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How Holiday Shopping Has Changed in 2014

For many retailers, Black Friday sparks the beginning of their busiest period of business: Holiday shopping. Especially this year–when Black Friday sales were already underway as early as November 1. It’s just the tip of the iceberg. Forbes reports that post-recession savvy shoppers have changed the rules of the holiday shopping game. So how can you make the most of this potentially very lucrative time of year?

Know your window of opportunity. Did you know that you get ABTK-small-blog-image-NOV-1almost a month–28 days, to be exact–to make the most of your holiday shoppers?

• Mobile payments are the key. Most of your shoppers might use cash or plastic, but one way to help speed up long check-out lines? Mobile payments.* ABTK-small-blog-image-NOV-2

Reward savvy shoppers. Price-matching will remain a key element of staying competitive with shoppers.

Each shopper matters. Black Friday shoppers will spend, on average, $399/person.

• Apple Payers and Google Walleters will spend more. In fact, they may spend up to 17% more than customers not utilizing mobile wallets.

•  Protect yourself. With such heightened sales activity during theABTK-small-blog-image-NOV-3 holidays, the risk of data breaches is especially high. Do you have an action response plan in place?

*Need some help with this? Click here.

 

 


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Vote Now: Will Rejecting Apple Pay Cost Major Retailers This Black Friday?

Black Friday is a magical time of year when enterprising bargain hunters duck out of their Thanksgiving dinners early and line up at major retailers to score deep discounts on typically big-ticket items.

You could argue that accepting ApplePay could only speed up sluggish check-out lanes. Which is why with many major retailers–at least those which are part of the MCX–rejecting ApplePay this holiday season could cost them. And we want to hear from you.

Do you think rejecting Apple Pay will cost retailers like Wal-Mart this Black Friday?


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How Tokenization Works In One Simple Infographic

inchowtokenizationRemember that one time we spoke to the media about tokenization to help provide a guard against compromised customer data? We know that for most business owners, this kind of technology might seem like an unnecessary extravagance, but in this age of daily data breaches, it’s the kind of tech investment that can go a long way towards protecting your business interests.

Take a look at this handy infographic at Inc. which breaks down exactly how tokenization works.


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Abtek Stops By MLive to Talk About ApplePay, CurrentC, and the Future of Mobile Payments

abtekmliveAbtek’s own Tami Cohorst stops by MLive again–this time to discuss Apple Pay, CurrentC, and the power that consumers collectively wield as more players enter the payments processing arena.

On the way data is handled across mobile payment options, Cohorst says, “All that data is housed somewhere. And this is the problem with the security breaches that we see.”

Read the full article here.

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Home Depot Confirms 53 Million More E-mail Addresses Hacked In Data Breach

From Fox Business:

Home Depot Inc, the world’s largest home improvement chain, said about 53 million more email addresses were taken during a recent breach of its payment data systems.

However, the chain has been carefully to point out that no customer payment data was compromised with this particular breach.

Back in September, the company implemented enhanced encryption of payment data in all U.S. stores–with roll out to Canadian stores completing next year.

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10 Things You Should Know About Credit Card Processing

Payments processing is an ever-changing world. Starting a business or switching merchant services? Here are 10 things to remember when choosing credit card processing services.

1. Merchant Accounts Aren’t Optional

This is important. If you want to accept money from consumers, says the U.S. Small Business Administration, you’ll pretty much have to get a merchant account.

2. Keep All Costs In Mind

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When looking for a payment processing provider, remember that not all costs may be financial. As QuickBooks points out, if you pay a super-low price but don’t get reliable help and services, it isn’t worth it.

3. Look for Deals

Some providers charge extremely low rates for small businesses, between 0% to .36%, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

4. Swipe Fees Affect Bottom Lines

Often merchants must pass on expensive swipe fees to their customers in the form of prices. Research this before setting prices.

5. Don’t Forget About Chargebacks

According to the Wall Street Journal, chargebacks happen when consumers disputes charges, but also when the service provider fails to input proper authorization codes. Talk to merchant solutions providers about how they deal with chargebacks.

6. Not All Processing Rates Are Equal

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Credit card rates range from lowest “qualified rates” through “mid-qualified” to “non-qualified rates.” Factors such as terminal used, address identification and more determine the rate you’re charged, says QuickBooks.

7. New Technology Is Coming

In 2015, credit cards will be replaced with new chip-and-PIN technology, which requires each customer to enter their PIN.

8. Remember to Batch

Merchants send requests for payment in batches. Do so every 24 hours, or risk higher fees.

9. Customer Service Should Be Free

Avoid providers that charge a fee to talk; this should be an included service, says QuickBooks. And as you know, Abtek’s team is filled with in-house credit card nerds who are passionate about what they do–and about getting you answers. This is critical because your payments processor is one of your business’ key lifelines.

10. Keep An Eye Out For Extras

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Features like virtual terminals, for example, make payment easy and cut down equipment. Check out extras before you decide.

Remember to keep these facts in mind from the beginning and you’ll have an easier time in the long run.

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