Monthly Archives: June 2015

EMV Seminar | Abtek
Breaking News

Get Your EMV Questions Answered at Our Upcoming Seminar!

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Please join us Tuesday, June 30, 2015 at Milford Presbyterian Church to learn how the October 1st EMV compliance deadline will affect businesses and consumers. Hosted in partnership with the Huron Valley State Bank, the seminar will cover:

  • What is required of business owners to meet the compliance deadline
  • How the changes in EMV technology will affect consumers
  • The benefits of the new system

Tami Cohorst, VP of Abtek and known leader in the credit card processing world will lead the discussion. Tami’s in-depth EMV knowledge enables her to help merchants grow their businesses through education and new technology. Media outlets like Entrepreneur and MLive have turned to Tami to for her ability to educate business owners on the importance of updating their payment processing systems. She is always on the lookout for new technologies in an effort to stay ahead of the game when it comes to industry ideas, thoughts and products.

Event Details

What: EMV Technology Seminar Hosted by HVSB and Abtek

When: 9:00-9:45 a.m., Tuesday, June 30 2015. Doors open at 8:30 a.m.

Where: Milford Presbyterian Church, 238 North Main, Milford

Who: Free to the community and invited guests

For questions, please call (248) 922-6987 or email smiles@hvsb.com.

Hope to see you there!

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Mobile Wallets

How Can Merchants Leverage Mobile Wallets for Marketing?

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ABT_CustomerLoyalty_Icon_1With Apple Pay and similar technology becoming the norm and customers warming up to mobile wallets in droves– approximately 28 percent of smartphone users made a mobile payment last year–many merchants may need to think deeper about how mobile wallets can double as marketing strategy.

The most obvious reason why merchants offer mobile loyalty programs is to give customers incentives to return their businesses. But there are a number of other perks, including:

ABT_CustomerLoyalty_Icon_2Customer retention is always good for boosting the bottom line, but studies have shown that a mobile loyalty program can also boost extra sales among loyalty customers. Kohl’s loyalty customers, for example, average two additional trips to the store and spend $80 more than non-loyalty customers over the course of a year. Plus, mobile loyalty programs require less operational management than a paper-based program, which will ultimately lead to reduced operational costs.

Stand Out From the Crowd

Loyalty programs are an excellent way to differentiate yourself—and having a mobile loyalty program gives you an even bigger edge in the marketplace. Consider what your competitors are doing for their loyalty programs and figure out a way to make yours even better!

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Consumers want their experiences to be enjoyable and they want to feel as though they’re valued. Loyalty programs help to make both of these criteria possible. They open the door for more communication between the retailers and the customers during checkout. Loyalty programs also give loyal customers rewards for their patronage, making them feel appreciated.

So, What’s Next?

The next step in mobile loyalty programs, according to experts, will be to integrate them with leading mobile wallet providers. Up until this point, consumers have been forced to use mobile loyalty programs within each store’s individual apps. In the near future, we can expect to see these wallets begin to not only implement store loyalty programs, but ultimately become a platform for integrated, real-time marketing.

Stay updated on payment processing trends by following Abtek on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up to receive our newsletter, too.

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Tips

The People Want Plastic

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Gone are the days when “cash-only” was a good business plan. In this day and age, plastic is the payment option of choice. And where there’s plastic, there’s a need for a payment processing system.

Today’s business market is so diverse. Just take a look around; there are quirky startups popping up left and right, ecommerce stores opening their digital doors, and long-standing brick-and-mortar businesses keeping up with the times. With such diversity, how do you know which payment processing solution is right for your business?

Unique Solutions for Unique Businesses

It’s important for business owners to understand all of their options before choosing an electronic payment system in order to select the best one for their company. Here, we’ve outlined some of the tried-and-true electronic payment systems for a variety of types of businesses that can take you in and through the next digital wave.

  • ABT_ElectronicPayment_Icon1If you own a small, in-person business, you may want to consider utilizing mobile payment solutions. These can come in a number of different forms including credit card attachments that connect with your smartphone, mobile terminals and tablet systems. Mobile payment solutions give the cashiers the ability to move freely about the store, interact with customers and conveniently check people out on the spot. Apple, for example, uses mobile payment solutions in its stores. At the end of the day, business owners can simply take the mobile devices home to manage the books and run reports.
  • ABT_ElectronicPayment_Icon2 Larger brick-and-mortar businesses, like grocery stores and more traditional companies, may need more robust, countertop POS terminals. There are a number of different POS terminals available, but the most important thing to know when selecting one is to make sure that it’s EMV card-compliant. Countertop terminals should be easy for customers to use and help to make the transaction process run quickly and efficiently. Newer models feature contactless NFC technology, which allows customers with mobile wallets to make payments with a simple tap of their smartphone!
  • ABT_ElectronicPayment_Icon3Online-only businesses will need to implement digital shopping carts with secure payment gateways. There’s a long list of payment gateways available to fit different online business’s unique needs. When selecting an online payment gateway, it’s critical to choose one with strong security features. The last thing you want to deal with is a data breach!

Making the Upgrade

All of these types of businesses have unique payment processing needs, but they all have one thing in common: The need to process credit cards. If you’re not sure what type of payment system is right for your business, give Abtek a call today at (800) 544-9145. Our team of experts is here to help you navigate through the complex world of credit card processing.

Stay updated on payment processing trends by following Abtek on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up to receive our newsletter, too.

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Chargebacks

How to Minimize “Friendly Fraud” Chargebacks

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With the EMV Mandate, data breaches, and POS innovations, merchants have enough to worry about when it comes to how they handle the way their customers pay.  Which is why one particular strain of chargebacks is especially a huge nuisance.

Know the Facts

Did you know that “friendly fraud” chargebacks are commonplace now? The name is a misnomer, though–”friendly fraud” happens when a customer purchastes goods online and then disputes those charges with his credit card provider, claiming the goods were never delivered. ABTK-small-blog-image-FriendlyFraud-01A recent study found that 86% of chargebacks are deliberate; and Visa estimates that in 2012, merchants lost $11.8 billion due to friendly fraud. Many merchants can head this off by having accessible customer service reps.

But what else can businesses do to curb losses due to these kinds of chargebacks?

Verify

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Ask for security codes. These are the numbers that are located on the back of a credit card. Since merchants can’t store security codes, hackers can’t steal them.

 

Ask for Proof

ABTK-small-blog-image-FriendlyFraud-03Ask customers to electronically sign for their purchases. When you have the signature of a customer that proves the product was successfully delivered, it undermines any claim they may make that the product wasn’t delivered.

 

Chargebacks are messy. If you don’t deal with them in a short window of time, you could be forced to pay fees and penalties that could have been avoided entirely. It’s always a good idea to have a merchant services company on your side–especially one that hears you out and provides reliable customer service.

Here at Abtek, we fight friendly fraud chargebacks on your behalf, not only saving you the headache of dealing with them, but also potentially saving you a lot of money. Give us a call today at (800) 544-9145 to find out how we can help you prevent unfriendly chargebacks at your business.

Stay updated on payment processing trends by following Abtek on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up to receive our newsletter, too.

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