July 14th, 2016 by Elma Jane
PCI Compliance applies to every merchant who is accepting credit cards large or small. Refusing or delaying to become PCI Compliant can end up being a costly mistake.
If you accept any credit or debit card payment, you need to be PCI Compliant no matter the volume is.
PCI applies to any company, organization or merchant of any size or transaction volume that accepts, stores or transmits cardholder data. Any merchant accepting payments directly from the customer via credit or debit card must be PCI Compliant.
The merchant themselves are responsible for becoming PCI Compliant, as the deadline for merchants to become Compliant is long overdue
Understanding and knowing the details of PCI Compliance can help you better prepare your business. Failing and waiting to become compliant or ignoring them, could end up being an expensive mistake.
The VISA regulations have to adhere to the PCI standard forms part of the operating regulations, the regulations signed when you open an account at the bank. The rules under which merchants are allowed to operate merchant accounts.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: cardholder, credit cards, customer, data, debit card, merchant, payment, PCI Compliance, transaction
June 16th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Merchants and cardholders have been challenged by the perceived additional time to complete the EMV transaction.
To address concern over EMV checkout time Visa and MasterCard create an alternate EMV payment process that will improve the speed of transaction:
Quick Chip from Visa is available free-of-charge to acquiring banks, payment networks, and other payment processors to offer to merchants. The enhancement requires only a simple software update to the merchant’s card terminal or point-of-sale system.
M/Chip Fast from MasterCard merchants can easily integrate this with their current systems to provide both speed and security for all chip cards. Designed for select environments where fast transaction times, in addition to security, are at a premium.
The new card network options do not require the financial institution to reissue cards, or the merchants to re-certify their point-of-sale terminals.
Alignment in the payments industry and the ability to process a secure transaction in a timely manner for the consumer experience is important.
Keeping current on the payment industry news like Quick Chip and M/Chip Fast or discussion about EMV developments is a smart move for merchants and cardholder as well.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa Tagged with: banks, card, card network, cardholders, chip cards, EMV, financial institution, merchants, payment, payment networks, payment processors, payments industry, point of sale, Security, terminal, transaction
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
May 27th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Refunds – transfers funds from your merchant account to the customer’s account.
Refunds are always associated with a transaction that has settled.
A settled transaction – is funds that have already transferred from the customer to the merchant. You can only refund a transaction with a Settling or Settled status.
The refunded transaction goes through the typical settlement process. As the refund settles, the funds are sent back to the customer’s bank account. It is normal for your customer to experience a delay because the customer’s bank may take a couple of days to deposit these funds.
Voids – will cancel the transfer of funds from the customer to the merchant and can be issued if the transaction is either Submitted for Settlement or Authorized. The original authorization should disappear from the customer’s statement within 24 to 48 hours.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: account, bank, customer, funds, merchant, merchant account, refunds, transaction
May 26th, 2016 by Elma Jane
NFC stands for Near Field Communication. It is a technology that allows contactless data exchange between two electronic devices
Contactless Payment is a description for the ability to pay without touching anything.
How do mobile wallets fit into NFC?
Mobile wallets like Apple and Android Pay use NFC technology. NFC technology allows the data to securely pass back and forth between each device to make a contactless payment.
How secure are NFC Payments?
Tokenization converts or replaces cardholder data with a unique token ID. This eliminates the possibility of having card data stolen. These tokens help heighten protection and security for the consumer.
As a merchant, preparing to accept payments that meet customers satisfaction is needed. With the mobile wallet transaction process, it makes the traditional transaction quick and efficient.
NTC terminals allow merchants to accept NFC Payments, allowing you to process more transactions. For more information give us a call at 888-996-2273.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Security, Mobile Point of Sale, Near Field Communication, Smartphone Tagged with: cardholder, consumer, contactless, customers, data, merchant, mobile wallets, Near Field Communication, nfc, payment, Security, terminals, tokenization, transaction
May 25th, 2016 by Elma Jane
No one likes waiting in a checkout line, the faster your checkout line moves, the faster you are able to turn more sales. Quick checkout lines lead to increased sales and higher customer satisfaction .
Cut your line and increase your sales by:
Upgrading your POS – if you haven’t upgraded your POS, do it now. Choosing a modern POS that is simple and easy to use like the iCT250, offers a smart, effective and highest security payment experience designed for merchants and easier for employees to understand.
Multiple Checkout – multiple checkout counters may be necessary depending on the size of your store. In a high volume situation such as the holiday season, more opportunities for checkout may be beneficial.
Accept A Variety of Payments – having alternative forms of payment by accepting credit, debit, EMV/NFC and mobile wallets, will open the door for a variety of customers, but also allow the customer to pay the way they want in a most convenient way.
Train Employees – most importantly, train your employees on how to use your new POS system. Employees need to be the expert on POS so that they are able to assist customers who may need help conducting their transaction.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: credit, customer, debit, EMV, merchants, mobile, mobile wallets, nfc, payment, POS, sales, Security, transaction
May 24th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Top terms in your Merchant Statement:
Interchange – are the variable fees charged by the card payment networks for processing transaction. Credit card brands set these non-negotiable rates based on card type, business size, and industry.
Ancillary Fees – this include statement, batch and customer service fees, monthly minimums and more.
Authorizations – this section shows the charges per authorization that come from an interchange plus provider and is then split by card brand and transaction type. On your statement, you will see these charges as either AUTH or WAT charges.
Deposit Summary – following the summary is the deposit summary, where lists of your account activity broken down by day and card type.
Discount Rate – every transaction percentage that is deducted as a fee. Rates are categorized as qualified, mid-qualified and non-qualified.
Processing Services – this states your discount rate charges that you receive from your interchanges plus processor. This is divided by card brand and sales volume.
Summary – summary shows the processed sales by AMEX, Discover, JCB, MasterCard or Visa, as well as the total fees paid in order to process these sales. You can find this at the top of your statement.
Other items included in the summary:
Account adjustments, chargebacks, the breakdown of sales by card brand and number of refunds.
Understanding these terms on your statement will give you the confidence to read your merchant account statement with ease.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: card, chargebacks, credit card, customer, fees, merchant, merchant account, payment, refunds, service, transaction
May 19th, 2016 by Elma Jane
Transaction laundering, the new face of payment fraud is increasing and getting popular in the world of e-commerce.
Studies revealed that there are as many as 6% to 10% of additional unauthorized e-commerce sites that banks may be processing without their consent or awareness. A digital version of money-laundering, engaging in illicit commerce while using legal means to get paid.
Transaction laundering is another form of money-laundering and it is illegal.
Detecting fraudsters are becoming a major challenge not only for banks but financial service organizations like payment service providers as well. There have been dozens of cases where legitimate-looking websites were caught selling illegal products.
Acquirers, banks, and other institutions focused on websites as the central of transaction laundering while the mobile era has opened up a new ground for scammers to operate in. They provide new opportunities for fraudsters to do their work by routing payments for illicit goods and services through their own legitimate front accounts.
Mobile wallet apps, NFC chips, and payment apps are some of the new ways payments are being collected. Not to mention opening up an on-line storefront using web tools, which anyone can do is very easy.
Micro-merchants expansion of doing business on-line and the greater reach they have now to mobile technology, business opportunities for scammers doing transaction laundering have never been better.
It is important for the industry to know what is happening, and how great the risks are. It’s a new challenge for the payments industry, learning and educating ourselves on those dangers is a priority.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: banks, e-commerce, financial service, fraud, merchants, mobile technology, mobile wallet, nfc, payment, payment service providers, payments industry, transaction
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