The payments news cycle is once again filled with predictable data breaches (both of the IRS and even less discreet varieties), and we hope being a regular reader of these updates has somewhat indemnified you…
Category: Business Merchant Services
Small Business is Optimistic — But Is It Ready For EMVs?
Shopkeep is a cloud-based technology company used by more than 18,000 different small businesses, to keep track of things like payroll, inventory, etc. They are also prone to surveying their customers and compiling the info in what they called their “ShopKeep Small Business Index,” or SSBI They just announced the release for their survey for the second quarter of 2015, and the good news is that “survey respondents reported their highest revenue and optimism to date.”
Simplify and Secure Your Payments With (Free!) Visa Checkout!
Visa has rolled out its free “Checkout” service for customers and merchants, to help make the act of paying even easier, and more secure. Essentially, Visa Checkout is a digital payment service that lets customers use a single, secure sign-on across channels and devices using a their preferred payment method.
The Back to School Rush—Are Your Payment Processes Ready For the Challenge?
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Well, for parents it is. While kids are bemoaning the inevitable return to homework and early bedtimes, parents are remembering what it’s like to not be 24/7 entertainment directors. For retailers, this period is also a huge sales boost across most industries. While school supplies, electronics, sports gear, and apparel top most school sales, we also have plenty of college-bound students who need household wares, cars, and gift cards.
A Midsummer Night’s Gift Card Giving
Well, strictly speaking, the “Midsummer Night” of Shakespearean fame comes just after the summer solstice in June. Here in America, summer seems to run from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with July 4th in-between, making July our own “midsummer.”
Fed Report: Mobile Payments, Commerce on the Upswing. But…
The Federal Reserve has issued the 2015 edition of its Consumers and Mobile Finances report. Among the findings, as reported by “Digital Transactions,” are that “the number of mobile-payments users in the United States is growing steadily, but most mobile-phone owners still find other payment methods more convenient.”
Retail Merchant Account FAQs
Designed for stores and retail businesses of all sizes, a retail merchant account is a system that allows you to accept credit or debit cards for sales of products and services. This type of account processes transactions when the card holder is present with the card being used.
Shocker: Nearly 80% of Businesses Fail Interim PCI Compliance
Recently, Verizon issued a report on Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards — PCI DSS for short. The results were pretty bracing. As Computer Weekly summarizes “nearly 80% of businesses fail their interim PCI compliance assessment, leaving them vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to Verizon’s 2015 PCI Compliance Report “
Samsung Moves Into Payments; “Hackers Never Sleep”
The news and changes in payments keep moving along at a clip — well, at a clip almost as fast as the digits who are changing the ways those payments are made. On the very day of this post, Samsung has announced the purchase of LoopPay, a start-up in the world of mobile and NFC — near field communications — payments. As the Wall Street Journal summarizes, “the deal to buy LoopPay Inc. of Burlington, Mass.
