The all too familiar credit card terminal is not the only method of accepting transactions and often times not the best method either.  A terminal may not suit the way you do business.  With today’s technology there are multiple options to choose from that will do exactly what you need.

As an example, if you are a mobile services business, a terminal that is land line based is very difficult to work with.  You would have to bring all the information back to the office to manually key it in to the terminal, which is a slow process and has higher transaction rates.  One option is a wireless credit card terminal to swipe the card and get an authorization on the spot.  The only drawback is the expense of the equipment and additional fees for the wireless service.  The only way to justify the extra expenses is if you run a lot of transactions.  Another solution is running transactions on your laptop with internet service.  There are also ways to run transactions from your cell phone manually and swiped.

If you accept transactions over the phone there are easier ways to enter them than punching them in on a terminal.  You can enter them online on a Virtual Terminal easier and faster.  Running a repeat transaction is a simple process of finding the first transaction so that you do not have to re-enter the information over again.  Transactions can be scheduled to happen one time in the future.  They can also be set up to happen automatically on a regular recurring schedule for rent, subscriptions or memberships.

As technology progresses the possibilities are expanding all the time.  Ask yourself what would make your life easier and get you paid sooner.  Chances are some of the solutions will save you money as well.

Make sure to check out our other Blog articles for more interesting topics.

This article is about Special Rates for your credit card processing.  No, that is not the same as the Telemarketer telling you that magically you now qualify for wholesale pricing.  We are talking about the special industry rates that Visa, Mastercard and Discover offer.

As an incentive to get the card processing business more widely accepted in new business industries, V/MC/D offer special pricing for specific industry types.  Here is an incomplete list:

Supermarket

Restaurant

Small Ticket

Large Ticket

Gasoline

Convenience Store

Warehouse Club

Hotel

Car Rental

Lodging

Utilities: Electric, Gas, Water, Sewer

Trash Removal

Propane Delivery

Public Sector Entities

Government

Tax Payments

Real Estate

Insurance

Getting the industry specific rates is not automatic.  Even though your business may qualify for the special industry pricing you are stuck with a Retail type account and paying downgraded rates for transactions that are not “Qualified”.  It takes someone with knowledge about getting your business set up properly to take advantage of the special pricing.

Make sure to check out our other Blog articles for more interesting topics.

What does PCI Compliance mean to you, the merchant?  It means that once again the merchant is expected to do the work and take the expense for new requirements.  Before you decide to close up shop and run away to Mexico for a margarita, there are solutions that make this process simple. 

Your credit card processor has been establishing a relationship with a third party service to help you maintain compliance and do the steps necessary for PCI security.  The fee for this service typically will run below one hundred fifty dollars per year for most Level 4 merchants depending on the complexity of your business. 

Your reaction to more work and expense to accept credit cards is understandable and I completely agree with you.  However, consider that fact that your customers want to buy from you, they want to use their credit card and they expect that convenience.  The cost for PCI Compliance and the credit card processing fees should be in the cost of your products and services just like materials, rent, payroll, utilities, fuel and taxes.  When your expenses go up you pass that on to your customers.  As a business you are in control of your bottom line, not a victim of your expenses controlling you. 

PCI Compliance is here to stay, so create a sense of security for your customers with your proactive efforts to protect them.  They will feel more comfortable buying more from you. 

For more information on becoming PCI Compliant contact your credit card processor to set up your compliance service. 

Check out our other Blog articles to answer other questions about payment processing you may have.

Even if you know vaguely what PCI Compliance is, the “What” may still be a mystery.  There are four Validation Levels of businesses that each require different security measures.  Current Validation and Requirements are established for Visa/Mastercard in the following chart. 

• Level 1 - Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard World Wide transactions totaling 6 million and up, per year, and any merchants who experienced a data breach. Requires an annual onsite review by merchant’s internal auditor or a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) or Internal Audit if signed by Officer of the company, and a quarterly network security scan with an Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV).
• Level 2 - Visa and MasterCard transactions totaling 1 million to 6 million per year.  Requires completion of PCI DSS Self Assessment Questionnaire annually, and quarterly network security scan with an approved ASV.
• Level 3 - Visa and MasterCard e-commerce transactions totaling 20,000 to 1 million per year.  Requires Completion of PCI DSS Self Assessment Questionnaire annually, and quarterly network security scan with an approved ASV.
• Level 4 – Visa and MasterCard e-commerce transactions totaling up to 20,000 per year and all other merchants, regardless of acceptance channel, processing up to 1 million Visa or MasterCard transactions per year.  Requires completion of PCI DSS Self Assessment Questionnaire annually, and quarterly network security scan with an approved ASV.  If a breach has been reported, or found, Visa reserves the right to move the Level 4 merchant to a Level 1. If so, the Level 4 merchant must abide by the Level 1 validation requirements.

The vast majority of merchants will fall into Level 4 but that does not mean you can sit on your laurels until something happens.  Obviously the first focus in the industry is going to be on Levels 1, 2 and 3.  You definitely do not want to slip into Level 1 because of a breach.  That is why it is important to work on your security early to avoid fines for non-compliance.  Customers will soon demand the security before they buy from you.  Use the early compliance as a marketing tool and advertise it.

For more information go to: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/index.shtml

Be sure to read our other Blog articles on PCI Compliance.

PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.  It is an abbreviation that stands for a scary sounding unknown.  PCI DSS is a standard created by the credit card processors in reaction to many state laws and impending federal laws that govern the protection of consumers’ data.  This is similar to the HIPPA regulations for the medical industry except it is self imposed.  It is better to be proactive than to let the government come up with regulations.  After all, the government came up with the IRS and we all know what a nightmare mess that is.

So you are saying to yourself “Yeah, so what”.  All merchants are required to be compliant by July 1, 2010.  There could be fines of $5,000 to $100,000 per month for non-compliance and/or increased processing fees or account termination.

American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, Master card and Visa Inc. all require PCI Compliance.  The concept is to create secure systems in your business.  By establishing the following procedures it will keep customers more secure about spending more money with you.

Build and maintain a secure network

• Maintain a firewall to protect cardholder data.
• Do not use vendor defaults for system passwords and security parameters

Protect cardholder data

• Protect stored cardholder data.
• Encrypt transmissions of cardholder data over open public networks.

Maintain a vulnerability management program

• Use and regularly update anti-virus software.
• Develop and maintain secure systems and applications.

Implement strong access control measures

• Restrict access to cardholder data on a business need to know basis.
• Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access.
• Restrict physical access to cardholder data.

Regularly monitor and test networks

• Track and monitor all access to network resources cardholder data.
• Regularly test security systems and processes.

Maintain and information security policy

• Maintain a policy that addresses information security.

For more information go to: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/index.shtml

Be sure to read our follow up Blog articles on PCI Compliance.

At SGP Services, we focus on understanding your business and providing the best processing package for the type of transactions your business encounters most.

Any processor can take your transactions. Your business is unique and should not be treated as a round peg in a square hole. Tailoring your processing to your business is our unique difference. We’re here to help you, even after the account is approved and your business is accepting credit cards.

The providers we represent offer:

• Credit Card Processing
• Check/ACH Processing
• Internet Transactions
• Gift/Loyalty Card Programs
• Cash Advance Programs