assessments, the type and size of the transaction. This includes the margin between the total rate and the two previous parts, along with other fees, like chargeback or statement fees.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: bank, card, card network, chargeback, credit card, merchant account, rate, transaction
April 21st, 2016 by Elma Jane
Payment Acceptance
EMV Contact/Contactless
NFC Contacless
Mag Stripe
Premium NFC + EMV/PIN & Signature
Payment Acceptance
EMV Contact/Contactless
NFC Contactless
Mag Stripe
Basic NFC + EMV/PIN & Signature
For orders Plus Tax and Shipping If Applicable.
For more information give us a call at 888-996-273
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: chip, contactless, EMV, nfc, PIN
April 20th, 2016 by Elma Jane
ECS: An Electronic Mode Of Funds Transfer From One Bank Account To Another
- Paper check conversion
- Debit Processing
- Automated Returns Management
- Reporting: Merchant Connect, ACS Standard and Custom Files, Enquire and Corporate Management Reports
- Monthly Statement
- Risk Services: Verification, Conversion
- Image
ACH E-CHECK: Uses Bank Routing and Account Number In a CNP Environment.
- Card-Not-Present e-Processing of ACH Debit
- Known Relationship B/Consumer and Business
- NOT for Ecommerce “Sale of Goods and Services”
- Debit Processing
- Automated Returns Management
- Reporting: Merchant Connect, ACS Standard and Custom Files, Enquire and Corporate Management Reports
- Monthly Statement
- Risk Services: Verification, Conversion
- No Image
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce Tagged with: account, ACS, bank, card-not-present, cnp, consumer, debit, ecommerce, ECS, merchant, risk, services
April 19th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) is an electronic system that allows a recipient to authorize a transfer of their government benefits from a Federal account to a retailer account to pay for products received. Very much similar to purchasing something using a credit card.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: account, credit card, EBT, electronic, Electronic Benefit Transfer
April 15th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Dynamic Currency Conversion
- Five supported currencies
- Retail, Restaurant, MOTO, E-commerce
- Price listed in merchant’s currency
- Customer is aware of currency conversion
- Customer may opt-out at the point of sale
- Conversion occurs at the point of sale
- Merchants may choose settlement method & time
- Supported by terminals, viaWarp and Virtual Merchant
- Merchant rebate up to 100bp
Multi-Currency Conversion
- 100+ supported currencies
- E-commerce only
- Price listed in customer’s currency
- Customer is not aware of currency conversion
- Customer may not opt-out at the point of sale
- Conversion occurs between the point of sale and settlement
- All transactions auto settle at 6pm (eastern) daily
- Supported by Internet Secure or direct certification
- No merchant rebate
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Mail Order Telephone Order, Merchant Account Services News Articles, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: currency, Currency Conversion, customer, e-commerce, merchants, moto, point of sale, terminals, virtual merchant
April 14th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Accepting credit card payments is a must if you’re planning to start a business. It’s good to know what is out there and how it applies to your situation. So you need to learn about credit card processing machines, depending on your business.
Here are some of the different types of credit card processing machines:
Dial-Up Terminal – the grandfather of credit card processing machines. Dial-up terminals use a phone line to connect with a credit card processing company. The advantage is that they are normally inexpensive than some higher-end options. The disadvantage is slower processor speed.
IP Terminal – connect the merchant over a high-speed internet connection. The advantage of IP terminal over dial-up terminal is speed. IP machines can process transactions as fast as 3 seconds as opposed the 10 to 25 seconds that a dedicated dial-up machine might take. IP terminals now cost about the same as dial-up units and that a single DSL link can accommodate more than one credit card terminal.
Wireless Terminals – the priciest yet most convenient type is a wireless machine that runs on a wireless network, much like your mobile phone.
Virtual Terminal – virtual terminals are computers running credit card processing software connected to a credit card reader. Virtual terminals are a great addition to an office because they don’t require a standalone credit card processing terminal.
There are many options available for your business, whether you’re e-Commerce, MOTO, In-Store or Mobile there’s a credit card processing machine and platform out there that will fit your business.
Give us a call to know more at 888-996-2273 or visit us at www.nationaltransaction.com
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, e-commerce & m-commerce Tagged with: card reader, credit card, credit card processing, e-commerce, merchant, mobile, moto, payments, terminal, virtual terminal
April 12th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Bank Identification Number or (BIN) is the link between the customer and their credit, debit, prepaid or gift card.This help merchants identify the card, its owner, and the issuing bank. The first six digits are used to identify the issuing bank. These six digits are the Bank Identification Number (BIN).
What is a BIN LookUp and how can it help merchant?
The BIN and additional data about the card and the bank can be stored in a database since every card is associated with a bank. BIN lookup allows any merchant or institution doing card based transaction to check more about the transaction other than ensuring that the correct pin has been provided.
BIN LookUp gives the merchant added security and a number of benefits.
- Protection against fraud and reversals of payments. Bank institution allow merchants a limited number of reversals and fraud before stopping their card privileges, and each card chargeback costs you money.
- Permits a closer monitoring of the sales process. Who, what and where? Using these details you can service your customers better.
- You can also gain from using the BIN system if you issue your customers’ gift card or pre-loaded cards.
How Can BIN LookUp or Cardholder Bank LookUp Help Merchants?
Utilize the Cardholder Bank Lookup when you need to inquire about which bank issued a particular card. Simply enter the first six digits on the card and you will receive the information on the issuing bank, including contact information. Merchant Connect BIN lookup data is accurate, it is an added protection to your business, assets, and your financial transactions.
For your payments technology needs, give us a call at 888-996-2273
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: bank, cardholder, chargeback, credit, customer, database, debit, financial, fraud, gift Card, merchants, payments, prepaid, Security, transaction
April 11th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Card-not-present fraud is projected to worsen. However, 3D secure technology has made progress and is gaining more and more adoption.
How can e-Commerce merchants avoid CNP fraud?
Here are other ways to make card-not-present transaction safe:
Biometrics – Using Fingerprint Scans and Facial Recognition or Selfie. To validate the identity of the consumer.
Challenge Questions – Such as listing your father’s middle name or a fact known only to the consumer is an effectively added layer of security.
Location Data – Another way to fight against fraud is location data and the use of IP addresses to certify the location and identity of the consumer making the transaction.
Outsource Your Payment Platform – Payments pages hosted by a reputable payment service provider are much more secure.
One-time Passwords – During the checkout process, there will be a window to enter a one-time password which the consumer receives a text message on his/her mobile phone. The consumer enters the password within a short time frame to authenticate the transaction. This solution is especially effective against cyber criminals who steal credentials.
For your payment services needs, give us a call at 888-996-2273
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Security, e-commerce & m-commerce Tagged with: 3D Secure, biometrics, card-not-present, cnp, consumer, data, e-commerce, fraud, merchants, payment, Security, service provider, technology, transaction
