May 10th, 2017 by Elma Jane
Mobile Wallet Technology have flooded the market in the last few years with offerings such as Apple Pay, Android pay, Samsung Pay and more. And so far, they seem to be succeeding.
To understand how contactless payments work, here is an example.
A smart phone like Android or iPhone allows you to take advantage of mobile wallets like Android Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay. You input your credit card information onto your phone, which stores it for later use.
If you’re shopping at a store that has mobile payment readers at the register, rather than reach for your wallet and get your credit card; you take out your phone to make a payment.
The point-of-sale (POS) terminal will automatically reads the payment information stored by holding your mobile phone a few inches away from the POS, and then processes the transaction. When the mobile device is in range, a wireless communication protocol links the terminal and the phone, which exchange information and conduct a secure transaction in a fraction of a second.
Near-field communication or NFC technology, works by bringing together two electronic devices. In terms of payments technology, a mobile device such as a smartphone and a reader. The reader would be the initiator and the smartphone would be the target, which contains the stored credit card information.
The market potential for NFC payment technology is huge, as more merchants adopt the EMV. EMV compliant terminals accept NFC payments through mobile wallets.
For Electronic Payment set up call now 888-996-2273!
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, Smartphone Tagged with: contactless payments, credit card, electronic payment, merchants, mobile wallets, Near Field Communication, nfc, point of sale, POS, smart phone, terminal
April 27th, 2017 by Elma Jane
Adding Tokenization Service
Important notes when adding tokenization:
– Tokens replace credit or gift card numbers.
– The terminal must be enabled to accept tokenization.
– Tokens are unique for each merchant, for example:
The same card will produce a different token for each merchant.
– Merchants with multiple terminals sharing tokenization domains will receive the same token for a unique card and the token can be used across their stores if they wish to do so.
– Merchants may supply the token in place of card information in any subsequent transaction.
– Tokenization is supported for both credit cards and gift cards.
Tokenization protects card data when it’s in use and at rest. It converts or replaces cardholder data with a unique token ID to be used for subsequent transactions. This eliminates the possibility of having card data stolen because it no longer exists within your environment.
Tokens can be used in card not present environments such as e-commerce or mail order/telephone order (MOTO), or in conjunction with encryption in card present environments.
Tokens can reside on your POS/PMS or within your e-commerce infrastructure “at rest” and can be used to make adjustments, add new charges, make reservations, perform recurring transactions, or perform other transactions “in use”.
For Electronic Payment Set up with Tokenization call now 888-996-2273
or click here NationalTransaction.Com
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: card present, card-not-present, credit, e-commerce, electronic payment, encryption, gift Card, merchant, moto, POS, terminals, tokenization, tokens, transaction
April 6th, 2017 by Elma Jane
Payment types and it’s categories
The two main category types when it comes to credit card processing are swiped and keyed. Card present or card-not-present.
Swiped or card present transaction – merchants do a face-to-face transaction. A merchant can capture card information by dipping the chip or swiping the card in the terminal or POS. Merchants directly interact with a customer so the risk is low.
Card-Present Sub Categories:
Retail Merchants – conduct transactions face to face in a retail environment.
Face to Face (mobile) – this type of merchant is typically on the go, such as a vendor at a trade show. You can use a service like converge mobile that allows you to take the information in person.
Restaurant – the same as retail merchants, the difference is they may require the ability to add tips to their charges.
Lodging – processes their transactions like retail merchants except they may adjust the settlement amount depending on the customer’s length of stay.
Keyed or card-not-present are high risk, because merchants indirectly collect customers card information, and can process transactions in various ways.
Card-Not-Present Sub categories:
Internet/Ecommerce – conducts business through a web site by utilizing a shopping cart and an Internet payment gateway service. The payment gateway then collects the credit card information and processes it in real time.
Mail & Telephone Order (MOTO) – typically take the customer’s credit card information over the phone, by mail or through the Internet. They then manually process the transaction by keying it into either a credit card machine or through a virtual terminal such as Converge.
Talk to our payment consultant to know the best solution for your business.
NationalTransaction.Com 888-996-2273
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: card present, card-not-present, credit card, customer, ecommerce, merchants, payment, payment gateway, POS, swiped and keyed, terminal, virtual terminal
January 25th, 2017 by Elma Jane
PIN vs. Signature: What’s the Difference?
PIN Debit – PIN transactions are routed through what are known as (EFT) electronic funds transfer. It immediately deducts the transaction amount from the customer’s checking account, which is linked to the debit card used for payment. EFT processing takes place when the customer chooses debit when prompted and then enters her PIN. PIN debit transactions are often referred to as online transactions because they require an electronic authorization.
Signature Debit – Signature-based debit transactions are authorized, cleared and settled through the same Visa or MasterCard networks used for processing credit card transactions. Signature debit processing is initiated when the customer selects credit when prompted by the POS terminal. Signature debit transactions are referred to as offline transactions because a PIN debit network does not play a role in processing.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: credit card, customer, debit, debit card, electronic, electronic funds transfer, online, payment, PIN, POS, terminal, transactions
December 12th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Wireless Freedom with Smart Terminal!
Point-of-sale with WiFi capabilities. Now customers can take advantage of total mobility within their location when accepting payments, and managing their business either in-store or remotely. The device is NFC enabled for contactless transactions, and also designed to be easily transported due to its rechargeable battery.
Perfect for Pay at the Table!
Intended to provide cardholders with the ability to pay from anywhere within a business, the Smart Terminal is the ideal solution for processing transactions (and tips) tableside. Other benefits for this service include:
- 8 hour battery life on a single charge.
- Customer screen displays for PIN, Signature, tips, and receipts (via paper/email/text).
- Cardholders have the ability to complete transactions quicker, increasing profitability.
- Enhances the customer service experience.
Available for Retail and Restaurant customers only.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: cardholders, customers, nfc, payments, POS, terminal, transactions
November 29th, 2016 by Elma Jane
GET THE LOWEST CREDIT CARD TRANSACTION RATES & FEES BY DOING THE FOLLOWING:
1. Use newer POS systems to reduce credit card fees.
2. Find out what percentage of your gross sales go toward credit card rates.
3. Perform a statement review at least annually.
Any time a customer uses a credit card to purchase services and goods the merchant pays various rates and fees processing those transactions. Most of these fees go to the bank issuing the credit card as they take on the bulk of the risk in credit card transactions.
Visa, American Express and Discover own the network on which these credit card transactions are processed on and they receive part of the fee and percentage rate as well as establish these rates and fees. Finally the bank that provides merchant account services gets part of these rates and fees.
To a small business 2, 3, or even 4% might not sound like much but when these fees are on the gross total of sales they can be significantly higher than originally thought.
For this reason it’s a great idea to assess your merchant account statement to see if rates are in line and that your most frequently used cards and transaction types are getting the best rate possible. By going over your statement, you can see exactly what you pay per transaction and get details about your most common transaction types and credit card used to get the process going.
If you are unfamiliar with what these rates and fees mean on your statement companies like National Transaction can perform the review for you. Free of charge.
Ultimately the best thing to have is a merchant account service provider that will take the time to go over your business with an eye lowering your rates and fees. The savings can be significant. As a business grows it changes and there should be an ongoing strategy at maintaining the best processing rates and fees possible. Today with so many different credit card types, like rewards cards, airline miles programs and more it can pay off to check once or twice a year.
For FREE Rate Review give us 888-996-2273
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: bank, credit card, customer, merchant, merchant account, POS, rewards cards, service provider, transaction
August 2nd, 2016 by Elma Jane
Credit card machine or point of sale terminals are used for processing debit and credit card transactions and are often integrated into a Point of Sale System. Let’s take a look at the POS terminal evolution.
Manual Imprinters – although the process was time consuming and did not offer the speed or instant transfer capabilities, manual imprinters have been around since the start of a wide acceptance of credit cards. Manual imprinters are still widely used and are considered a great backup processing method.
Electronic Authorizations – Merchants had the choice of calling in for an authorization or imprinting their transactions. The first electronic credit card authorizations were done over the phone, but many businesses opted voice authorization only on larger transactions because of the long waiting time for authorizing a transaction over the phone,
Point of Sale Terminals: Point of sale terminals emerged in 1979, which was a turning point in the credit card processing industry. Visa introduced a bulky electronic data capturing terminal. This was the first of credit card machine or terminal as we know them today, it has greatly reduced the time required to process a credit card. MasterCharge became MasterCard in the same year and credit cards were replaced to include a magnetic information stripe which now has become EMV/chip and PIN.
The Future: There’s a lot of room for advancement when it comes to Credit card processing technology. Increasing processing speed, reliability and security are driving forces behind processing technology advancement. Today’s credit card terminals are faster and more reliable with convenient new capabilities including contactless and Mobile NFC acceptance. The processing industry will definitely be adapting new technologies in the near future and has a lot to look forward to.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Near Field Communication Tagged with: credit card, credit card machine, debit, electronic credit card, Electronic Data, EMV/chip, merchants, mobile, nfc, PIN, point of sale, POS, processing industry, terminals, transactions, visa
July 26th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Mobile payment space is growing yet, many small businesses and retailers are choosing to overlook the idea of mobile payment acceptance.
Here are stats that prove the importance of mobile payments:
About 45% of consumers use mobile payments out of convenience.
1 billion users will use in-store mobile payments by 2019.
An increase from $3.2 billion in 2014 to $487 billion by 2020 in US in-store mobile payments is predicted.
Millenials use contactless payments on a regular basis.
Over the next five years, mobile payments will reach about $3 trillion in volume.
There are 16 million Starbucks mobile app active users that make 8 million mobile payments per week.
Transactions globally are on mobile devices.
It is a great investment for a merchant to upgrade your point-of-sale (POS) to have near field communication (NFC) capabilities. If you’re not currently accepting mobile payments, you should start now, your customers who are already using mobile payments will thank you and your business will be ahead of the game as more businesses onboard mobile payment acceptance.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, Credit Card Security, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, Point of Sale Tagged with: contactless payments, customers, merchant, mobile payment, Near Field Communication, nfc, point of sale, POS, transactions
June 28th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Financial Cost – on average, it costs a small business between $36,0000 and $50,000 in the event of a data breach. From PCI examination to liability costs and POS upgrades. The many costs of a data breach add up.
Notification Cost – if your business falls victim to a data breach, it is your moral and sometimes legal (depending on the state in which your business operates) obligation to notify your customers of the breach.
Reputation Cost – data breach lessens your credibility and trust with your customers. This can have a long-term affect on your business.
Time Cost – as a small business owner, your focus is on the daily operations of your business. In the event of a data breach, your focus will be shifted entirely to clearing up the issue.
The cost of a data breach is more than financial and can often have a lasting negative impact on your business.
The quickest and easiest way to protect your business is to prevent fraud from happening. At National Transaction, we give importance to your security. For your electronic payments needs give us a call at 888-996-2273.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: customers, data breach, electronic payments, financial, fraud, PCI, POS, Security
June 2nd, 2016 by Elma Jane
Having the right tools to provide great service is important, this will make and keep your customers happy. An updated point-of-sale (POS) can help you improve customer satisfaction.
EMV – merchants are still behind in EMV acceptance. It may cost you to update but, it will save you money in the event of a fraudulent charge. EMV is here to stay, it is best to update your POS equipment now.
Insights – inventory management feature enables sales people to see available inventory. Tracking the products that sell the best and identifying products in high demand helps the owner stock strategically to better assist customers.
Loyalty Programs – an excellent way to keep current customers coming back.
Mobile Payments – Giving your customers more options on how to make payments by accepting mobile payments. Merchant gains the ability to speed up transaction times for customers.
Speed – customers want to check out at the store as quickly as possible. An updated point-of-sale solution will process transaction faster. A fast and easy system contribute to a better customer experience.
Need to upgrade your point-of-sale give us a call at 888-996-2273. NTC is here to help you.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: customers, EMV, Loyalty Programs, merchants, Mobile Payments, payments, point of sale, POS, service, solution, transaction
