Category: Travel Agency Agents
June 30th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Let’s face it, it’s hard to build a customer email list if you continue getting declined. There’s a way for a customer to say YES!
Get Exclusive – let your customers know that you treat your email list to exclusive offers and information. Offering a special email customer only discount code or exclusive benefits to members on your email list.
Make it Creative – whether you’re collecting emails online or at the checkout counter, make it creative. Getting creative with how you sell your email program will help you get more YES at the point of subscription.
Offer Value – Give your customers something in return for their email address. Make your customers feel like they are receiving something rather than just giving out their personal information. Identifying what piques your customer’s attention and offering that as an added value to their email subscription, your customers will see value in giving out their information when they receive something in return.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: customer, online
June 23rd, 2016 by Elma Jane
Merchant Aggregators, Merchants of Records and Payment Service Provider what’s the difference?
Payment Service Provider – is a company, which provides payment gateway and related services (like antifraud tools) to merchants. PSP is a representative of one or several acquiring banks. The merchant signs an agreement with the acquiring bank and PSP. The acquiring bank provides a merchant account and secures settlements for merchant’s transactions directly to the merchant’s bank account. Payment Service Provider secures delivery of the merchant’s transactions to the acquiring bank and some related services like fraud scrubbing and recurring transactions. The merchant has an own merchant account with this model.
Merchant Aggregator – is a company, which uses one merchant account to process transactions from many merchants. Merchants don’t have any agreements with an acquiring bank, but with the merchant aggregator. You get quick setup and get shut down quickly. Most aggregators are hard to get hold of, they don’t have human customer support. The problem with this model is, it’s not intended as a long-term, scalable solution to accepting payments and they can freeze your account or hold your money if anything unusual happens.
Merchants of Records – are a merchant, who use services of payment service provider (PSP) or merchant aggregators to accept payments on their websites for goods or services they sell. Merchant of record role requires an array of administrative responsibilities, such as managing a merchant account with a payment processor, paying associated credit card fees for the transactions, other responsibilities like complying with PCI DSS.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: bank account, credit card, customer, merchant, payment gateway, payment processor, Payment Service Provider, PCI, transactions
June 22nd, 2016 by Elma Jane
What is ARC, IATA, and CLIA? what’s the difference? What it does and what type of agents would benefit most from it.
CLIA Number – is issued by the Cruise Lines International Association. It’s a way for vendors to identify you as a travel agent. It serves the same purpose as the ARC or IATA number, it’s just issued by another organization and has different barriers to entry and costs associated with it. CLIA agencies without ARC accreditation cannot issue airline tickets since CLIA numbers were designed specifically for cruise-focused travel agencies. You can always go under an umbrella organization like a host agency, you don’t need to get your own CLIA number if you’re working with a host agency. You can use their identification number and won’t incur the costs associated with obtaining your own CLIA number. While CLIA is accepted nearly everywhere, it’s NOT accepted by the airlines. If you are not issuing airline tickets, CLIA is a practical option.
CLIA vs. ARC/IATA Number – If you’re ticketing air-only reservation, ARC and IATA are must-haves.
ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation) – gives out these ARC numbers to accredited agencies, which allows travel agencies to issue airline tickets. The use of an ARC number extends from a hotel to a cruise ship booking not only air tickets for travel agencies. For a home-based travel agent or a storefront agency that only books leisure travel (no air), having your own ARC number is too much.
IATA – International Air Transport Association Network (IATAN) use extensive data resource to connect the suppliers to the U.S. travel distribution network. IATAN ID card holders get promotional benefits and concessionary incentives from suppliers (participating members) who identify the agent with an IATA/IATAN number as a valid associate, in addition to approving travel agents for the sale of travel tickets. IATA certifies a referral agent or an affiliate travel agent to find clients for the hosting travel agency’s business needs as well.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: agents, card, data, host agency, travel agent, vendors
June 20th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Batch – is a collection of credit card transactions, usually a single day’s worth.
Batch Processing – refers to a one-time closing or settling the entire batch of transactions.
The point-of-sale terminal or credit card processing software can be set on:
Manual Batch close – merchant will need to batch out at the end of each day. The processor will receive a command to settle all transactions that have been entered. There will be a printed report showing the transaction totals in the batch once a batch is settled.
Changes can be made to existing transactions in the batch before a batch is settled. Example: If you want to change an amount of one of the transactions or you want to void a transaction.
Automatic Batch close – The terminal or software will automatically close the batch, (settle the transactions) at a certain time each day, no manual intervention is needed by the merchant or in some case the processor will settle the batch (called host batch close at the processor level). Automatic batch close set-up is advisable for most businesses unless a tip edit function is required, manual batch close would be the better option.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: credit card, merchant, point of sale, processor, terminal, transactions
June 7th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Merchants need to stay competitive by offering the most modern forms of electronic payment processing technology to satisfy customers, because, in today’s world of smartphones and one-the-go payments, consumers have options in how they conduct their transactions. With proper education on the types of payment options, merchants can make the right decision for their business.
NTC is here to discuss that payment options.
EMV – or Europay, MasterCard, Visa is a fraud-reducing technology to protect card issuers, merchants, and consumers from counterfeit or stolen cards. The customer inserts or dips the chip card into the EMV terminal, rather than swiping the card at the point of sale. A one-time-use code is created for that transaction. This code makes it virtually impossible for anyone to duplicate, leaving customers safer from fraud.
NFC – stands for near field communication is a method of contactless data exchange between two electronic devices. NFC is used in mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay. More and more consumers leaning towards mobile wallets, merchants should be prepared to accept NFC payments by incorporating NFC-enabled equipment.
Virtual Merchant Mobile Payments – Mobile Payments are popular, you can take payments anywhere. Ideal for retail, restaurant and service businesses of any size. Accept payments your way online, in-store and on the go. Anytime and anywhere.
Offers flexibility you want with the payment security you and your customer need:
- Accept credit and debit cards, including mag stripe, chip cards, and contactless payments/NFC, like Apple Pay and other mobile wallets.
- Calculate discounts, taxes, and tips automatically.
- Email customer receipts.
- Help protect cardholder data with an encrypted, chip card device.
- Record cash transactions.
- Use your own smartphone or tablet (works with most IOS and Android mobile devices).
Check out NTC’s electronic payment solutions that are EMV-capable, NFC-enabled and mobile wallet ready.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Electronic Payments, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Mobile Point of Sale, Near Field Communication, Point of Sale, Smartphone, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: chip card, consumers, contactless payments, customers, data, debit cards, electronic payment, EMV, fraud, merchants, mobile wallets, Near Field Communication, nfc, online, payment, payment processing, point of sale, Security, Smartphones, terminal, transactions
June 3rd, 2016 by Elma Jane
To be responsive to the needs of our merchants and to meet that needs NTC offers next day funding. This is a value added service for customers and businesses that need to have their funds available quickly.
With more than 15 years of experience, National Transaction offers a variety of electronic payment services and technology for businesses.
Our services include:
Currency Conversion, credit, and debit card processing, e-commerce and gateways, electronic checks, gift and loyalty card programs, mobile processing, cash advances and loans/funding program. We also have NTC e-Pay and MediPaid.
NTC e-Pay – is an Electronic Invoicing that made simple with NTC e-Pay! Free Setup, Nothing To Integrate, Secure, and Fast. Invoice customers Electronically with NTC e-Pay. Our e-Pay Platform can help Travel Merchants bring new customers and encourage repeat business.
Our Virtual Merchant Gateway – accept payments your way! Online, In-Store and On the Go. A payment platform that flexes with your business.
NTC Business Loans – Fast, Affordable, and Simple Application Process.
MediPaid – a medical health insurance claims payment. Delivering paperless, next-day deposits for Health Insurance Payments.
NTC provides services to thousands of customers. NTC maintains a one on one relationships with all its merchants providing them with 24/7 customer service and technical support!
To know more about our product and services give us a call at 888-9962273
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Electronic Check Services, Electronic Payments, Gift & Loyalty Card Processing, Medical Healthcare, Merchant Account Services News Articles, Merchant Cash Advance, Merchant Services Account, Mobile Payments, Small Business Improvement, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: cash advances, credit, Currency Conversion, customers, debit card, e-commerce, electronic checks, electronic payment, funding, funds, gateways, loans, Loyalty Card, merchants, Mobile Processing, service
May 23rd, 2016 by Elma Jane
Today, the information thieves want most from your customers is not their credit card numbers but their email addresses and account passwords. Criminals used stolen credentials to gain control of consumer accounts and open new accounts using their names to defraud merchants.
Data encryption and payment security are crucial for merchants, but so is helping customers keep their credentials secure. Encouraging customers to keep their information secure is a good thing.
Help customers practice good password habits – set up your system to require good passwords. Have account rules in place that require more secure passwords. ( a minimum number of characters and a mix of character types).
Remind customers what they can expect from your business – like your employee will never ask for customer account passwords or payment account information via email or no one from your company will call to ask for account passwords or credit-card information.
Offer security tips ahead of peak season – by reminding them ahead of time about account safety. Your business may receive a high volume of travel booking which means peak time for fraud attempts that need to be screened for fraud.
Keep your own fraud-prevention program updated – fraud prevention is an ongoing cost of doing business for merchants, but it doesn’t have to be too much expense. Working with your customers to keep their data and yours secure, will strengthen your business with them while protecting your business from fraud.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: credit card, customers, data, fraud, merchants, payment, payment security, Security, travel
May 18th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Terminals are ready, but the software isn’t – many merchants have EMV capable equipment, but has not been activated yet because it still needs to be certified.
The certification process includes security and compatibility tests.
For a small merchant, all you need to worry about is your equipment or software is EMV certified.
For software, developers, terminal manufacturers needs to get certification before they can deploy their products to merchants.
So many merchants who want to accept EMV, are now just waiting for their POS system to get necessary upgrades, which they can’t do until they’re certified.
Slower Checkout Time – common complaint by consumers. Dipping takes several seconds longer than swiping the card. There’s also a chance of forgetting your card because you have to leave your card inserted while waiting for the transaction to get approved.
The fastest Path to EMV – Depending on the nature of your business, the risk of landing yourself for credit card fraud is slim. The easiest way is to contact your merchant account provider and they will tell you what equipment and software you need and how much it will cost.
For our retail customers, we have the iCT250, the smart and compact desktop device designed for maximum efficiency. iCT250 offers a smart and effective payment experience on minimum counter space. Accept all electronic payment methods including EMV chip & PIN, magstripe and NFC/contactless.
For card-not-present, we have our payment gateway platform that accepts payments your way Online, In-Store and On the Go.
- E-commerce – manage your e-com business along with all of your other payment transactions in one, secure place.
- In-Store – accept payments in person with ease using your computer and a broad range of an optional device, like card readers and PIN pads.
- Back Office Mail & Phone – Process you mail and phone payments online. Converge is ideal for recurring and installment payments too.
- Mobile – Take payments on the go with an intuitive mobile app that’s compatible with most smartphones and tablets.
For more details give us a call at 888-996-2273 or check out our website for our products and services.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, e-commerce & m-commerce, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Internet Payment Gateway, Mail Order Telephone Order, Merchant Account Services News Articles, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, Point of Sale, Smartphone, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: card, card readers, Chip & PIN, consumers, contactless, credit card, customers, e-commerce, electronic payment, EMV, fraud, in-store, magstripe, merchant account, merchants, mobile, nfc, online, payment, payment gateway, PIN pads, POS, provider, Security, terminals, transaction
May 17th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Businesses run the risk of fraud, but some are more likely to be targeted than others.
Simply being aware that you are operating at a higher risk than normal and putting up your defenses can help you protect your business from online fraud.
By learning more about the types of online fraud, you could experience what to do if you expect a fraudulent transaction. You can also mitigate your risk, even if you sell high-risk items to high-risk customers.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: customers, fraud, high risk, online fraud, risk, transaction
May 13th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Getting new clients are one of the most time-consuming and expensive parts of running a travel agency.
Here are some travel agency marketing tools that are cost-effective and time-saving to help you.
E-Marketing – email marketing is a key to connecting with your customer on an ongoing basis. You want to make sure you’re in touch since they could plan a trip on a moment’s notice.
Personalized Email Addresses – Gmail is one of the top lists of a free travel agency marketing tool. Gmail is easy-to-use and effectively manages your inbox with labels.
- Gmail is free as long as you have less than 10 email users and each user sends less than 500 emails per day.
- Use your personalized travel agency domain name email address instead of gmail.com.
- Promote your travel agency name using YourName@YourAgencyWebsite.com email address.
CRM Tool – a salesperson’s success usually can be traced back to an efficient sales process. The sales process is the method of sales person takes a perspective customer from lead to a sale.
- Online CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool can help you manage that process and help you close that sale.
- CRMs are an investment and are an essential travel agency marketing tool.
Website Live Chat – free instant messenger client, a great travel agency marketing tool.
- Choose to interact with the visitor to answer their questions.
- Promote it as another channel existing clients can reach you.
- There’s also a free iPhone app, so you can interact with clients on the go. All for free!
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: crm, customer, travel, travel agency