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How Payments Are Done: The Top 5 Blog Posts of 2015

Hard to believe we’ll be ringing in 2016 at the end of this month. That means now is the perfect time to reflect back on this year.

In May, we launched the How Payments Are Done blog with a specific mission in mind: to keep our business partners and merchant clients updated and armed with payment strategies that work.

Throughout the past seven months, we’ve covered a broad range of topics from EMV and tokenization, to card not present (CNP) fraud and mobile commerce.

Now let’s see which of those posts got the most attention — and might just warrant printing out and keeping at your desk to refer to again and again. Continue reading “How Payments Are Done: The Top 5 Blog Posts of 2015”

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Quick Guide to PCI Compliance: What You Need to Know, Steps You Need to Take

Every industry has its share of specific terms, acronyms and abbreviations. There’s certainly no shortage of them in the world of payments.

One that you’ve likely come across on a regular basis — and one of extreme importance to your business — is PCI-DSS.

PCI-DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It’s a set of requirements created to keep customer payment card data secure. All companies that process, store or transmit credit card information are required to comply with PCI-DSSContinue reading “Quick Guide to PCI Compliance: What You Need to Know, Steps You Need to Take”

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Help! Card Not Present Fraud Is on the Rise. What Can I Do to Prevent It?

In my last post, I spoke about card present fraud and EMV.

It’s important to understand the two types of fraud, how they occur, and what you can do to put a stop to it. I suggest you read this article as well: What Is Card Present Fraud?

The second type of fraud that I’ll cover here is card not present fraud. Card not present fraud is online, hacking-type scenarios where someone goes onto an ecommerce site, gets a hold of your data, and attempts to perpetrate fraud using your numberContinue reading “Help! Card Not Present Fraud Is on the Rise. What Can I Do to Prevent It?”

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What Is Card Present Fraud? How Can It Be Prevented?

“What does ‘card present fraud’ mean? … How can it be prevented?”

I get asked these questions all the time and you likely have questions around it yourself. I’m hoping to clarify card present fraud for you — and shed light on how to put a stop to it.

Stay tuned for my next post. I’ll cover card NOT present fraud and what do to about it.
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Continue reading “What Is Card Present Fraud? How Can It Be Prevented?”

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Help! I Process Very Few Credit Card Transactions Each Month. Do I Need to Worry About EMV?

I only process about five transactions a month with a card presented by a member we know. Do I really need to worry about fraud and switch to an EMV terminal?


Rick Ellis’ Answer to “Do I Need to Worry about EMV If I Process Very Few Credit Card Transactions?”:

This is a common misconception. Merchants with low transaction amounts think they’re less at risk of fraud, but in fact, are MORE at risk.

Here’s why:

Continue reading “Help! I Process Very Few Credit Card Transactions Each Month. Do I Need to Worry About EMV?”

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EMV Merchant Liability Shift: Who Covers the Cost of Credit Card Fraud Starting October 1st?

Understandably, one of the biggest concerns about the EMV changes that take effect here in the U.S. on October 1st is the impact of the merchant liability shift.

Right now, as it has been for the longest time, card issuers are the ones who bear the brunt of most credit card fraud.

Starting October 1st, this will change. Under certain conditions, card issuers are no longer going to cover a merchant’s risk associated with transactions that result in fraud.

So what are those conditions? We’ve developed a simple chart to give you a concrete understanding of the different possible scenarios and how they will affect merchants that accept credit cards.  Continue reading “EMV Merchant Liability Shift: Who Covers the Cost of Credit Card Fraud Starting October 1st?”

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Clear Up “EMV Chip Technology Confusion” with These 4 Resources

It won’t be just any old Thursday. Come October 1, 2015, the U.S. will flip the switch to a three letter acronym we all should get used to hearing: EMV.

Named after its original developers, Europay, MasterCard and VISA, EMV is a set of specifications for chip cards and the devices — such as point of sale payment terminals — that are used to accept chip card payments.

Why the change? EMV chip technology is proven to significantly reduce card fraud resulting from counterfeit, lost and stolen cards.

If you haven’t already, you’ll soon see:

  • Consumers whip out new chip cards to make in-store purchases.
  • Merchants with new point of sale terminals that accept chip cards.
  • Chip cards being inserted into terminals instead of being swiped.

You’ll also see the emergence of contactless payment methods — like Apple Pay — where customers make purchases by holding their contactless card or mobile phone in front of a reader — rather than inserting a card.

With all these changes comes, of course, plenty of questions. Fortunately, there is no shortage of guidance.

Here are four resources we strongly recommend checking out in the next few weeks to get up to speed on EMV
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Credit Card Tokenization: Data Thieves Can’t Steal What Isn’t Theirs

In today’s world, merchants are expected to keep cardholder data secure. Companies like Target and Lowe’s don’t just find themselves with a bunch of bad PR, they also have to deal with costly fines and litigation. Unfortunately, many merchants don’t truly understand how vulnerable electronic payments are, and may think they are secure, when in fact they are not.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) is the set of payment card industry rules for data security. As PCI standards become more and more complicated, merchants are investing in a variety of solutions. However, some of those solutions don’t provide the level of security required to pass an audit.

Continue reading “Credit Card Tokenization: Data Thieves Can’t Steal What Isn’t Theirs”

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Help! Which EMV Payment Terminal Should I Use in My Business?

I recently received an email from a merchant with a problem so common that I thought I’d share it with all of you. Many small business merchants are too busy running their businesses to keep up with the latest developments in payment processing hardware and security. That said, they’ve been informed that they will need new hardware or face increased liability in case of fraud.

So if you need a crash course in the different types of EMV terminals and their respective benefits, this post is for you.

Dear Rick,

I’m starting to panic. The liability shift is just 2 months away and we don’t have any EMV-ready terminals at our gym. Not sure how to begin the shopping process. Any insight would be hugely appreciated.

Continue reading “Help! Which EMV Payment Terminal Should I Use in My Business?”

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Help! Should I Get a Hosted Payment Page for My Business?

I run a software company and need the ability for my clients to accept payments from members online through the software.

My friends tell me I should get a third-party hosted payment page through a gateway and merchant service provider like you to protect my clients.

What exactly is a hosted payment page? Do I really need one? What’s the real benefit?

Continue reading “Help! Should I Get a Hosted Payment Page for My Business?”

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