All posts by Abtek

Abtek is a state-of-the-art Credit Card Processing and Merchant Account Solutions provider. As credit card experts, we enable businesses big and small to accept and process credit cards, as well as delivering customized processing solutions to fit your evolving business needs.

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Data Breach, Merchant Service Providers, Tips

Go Green! 5 Ways to Make Your Payment Processing Methods More Sustainable

April 20, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

On Wednesday, April 22, more than 192 countries across the globe will celebrate the 45^th annual Earth Day, an event that promotes awareness and support of environmental protection.

As a business owner, you may have already taken steps to make your business more environmentally-friendly, like installing CFL or LED light bulbs, or setting up a recycling program, but did you know that your business could go even greener by extending sustainability to your payment processing?

In conjunction with Earth Day, we’ve got five helpful tips for how your business can make your payment processing methods more eco-friendly.

1. Switch to Digital Receipts

In the near future, printed receipts will be a thing of the past. In 2012, 35 percent of retailers offered digital receipts, and that percentage is expected to continue to grow with the advancement of digital and mobile payment solutions. Not only do paperless receipts help the environment, but they also save your business money and provide convenience for customers.

2. Protect Your Customers’ Data, Protect the Environment

Did you know that when your employees write down customers’ credit card numbers, you could be putting their data at risk? According to one study, out of the top 100 chain restaurants, 80% have at least one employee who writes down credit card numbers. Not only does this practice violate PCI guidelines and increase the chances of a data breach, but it’s also a waste of paper. Instead, employees should enter the data directly into your secure payment processing system. If you do end up with paper documents containing sensitive credit card information, be sure to shred and recycle them as soon as possible.

3. Integrate Tablets Into Your Business

By implementing cloud-based Tablet Solutions into your business, you can manage your business from anywhere, potentially minimizing extra trips to the office and reducing your gas usage. Additionally, with Tablet Solutions, you can avoid printing spreadsheets of financial summaries or inventory manifests.

4. If You Have to Print, Do it Smartly

Simply put, don’t print things that don’t need to be printed! According to Preton, the average employee prints six unnecessary pages per day. When you do need to print, however, use paper that has maximum recycled content to help reduce your business’s carbon footprint. If your printer has the capability to print double-sided, do so and instead of throwing away paper that’s been printed on one side, use it for scrap paper or for printing drafts.

5. Recycle responsibly

When your outdated processing equipment and terminals kick the bucket, don’t just throw them away—donate or sell them to an electronic recycling facility. These terminals contain data that can be breached if they’re not disposed of properly. Also, electronic equipment often contains materials that can become toxic when dumped in a landfill. These recycling facilities salvage the parts they can for resale and properly disassemble the others for safe disposal.

Implementing more environmentally sustainable practices in your business doesn’t have to happen all at once. Start by making small changes, and get your employees involved! A big part of making your business more eco-friendly has to do with creating a culture of sustainability, and sticking with it. And there’s no better time to start than Earth Day 2015!

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Breaking News, EMV® Cards

Payments Source: EMV Education Starts with Merchants

April 13, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

Our own Tami Cohorst, Vice President of Abtek, was recently featured on PaymentsSource.com, a leading resource for payments industry news and analysis.

With the card issuer mandate for EMV-ready merchants around the corner, are you prepared?

Globally, the U.S. is one of the last markets to implement this technology so one would think adoption of EMV is inevitable for consumers and merchants alike. Yet, with the mandate upon us, and EMV-ready equipment in place, consumers are still using “old” cards. Which begs the question: Do we need more education to merchants and awareness to consumers in the months leading up to the mandate?

Part of the education process begins with merchants. In order to successfully get buy-in from consumers, we need to look at how we can help merchants completely understand EMV technology.

So, my advice to them is always this…

Continue reading the full article at PaymentsSource →

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Data Breach, Mobile Wallets

Can Apple Pay Put Your Credit Card Security at Risk?

April 13, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

Recently, the payment industry has been a-buzz about reports that Apple Pay may be suffering from security weaknesses. While Apple Pay offers simplicity and speed for users, it is really worth the risks? Or is all the discussion of potential fraud just a bunch of media hype?

Apple Pay 101

Apple Pay is a mobile payment service that allows consumers to make credit and debit payments directly from their iPhone 6, 6 Plus and the highly anticipated Apple Watch.

Think of it like a digital, mobile wallet.

Apple pay allows users to import their credit card information from their iTunes account into the Passbook application on their device. Once set up, customers can simply wave their phone over a Near Field Communication (NFC) terminal, located in a wide range of retail stores across the country, to make a purchase.

How Secure is the Apple Pay System?

When Apple Pay launched in October 2014, it was touted as being an “easy, secure and private” mobile payment solution. And up until recently, all was going smoothly. So what’s the real deal with all of this talk about fraud and security risks?

Fact: Fraudulent charges are being made through Apple Pay. Some estimates report that upwards of 6% of transactions made via Apple Pay are fraudulent.

However, it’s important for consumers to understand that Apple Pay accounts are not being hacked. The data infrastructure on Apple’s part is up to standards. The problem lies within the provisioning; a process in which banks verify the legitimacy of cards when they’re uploaded to Apple Pay. What’s happening is that criminals are taking stolen credit card information, creating iTunes accounts, using those accounts to provision Apple Pay accounts and then making fraudulent purchases.

At this time, consumers do not need to be overly concerned about the security of their credit card data once it’s uploaded to Apple Pay, but that doesn’t mean they’re not at risk. Consumers should always take extreme caution when sharing their credit card information to ensure that it’s going into the right hands.

Be Prepared! What Merchants Need to Know

The payment landscape is changing rapidly and for merchants, the most critical thing to take away from this discussion is an understanding of the importance of payment processing security.

Even the most diligent merchants experience fraud, but there are a number of ways that businesses can make transactions more secure for their customers. As Apple Pay and other mobile payment technologies become more integrated into the payment industry, more security weaknesses will likely emerge, and alternate solutions will need to be implemented.

During this time of transition, it’s important for you, as a business owner, to stay informed on all of the latest payment technologies and trends, and be sure that you have systems in place to ensure maximum security for your customers’ payment information.

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Tips

8 High-Risk Purchases You’re Probably Making With a Debit Card

March 30, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

As we’ve become a more cashless society, it’s almost second nature for business owners to take out a debit card whenever they need to make a quick every day purchase. But what are the security risks of choosing to pay this way?

With credit cards, one can simply dispute any fraudulent charges and not pay the bill. But debit cards take the money directly from your checking account. There are many business purchases that can leave your debit card—and by extension, your business account—vulnerable to security attacks. Following are eight of the riskiest purchases you can make with a debit card.

1. Buying online. Any online purchases can leave your business account open to hackers. This is true not only of strictly online companies, such as Amazon—which puts significant effort into their cyber-security, but traditional stores with an online presence as well, such as poorly protected Target and Home Depot.

2. Delayed delivery and merchant disputes. Federal law gives you 48 hours from the time a charge is made to dispute it. But business transactions can sometimes be pending for a significantly longer window of time. Because you may not have physically received the item at your business yet, or it’s damaged when it finally does arrive, too much time will have passed and it becomes much more difficult to ever recoup the loss.

3. Expensive big-ticket items. Many credit card companies offer additional warranties and insurance, as well as added protection against an item not showing up or working incorrectly. Debit cards do not offer this same level of protection, which is necessary when buying expensive electronics or renting a car.

4. Dining out. When you’re at a restaurant for a business lunch, the server may take your debit card out of your line of sight, opening the door for fraudulent activity. Restaurants also assume you’ll leave a tip, so they authorize your card for more than your bill, freezing your funds until that larger amount clears.

5. Outdoor ATMs. Need to withdraw a few smaller bills for your register outside of regular bank hours? Outdoor ATMs are unmonitored most of the time, so it’s easy for someone to add a “skimmer” to the card reader. It looks like a regular card reader, but it’s storing your card data for cyber thieves.

6. Future travel. Similar to delayed delivery, your card may be charged well in advance of your business trip. Hotels will often store card data for months before your actual travel dates, leaving your account vulnerable.

7. Gas stations. This is another location where it’s really easy to add a skimmer to a legitimate card reader. Be careful of how you choose to pay at the pump while on traveling for business.

8. Recurring payments. We’ve all dealt with memberships that charge obnoxious fees for cancelling a service, whether it’s a magazine, organization membership or similar business expense. It’s much easier to dispute a credit card, and doing so won’t impact your checking account balance.

For transactions such as the ones outline above, a credit card may be a much safer bet—it will leave your business account in tact and provide additional security and protection from potential fraud. After all, the last thing you need as a business owner is a giant headache from your checking account being compromised or your funds being frozen.

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Merchant Service Providers, Mobile Wallets

Will Wearable Tech Revolutionize the Way Customers Pay?

March 23, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

The era of wearable device technology has arrived. In fact, recent studies show that approximately 30 percent of United States smartphone holders already own wearables. As technology continues to advance the development of these personal devices, there will certainly be an increase in more convenient payment options for consumers—and smart retailers are catching on.

Beyond Smartphones: Wearable Tech Offers Payment Convenience

Smartphones already offer a variety of applications capable of swiping cards, processing personal information and recording product metrics. But wearable tech may go even further when it comes to making the payment process more convenient for consumers.

While the impending Apple Watch has invoked much of the interest behind smartwatches, other high-tech wearable gadgets are being developed. For example, Disney already offers guests the ability to pay for items via MagicBand, a colorful bracelet that directly links to a personal credit or debit card. The so-called “Power Suit” allows its wearer to make payments via their clothing sleeve, through use of NFC technology. And many big-league fiscal providers, like Visa, have considered investing in creation of expansive technology to take these processes even further.

This small technological revolution has the potential to redefine the way in which consumers pay for goods and services. And as we anticipate where technology will take us in the near future, all eyes are on the coming Apple Watch and its Apple Pay capabilities.

Time Ticks Down to the Launch of Apple Watch

In recent months, the Apple Watch has single-handedly piqued smartwatch (and wearable tech) interest more so than previous rivals, like the Pebble or Samsung’s Galaxy, ever did.

Although it’s not set to arrive until April 24, the industry buzz is already undeniable. A two-part survey featured on Computerworld reflected a record 8,266 consumers placing higher interest in the Apple Watch than on the “revolutionary” Google Glass.

Tech corporations and industry gurus are taking note, and merchant services may receive a significant boost from the Apple Watch’s high flexibility towards sales processing—especially when it comes to the wearer’s ability to conveniently and quickly use Apple Pay. By offering such flexibility, smartwatches have definitely shifted from mundane “power person” ideology to more practical, professional solutions.

The Optimized Consumer and the Future of Payment Processing

Faster payment processing is always the endgame for retailers, so the wearable trend is a logical next step in attempting to near that goal. When the consumer is waiting in line for a shorter amount time, more payments are being processed, and at quicker rates. At first glance, this may appear as a minimal side effect, but the overall impact of highly optimized sales processing is astounding.

So where will the future take wearable technology and merchant sales? Likely, security will be a conservative pit-stop, as fiscal dealings are historically shaky when new technology arrives. However, if wearable tech is proven to be secure—and, if the industry begins thriving upon the shift towards speed processing—more technology may follow, and it’ll further redefine the industry.

For now, however, the wearable tech trend is still in its relative infancy. We’ll be watching to see where it takes us.

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Data Breach, Merchant Service Providers, PCI Compliance

Could Your Payment Processing Methods Be Endangering Your Customers?

March 16, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

Adopting good business finance habits ensures an establishment’s security and longevity. When credit card processing is treated with acute attention, point-of-sale transactions are quick and simple.

However, many businesses engage in a slew of less-than-safe practices, capable of undermining the entire establishment’s security.

Both negligence and bad bookkeeping can severely harm a business—and poor payment processing can compromise its customers.

Insecure Data Storage

Merchant services requires consistency and protective storage methods. Unfortunately, when PCI compliance isn’t regularly practiced, digital payments may reduce an organization’s security.

An Oswap.org business data breach analysis has figured in the many threats posed against companies utilizing point-of-sale technology. Store-based devices aren’t entirely safe from malware, malicious users or false authentication. Similarly, the following habits can severely compromise a customer’s security at, and after, the register:

Writing down credit information by hand
Using insecure mobile applications for promotions
Improper maintenance of addresses, social security numbers and credit card data
Easily accessible information systems

The Importance of Employee Training

Delegating business tasks effectively ensures a resource-savvy business. However, employee training benefits the customer’s security directly.

Task distribution promotes business connectivity, and a well-connected business may further assist its customers. When employees aren’t trained effectively, however, their customer attentiveness may dwindle. Similarly, they may forget or fail to execute vital actions needed for customer safety.

Anyone operating a business register or information database should be capable of utilizing supreme precaution. A negligent employee may not mean to compromise a customer’s information—but poorly trained job skills can absolutely exploit important information.

Credit Card Security

Forgers often utilize fraudulent credit cards and their potential danger should be understood. This primarily affects the business, rather than the consumer. However, anything capable of targeting a business’s secure data infrastructure should be considered a vital security risk to everyone involved.

When examining credit cards for purchases, merchants must remember to check the following:

Valid expiration dates
First four account numbers above the card’s first four numbers
Three-dimensional security hologram
Matching signatures

Fraudulent credit cards can affect a business when high-tech sales processing machinery is forgone, which is why maintaining comprehensive point-of-sale processing is incredibly important.

Remember: The consumer is relatively unprotected during most transactions. While a business actively maintains systems to ensure their own privacy and sustainability, consumers may be exposed. Proper routines, effective employee training and a watchful eye during transactions will not only protect the consumer’s information—it’ll breed a business atmosphere deserving of trust and success.

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EMV® Cards

How Will the EMV Mandate Affect Your Bottom Line? What Businesses Need to Know

March 9, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

Credit card processing will go through major changes this year–but how will the 2015 EMV Compliance Mandate affect your business? The United States is the world’s final market to become EMV compliant. Our adoption and accessibility to the technology will likely transform all industries reliant upon processing payments via credit cards.

What is EMV Compliance, Anyway?

EMV is an acronym meaning “Europay, MasterCard and Visa.” The “big three” of globally standardized circuit payment cards utilize a chip for payments. These chips are used for ATMs, credit card terminals and digital registers. The EMV Compliance Mandate updates these cards’ internal mechanics and any provider using EMV-reading software will need to comply, too.

The New Liability Shift

The EMV Compliance Mandate isn’t just a software update. Its attached Liability Shift may affect your business’s transaction policies. USAVisa.com contains the shift’s entire workings, and, as per their description:

“When a transaction occurs using chip technology, any liability for counterfeit fraud, though unlikely, would follow current Visa Operating Regulations.”

In other words, this shift will greatly reduce your business’s fraud liability, assuming your software and hardware is up-to-date. If and when fraud occurs, new standards will neutralize losses while protecting you from liability. Within the financing world, such a shift is incredibly significant: Reduced liability and expenses can be re-balanced and shifted to other business areas.

Fewer Fraud-Related Chargebacks

Historically, credit transaction authentication and completion has been tied to fraudulent chargebacks. However, EMV’s updated technology will reduce fraud-related chargebacks due to the following mechanics:

Increased protection against card skimming
Increased protection from magnetic strips
Dynamic authentication possibilities

Reduced fraud chargebacks similarly boost a company’s ability to reallocate resources. While merchant services should always be treated with high security, EMV compliance will greatly enhance a business’s processing and transaction flexibility and security.

Fewer Data Breaches

As stated above, credit card processing will become increasingly stable and secure via EMV compliance. Participating U.S. merchants will be required to maintain full software and hardware upgrades, too, increasing their edge against data breaches.

The mandate promotes immediate liability focus on the party containing “lesser” technology. In short: A consumer using old EMV technology will be recognized as “at fault” in the event of fraud. This same aspect is directly correlated to the mandate’s facilitation of up-to-date vender technology.

So, on average, companies will maintain higher technology than surrounding entities and consumers. This will add further protection, as the superior technology will likely outrun malicious data breaches. The new EMV technology renders extracted information “useless,” as it’s encrypted to fit a digital format—rather than to a readable, magnetic strip.

Staying Aware: Adapting to the Change

Point-of-sale security is still important, and maintaining a healthy workplace promotes sustainability and protection. To ensure your employees and relevant decision makers are up-to-par with new security standards, it’s important to:

Create a relevant business plan before changing to new technology
Immediately migrate to new EMV standards
Train product awareness

New hardware and software changes may take time for adoption, but supporting network connectivity and internal effectiveness will ensure heightened protection. It’ll put your business ahead of the curve, security wise.

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Breaking News

Abtek Shows Off Latest Payment Processing Technology at MGIA

March 4, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

This week we were on-site at the Suburban Showroom Collection in Novi, MI, as sponsors of the 2015 MGIA Trade Show & Convention. There, we showed off the latest–and affordable–innovations in payment processing. Connect with us to learn how we can help create payment processing solutions right for your business.

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Mobile Wallets

Will Mobile Wallets Soon Replace Actual Wallets?

February 23, 2015 Abtek Leave a comment

Mobile wallets aren’t just on the horizon—they’re already here. Recent smartphone applications have facilitated consumer technology capable of making instant purchases, and the trend may replace commonplace wallet purchasing within the next five years.

Mobile Wallets: The Pros

Credit card processing is quick, and it’s reliable. However, mobile wallets—when created and utilized effectively—are incredibly convenient for consumers. Mobile wallets are incredible marketing tools, too, due to their incredible accessibility and mobile purchasing’s increasing popularity. Mobile wallets propose a slew of benefits for consumers, including:

Ease of accessibility
Consolidation of funds
Immediate coupons and savings
Customer reward programs

The above mention of mobile-accessed coupons is considerably important. An Inmar Solutions trend catcher has depicted an astounding 2.9 billion digital coupon redemption volume. Additionally, approximately 77 percent of shoppers purchased groceries from non-grocer vendors in 2013. Due to a mobile wallet’s wide market accessibility, some of the world’s most vital markets will likely hook into the trend.

Mobile Wallets: The Cons

With great accessibility comes high responsibility, and the mobile wallet may propose several problems for future consumers. Merchant services still aren’t accustomed to the change—and several providers may never be.

Additionally, the mobile wallet’s incredible accessibility may pose a problem for some spenders. If you could make a purchase with one quick tap to the phone, wouldn’t you? The following cons also exist within the evolving technology, and it may hold mobile wallets back from their full potential:

Consolidation of existing technology may cause bugs
Security risks from hacking
Access to high-limit purchases may be imbalanced against credit cards

The infamous cellphone hack scandal in the UK definitely plays upon the above worries. Easy banking accessibility may enable thievery and digitally-stored credit card information may not be safe.

It Isn’t Over for Traditional Payments, Either

In fact, mobile wallets rely upon pre-existing monetary exchange systems. Small businesses can definitely profit from the mobile wallet’s design and functionality, but they’ll need to maintain classic systems and policies to take full advantage of the technology.

Why? Mobile wallets, primarily, connect to a business’s checking accounts. For now, mobile wallets are simply “quick access doors” to business transactions. They aren’t exclusive services.

You’ll Still Need Your Wallet

Mobile wallets can’t just replace fundamental wallet contents. Your driver’s license, registration, insurance card and other important, physical documentation are still required by law. Likely, mobile wallets will never accommodate for such provisions. Simply put: Security, legality and accessibility are important—more-so than a consumer’s ease-of-access to retail spheres. Regardless of a mobile wallet’s capabilities, their boundaries end where life’s other priorities begin.

In many ways, the world still needs physical proof of monetary funds, legal accessibility, health information and other important items. Mobile wallets will definitely play an integral role in retail’s future, but, for now, the leather bi-fold wallet still has a place in your back pocket…and for good reason.

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What’s Coming Up?

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1. Switch to Digital Receipts

2. Protect Your Customers’ Data, Protect the Environment

3. Integrate Tablets Into Your Business

4. If You Have to Print, Do it Smartly

5. Recycle responsibly

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Apple Pay 101

How Secure is the Apple Pay System?

Be Prepared! What Merchants Need to Know

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Beyond Smartphones: Wearable Tech Offers Payment Convenience

Time Ticks Down to the Launch of Apple Watch

The Optimized Consumer and the Future of Payment Processing

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Insecure Data Storage

The Importance of Employee Training

Credit Card Security

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What is EMV Compliance, Anyway?

The New Liability Shift

Fewer Fraud-Related Chargebacks

Fewer Data Breaches

Staying Aware: Adapting to the Change

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Mobile Wallets: The Pros

Mobile Wallets: The Cons

It Isn’t Over for Traditional Payments, Either

You’ll Still Need Your Wallet

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Credit Card Processing and Merchant Account Solutions