Category: Credit card Processing
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
February 29th, 2016 by Elma Jane
True Stories of our Customers in Action
Travel Agency ~ An Independent Travel Firm had been using their bank as credit card processor. When they learned that Virtuoso and NTC were going to team up they jumped on the opportunity. Not only NTC has lowered their fees but NTC has streamlined their credit card processing. The manual type-in process before has been all automated batch process now which saves time. This is a great new partnership for Virtuoso and its members.
Wholesale Hardware Industry ~ Have been turned down his business loan by a traditional bank last year due to his bankruptcy few years ago. He has no option but to borrow using a Cash Advance, making daily payment with a very high-interest rate. NTC was able to get an approval for a Real Business Loan, with monthly payment with an annual rate.
Term loan amount: $85K – Line of credit: $75K
Another Travel Agency ~ NTC has great customer service, the support team will patiently guide you through the PCI compliance. The payments specialist will check whether they could reduce your rates (which they did successfully!). They will even follow up regularly with status updates. NTC is exemplary!
NTC has a lot to offer, from our e-Pay Service and other New Programs for ISO’s, and Options for your merchants. NTC, The Payments and Technology Expert! Visit us at www.nationaltransaction.com or call us at 888-996-2273.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Payment Card Industry PCI Security, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: bank, Business Loan, card, cash advance, credit card, customers, loan, merchants, payment, PCI Compliance, processor, travel, travel agency
February 19th, 2016 by Elma Jane
This company is the best. If anyone, especially Travel Agents need to obtain a Credit Card Processing Company, this is the one to go with, ask for Megan. She is the Best!!!! Thank you for all your help….
Travel Agents,Travel,Credit Card Processing,Credit Card,Card
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Electronic Payments, Merchant Account Services News Articles, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: card, credit card, credit card processing, travel, travel agents
January 12th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Can we securely store card data for recurring billing?
PCI DSS discourages businesses from storing credit card data, Merchants feel the practice is necessary in order to facilitate recurring payments.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a proprietary information security standard for organizations that handle branded credit cards from the major card schemes including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB.
In order for the electronic storage of cardholder data to be PCI Compliant, appropriate encryption must be applied to the primary account number (PAN). In this situation, the numbers in the electronic file should be encrypted.
All PCI controls would apply to the environment in which the cardholder data is transmitted and stored. Tokenization can be implemented for recurring and/or delayed transactions. Travel Merchants and or Storage Facility could use this feature to help reduce the need for electronically stored cardholder data while still maintaining current business processes.
The best thing you can do for your business is to not store any cardholder data or personally identifiable information.
Tomorrow let’s tackle Encryption and Tokenization a strong combination to protect card data while reducing the cost of compliance!
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Credit Card Security, Payment Card Industry PCI Security, Travel Agency Agents, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: cardholder data, credit card, data, merchants, payments, Security, tokenization, transactions, travel
November 13th, 2015 by Elma Jane
It’s important for merchants to understand the basic of how a credit card terminal works. It is the channel through which the process flows and the merchants can choose the right one for their processing needs, whether they use a point-of-sale (POS) countertop model, a cardreader that attaches to a smartphone or mobile device, a sleek handheld version for wireless processing or a virtual terminal for e-commerce transactions.
A credit card terminal’s function is to retrieve the account data stored on the payment card’s EMV microchip or a magnetic stripe and pass it along to the payment processing company (also known as merchant account provider).
For card-not-present (CNP) – mail order, telephone order and online transactions – the merchant enters the information manually using a keypad on the terminal, or the e-commerce shopper enters it on the website’s payment page. The back half of the process remains the same.
The actual data transmission goes from the terminal through a phoneline or Internet connection to a Payment Processing Company, which routes it to the bank that issued the credit card for authorization.
In card-present transactions where the card and cardholder are physically present, the card is connected to the reader housed in the POS terminal. The data is captured and transmitted electronically to the merchant account provider, who handles the authorization process with the issuing bank and credit card networks.
A POS retail terminal with a phone or Internet connection works best in a traditional retail setting that deals exclusively in card present transactions. For a business with a mobile sales, a mobile credit card processing option like Virtual Merchant Converge Mobile relies on a downloadable app to transform a smartphone or tablet into a credit card terminal equipped with a USB cardreader.
Wireless Terminals are compact, allowing you to accept credit cards in the field without relying on a phone connection. If you process debit cards, you’ll need a PIN pad in addition to your terminal so cardholders can enter their personal identification number to complete the sale.
Selecting the right terminal for your credit card processing needs depends largely on the type of business you run and the sorts of transactions you process. Terminals are highly specialized and provide different services. At National Transaction we offer a broad range of terminals with NFC (near field communication) Capability to accept Apple Pay, Android Pay and other NFC/Contactless payment transactions at your business. An informed business decision benefits your bottom line. Start accepting credit cards today with National Transaction.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, e-commerce & m-commerce, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale Tagged with: Android Pay, Apple Pay, card-not-present, card-present transactions, cardholder, cardreader, cnp, contactless payment, Converge Mobile, credit card, credit card networks, credit card terminal, debit cards, e-commerce, EMV, magnetic stripe, mail order, merchant account provider, merchants, microchip, mobile credit card processing, mobile device, Near Field Communication, nfc, online transactions, payment processing company, PIN pad, point of sale, POS, POS terminal, smartphone, telephone order, virtual merchant, virtual terminal, wireless processing
September 25th, 2015 by Elma Jane
National Transaction Terminals with NFC (near field communication) Capability to accept Apple Pay, Android Pay and other NFC payment transactions at your business. You will need to adopt point-of-sale devices with NFC/Contactless readers.
National Transaction offer a range of options to suite your specific needs.
Give us a call now! 1-888-996-2273 or go to www.nationaltransaction.com
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Credit Card Reader Terminal, Credit Card Security, Mobile Point of Sale, Near Field Communication, Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: Android Pay, Apple Pay, contactless readers, Near Field Communication, nfc, payment, point of sale
August 13th, 2015 by Elma Jane
The credit card processing industry, have been working towards including EMV technology in all of the point of sale systems.
Many processors have sent out EMV capable devices that will need to be adjusted before they can start accepting EMV card transactions.
See which category you fall into so you are prepared when October 1 rolls around.
First, check and see if your credit card machine has the slot to accept EMV cards (it’s either a slot in front, or on the top of, the unit). If you don’t, you need to contact your processors or sales agent to update your equipment .
If you do have the slot for EMV cards, you’ll need to contact National Transaction to see if your EMV capable machine has been enabled to accept EMV cards.
What is the difference between EMV capable and EMV enabled?
- EMV Capable – EMV capable means that your credit card machine is equipped with the hardware (i.e. the slot) and has the capability to do a transaction, but first you’ll have to update the application to enable you to process the cards. At National Transaction, we have a support specialist to assist you with step-by-step instructions to switch your credit card Point-of-Sale System, from EMV capable to EMV enabled.
- EMV Enabled – When your machine is EMV enabled, your terminal is ready to accept EMV transactions. According to MasterCard, 73 percent of consumers say owning a chip card would encourage them to use their card more often. In addition, 75 percent of consumers expect to use their chip card at the merchants where they shop today. Keeping these numbers in mind, it only makes sense to equip your business with an EMV enabled credit card POS system.
What makes EMV technology so important?
EMV is a global payment system that adds a microprocessor chip into credit cards and debit cards, and reduces the chance a transaction is being made with a stolen or copied credit card. Unlike traditional magnetic-stripe cards, anytime you use an EMV card, the chip in the card creates a unique transaction sequence that can’t be replicated. Because the number will never be valid again, it makes it hard for hackers to fake these cards. If they attempt to use the copied EMV card, the transaction would be denied.
The rollout of EMV technology is ongoing, but even with the October 1 deadline, it’s estimated that only 70 percent of credit cards and 40 percent of debit cards in the U.S. will support EMV. Despite these numbers, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t update your equipment.
Following the deadline, card present fraud liability will shift to whoever is the least EMV compliant party in a fraudulent transaction.
Make sure that’s not you!
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Credit Card Reader Terminal, Credit Card Security, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Point of Sale Tagged with: card present, card transactions, chip, chip card, credit card, credit card processing, debit cards, EMV, EMV capable, EMV enabled, emv technology, magnetic stripe cards, merchants, payment system, point of sale, POS, processors, terminal
June 25th, 2015 by Elma Jane
A product or service using a credit card or debit card should be efficient, fast and most importantly safe. There are a lot of regulations in place to make sure that the processing of payments using a card is safe and secure. One of the way is the EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) technology, where payment cards used in an ATM and POS Terminals have been embedded with microchips. This form of payment technology has long been in use and is widely accepted in many regions such as Europe, Canada and Asia Pacific. The US, which is considered to be the largest number of plastic card users is one of the countries that have not yet fully optimized this otherwise global standard.
Advantages Of EMV – EMV embedded chip is a lot more secure than the traditional magnetic stripe, especially when it comes to face-to-face credit/debit card transactions. Credit card fraud is rampant, but using this embedded chip has added another layer of protection against consumer fraud. Once the card has been inserted into a terminal, the payment will then be authenticated and processed using the EMV network. The chip within the card is hard to duplicate.
What Does This Mean For Your Business? – You will create more credibility and garner more customers in the market place by utilizing this more safe and secure payment method. There will be increased in consumer confidence.
What Happens When You Don’t Upgrade? – There is a Liability Shift. Currently, If a payment processing transaction has been approved and it turns out to be fraud, it’s the card issuer loss. With the new rule, liability shifts to merchants who has not implemented the EMV technology. When fraud happens, the responsibility falls on the business owner who makes the transaction.
How To Prepare Your Business For EMV? – Upgrade your terminal. Contact National transaction and we’ll help you prepare your business for the EMV migration.
Upgrading your current payment processing system is easy with NTC.
Give Us A Call Now! 888-996-2273
Check our website http://nationaltransaction.com click Demos and Videos to learn more!
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Credit Card Reader Terminal, Credit Card Security, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Point of Sale Tagged with: atm, card, chip, credit card, Credit card fraud, debit card, Debit Card transactions, EMV, EMV migration, EMV network, EuroPay, magnetic stripe, MasterCard and VISA, merchants, microchips, payment, payment cards, payment processing, payment technology, payments, POS terminals, terminal
June 5th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Traditionally, travel-related merchants have a difficult time obtaining merchant accounts. National Transaction Corporation (NTC) is a full service merchant account provider with extensive experience in the travel arena and related markets, servicing thousands of travel-related merchant accounts by specializing in non-cash electronic transactions. Our services include processing credit card transactions, gift card transactions, and e-commerce transactions, among others. We offer a full line of products including credit card terminals, cellular devices, supplies, and accessories for each model sold. We offer aggressive rates and pricing for mail/telephone order, retail/restaurant, wireless, and online transactions while specializing in the travel and high volume sectors of merchant processing, and we are proud to be the preferred merchant provider for ASTA.
NTC is dedicated to providing the highest caliber of service and solutions in the merchant processing industry. We actually answer the phone when you need assistance! NTC has a team of dedicated employees providing personalized service to each account holder and are available directly through their toll free number, never hidden behind a menu system. Our excellent service truly separates us from everyone else in the industry. The principals of NTC have extensive experience in the processing arena for over 25 years, with experience in all facets of operation, including credit cards, credit initiation, credit investigation, loss prevention, deployment, and customer and terminal support. We employ internal sales associates as well as independent sales agents who offer many opportunities through their referral reward services and Independent Sales Organization (ISO) programs.
NTC’s online gateway allows for processing transactions, reviewing account history, and interacting with various shopping cart and accounting applications such as QuickBooks, Peachtree, and many other titles. Reservation software such as Trams are compatible and integrate well with all National Transaction merchant accounts. Whether you are a travel agency or an independent agent, we offer many solutions that cater to the travel industry and will increase your revenue with quicker deposits into your bank account.
Travel environments are unique in that your transactions are usually keyed; there is almost always a delayed delivery period, and large ticket transactions are not uncommon since one card holder may be paying for multiple tickets. They also tend to be seasonal, with peak season months generating an unusual spike in their “average” monthly volume, and charge-back’s pose a potential threat by travelers who are unable to complete their trip. Combine even a few of these factors together and you have cause for a reserve, or even account termination. National Transaction Corp specializes in understanding what makes your transactions unique, as a travel agent, and how they affect your merchant account.
The importance of customer service is something that is over looked when merchants compare the overall cost of monthly fees with their merchant account. That is, until the moment they need assistance with their account. Whether searching for missing deposits, having problems processing transactions, issuing refunds, processing voids, or questioning their billing statement, a merchant should always remember you get what you pay for. If you wonder why they can offer you no monthly fee, they are offering you no LIVE customer support. Customer support for them will come via means of email. You will wait hours for answers, and even days for a simple confirmation or general email, let alone a resolution.
National Transaction Corporation has over 17 years of dedication and experience in providing quality solutions in the credit card processing arena. From internet e-commerce applications to food stamp processing, from small start up businesses to fortune 500 companies, NTC has a complete product selection to customize a solution to grow with your business. We at NTC pride ourselves on being a full service, member service provider. It is our mission to provide the same dedication and service in maintaining your business as you experience in us earning your business. NTC will provide service after the sale. It is that service that sets us apart! For more information, contact NTC for world class service and solutions.
Contact National Transaction Corporation today at 888-996-2273 to see how we can help you with your travel merchant account, or visit us online at www.nationaltransaction.com for more information.
by Elizabeth Cody (Travel Research Online)
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, e-commerce & m-commerce, Gift & Loyalty Card Processing, Merchant Account Services News Articles, Merchant Cash Advance, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: ASTA, bank account, billing statement, credit card terminals, credit card transactions, credit cards, customer service, deposits, e-commerce, e-commerce transactions, electronic transactions, gift card transactions, Independent Sales Organization, ISO, merchant account provider, merchant accounts, merchants, service provider, travel, travel agency, travel agent, travel industry
All merchants that accepts, transmit or stores cardholder data are required to be PCI (Payment Card Industry) Compliant. Most believe that because they do not charge the credit cards themselves, they are exempt. Why all agencies are required to be complaint even when they don’t charge credit cards themselves, and some steps to ensure your agency is PCI compliant.
What is PCI compliance?
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements designed to ensure that all companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. PCI applies to all organizations or merchants, regardless of size or number of transactions, that accepts, transmits or stores any cardholder data. Travel agents accepting, storing and transmitting credit card information to suppliers, are required to be compliant too. Suppliers reinforce this through their travel agent guidelines/contracts. Travel Agency must adhere to the applicable credit card company’s procedures for credit card transactions.
Consequences of Not Being PCI Compliant
If an agency is not PCI compliant, the agency can lose the ability to process credit card payments with that supplier. Not being able to pay with client credit cards can be a serious roadblock for agencies, and an inconvenience for clients.
If you have a merchant account and are found to be out of compliance, you can be fined.
How to be PCI Compliant
Don’t store the CCV security code from the client’s credit card. The client does not have the authority to grant you permission to store their CCV code. The credit card company explicitly forbid storage of the CCV code.
Make sure you securely store any client information, including their credit card number and expiration date. If you use a CRM, ensure that you have a strong password. If your CRM database is stored on your computer hard drive, encrypt it (there is a great encryption software that is free of charge). If you have an IT resource, talk to them about installing a firewall on your network, installing anti-virus and anti-malware protection, and any other steps that you can take to secure your client data even further.
If you keep paper copies of client information, keep it in a locked filing cabinet or desk drawer. When you no longer need their credit card information, cross shred it.
Home based businesses are arguably the most vulnerable simply because they are usually not well protected, according to the PCI Compliance Guide. Having strong passwords, encryption, a firewall, anti-virus and anti-malware protection are all inexpensive steps that you can take to protect your business and your clients’ sensitive data.
If you receive a courtesy call reminding you about PCI Compliance, don’t ignore it.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Credit Card Security, Payment Card Industry PCI Security Tagged with: cardholder, cardholder data, cards, CCV, CCV code, credit, credit card company, credit card number, credit card payments, credit card transactions, credit cards, crm, CRM database, data, database, encryption software, merchant account, Merchant's, network, Payment Card Industry, PCI, security code, transactions, travel agents
