January 11th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Chase Commerce Solutions, the global payment processing and merchant acquiring business of JPMorgan Chase & Co., sold its entire portfolio of Independent Sales Organization (ISO) accounts and associated contracts.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Chase has been decreasing the number of merchant relationships it supports through traditional ISOs and increasing the number of direct acquiring relationships it has with merchants since it formed Chase Merchant Services, a partnership with Visa that began 2013.
During that time it has focused more on e-commerce, reports said, though the biggest news for Chase Commerce Solutions recently was its agreement with Starbucks in November to take over processing of all its non-mobile payments.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: Commerce Solutions, e-commerce, Independent Sales Organization, ISO, merchant, merchant services, Mobile Payments, payment processing, visa
October 13th, 2015 by Elma Jane
It is difficult to believe that many businesses still do not accept credit or debit cards for payments, while most customers preferred using cards for the following reasons.
- Doesn’t want to carry cash.
- Security and Protection offered by card issuers.
- Desire to earn reward points.
Some of the many advantages for businesses that accept credit card payments include:
Easy and cost efficient – credit card processing has become a highly competitive industry. NTC offers the latest in EMV and NFC technologies that allows businesses to accept contactless payment like Apple and Android Pay. NTC integrates with most POS systems.
Essential for online sales – internet selling is growing. The Internet makes it possible for a small business in a remote location to offer its products to potential customers throughout the nation and even across the world, almost all of those transactions require a credit or debit card.
Increases revenue – people like the convenience and security of paying with a credit or debit card. In fact, 66 percent of point-of-sale transactions use credit, debit or gift cards.
Merchant services accelerate cash flow – credit card transactions process quickly, with proceeds generally available in a bank account within two days or less. That eliminates the time it normally takes checks to clear. It also reduces or eliminates billing and the time spent waiting to receive payment checks from customers.
Reduce transaction risks – Check fraud remains a major problem for U.S. businesses, 77% of businesses were victims of check fraud, only 34% experienced credit card fraud and 92% said they believe new EMV chip and pin, credit cards will significantly reduce fraud at the point of sale.
Setting up a merchant account for your business is as simple as contacting a merchant service provider. A merchant service provider process payments and make sure the money is appropriately withdrawn from a credit card account and placed into the business’s merchant account.
For more details about setting up an account give us a call now! at 888-996-2273.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: (POS) systems, Android Pay, Apple, Chip and PIN, contactless payment, credit card, debit cards, EMV, Gift Cards, merchant, merchant account, merchant service provider, merchant services, NFC technologies, payments, point of sale
June 4th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Electronic gift card processing increases revenues and attracts new customers. They also reduce the fraud and labor with traditional paper gift certificates.
National Transaction offers customized gift card processing merchant services tailored to your gift card processing needs.
Gift cards provide added incentives to your customers and employees such as:
Bring in New Customers – Cards given by loyal customers to friends and family increase your exposure to your intended market. Gift Cards are ideal for promotion through mailings, corporate gifts, charitable donations and many other marketing efforts.
Encourage Repeat Business – For regular customers, enable them to retain a prepaid balance for recurring services. Promote come back rewards such as receive $5 off of your next purchase of $50 or more.
Great for Gifts – Gift Cards are the perfect gifting solution for the holidays. They get to choose their own present. Attract new customers and boost sales all year long. Perfect for showers, Mother’s Day, Birthdays and Graduations.
Increased Sales and Profits – Gift Card Holders spend on average 25% more than the total value of the card. Because no cash back required, returns stay on the card and never leave your business.
Popular with your Employees – Employees love incentives. Provide bonuses and rewards to keep them happy and revenue within the business.
By issuing gift cards and not refund you get the money back into your store from returns and refunds. Gift cards are given to your new customers many times. You pay top dollar for advertising. Gift cards escort new customers in the door!
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: Electronic gift card, gift Card, Gift Card Processing, gift certificates, merchant, merchant services
August 29th, 2014 by Elma Jane
High risk credit card processing is electronic payment processing for businesses deemed as HIGH RISK by the MERCHANT SERVICES INDUSTRY
The high risk segment of payment processing has become more important as banks and ISO’s have begun to tighten up their credit restrictions and underwriting policies. Businesses are classified as high risk primarily because of their product or service and the way they go to market. In merchant services, risk is related to CHARGEBACKS or customer disputes.
The more likely a business to have chargebacks, the higher risk the business. For instance, online businesses selling a weight loss product through a free trial offer, is more likely to have chargebacks than a retail store selling the same weight loss product.
Merchants are often unaware their business falls into the high risk category when they first start shopping for a merchant account. Getting a high risk merchant account can be difficult.
These providers have more stringent requirements and the application process is longer compared to traditional merchant account providers.
High risk businesses should expect to pay higher rates and fees for payment processing services. As a general rule of thumb, merchants should count on paying at least more than a traditional merchant account. Most high risk merchant accounts also require a contract of at least 18 months, whereas low risk providers offer accounts without cancellation fees or contracts.
ROLLING RESERVES are also a big part of high risk credit card processing. Most high risk merchants have some sort of rolling reserve placed on the account, especially new accounts without any processing history. A Reserve refers to an account where a percentage of the funds from transactions are held in reserve to cover against any chargebacks or fees that the processor may not be able to collect from the merchant. This is similar to a security deposit, but merchants don’t have to pay it up front. Reserves are a pain point for many small high risk merchants, but they are definitely necessary and without them, processors would not accept any high risk merchants at all.
What Businesses Are High Risk?
As mentioned earlier, businesses are usually classified as high risk due to the product or service they offer, however merchants with severely damaged credit or a recent bankruptcy can also be considered high risk. Below are just of the few common high risk merchant categories:
Adult Websites
Cigars & Pipe Tobacco Online
Collection Agencies
Credit Repair
Debt Consolidation
E-Books & Software
Electronic Cigarettes
Firearms – Online
High Ticket & High Volume
Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Multi Level Marketing & Business Opportunities
Nutraceuticals like weight loss supplements, cleansers etc.
Penny Auctions
Sports Betting Advice
Ticket Brokers – Online Tickets
TMF Merchants
Travel & Timeshare
Unfortunately this list is growing and some credit card processing companies even classify any start up Internet business, that doesn’t have extensive financials to be high risk. With the recent economic recession in the United States, there has been an increase in these start up Internet ventures. People are either looking to supplement their income or start their own business instead of looking for work.
How To Protect Your Business
Accepting credit cards is the single most important part of most online businesses. Unfortunately, many successful businesses go under after having their merchant account shut down. High risk merchants should always be cognizant of their merchant account and pay attention to chargeback percentages. Below are some tips for high risk merchants looking for payment processing solutions.
Be Upfront: Make sure your processor knows exactly what you sell and how you market the product/service. If they don’t accept your business type, keep shopping for a new merchant account provider. Many merchants will try to fly under the radar by not revealing all their products or fully disclose their marketing methods to the processor. This is a bad move, the processor will eventually find out the details about your business. This is usually from doing an audit on your transactions and contacting your customers.
Negotiate Every 3 Months: Credit card processing companies underwrite applications based on previous processing history. If there is no previous history, the account is riskier and the terms offered are usually more expensive and restrictive. You can always re-negotiate your rates, reserves and other contract terms with your current processor. Once they have 3 months of history to evaluate, they may be able to offer you a better deal. Three months of history is the magic number for most processors. If you applied without the previous history and were declined, there is a chance the same processor will approve your application if you provide 3 months of previous statements.
Prepare For The Worst: All high risk merchants should keep at least 2 active merchant accounts, from different providers. You never know when underwriting guidelines might change, or you may have an influx of chargebacks. Having a backup account or even multiple back up accounts is a good idea. Many high risk providers offer a load balancing gateway, which allows for multiple merchant accounts to be integrated into one payment gateway. This way you can spread transactions across multiple accounts, through one shopping cart/gateway.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: account, account providers, accounts, banks, card, chargebacks, contract, credit, credit card processing, credit restrictions, customer, customers, deposit, electronic payment, fees, financials, gateway, High risk credit card, High Ticket & High Volume, ISOs, low risk, marketing, merchant, merchant account, merchant services, multiple accounts, payment gateway, payment processing, processing services, processing solutions, processor, product, Rates, reserves, retail store, risk, ROLLING RESERVES, Security, security deposit, service, shopping cart, statements, terms, TMF Merchants, transactions, travel, underwriting
August 20th, 2014 by Elma Jane
Loyalty Rewards Program and Gift Card Processing
GIFT CARD PROGRAMS
You have received gift cards, given them as gifts, and now you want to offer them for your business. The benefits for your customers are obvious, they are easy to buy, use, and offer your customers an incredible variety of choices. As a business owner, plastic gift cards offer increased security from fraud, the ability to track sales and buying trends, and gauge the effectiveness of your promotions. Electronic gift card processing increases revenue and attracts new customers. They also reduce labor associated with traditional paper gift certificates. National Transaction offers customized gift card processing merchant services tailored to your gift card processing needs. Gift cards provide added incentives to your customers and employees. Because no cash back required, Returns stay on the card and never leave your business.
LOYALTY CARD PROGRAMS
What are your best customers worth? Reward them and keep them coming back. NTC’s programs give you the information you need to maximize the impact of every marketing dollar spent by targeting your marketing efforts toward your current customers. Whether you are implementing a new customer loyalty program or trying to make your existing program more successful. NTC will work with you to create a system that is right for you and your customers. Let us assist you in all aspects of your reward program: Design, implementation and follow through.
Posted in Gift & Loyalty Card Processing, Mail Order Telephone Order Tagged with: Brand, card, cash back, customers, Electronic gift card, fraud, gift Card, Gift Card Processing, gift certificates, Loyalty Card, loyalty program, merchant, merchant services, program, rewards, Rewards Program, sales, Security
June 19th, 2014 by Elma Jane
API Software Inc. has created an application ISOs can use to help merchants tabulate the best payment services deals. The Square Deal Pro app for the merchant services industry enables sales reps to compare their company’s rates to those of Square, PayPal, Stripe and other payments aggregators. Essentially, the application takes the mathematics burden off of the merchant and helps an ISO or agent compare bundled pricing with interchange-plus pricing.
Frank Haggar, a software developer, started asking merchants why they chose a certain provider and they just said the pricing was simpler. It might be more expensive, but it was easier for them to understand. That moved to develop Square Deal Pro. It’s a software that salespeople can have right on their phones and it makes a comparison and is easy to understand. Square Deal Pro, which operates on iPhones, Android devices and Windows phones, was established as a vendor-neutral tool that is also available for merchants to download if they were inclined to want to crunch numbers themselves. Service providers pay for the application and all of its sales features, but a free version for price comparisons only is available to merchants.
Merchants are experts in what they know how to do and they may not want something that includes math distracting them from that, but the sales rep can do it for them and use it along the lines of a calculator helping someone figure out mortgage rates. ISOs have various tools at their disposal and lock in key information in their brains to prepare for sales presentations, but most will likely find Square Deal Pro a valuable addition. Something that takes complicated pricing schemes and factors it all into an easy interface that puts out a clear comparison that is valuable, certainly out in the field.
API Software has to deliver something difficult or impossible to copy because that would set this permanently apart as opposed to being a lead to other similar products in the market. An ISO can change rates or make adjustments for a client if the numbers show that another provider is offering a less expensive option, but the numbers in the app don’t lie. The app will show how a bundled rate can work in your favor, such as if you are selling Girl Scouts cookies at $3 a box. Then use Square all day long, but an ISO can compare how his product works compared to others and the app can show, that at a certain time, it might be beneficial to switch over.
Square Deal Pro takes into account factors other than interchange rates, including merchant volume, average ticket price and whether transactions are keyed or swiped or both. All of those things determine where you fit in on the diagram of how your rate should be structured. There is a lot of analysis on minimal focal points. The application may also help defuse potential problems with merchants who sometimes feel their sales rep was not providing a fair assessment of pricing structure or comparisons.
As for the application’s name, Haggar doesn’t want any confusion over whether this might be a new Square product.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: account, aggregators, Android, assessment, bundled pricing, developer, devices, interchange, interchange rates, interchange-plus pricing, iPhones, ISOs, market, merchant services, merchant volume, Merchant's, mortgage rates, payment, PayPal, phones, pricing, Pro app, products, provider, Rates, sales, Service providers, software, Square, Square Deal Pro app, Stripe, transactions, Windows phones
August 15th, 2013 by Admin
The Federal Trade Commission recently charged a merchant account provider with violating federal law. The business sells credit card and debit card payment processing services to other small businesses in a business to business or B2B fashion. Allegedly the business made unsubstantiated and false claims to unwary businesses. Read more of this article »
Posted in Credit card Processing, Electronic Payments, Merchant Services Account, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: b2b, credit card processing, FTC, ISO, merchant account, merchant services, MSD, terminal, transaction
