“Small Business Lending is Slow to Recover,” read a recent Wall Street Journal article. The write-up was focused on how small businesses have fared in the long road out of “The Great Recession,” which some recent figures have suggested may have been worse than the “Great Depression” itself (at least according to recent comments by former Fed chief Ben Bernanke…)
Category: Business Merchant Services
Are Cards More Cost Effective For Merchants Than Cash?
A new study from financial analysts at the Aite Group says that handling both Debit and Credit cards is more cost effective for merchants and retailers than handling cash.
According to details in the Credit Union Times, the report, “Tender Truths: The Real Cost of POS Transactions in the U.S., found debit cards the least expensive method of payment for merchants, costing significantly less per transaction than cash or cards.It broke down the costs of different payment types across three broad retail sectors: specialty retailers, quick service restaurants and convenience stores.”
4th of July Snapshot: Gas Prices, Economic Indicators Heat Up Like Roman Candles
As we approach the July 4th 2014, the economy news at summer’s midpoint celebration is increasingly rose-colored like one of those ground bloom flower fireworks.
On the one hand, as Bloomberg reports, “jobs growth adds more sunshine” to the U.S. Economy. Specifically, job growth, in payroll specialist ADP’s report ahead of the official Federal figures, was much higher than expected. ““The labor market appears to be firing on all cylinders and is finally self-sustaining,” the Bloomberg said, citing two two PNC Financial Services economists.
Travel Season: Pack Bags, Swim Trunks, and EMV Chips
If you’re traveling abroad this summer, you might want to make sure you have at least one EMV-ready credit (or debit) card at your disposal. (The same might apply if you’re traveling a couple years into the future, after they become more widespread here in the U.S.!)
Visa Raising Standards on Prepaid Debit Cards
According to a recent NY Times article, Visa is responding to consumer concerns that prepaid cards are often trickier to use — or to give — than they should be, since fees and terms often differ, leaving users confused, or simply with less of a balance than they imagined they had.
After The Breachin’: Chip-and-Pin Comes to Target
As was pointed out about the recent Heartbleed security hole that was so pervasive, it presented a chance — bad as it was — for a lot of companies to reinvent and update their security protocols, for consumers to opt in for “double login” options on various accounts (a password and a PIN, say), and for the general level of security, web-wide, to be enhanced.
POS Attacks May Be Declining (But…); Consumers Turning to Prepaid?
Certainly good news would be welcome on the internet and data security fronts these days. Technology website CRN may have some, in a story whose headline proclaims that “despite Prominent Retail Breaches, POS System Attacks Decline.”
What are Business Merchant Services?
What are Business Merchant Services? Business merchant services enable you to accept credit card payments and checks. If you have…
Windows XP is Everywhere, and It’s Ending: Are Your Point-of-Sales Devices Safe?
As your roving correspondents, we have to, of course, rove. As in hit the road, roam far afield, attend a conference, track down a story. When we do travel, we go — as do you — with an array (too many?) of screens. A small one in our pocket. A mid-size one for reading. And then there’s the laptop. Our travel laptop, which has been with us awhile, is still running the comforts of Windows XP as its operating system.
