Category: Financial Services
April 6th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Merchant Cash Advance – A lump-sum payment to a business in exchange for an agreed-upon percentage of future credit card and/or debit card sales. The term is now commonly used to describe a variety of small business financing options characterized by short payment terms (generally under 24 months) and small regular payments (typically paid each business day) as opposed to the larger monthly payments and longer payment terms associated with traditional bank loans.
Merchant Cash Advance companies, provide funds to businesses in exchange for a percentage of the businesses daily credit card income, directly from the processor that clears and settles the credit card payment. A company’s remittances are drawn from customers’ debit-and credit-card purchases on a daily basis until the obligation has been met. Most providers form partnerships with payment processors and then take a fixed variable percentage of a merchant’s future credit card sales.
The Term Merchant Cash Advance – may be used to describe purchases of future credit card sales receivables, revenue and receivables factoring or short-term business loans.
This structure has some advantage over the structure of a conventional loan. Most importantly, payments to the merchant cash advance company fluctuate directly with the merchant’s sales volumes, giving the merchant greater flexibility with which to manage their cash flow, particularly during a slow season. Advances are processed quicker than a typical type loan, giving borrowers quicker access to capital. Also, because MCA providers like typically give more weight to the underlying performance of a business who may not qualify for a conventional loan.
Merchant Cash Advances are often used by businesses that do not qualify for regular bank loans, and are generally more expensive than bank loans. Competition and innovation led to downward pressure on rates and terms are now more closely correlated with an applicant’s FICO score.
There are generally three different repayment methods:
Split withholding – when the credit card processing company automatically splits the credit card sales between the business and the finance company per the agreed portion. The most common preferred method of collecting funds for both the clients and finance companies since it is seamless.
Lock box or trust bank account withholding – all of the business’s credit card sales are deposited into bank account controlled by the finance company and then the agreed upon portion is forwarded onto the business via ACH, EFT or wire. The least preferred method since it results in a one-day delay in the business receiving the proceeds of their credit card sales.
ACH withholding – when structured as a sale, the finance company receives the credit card processing information and deducts its portion directly from the business’s checking account via ACH. When structured as a loan, the finance company debits a fixed amount daily regardless of business sales.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Financial Services, Merchant Account Services News Articles, Merchant Cash Advance, Merchant Services Account Tagged with: ach, bank loans, business loans, checking account, conventional loan, credit card processing, credit card sales, credit-card, debit card, finance company, loan, MCA providers, merchant, merchant cash advance, payments
August 28th, 2014 by Elma Jane
The new ECB regulation, which came into force earlier this month, covers large-value and retail payment systems in the euro area operated by both central banks and private entities. The aim is to promote the smooth operation of safe and efficient payment systems through strong management of legal, credit, liquidity, operational, general business, custody, and investment risks. In identifying systemically important payment systems, the ECB looked at the value of payments settled, market share, cross-border relevance and provision of services to other infrastructures. If a system is deemed to meet at least two of these four criteria it makes the list.
Target2 – operated by the Eurosystem.
Euro1 and Step2-T – both run by EBA Clearing.
Core(Fr) – French bank joint initiative, have been identified.
The list will be reviewed annually based on updated data. With this regulation, Europe is consolidating international practice for the oversight of Sips into EU law, as with past efforts for other financial market infrastructures, such as the European Market Infrastructure Regulation for the supervision of central counter parties and trade repositories and the ongoing regulatory initiative for central securities depositories.
Posted in Financial Services Tagged with: bank, central banks, credit, data, depositories, financial market, payment, payment systems, retail payment, securities
August 7th, 2014 by Elma Jane
Using Transfer by Facebook, the user can transfer money after logging into their Rakuten Bank account from the Rakuten Bank app, selecting the person they wish to send money to from their list of Facebook friends in the app, and inputting the amount they wish to transfer.The fee-free transfer process can be completed on the app without any of the recipient’s account information and include a 50 character message to accompany the transaction. Money can also be transferred to non-Rakuten Bank account holders, for a fee of Y165. By accessing a URL on Facebook with the transfer notice, the recipient is able to specify a bank account for the money and complete the deposit.
Posted in Financial Services Tagged with: account holders, account information, app, bank account, Bank app, deposit, Facebook, free transfer process, transaction, transfer notice, URL
May 19th, 2014 by Elma Jane
T-Mobile customers who use their carrier’s Mobile Money app and prepaid card will now have surcharge-free access to more than 43,000 Allpoint-branded ATMs across the United States, through an agreement with the Allpoint Network. The Mobile Money program unites a money management app, a T-Mobile Visa prepaid card and the Allpoint surcharge-free ATM network on a single mobile device to provide customers many of the features of a checking account. With Mobile Money, registered T-Mobile wireless customers pay nothing when they use their T-Mobile Visa Prepaid Card to withdraw cash at an in-network Allpoint ATM.
When T-Mobile began developing the Mobile Money program, a key goal was to use the smartphone to help consumers both manage their money and keep more of it in their pocket. The Allpoint Network helps accomplish that mission with 43,000 surcharge-free ATMs found in many of America’s most popular retailers, made even more convenient by a free, easy-to-use Allpoint ATM locator within the Mobile Money app.
Easy access to cash, preferably without the surcharge imposed by the ATM owner, is at the heart of the most successful general-purpose prepaid card programs. Having access to Allpoint, the T-Mobile Visa Prepaid Card is a core component of Mobile Money by T-Mobile. Eligible cardholders looking for the nearest surcharge-free Allpoint ATM can use the Allpoint Network ATM locator, available online and as a free app for their smartphones.
Posted in Financial Services, Mobile Payments, Smartphone Tagged with: Allpoint ATM, Allpoint Network, Allpoint surcharge-free ATM network, Allpoint-branded ATMs, ATM locator, cardholders, checking account, free app, mobile device, mobile money, Mobile Money app, Mobile Money program, money management app, prepaid card, smartphone, surcharge-free, T-Mobile, T-Mobile Visa prepaid card, T-Mobile wireless
May 13th, 2014 by Elma Jane
Walmart US, says: After listening to customers complain about the high fees and confusion associated with transferring money, we knew there had to be a solution. Walmart-2-Walmart brings new competition and transparent, everyday low prices to a market that has become complicated and costly for customers.
Walmart is taking on Western Union and MoneyGram through the launch of a low-fee store-to-store money transfer service. The retail giant has teamed up with Euronet Worldwide subsidiary Ria on the Walmart-2-Walmart service, which will enable customers to transfer money to and from more than 4000 stores when it launches next week. The partners say that their service is far cheaper than rivals, with just two pricing tiers: customers pay $4.50 for transferring up to $50 and $9.50 for sending up to $900. Walmart argues that its service will particularly benefit the tens of millions of America’s underbanked. The retailer has long had its sights on this market, teaming up with American Express in 2012 to launch Bluebird, a mobile-heavy alternative to bank debit and current accounts.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Financial Services Tagged with: accounts, American Express, bank, bank debit, current accounts, customers, debit, Euronet, fees, low-fee, low-fee store-to-store money transfer service, market, mobile, money transfer, MoneyGram, retailer, store-to-store, walmart, western union
May 13th, 2014 by Elma Jane
Keeping track of invoices and shipping data and making the information easily accessible, traditionally has not been so easy, even though PayPal has made it simpler for businesses to buy and sell goods and services online.
To address the issue, Microsoft has created a PayPal invoicingtemplate, which ExcelTemplates.net also has begun offering for free as part of its new line of templates and spreadsheets. With the new template, companies of any size may keep an exact digital record of their business transactions.
The PayPal invoice template from Microsoft is the all-in-one solution for companies looking for ways to streamline their invoicing process. The PayPal invoice template comes ready to use immediately after downloading. You can type, print or ship with just a few clicks and get back to business in no time.
When using the template, businesses type in the item name, a description of the item, item quantity, unit price, total amount and tax. The PayPal template also serves as a time-saving calculator that will calculate tax, totals and shipping charges for order of any size.
Companies also can add any applicable discounts or sales tax rates to come up with a final total. They also can add any special terms and conditions for the transaction, any special notes for the recipient and add a special memo for the company if necessary that won’t seen by the recipient.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Financial Services Tagged with: data, discounts, ExcelTemplates.net, invoicing, Microsoft, PayPal, Rates, sales tax, sales tax rates, shipping charges, shipping data
May 9th, 2014 by Elma Jane
Facebook is apparently ready to become a person-to-person (P2P) money transfer network. The clear decision to launch a money transfer service in the region can be seen as a test bed for Facebook’s larger ambitions of becoming a payments hub for its 1 billion user base. Facebook was only weeks away from gaining regulatory approval in Ireland for its remittance platform FT quoted unnamed sources. Facebook’s P2P platform will be geared to facilitating migrant remittances, with the goal of expanding its payment presence in emerging markets such as India. Facebook makes the bulk of its revenue from advertising, but 10 percent of its profits reportedly come from in-game payments for online and mobile games, such as Zynga’s popular FarmVille.
From WhatsApp to what’s next
Facebook’s February 2014 acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion clarified the social network’s strategy. The WhatsApp acquisition and the expected P2P network launch as part of the first phase of Facebook’s deeper immersion into payments.
Tech giants face up to payments
When comparing the payment strategies of tech giants Google Inc., Apple Inc. and Facebook, the latter two competitors as having bigger potential upsides than Google. Facebook and Apple (via iTunes) already have established financial relationships with millions of users who have attached funding mechanisms – debit and credit cards – to their social media accounts. As primarily a search engine, Google is playing catch up to persuade its users to set up Google Wallet accounts.
In May 2013, Google launched its own P2P network by integrating Google Wallet with Gmail accounts, so that wallet users can facilitate money transfers via email. More recently, reports have surfaced indicating Google plans to extend Google Wallet to its wearable technology solution Google Glass. But the success of such ventures rests on users’ confidence with Google as a financial service provider.
Facebook as having a brighter financial services future than Apple. Apple’s reach is limited to consumers who have iPhones and iPads, whereas Facebook is not tied to any branded mobile devices, it is a very ubiquitous offering. It could apply to anybody with any type of phone or tablet.
Eventually, tech companies like Facebook will need to partner with payment businesses in order to expand into the merchant-centric brick-and-mortar world. The mobile POS solution provider, a business unit of global POS terminal manufacturer Ingenico SA, would be an ideal partner for Facebook. If they extend what they do from P2P payments to more of a wallet purchasing capability for their users, then the next step could very easily be an extension of that into servicing the merchant side.
Posted in Financial Services, Mobile Payments, Smartphone Tagged with: Apple Inc.Facebook, consumers, credit cards, debit, device, financial service, financial service provider, Gmail accounts, Google Glass, Google Inc., Google Wallet accounts, ingenico, iPads, iPhones, iTunes, merchant-centric brick-and-mortar, migrant remittances, mobile, Mobile Devices, mobile games, mobile messaging service, mobile pos, mobile POS solution, mobile POS solution provider, money transfer, money transfer network, money transfer service, network, online, p2p, P2P network, P2P payments, P2P platform, payment businesses, payments, payments hub, phone, POS terminal, remittance, remittance platform, search engine, service provider, social media, social media accounts, social networks, tablet, wearable technology
May 7th, 2014 by Elma Jane
NTC’s New Approach On Payment Processing brings Client Satisfaction
About NTC (National Transaction Corporation)
NTC is a credit card processing company that was built uniquely. Combining leading edge technology with passion for customer service, as well as service to help customers maximize the value of their merchant service program. NTC provides sales agents, financial institutions and merchants with benefits not available from other providers, such as next day funding with a late cut-off time and unparallel graphical and web-based reporting.
To learn more visit http://www.nationaltransaction.com or call 888-996-2273.
Marking a 65% increase over 2012 NTC now serves approximately 15,000 businesses.
This rapid growth was driven by the many unique benefits that NTC offers its merchants and sales partners, ranging from best technology to superior customer service.
The major differentiators made possible by NTC’s proprietary back-end processing system is the Next Day Funding Service. Because NTC connects directly to the following: Amex, Discover, MasterCard and VISA. This way sales partners and merchants are able to avoid the middleman and go straight to the source of all their processing needs. This also means that the merchants can batch out their terminal POS with one of the latest cut-off times in the industry by as late as 11:00 pm Eastern.
NTC’s another appealing factor to new sales partners and merchants is its merchant connect online reporting system. It provides 24/7 access to graphical account information through a system that is fast easy and secure. Merchants are now able to clearly see and understand their payment processing costs. ISO’s have access to sugar CRM to make notes and see Merchant Marketing Data. Card Numbers are secure on the banks server so our faculty has credentials to access the bank servers.
Independent sales organizations (ISOs) and Merchant sales professionals continue to choose NTC as their payment processing partner to obtain these unique benefits. In addition to industry-leading technology, NTC offers its merchants and sales partners a level of personalized support that is not easily found among other credit card processing companies. They get round the clock account and terminal support. Collective hard work and determination helped NTC grow faster in the industry, resulted in more loyal ISO sales partners who are submitting more applications. Looking forward for continued success for NTC, its sales partners and merchants.
Posted in Credit card Processing, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Financial Services, Merchant Account Services News Articles, nationaltransaction.com, Point of Sale, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: amex, back-end processing, bank, bank servers, card, card numbers, credit card processing, credit-card, customer service, Discover, financial institutions, marketing data, MasterCard, merchant, merchant connect, merchant service, next day funding, payment processing, POS, provider's, sales agents, sales partners, sugar CRM, terminal, visa, web-based
May 6th, 2014 by Elma Jane
Mobile commerce platform provider ROAM, an Ingenico company has expanded its mPOS solutions to include chip-and-PIN acceptance with the RP750x mobile card reader. The reader allows mPOS players to get to market quickly with their own custom-branded solution, providing merchants with a powerful set of features that include device and fraud management, remote application configuration, and an mPOS application that can be localized for any language and currency in any country. Features include: Backlit display, EMV PIN pad, magnetic stripe reader, NFC reader and smart card reader. Configurable through the cloud, enabling direct shipment from factory to any country. Connects with smartphones, tablets and feature phones via Bluetooth or audio jack. Customizable for branding and form factor. Just Slightly larger than a credit card, a compact form factor. PCI PTS 3.1 with SRED, EMV Level 1 and 2, Visa-ready (Compliant with the latest industry standards).
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, e-commerce & m-commerce, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Financial Services, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Near Field Communication, Payment Card Industry PCI Security, Point of Sale, Smartphone, smartSD Cards, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: bluetooth, Chip and PIN, cloud, compliant, credit-card, currency, EMV, fraud, magnetic stripe reader, Merchant's, mobile card reader, Mobile commerce platform, mPOS solutions, nfc, PIN pad, smart card reader, Smartphones, tablets, visa
May 6th, 2014 by Elma Jane
MasterPass in-app payments is this latest offering from MasterCard to address the specific needs of the digital ecosystem. With MasterPass in-app payments, MasterCard is creating great experiences for consumers across all channels and all devices, and enabling merchants to reach new consumers in ways not possible in the pre-digital world.
MasterPass an in-app payments enabling consumers to make secure purchases within a mobile app has been announced by Mastercard. MasterPass in-app payments eliminate the need to store payment card credentials across numerous mobile apps, providing consumers with a fast and simple payment experience.
MasterCard is also developing a framework to make all payments using MasterPass as or more secure than anything, ensuring that consumers can benefit from the highest possible levels of security.
MasterPass in-app payments extend the capabilities of the current browser-based MasterPass digital service into the mobile app environment, and provide consumers with one secure direct relationship with their bank. Apps with MasterPass embedded in them enable consumers to complete a purchase with as few as one click or touch on their favorite connected device without leaving the app environment. MasterPass in-app payments will be made available to developers and merchants beginning in Q2 of this year.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Digital Wallet Privacy, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Financial Services, Mobile Payments, Payment Card Industry PCI Security, Smartphone, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: card credentials, consumers, digital service, in-app payments, MasterCard, MasterPass in-app payments, Merchant's, mobile app, payments, pre-digital, Security
