Category: Point of Sale
July 10th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Every Merchant in the country needs to upgrade their terminal. Are you ready for the October 1, 2015 Liability Shift?
Beginning October 1, 2015, all businesses that accept in-person payments must be able to take cards embedded with chips to avoid liability for fraud. The chips are more secure than magnetic stripes.
National Transaction brings the latest EMV and NFC technologies to Merchants.
NTC Clients will be able to accept contactless payment with the same NFC technology used by Apple Pay, Google Wallet and SoftCard. Additionally, the Ingenico terminals are EMV Enabled, delivering the latest in fraud prevention technology.
The new EMV enabled terminals are designed to accept EMV chip cards and magnetic stripe cards.
EMV (an acronym for Europay, MasterCard® and Visa®) is a global technology standard for payment cards.
What are the benefits of having an EMV terminal?
These next generation terminals can reduce your risk of accepting counterfeit cards, as chip and PIN transactions verify both the card and the cardholder.
Eliminate your card present fraud liability exposure associated with the October 1st, 2015* liability shift imposed by the card brands.
Improve customer service for your international cardholder customer. EMV cards are already the standard in over 80 countries.
Be on the lookout for more information about how to be chip card ready before OCTOBER.
*Businesses with Automated Fuel Dispensers (also called “Pay at the Pump”) acceptance methods have until October 2017 to comply with the new standard.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, Credit Card Security, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, Point of Sale Tagged with: cardholder, cards, chips, EMV, emv cards, EMV terminal, EuroPay, magnetic stripes, MasterCard, merchant, nfc, payment cards, payments, PIN transactions, terminal, visa
July 7th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Cashless society is about to happen, hard to believe for some. We are all unable to decide on the edge of a new, cashless world where mobile payments reign supreme. If so, is this a bad thing? For some people yes, because for them change can be scary.
Every revolution needs a good crisis in order to grow its seed. The cashless revolution is the same. Current global financial conditions serves as the potential crisis, and truly the cashless revolution is upon us. Society is on the brink of great economic change, which will likely usher in a new era of worldwide, electronic currencies. The cashless society is coming.
Advances in mobile payment options as evidence of this impending cashless society, consider the practical benefits of mobile payments for the consumer. The most obvious is convenience. Many people prefer to swipe their smartphone atop a scanner to carrying around a stack of cash. Electronic payments are traceable, which is useful for tracking one’s spending and can add a sense of security. Also, carrying around large stacks of cash isn’t always feasible or safe.
Mobile payments also offer interested individuals a way to incorporate social media into their purchases; they can check-in to a site and tell all their friends about an exciting new product they bought, or announce their presence at a new coffee shop, all with that same initial swipe of an NFC-enabled phone. Add to this the many practical benefits of mobile payments as far as business owners are concerned, and it’s easy to see why so the technology is becoming so widespread.
And yet for all the benefits of mobile payments and point of sale technology, the two don’t necessarily exclude cash. Other company focuses on blending cash transactions with POS. This allows technologically savvy businesses to incorporate POS and mobile payment technology into their business, without excluding potential customers who prefer to use cash.
We aren’t necessarily evolving towards a cashless society, but towards a society with a plethora of payment options. POS technology is all about options. Want to pay with a swipe of your credit card? Swipe your credit card. Want to tap your NFC-enabled phone against a console. Tap and go. Want to pull a crisp twenty-dollar bill from your wallet and walk away from the counter with milk and eggs in your hand and a handful of coins jingling in your pocket? Go for it.
The question is: Will we ever become a truly cashless society? Maybe, maybe not, but as mobile payments become increasingly common, cash may very well fall into the retro category.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, Point of Sale Tagged with: credit card, electronic currencies, electronic payments, Mobile Payments, nfc, point of sale, POS, swipe
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
May 14th, 2015 by Elma Jane
The way customers Pay In Stores Is Changing.
Chip cards are here to provide advanced security with every transaction. Accepting chip cards could be as simple as changing your payment terminal.
What do you need to know about Chip Card and EMV? Chip cards are payment cards that have an embedded chip, which offers advanced security when you use the card to pay in store. Chip cards are based on a global card payment standard called EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) currently used in more than 80 countries.
Why Is it More Secured? Chip card transactions offer you advanced security for in store payments by making every transaction unique, and, more difficult to counterfeit or copy. If the card data and the one-time code are stolen, the information cannot be used to create counterfeit cards and commit fraud.
How do you know if a customer has a Chip Card? The customer’s card will have chip on the front of it, magnetic stripe remains on the back.
How to use Chip Card at the POS? Swipe the card as they normally would and follow the prompts. If the terminal is chip-enabled, it will prompt them to insert it instead. The customer should insert their card with chip toward terminal, facing up. The chip card should not be removed until the customer is prompted.
Customer will provide their signature or PIN as prompted by the terminal.
Some transactions may not require either.
When the terminal says the transaction is complete, the customer can remove their card.
Chip-enabled terminals will still accept magnetic stripe card payments for customers who do not have a chip card.
What does a chip-enabled terminal look like? They have all of the features you are used to with a payment terminal, with the addition of a slot for the customer to insert their card. The slot is typically located at the bottom or the top of the payment terminal.
How will you know if a terminal accepts chip card? During the transition to chip, customers are being told to swipe their card as they normally would and follow the prompts. If the terminal is chip-enabled, it will prompt them to insert it instead. If you have chip-enabled terminals, you can tell your customer to insert their card for a chip transaction, if a customer has a chip card.
How can you get a chip-enabled terminal? Contact your acquirer or merchant service provider.
Show your customers that you care about their information security by making the move to chip. This will ensure that your business and your customers are protected from fraud. Start accepting chip cards!
You may be liable for fraud if you don’t make the change from chip terminal. Starting October 2015, rules are changing. Merchants that accept chip will be protected from fraud losses resulting from in store counterfeit magnetic stripe card transactions just as you are today. However, liability will shift from issuers to merchants if their payment terminals are not chip-enabled for in store transactions. Fraud liability for lost or stolen cards varies by payment network. Contact your acquirer or payment services providers for more information.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, Credit Card Security, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Payment Card Industry PCI Security, Point of Sale Tagged with: card data, cards, chip cards, Chip-enabled terminals, data, EMV, EuroPay, magnetic stripe, MasterCard and VISA, merchant service provider, Merchant's, payment, payment cards, payment network, payment terminal, POS, Security, terminal, transaction
Biometrics Market To Reach $14.9 Billion by 2024
The Biometrics market currently sits at $2 billion, by 2024, it will reach $14.9 billion, with a cumulative total revenue of $67.8 billion. This is being driven by new advancements in Biometrics Hardware and Software that are not only transforming payments, but also serving as frictionless alternatives to security in a myriad of use cases.
For consumer facing security, Biometrics can be deployed at a low price-point for high-volume authentication. Think an iris scan or finger swipe for quickly unlocking a mobile device like an iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S6.
The forecast goes over use cases that spans from Point-of-Sale transactions, to voter identification, making the case for Biometrics embedding itself into a vast number of aspects in everyday life.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: biometrics, consumer, device, mobile, mobile device, payments, point of sale, Security, swipe, transactions
April 21st, 2015 by Elma Jane
An advanced strain of malware called “Punkey,” is capable of attacking Windows point of sale terminals, stealing cardholder data and upgrading itself while hiding in plain sight.
Researchers from Security vendor Trustwave discovered the new strain. The investigation found compromised payment card information and more than 75 infected, and active, Internet Protocol addresses for Windows POS terminals.
Punkey poses a unique threat to payment networks, particularly because it also can download updates for itself.
If the malware author has a new feature it wants to add or updates to get rid of bugs, it actually pushes the malware down from the command and control server, revealed by Trustwave’s SpiderLabs research center. Punkey operates like a typical Botnet.
The malware hides inside of the Explorer process, which exists on every Windows device and manages the opening of individual program windows. Punkey scans other processes on the terminal to find cardholder data, which it sends to the control server.
The malware performs key logging, capturing 200 keystrokes at a time. It sends the information back to its server to store passwords and other private information.
A year ago, security vendors warned retailers against using Windows XP at the point of sale, since Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP security patches. However, even Punkey is not attacking Windows due to any vulnerability in the systems, so even merchants with newer versions of Windows are at risk.
Punkey just runs like any Windows binary would. Even if the system is upgraded or a new system is put in place, criminals are still getting malware on the POS in other ways.
Many retailers use remote desktop support software, which fraudsters take advantage of, they steal a password and install malware like a technician would install any software.
While Punkey represents a more sophisticated POS malware than Trustwave has seen previously, merchants can still protect themselves through attention to basic security best practices.
Merchants should update antivirus and firewall protections, monitor the remote access software, establish two-factor authentication and check network activity daily for anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, many organizations have neither the expertise nor the manpower to perform these tasks.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Credit Card Reader Terminal, Credit Card Security, Mobile Point of Sale, Payment Card Industry PCI Security, Point of Sale Tagged with: card, cardholder, cardholder data, data, Malware, Merchant's, payment, payment networks, point of sale, POS terminals, retailers, terminals
April 20th, 2015 by Elma Jane
With each year comes a new set of security risks businesses need to be aware of. The threats that have seen the most growth over the last year include point-of sale (POS) malware, malware traffic within secure and encrypted HTTPS websites and attacks on computer systems designed to control remote equipment.
Everyone knows the threats are real and the consequences are dire, so we can no longer blame lack of awareness for the attacks that succeed. Hacks and attacks continue to occur, not because companies aren’t taking security measures, but because they aren’t taking the right ones.
The large number of highly publicized POS breaches last year has heighted the need to make sure that businesses that use these devices are properly protecting them.
Malware targeting point-of-sale systems is evolving drastically, and new trends like memory scraping and the use of encryption to avoid detection from firewalls are on the rise. To guard against the rising tide of breaches, retailers should implement more stringent training and firewall policies, as well as reexamine their data policies with partners and suppliers.
For many years, businesses thought using a secure HTTPS Web connection protected them from a security breach. That no longer appears to be the case. While the increased number of businesses moving to a more secure Web protocol is a positive trend, hackers have identified ways to exploit HTTPS as a means to hide malicious code. Since the malware transmitted over HTTPS is encrypted, traditional firewalls fail to detect it.
Just as encryption can protect sensitive financial or personal information on the Web, it unfortunately can also be used by hackers to protect malware. One way organizations mitigate this risk is through SSL-based Web-browser restrictions, with exceptions for commonly used business applications to avoid slowing company productivity.
Several identified trends and predictions for the coming year, including the following:
Android will remain a main target for hackers. More sophisticated techniques will be developed to hinder Android malware researchers and users by making the malware hard to identify and research.
As wearable technology becomes more prevalent, expect to see malware start to target these devices.
Digital currencies, including Bitcoin, will continue to be targeted.
More organizations will enforce security policies that include two-factor authentication, which will likely increase the number of attacks on these technologies.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Security, Mobile Point of Sale, Payment Card Industry PCI Security, Point of Sale Tagged with: (POS) malware, Android, bitcoin, Digital currencies, point of sale, POS breaches, security breach, SSL-based Web-browser
April 13th, 2015 by Elma Jane
With only six months to go before the EMV chip-card liability shift takes effect, many U.S. merchants are not yet aware of the EMV migration.
When the Oct. 1 liability shift takes hold, merchants not accepting the new chip-card technology will become liable for any losses resulting from payment card fraud at the point of sale. Some merchants have stated that they would rather trust their existing security measures than pay for the upgrade to EMV, but others still need to educate themselves on the benefits and drawbacks of EMV – and it’s not even clear how many are out of the loop.
The challenge is that no one really knows about the level of EMV readiness because there is no single, common way to reach all of the merchants of all different levels and sizes at the same time.
Instead, various organizations are picking bits and pieces of the market they can reach and do everything they can to inform and help merchants to determine if they are moving toward chip-based technology or not.
EMV cards improve security at the point of sale by including technology that makes them resistant to counterfeiting. They can also be used with a PIN to address stolen card fraud. Though the card networks set an October deadline for conversion to EMV technology, it is not a mandate; companies will still be able to handle credit card transactions even if they do not have EMV technology in place.
And even the merchants that have the right technology installed may not be using it properly. During the EMV preparedness process, it has become apparent that installed EMV terminals had not been turned on or otherwise were not fully capable of accepting EMV transactions.
The confusion extends to the banks as well. Not all issuers will be ready for EMV, and some have outright stated that they do not think it will be possible to meet this year’s deadline.
In a move designed to get more small-business merchants on board with EMV, Visa Inc. introduced a 20-city small business chip education tour last month.
The real measurement of the implementation will be in transaction volumes, or actual chip-on-chip transactions.
Even though the liability shift is just six months away, still really early to make a determination on all of this.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Security, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Point of Sale, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: card, chip card, EMV, emv cards, EMV terminals, EMV transactions, fraud, Merchant's, payment, point of sale, visa
January 12th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Mobile Point of Sale (POS) systems have rocked the retail world and the trending topic when it comes to POS is all about the mobile kind. When one searches the term POS, nearly every article that comes up is all about mobile, and many seem to believe it will change the retail industry.
Is traditional POS on its way out? Not so fast.
While mobile POS is indeed a hot topic, it is likely to be an enhancement, rather than a replacement, to traditional POS
There is definitely a need and a place, for both.
Everyone was certain that dot.coms would eradicate brick-and-mortar stores; they are still alive and well, and traditional brick-and-mortar stores have, like traditional POS, embraced the Internet and allowed it to serve them in the capacity of extension.
Retailers everywhere have incorporated the Internet into their business model by creating multi-channel sales strategies, such as e-commerce, digital marketing, social media marketing, online product information, specifications, reviews and online customer service.
In addition to their online presence, these same retailers have started to bring the Internet in-house by integrating such services as customer centric promotions at point of sale, introducing loyalty programs and member registration, facilitating digital signage, offering e-receipts via email, and self check out centers; all at the traditional POS kiosk.
Why bother with mobile POS anyway?
While it is true that traditional POS systems won’t be going anywhere soon, and with good reason, mobile POS systems have allowed retailers to make great strides when it comes to efficiency and customer service, as well as customer satisfaction.
Since the advent of Mobile POS, companies have made big changes in the way they handle customer transactions in-store, thus affording faster checkout, waiting line reduction, consultative selling, and more.
The list of mobile POS benefits goes on and on:
Email Receipts: Better for the environment, more convenient for customers and faster to process. A digital purchase receipts sent via email tells the customer that you care about the earth and about them.
Expanded Reach: With mobile POS, your sales are no longer confined within the four walls of your brick and mortar store. Sidewalk sales, seasonal mall kiosks, and special sponsorship events are just a few examples of all the places you can take your retail sales to, with a POS in hand.
Inventory and Price Search: When customers can be assisted with finding an item color, size or availability on the spot, rather than having to wait in line to do so, it makes them happier. The same can be said for pricing. POS in the hands of store reps can go a long way toward customer satisfaction.
Inventory Return Stations: There is always a certain volume of returns, but that volume increases for retailers particularly after the holidays. The implementation of mobile POS allows for retailers to set up additional return stations in order to avoid long lines and customer frustrations.
Mobile POS goes Mobile: Your investment in your company POS system doesn’t need to be one size fits all, regardless of store traffic volume in one location or another. Retailers may opt to have a blow out sale in one location, thus require additional checkout power for that location for a specific period of time. With mobile POS, devises and licensing can be utilized throughout different store locations on an as needed basis.
Optional Seasonal Subscription: The great thing about mobile POS is that you needn’t pay for a POS system year round if you’re not using it year around. Seasonal spikes in retail sales warrant the additional cost of extra POS licensing and hardware, but the rest of the year your budget shouldn’t need to encompass more than what is needed. Mobile lets you better manage your overall POS investment.
Storewide Promotion Opportunities: Mobile POS has allowed retailers to drive sales in various sections of the store by holding demonstrations or promotions in different departments to tout products or services. Customers can be marketed, and sold to, on the spot.
The growing industry of mobile payments doesn’t stop at in-store mobile POS. Digital wallets like Google Wallet and Apple Passbook, mobile-to-mobile cell phone transfers, Near Field Communication (NFC) payments, mobile device credit card swipe and other emerging technologies are quickly changing our cash and credit card world.
What about traditional POS?
Mobile payment systems are indeed terrific. So, when should you consider going with traditional POS? The reality is, in addition to the aforementioned benefits of traditional checkout kiosk functions, there times when mobile POS simply will not suffice.
Mobile POS is great when a customer wants to choose and pay for one item while on the sales room floor, but what about when the customer has a multitude of items? Ringing up and bagging groceries, removing anti-theft mechanisms, neatly folding and bagging clothing items and managing the sales of numerous agents, stations or departments are just a few examples of situations that often require the traditional POS checkout station.
By combining traditional POS strategies with mobile POS flexibility, retailers can leverage the command of a complex, and multi-dimensional, marketing and retail sales management system.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale Tagged with: brick and mortar, credit card swipe, credit-card, customer service, digital marketing, Digital wallets, e-commerce, mobile device, Mobile Payments, mobile point of sale, mobile pos, multi-channel, Near Field Communication (NFC), POS, retail industry, social media
September 24th, 2014 by Elma Jane
The CVV Number (Card Verification Value) on your credit card or debit card is a 3 digit number on VISA, MasterCard and Discover branded credit and debit cards. On your American Express branded credit or debit card it is a 4 digit numeric code.
The codes have different names:
American Express – CID or unique card code.
Debit Card – CSC or card security code.
Discover – card identification number (CID)
Master Card – card validation code (CVC2)
Visa – card verification value (CVV2)
CVV numbers are NOT your card’s secret PIN (Personal Identification Number).
You should never enter your PIN number when asked to provide your CVV. (PIN numbers allow you to use your credit or debit card at an ATM or when making an in-person purchase with your debit card or a cash advance with any credit card.)
Types of security codes:
CVC1 or CVV1, is encoded on track-2 of the magnetic stripe of the card and used for card present transactions. The purpose of the code is to verify that a payment card is actually in the hand of the merchant. This code is automatically retrieved when the magnetic stripe of a card is swiped on a point-of-sale (card present) device and is verified by the issuer. A limitation is that if the entire card has been duplicated and the magnetic stripe copied, then the code is still valid.
The most cited, is CVV2 or CVC2. This code is often sought by merchants for card not present transactions occurring by mail or fax or over the telephone or Internet. In some countries in Western Europe, card issuers require a merchant to obtain the code when the cardholder is not present in person.
Contactless card and chip cards may supply their own codes generated electronically, such as iCVV or Dynamic CVV.
Code Location:
The card security code is typically the last three or four digits printed, not embossed like the card number, on the signature strip on the back of the card. On American Express cards, the card security code is the four digits printed (not embossed) on the front towards the right. The card security code is not encoded on the magnetic stripe but is printed flat.
American Express cards have a four-digit code printed on the front side of the card above the number.
MasterCard, Visa, Diners Club, Discover, and JCB credit and debit cards have a three-digit card security code. The code is the final group of numbers printed on the back signature panel of the card.
New North American MasterCard and Visa cards feature the code in a separate panel to the right of the signature strip. This has been done to prevent overwriting of the numbers by signing the card.
Benefits when it comes to security:
As a security measure, merchants who require the CVV2 for card not present payment card transactions are required by the card issuer not to store the CVV2 once the individual transaction is authorized and completed. This way, if a database of transactions is compromised, the CVV2 is not included, and the stolen card numbers are less useful. Virtual Terminals and payment gateways do not store the CVV2 code, therefore employees and customer service representatives with access to these web-based payment interfaces who otherwise have access to complete card numbers, expiration dates, and other information still lack the CVV2 code.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) also prohibits the storage of CSC (and other sensitive authorization data) post transaction authorization. This applies globally to anyone who stores, processes or transmits card holder data. Since the CSC is not contained on the magnetic stripe of the card, it is not typically included in the transaction when the card is used face to face at a merchant. However, some merchants in North America require the code. For American Express cards, this has been an invariable practice (for card not present transactions) in European Union (EU) states like Ireland and the United Kingdom since the start of 2005. This provides a level of protection to the bank/cardholder, in that a fraudulent merchant or employee cannot simply capture the magnetic stripe details of a card and use them later for card not present purchases over the phone, mail order or Internet. To do this, a merchant or its employee would also have to note the CVV2 visually and record it, which is more likely to arouse the cardholder’s suspicion.
Supplying the CSC code in a transaction is intended to verify that the customer has the card in their possession. Knowledge of the code proves that the customer has seen the card, or has seen a record made by somebody who saw the card.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Point of Sale, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: (Card Verification Value), (CVC2), American Express, atm, authorization data, bank/cardholder, card holder data, card identification number, card issuers, Card Not Present transactions, card number, card numbers, card security code, card validation code, card-not-present, card-present transactions, cardholder, cards, cash advance, chip cards, CID, code, Contactless card, credit, credit-card, CSC, customer, customer service, CVC1, CVV Number, CVV1, CVV2, Data Security Standard, debit, debit card, debit cards, device, Diners Club, Discover, fax, gateways, iCVV or Dynamic CVV, individual transaction, internet, issuer, JCB credit, magnetic stripe, mail, MasterCard, merchant, payment card, Payment Card Industry, payment card transactions, payment gateways, PCI-DSS, Personal Identification Number, PIN, point of sale, post transaction authorization, security codes, telephone, terminals, unique card code, virtual terminals, visa, web-based payment
