Recent Articles

Credit Cards by Phone – An Alternative To Dedicated Terminals

The cell phone has become ubiquitous in American society. Everyone has one, and it has surpasses cable TV as a luxury that cannot be lived without. With card-by-phone processing schemes, the cell phone can replace the need for a dedicated card processing terminal. For some merchants, this is a dream come true, but for others, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. When conducting a review of the various programs out there, a merchant should take both the pros and cons into consideration...

New Dogs, Old Tricks - Watch For Credit Card Fraud

If a cashier needs to call into a card issuer for an authorization, do not take the number from the customer. As reported in the Hattiesburg American, a cashier recently fell for a variation in this old scam, after a pair of fraudsters indicated that the card they were using to pay for a purchase had a problem ( it showed up declined), and that the cashier should call for an authorization...

Debit Cards Are The New Plastic

With the economy in a slump, shoppers are turning to plastic to make purchases these days; however it is not the plastic seen in years gone by. According to the Nilson Report, debit card use is expected to climb 13%. The debit card is the new preferred type of payment America is reaching for. Debit use was on the rise even before the economic slump, as the convenience factor of debit....

Credit And Debit Terminal Terminology

When discussing credit and debit terminals, some terms come up continuously, while others are more obscure. Some manufacturers refer to terminal technology in proprietary terms. Merchants considering a particular model of terminal need to be able to compare and contrast the features and benefits of the terminals available....

Under The Radar- New Merchant Rule Tacked On To Foreclosure Prevention Act Of 2008

...Under the disguise of a little-noticed provision in the $700 billion dollar bailout plan, also known as the "Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008"....Any merchant accepting credit or debit card payments in excess of $20,000 in aggregate or either 200 transactions per year, will now be required to report their total payment card transaction volumes annually to the IRS. The IRS hopes that this new reporting compliance will cut down on all the suspected widespread underreporting of income by businesses and raise an additional $9.8 billion in tax revenues for the Treasury over the next ten years...

PIN based debit leads to increased security and lower costs for merchants

When a merchant processes debit card transactions, there are two major categories that the transaction can be processed in – signature debit and PIN based debit. By opting to allow PIN based debit, the merchant can process faster transactions that are considered to be less risky by the bank networks, as the user’s PIN is considered a secret and this number is entered by the customer themselves...

Top 5 Ways Contractors Can Reduce Chargeback Risk

...it is in the best interest of all merchants to comply with the needs of the complaint investigator in a timely manner. During this inquiry, there may be information requests from the acquiring bank. A merchant who is prepared for such incidents will be able to respond with facts and documents that back up those facts, and hopefully wrap the complaint up quickly. The following five tips will help generate great documentation and lead the way towards resolving in the merchant’s favor. ....

American Express Card Security Features

American Express cards have several features that have been included on the card to increase the security of the transaction and to help reduce fraudulent card use. These features may not be readily apparent, but stand out to the trained eye. Having an alert and well trained clerk that is aware of these features is an excellent way of reducing transaction risk....

Boston Demands Taxicabs Accept Plastic

Boston has recently overhauled its taxicab regulations, and as part of the new rules, has mandated that cabs be equipped for credit card processing. This should allow Boston customers to pay with plastic in the cab itself. This move should make it more convenient for customers who do not carry cash, and also reduce the risk a cab driver takes when handling large amounts of cash while driving a shift....

Code 10 Calls- What to do if you suspect credit card fraud

If a merchant is suspicious of a card or cardholder at any time during a transaction authorization process, they will need to make a Code 10 authorization request. The Code 10 authorization request alerts the card issuer to the suspicious activity—without alerting the customer of the suspected..

Hands on with the VeriFone VX610

The VeriFone VX610 is one of the newer generation of wireless credit card terminals on the market. It seems every vendor has been wireless terminals lately, as the mobile merchant benefits from being able to clear transactions on the fly. Of course, with any cell based unit, the network costs can be steeper then a landline terminal. The overall terminal cost is also higher then a normal terminal, but this is an expected drawback.....
The terminal seems solidly built. We actually dropped the terminal –on purpose- from a height of 3 feet, and it took the hit well. There was no damage, and we continued to process transactions without issue -unlike some other units we have played with in the past....

Accepting Credit Cards at Tradeshows: Merchant Options

Business owners who need to provide remote acceptance have always faced the challenges of working in the field, as comforts such as power and telephone lines are not always assured. The need to accept credit cards is perfectly clear to trade show merchants, and the increased revenue and higher tickets generated by taking credit cards cannot be denied. Making transactions fast and easy are crucial in this economy, and in the hustle of a show environment, each second wasted could be one better spent serving the next customer.

VeriFone Nurit 8020 – Updated Platform For Wireless Merchant Credit Card Processing

The VeriFone Nurit 8020 was dropped off unceremoniously in our lab today, by a UPS driver who had no idea what was in the box. We had been looking forward to checking out the 8020, which replaces the older Nurit 8000s in VeriFone’s wireless lineup.
Un-boxing the unit revealed a securely packed 8020, along with a number of peripheral items- a battery, an RS-232 modem dongle, an AC adapter, a touch screen stylus...

Ten Tips for Avoiding Chargebacks From Mail Order Customers

Merchants have always been concerned with undeserved chargebacks. Sometimes, a customer does not remember making a purchase, or does not recognize the name of a business on a charge card statement. Delivery problems or lost packages can also initiate a dispute of a charge on a consumer’s account. We have assembled a short list of the top ten ways mail order merchants can protect themselves from charge backs....

Recent Credit And Debit Card Law Eliminates Merchant Liability

This past June, President Bush signed H.R. 4008, the Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act of 2007 into law. This was an important measure as it did away with possibly billions of dollars of damages against merchants who were hits with class action suits regarding credit card (and debit card) receipts. The law put relief into for hundreds of businesses in the U.S. who were facing law suits because of a technical violation. Merchants faced expensive law suits due to their printing of consumer's credit and debit card...

Using Address Verification Systems to Reduce Risk

Just how bad is credit card fraud? According to the Nilson Report, losses due to credit card fraud estimated to be about $3.8 billion worldwide in 2003. And it continues to grow, despite increased awareness and technology in the industry. The problem lies in verifying someone's identity: How do you know that the person using a credit card is the actual cardholder?

The Automated Clearinghouse Network

The ACH network is a financial network designed for batch processing of funds. Debits and credits can be automatically processed, resulting in an efficient clearing of funds between participating financial institutions. The use of the ACH network is governed by the NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association) operating rules. Typical uses of the system include direct deposit payroll, consumer bill payments, check conversion and online payments.

Contactless Payments Gain Ground

Refining a process to be more efficient is a goal of almost all endeavors. From the ordered brilliance of McDonalds food production process to saving time doing household chores, saving time by refining small steps can influence the greater whole. Recently, the idea of contactless payments has been gaining traction in the United States – by eliminating the card shuffle at the point of purchase, some businesses are shaving small amounts off of the transaction time- and reaping big rewards.