You may recall that office supply giant Staples fell victim to a data breach not too long ago. In the run-up to Christmas, the extent of that breach has come to light: About 1.2M credit card numbers are open to risk.
The breach, which was announced back in October, affected point-of-sale systems at 115 Staples stores–of 1,400+. However, experts are confident that the breadth of this hack won’t dent holiday shopping at the retail giant.
Read more at USA Today.
According to a recent report, the Top 5 U.S. Cities with the highest chargeback stats are:
In many cases, this spike of chargebacks signals an alarming trend of “friendly frauds”–where a customer makes an authorized purchase, but then attempts to reverse it.
Beyond the Top 5, other cities also include Chicago, L.A., and Houston, among others. Which is why businesses need to consider a payment processor’s ability to fight chargebacks when they look to partner with one.
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With 2015 on the horizon, business owners need to be aware of rapidly-evolving trends in payment processing. The goal is still the same: Make the POS experience as painless as possible for customers–but the methods to get to that goal have gotten more advanced. Here are 5 resolutions you can make for the New Year to help ensure your POS solutions are as flexible and painless as possible.
1. Embrace Mobile
Everyone carries a mobile device–and if you tend to do a lot of business at conventions, tradeshows, fairs, or away from your storefront, you need to have a way to process credit card payments.
The convenience afforded by mobile payment solutions can’t be overestimated.
Furthermore, many customers are now forgoing their wallets altogether in favor of mobile wallets–like Apple Pay. In addition to processing payments through mobile devices–you can also accept payments from mobile devices.
2. Stay On Top of Countertop Terminals
While mobile payments are changing the way customers pay, countertop terminals are here to stay. Make sure you’re talking regularly to your payment processor to ensure that the traditional technology you have to service your customers’ purchases is the latest and greatest.
3. Protect Yourself
In today’s increasingly digital world, hackers have a lot of targets available to them. As such, data breaches and the compromise of customer credit cards is on the rise. This makes getting data breach protection absolutely essential.
Tokenization can help as well by replacing the actual credit card information with a “token” value that can be used by a business for accepting payment, but it will not be able to be used by anyone else. This, naturally, eliminates the need for merchants to keep the sensitive data that can be compromised, which is a big help for businesses and their customers.
4. Spruce Up Your Shopping Carts
If your business utilizes online shopping carts, you will need some way to process credit card and debit card payments. There is a variety of gateways available to help you create a smooth shopping cart experience for your customers. A quick conversation with your payment processing rep should help illuminate your options.
5. Ask About ACH
Some businesses might want to give customers more options than simply paying with a card, especially if your business deals with large transactions. This is where ACH payments come into play.
Accepting electronic checks will allow businesses to save time, given that businesses will not have to wait on checks to arrive, but it will also protect you from fraudulent checks. Many ACH services today combine the service with payment processing, giving you the best of both worlds in the process.
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As if consumers didn’t have enough to worry about this holiday season. A recent report from Krebs On Security outlines how shoppers may experience a spike in phishing attempts via fake “order confirmation” e-mails which appear branded with the logos and imagery of widely-trusted retail outlets. Some more detail about this particular series of phishing attempts:
According to Malcovery, a company that closely tracks email-based malware attacks, these phony “order confirmation” spam campaigns began around Thanksgiving, and use both booby-trapped links and attached files in a bid to infect recipients’ Windows PCs with the malware that powers the Asprox spam botnet.
A basic rule of thumb applies: If you don’t recognize where the e-mail is coming from or don’t remember making a purchase at a retailer that sends you an “order confirmation” e-mail, don’t click on the link.
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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 
almost 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.* 
•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 the
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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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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Remember 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’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.
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.
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
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
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
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.