December 17th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Mobile Payments – It is bound to see more actions with tech giants Apple, Google and Samsung in mobile payment trends. We will also see new technologies like smartwatches, bracelets and rings that will give us the ability to provide payment options.
NFC – Near Field Communication, another familiar face among the payment trends. NFC, however, goes way beyond making payments using smartphones. These speed up POS payment processing quickly and easily without requiring a PIN or signature. While there are other POS payment methods, such as QR codes, NFC will come out on top. Merchants should ensure they have an overview of the current Point-of-Sale options and should, if needed, upgrade to the latest technology.
Security: Tokenization and biometric authentication will have a strong influence on the payment industry.
Tokenization – when applied to data security, is an extremely interesting method of securing credit card data. As the credit card numbers are substituted by tokens that has no value, then no harm can be done if tokens are stolen, which makes tokenization a secure process.
There are several new inventions when it comes to payment processing authentication such as password, PIN, and fingerprint methods. But they are weak so two-factor authentication is increasingly used to improve security.
Biometrics Authentication – like finger print scan, facial recognition, voice recognition, and pulse recognition are set to become increasingly significant. This will increase both security and convenience.
International E-Commerce – It’s important that merchants offer shoppers their preferred local payment method. Merchants who are looking for e-commerce success will need to create an international strategy. Merchants should also consider checking with their payment service providers. Providers know their way around to alternative payment methods.
Cash on the Retreat – Cashless Society? Some countries in Europe are certainly cutting down on the usage of cash. In Sweden, it is now almost impossible to use cash to pay for bus tickets. Acceptable payment methods include customer cards, credit cards, and payments via smartphone apps. Traditional cash-based bakeries no longer exist and instead, now display signs requesting that customers use cashless payment methods for even the smallest amounts. The situation in Denmark is similar; the government is currently debating whether or not to release smaller retailers from the obligation of having to accept cash as a payment method. Cash is on the retreat, and alternative payment methods are advancing. However, cash is still on the list.
Real-Time Payments (Instant Payments) – The European Central Bank (ECB) will bring instant payments strongly in the near future. Instant or real-time payments are a trend which will be with us for a long time to come.
Regulatory Changes – The first Payment Services Directive (PSD) from 2007 is still currently implemented domestically. After a tough two-year negotiation period, the EU has now, finally, agreed on a second payment services directive (PSD2). The European Banking Authority (EBA) is set to develop more detailed guidelines and regulatory standards for various industries. Payment industries should begin preparing themselves now for implementation, doing this will allow them to be ready for the appropriate steps necessary in 2016/2017.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Near Field Communication, Point of Sale, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: Apple, biometric, credit card, data security, e-commerce, google, merchants, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, nfc, payment industry, payment methods, payment options, payment processing, payment service providers, payment services, payment trends, payments, PIN, point of sale, POS, qr codes, real-time payments, Samsung, tokenization
December 16th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Google’s contactless payment solution, Android Pay, will now be available through the mobile checkouts of several Android apps in the U.S.
With this addition, it avoids having to pull out your card everytime you make a purchase, meaning card data never makes it to the merchants. A good news for anyone who is concerned about privacy.
Android Pay is compatible with all Near Field Communication (NFC) or Host Card Emulation (HCE) enabled devices using any OS released since KitKat.
With Coca-Cola signing up as the first merchant in the Google program, a new loyalty program was recently released for the mobile wallet, by tapping your phone on an NFC-enabled Coke vending machine, you’ll get a Coke and get points added into your Android Pay Account for future purchases.
http://www.pymnts.com/news/payment-methods/2015/android-pay-now-in-app-payment-option/
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Security, Mobile Payments, Smartphone Tagged with: Android Pay, card, card data, contactless payment, HCE, host card emulation, loyalty program, merchants, mobile wallet, Near Field Communication, nfc, payment
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 4th, 2015 by Elma Jane
The payments world continues to reinvent itself almost daily, predictions have now become reality. Demand for mobile payments are growing, with the increasing mobile internet penetration that enables the users to process Mobile Point-of-Sale (MPOS) and close the sales process quickly. Moreover, the rising adoption of tablets and smartphones across the globe allows the retailers and merchants to integrate MPOS into their payment systems.
Mobile presents a tremendous opportunity for merchants today. The usage of cloud-based solutions is expected to fuel the MPOS market. These solutions enable merchants to access customer information and product data across multiple platforms. Large amount of data would require highly compatible Mobile Point-of-Sale (MPOS) that will capture information such as payment preferences, and buying behavior to fuel the market. MPOS would also enable merchants to store a large amount of data that can be accessed from anywhere across the globe by authorized personnel. The value that this channel can provide is very powerful creating new business opportunities.
Interested in Electronic Payments give us a call now at 888-996-2273
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale Tagged with: merchants, mobile, mobile internet, mobile point of sale, MPOS, payments, point of sale
December 3rd, 2015 by Elma Jane
Industry professionals agree that mobile payments technology has surpassed e-commerce as the trend in the daily spending behavior of modern retail customers.
E-commerce’s impact on consumer spending has actually decreased, but it seems that the ability to pay with mobile devices has finally swayed consumers away from their computers.
The payments outlook has changed rapidly with the increasing availability of mobile technologies to the average retail consumer within the last year. Products like Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay have totally altered the landscape of payment options.
Small Businesses will have to adapt in order to keep up with the rapid pace of technological developments. The evolution of payments technologies not only alters how consumers spend their money, but how that money is processed during a transaction.
There are still some concerns over cyber risks and data security, which led 58 percent of surveyed professionals to agree that point-of-sale debit and credit card transactions were still the safest form of payment, while mobile payments garnered 20 percent of support. But hypothetical worries over security aren’t real enough to slow mobile payments’ momentum moving forward.
Mobile payments transaction value is expected to hit $8.71 billion by the end of 2015. That figure will triple to $27.05 billion in comparison to 2016, according to new research; as a bigger base of consumers begin to use their phones for point-of-sale transactions and a wider range of merchants begin to accept mobile payments. By 2019, essentially all mobile payment transactions will be done on smartphones.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Mobile Payments, Point of Sale Tagged with: credit card, credit card transactions, debit, e-commerce, merchants, Mobile Payments, payments technologies, point of sale
November 30th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) Upcoming Webinar
Hosted by Agreement Express CEO Mike Gardner and the Electronic Transactions Association December 2nd, 1PM.
Attendees will learn:
- How to onboard merchants faster
- How to make smarter underwriting decisions in less time
- The difference between onboarding quickly and onboarding well
- Key insights into how to win the race against innovative new payments processors
- What to avoid in order to be a long-term force in the payments industry
Click here for more info http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/eta/session.php?id=17159
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: merchants, payments industry, payments processors
November 30th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Cybercriminals will continue to look for opportunities to steal payment information. Despite the superior security features associated with EMV technology, chip cards may still be vulnerable to certain types of fraud.
An EMV chip does not stop lost or stolen cards from being used in card-not-present transactions. Merchants who deal in card-not-present transactions like sales over the telephone or via the Internet are encouraged to adopt additional security measures to ensure the authenticity of cards used for transactions. The strength of the U.S. e-commerce market makes card-not-present fraud an equally important security issue that card issuers and merchants need to consider in the shift to chip cards for point-of-sale transactions.
Retailers and service providers who deal in card-present transactions are reminded that upgrading to EMV terminal at the POS is the best way to protect their customers and their business from fraudulent transactions.
EMV cards are available as either chip-and-PIN (requiring the cardholder to enter their personal identification number to complete a transaction) or chip-and-signature (requiring the cardholder’s signature), U.S. banks have primarily chosen to issue chip-and-sign cards for now.
While 59 percent of US adults have already received a new chip card, only 41 percent of them know its benefits and only 37 percent say their card issuers explained how to use the chip cards.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Point of Sale Tagged with: card issuers, Card Not Present transactions, card-present transactions, cardholder, e-commerce, EMV, EMV terminal, merchants, point-of-sale transactions, POS, Service providers
November 17th, 2015 by Elma Jane
Within the payment processing industry, Merchant accounts are categorized according to how they process their transactions.
There are two primary merchant account categories:
Swiped (Card Present) and Keyed (Card-Not-Present).
Swiped or Card-Present Transactions: Are those in which both the card and the cardholder are present at the time the payment is processed, they physically swipe their customers credit card through a terminal or point-of-sale system.
The sub-categories within this group include:
Retail Merchants – Normally conduct their business in an actual storefront or office space. They primarily use counter-top terminals or Point-of-Sale systems. Restaurant Merchants – Requires a special set-up that allows for tips to be added to the final sale amount by settling the transaction with an adjusted price that will include the tip amount.
Wireless / Mobile Merchants – They use wireless terminals or mobile phones to run these transactions in Real-Time. Have the ability to accept credit cards transactions wherever they are located out on the road.
Hotel / Lodging Merchant – Will authorize a customer’s credit card for a certain sale amount.
Card-Present Transactions also include grocery stores, department stores, movie theaters, etc. Card acceptance settings where cardholders use unattended point-of-sale (POS) terminals, such as gas stations, are also defined as card-present transactions.
Keyed-In or Card-Not-Present Transactions: Whenever the transaction is completed and the cardholder (or his or her credit card) is not physically present to hand to the seller.
The sub-categories within this group include:
Mail Order / Telephone Order (MOTO) – The customers card information is gathered via over the phone, fax, email or internet and then manually key-entered into a terminal or payment gateway software. Once the transaction is approved and completed, the product is then shipped to the customer for delivery.
eCommerce / Internet – Conduct ALL of their business over the internet through a web site. So all credit card transactions are processed online via a payment gateway in real-time. The payment gateway is integrated into the web sites shopping cart. The cardholders card is charged instantly.
Travel Merchants is one example of Keyed or Card-Not-Present Transactions.
Start processing credit card payments today whether Swiped or Keyed.
Give us a call now at 888-996-2273 so more details!
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Mail Order Telephone Order, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale, Smartphone, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: Card Not Present transactions, card present, card-not-present, card-present transactions, cardholder, credit card, credit card payments, credit card transaction, ecommerce, keyed, Lodging Merchant, mail order, merchant accounts, merchants, mobile merchants, moto, payment gateway, payment processing, point of sale, POS terminals, Restaurant Merchants, Retail Merchants, shopping cart, swiped, telephone order, terminal, transactions, travel merchants
November 13th, 2015 by Elma Jane
It’s important for merchants to understand the basic of how a credit card terminal works. It is the channel through which the process flows and the merchants can choose the right one for their processing needs, whether they use a point-of-sale (POS) countertop model, a cardreader that attaches to a smartphone or mobile device, a sleek handheld version for wireless processing or a virtual terminal for e-commerce transactions.
A credit card terminal’s function is to retrieve the account data stored on the payment card’s EMV microchip or a magnetic stripe and pass it along to the payment processing company (also known as merchant account provider).
For card-not-present (CNP) – mail order, telephone order and online transactions – the merchant enters the information manually using a keypad on the terminal, or the e-commerce shopper enters it on the website’s payment page. The back half of the process remains the same.
The actual data transmission goes from the terminal through a phoneline or Internet connection to a Payment Processing Company, which routes it to the bank that issued the credit card for authorization.
In card-present transactions where the card and cardholder are physically present, the card is connected to the reader housed in the POS terminal. The data is captured and transmitted electronically to the merchant account provider, who handles the authorization process with the issuing bank and credit card networks.
A POS retail terminal with a phone or Internet connection works best in a traditional retail setting that deals exclusively in card present transactions. For a business with a mobile sales, a mobile credit card processing option like Virtual Merchant Converge Mobile relies on a downloadable app to transform a smartphone or tablet into a credit card terminal equipped with a USB cardreader.
Wireless Terminals are compact, allowing you to accept credit cards in the field without relying on a phone connection. If you process debit cards, you’ll need a PIN pad in addition to your terminal so cardholders can enter their personal identification number to complete the sale.
Selecting the right terminal for your credit card processing needs depends largely on the type of business you run and the sorts of transactions you process. Terminals are highly specialized and provide different services. At National Transaction we offer a broad range of terminals with NFC (near field communication) Capability to accept Apple Pay, Android Pay and other NFC/Contactless payment transactions at your business. An informed business decision benefits your bottom line. Start accepting credit cards today with National Transaction.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, e-commerce & m-commerce, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale Tagged with: Android Pay, Apple Pay, card-not-present, card-present transactions, cardholder, cardreader, cnp, contactless payment, Converge Mobile, credit card, credit card networks, credit card terminal, debit cards, e-commerce, EMV, magnetic stripe, mail order, merchant account provider, merchants, microchip, mobile credit card processing, mobile device, Near Field Communication, nfc, online transactions, payment processing company, PIN pad, point of sale, POS, POS terminal, smartphone, telephone order, virtual merchant, virtual terminal, wireless processing