January 21st, 2016 by Elma Jane
Merchant accounts are as varied as the merchants themselves and the goods being sold.
What kind of account would you fall under:
High Risk Merchant Accounts – Finding a processor who is willing to take your account can be more challenging. High risk merchants range from travel agencies to multi-level marketing companies, credit restoration merchants, casinos, online pharmaceutical companies, adult/dating merchants and many other.
Internet based merchant account (Ecommerce/Website order processing) – E-Commerce is a booming market, with so many people buying and selling goods online due to the wide reach and easy access to the internet.
Mobile or Wireless merchant account – This merchant is specifically designed for small businesses, solo professionals, and mobile services (including lawyers, landscapers, contractors, consultants, repair tradesmen, etc), who are constantly on the move and require a payment to processed on the spot.
MOTO (Mail or Telephone order) – This enables phone based or direct mail orders processing for customers who can buy your product or service from the comfort of their home. Since there is no card present there is no need for traditional equipment.
Multiple Merchant Accounts – Some businesses can have merchant accounts of a couple or all different types. Merchants who fall into this category are called multi-channel merchants as they sell their goods through a number of different channels. Most commonly this is related to retail stores who also have an online presence to sell their goods. This is very common in today’s competitive market where constant contact with customers is critical to success.
Traditional Account with Equipment – Most commonly used for retail businesses (grocery, departmental stores etc) where the transactions are processed in a face to face interaction also known as Point of Sale (PoS).
Interested to setup an account give us a call at 888-9962273
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Mail Order Telephone Order, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: account, card, card present, credit, customers, e-commerce, high risk merchant, internet, merchant accounts, merchants, mobile, mobile services, moto, multi-channel merchants, payment, point of sale, POS, processor, transactions, travel, travel agencies
December 18th, 2015 by Elma Jane
A leading provider of mobile point of sale and mobile payment technology, published today the EMV Migration Tracker.
Many merchants have deployed EMV capable terminals while cardholders have received cards with EMV chips, but not much data has been published about the real world use of EMV chip card technology in the U.S. Most published statistics rely on surveys or forecasts rather than real transactional data.
The EMV Migration Tracker shows new data and insights since the October 1 liability shift, including:
- Over 50% of all cards in use now have EMV chips on them. From October to November, the percent grew 5% as banks and card issuers accelerated their rollout of new chip cards.
- Over 83% of American Express cards have EMV chips, while Discover lags at 40%
- Over 63% of the cards used in Hawaii have EMV chips, but Mississippi sees just 11% penetration of chip cards.
While EMV chip card technology has been implemented in Europe years ago, the rollout of EMV in the U.S is just beginning. The rollout came earlier this year with the October 1 liability shift in card present transaction, meaning that merchants who have not upgraded their POS system can become liable for counterfeit card fraud losses that occur at their stores. This is an early step in an ongoing process that the Payments Security Task Force predicts will lead to 98 percent of U.S. credit and debit cards containing EMV chips by the end of 2017.
http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=62506
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: American Express, banks, card issuers, card present, card technology, cardholders, chip cards, credit, data, debit, Discover, EMV, EMV chips, merchants, mobile payment, mobile point of sale, payment technology, point of sale, POS, provider
December 15th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Visa Inc. has launched the Visa Token Service in Asia Pacific, in association with United Overseas Bank (UOB). Store tokens on mobile devices, cloud-based mobile applications, and e-commerce merchants carry less risk of security hack. This security technology will replace sensitive account information to make payments without exposing bank details.
Tokenized cards are linked to customer’s wallet application or mobile and validated by VisaNet. Biometric authentication and device identification features are available through this service. Visa debit or credit cardholders with NFC-enabled Android smarthphones cardholders will be able to make contacless payments.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce Tagged with: bank, biometric, cardholders, cards, contacless payments, credit, debit, e-commerce, e-commerce merchants, merchants, nfc, payments, token, Tokenized cards, visa
December 14th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Reality of data theft means that a breach can sometimes have two or three aftershock effects years down the line.
Eighty five percent of American consumers admitted that if significant personal consequences present themselves after their information is compromised as part of a breach, they would have no problem seeking a new place to spend their money.
In particular, 67 percent said that they would cut ties with the victimized brand if money was actually removed from their checking accounts, 62 percent said so if their credit cards were charged for fraudulent purchases, 57 percent said the same if their personal information was released and 54 percent would look elsewhere if their credit scores were affected.
It’s been two years since major retail attacks made data breach a household word, vice president of enterprise data security firm said.
As it becomes easier for customers to switch their preferred brands, data breaches events can be too devastating for some merchants.
http://www.pymnts.com/news/2015/been-breached-say-bye-bye-to-customer-loyalty/
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: Breach, credit, data breach, data security, merchants
December 10th, 2015 by Elma Jane
WALMART LAUNCHES QR CODE MOBILE PAYMENTS SERVICE
Customers at US retail giant Walmart will soon be able to pay for purchases by scanning a QR code at the point of sale using Walmart Pay. Walmart Pay will be integrated into the Walmart app, the retailer’s own mobile payment service introduced in selected stores this month, with a nationwide launch expected in the first half of next year.
With this launch, Walmart becomes the only retailer to offer its own payment solution that works with any iOS or Android device, at any checkout lane, and with any major credit, debit, prepaid or Walmart gift card all through the Walmart mobile app.
Walmart Pay will allow for the integration of other mobile wallets in the future.
http://www.nfcworld.com/2015/12/10/340527/walmart-launches-qr-code-mobile-payments-service-in-the-us/
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale Tagged with: credit, debit, gift Card, mobile payment, mobile payment service, mobile wallets, payment service, payment solution, point of sale, prepaid
November 3rd, 2015 by Elma Jane
While EMV represents a significant improvement in the way credit/debit card fraud is detected and prevented, some have confused EMV’s capabilities with the concepts of data security and PCI compliance.
Does EMV override PCI?
The answer is NO, EMV technology does not satisfy any PCI requirements, nor does it reduce PCI scope.
- EMV is counterfeit card fraud protection – it makes it more difficult to make use of stolen card data.
- EMV is not encryption – EMV does not encrypt the Primary Account Number (PAN) and therefore the card data must still be protected according to PCI guidelines.
- EMV only works for card present transactions.
If your business accepts credit or debit cards in a physical store or other face-to-face setting, you will need to implement the EMV technology and PCI standards. If you upgrade your terminals for EMV, consider adding point-to-point encryption (P2PE) capabilities to reduce PCI scope and protect data end to end. In addition, using tokens after authorization can prevent the card data from being used, should it be stolen.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Payment Card Industry PCI Security Tagged with: card data, card fraud, card present, counterfeit card, credit, data security, debit card, EMV, emv technology, fraud, p2pe, PAN, PCI, PCI Compliance, point-to-point encryption, Primary Account Number, terminals, tokens
October 29th, 2015 by Elma Jane
What is Identity Theft?
Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crimes in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data.
Basic categories of identity theft:
Account Takeover Fraud – is one of the two basic forms of financial identity theft, it occurs when a fraudster obtains and uses a victim’s personal information to take control of existing bank or credit card accounts and carries out unauthorized transactions right at a point of sale or access individual accounts online. Victims are often the first to detect account takeover when they discover charges on monthly statements they did not authorize or funds depleted from existing accounts.
Business or commercial identity theft – entails using a business’ name to obtain credit or even billing a business’ clients for products and services. Business identity theft can go on for years undetected.
Criminal identity theft – occurs when an imposter gives another person’s name and personal information such as drivers’ license, date of birth, or Social Security Number to a law enforcement officer during an investigation or upon arrest.
Identity cloning – some people use identity theft and identity cloning interchangeably, but definitely are not the same thing. True identity clones pretends to be you, they want to assume your identity. They want to become YOU.
Medical identity theft – occurs when someone steals your personal information (like name, Social Security Number or MediCare Number) to obtain medical care in your name. Medical identity theft can damage your credit rating.
New Account Fraud – means using another’s personal identifying information to obtain products and services. New credit card accounts is the most prevalent form of new account fraud. Because the thief is likely to use a different mailing address, the victim never sees the bill for the new account. When this type of fraud involves a credit card, once the new plastic is issued, the criminal turns it into cash very quickly. Victims may also be denied credit as a result of applying for loans.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: bank, credit, credit card, data, fraud, medical, Medicare, point of sale, transactions
July 23rd, 2015 by Elma Jane
The digital payments landscape is changing at a rapid pace. Consumers are finally adopting digital wallets, like Apple Pay and Android Pay.
The deadline for merchants to become EMV compliant, the global standard that covers the processing of credit and debit card payments using a card that contains a microprocessor chip, is quickly approaching.
Today’s consumers show an increasing desire to use new payment methods because they’re convenient. However, this presents a challenge to merchants, as many have not made the switch to the modern technology required to accept these methods since they’re generally hard-wired to resist technology changes.
Merchants must evolve with technology or they’ll find themselves unable to compete and in danger of losing customers.
Looking long term, the benefits of adopting new payment technology will outweigh the cost of transitioning. The fact is that new payment technology will reduce fraud risk due to counterfeit cards, provide greater insight into shoppers with sophisticated data and will ultimately lower costs for merchants over time.
The value merchants will get out of new payment methods:
Security
Investing in new payment technology will help reduce the risk of fraud. EMV, as an example. Beginning in October 2015, merchants and the financial institutions that have made investments in EMV will be protected from financial fraud liability for card-present fraud losses for both counterfeit, lost, stolen and non-receipt fraud.
EMV is already a standard in Europe, where fraud is on the decline. In turn, American credit card issuers are being pressured to replace easily hacked magnetic strips on cards with more secure “chip-and-PIN” technology. Europe has been using Chip, and Chip & Pin for years.
There’s nothing that can guarantee 100 percent security, but when EMV is coupled with other payment innovations, like tokenization that separate the customer’s identity from the payment, much of the cost and risk of identity theft is eliminated. If hackers get access to the token, all they get is information from one transaction. They don’t have access to credit card numbers or banking accounts, so the damage that can be done is minimal.
As card fraud rises, there’s a strong case to upgrade to a payment system that works with a smartphone or tablet and accepts both EMV chip cards and tokens.
Insight into Customer Behavior
In addition to added security, upgrading to new payment technology opens up a door to greater customer insights, improved consumer engagement and enables merchants to grow revenue by providing customers with receipts, rewards, points and coupons. By collecting marketing data at the point of sale a business can save on that data that they only dreamed of buying.
Investment Outweighs the Cost
New technology does have upfront costs, but merchants need to think about it as an investment that will grow top-line revenue. Beware of providers offering free hardware. Business can benefit by doing some research on the actual cost of the hardware.
By increasing security, merchants are further enabling mobile and emerging technologies, which will make shopping easier.
Customers will also be more confident in using their cards.
As an added bonus to merchants, most EMV-enabled POS equipment will include contactless technology, allowing merchants to accept contactless and mobile payments. This will result in a quicker check-out experience so merchants can handle more transactions.
Faster customer checkout.
The best system for is the one that makes the merchant as efficient and profitable as possible, as well as improves the customer checkout experience.
Retail climate is competitive, merchants have two choices:
Do nothing or embrace the fact that payments are changing. Transitions from old systems to new ones require work and risk, but merchants who use modern technology are investing in the future and will certainly outperform those who choose to do nothing.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, Point of Sale Tagged with: American credit card, card, card present, chip, Chip and PIN, contactless technology, credit, data, debit card, digital payments, Digital wallets, EMV, EMV compliant, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, merchants, Mobile Payments, payment innovations, payment methods, payment technology, payments, point of sale, POS, provider's, smartphone, tablet, token, tokenization, transaction
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
October 1st, 2014 by Elma Jane
Approximately $350 billion in housing rent is written out on checks or given in cash annually and until now more than 90 million renters in the U.S. didn’t have an option to use their credit or debit card to pay their rent. RadPad wants to be that option. The service works by allowing users to sign up and link their debit or credit card to their account, then asks for the Landlords mailing address and email, which presumably allows to mail the check to the Landlord. By saving the payments to the customers RadPad profile, Renters Can conceivably improve their credit score. Moreover, it allows roommates or others who split rent to pay communally. They can get both terms to go mainstream by letting people pay their rent by phone.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments Tagged with: card, cash, checks, credit, credit score, customers, debit, debit card, email, housing rent, payments, phone, renters
