With the threats to data security in e-commerce, web application security should be the on the top of the list of concerns for any merchant. If a survey conducted by the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is any example, organizations and merchants are only responding to security threats when they should be testing the […]
With 80% of online shoppers using credit cards, you can’t afford NOT to take credit cards. Did you know that merchants offering credit cards as a payment option increase their profitability by estimated 50%? With the inherent advantages involving credit card processing, should you really go with your initial instinct and choose the cheapest option? […]
Non-Qualified I frequently get calls from merchants who say they were quoted one rate, but claim different rates are showing up on their statements. Unfortunately, merchants can experience a rate increase or surcharge because of the type of card your customers are using, such as sky miles cards and rewards cards. Another cause of increased […]
Credit Cards Fraud Risks With fraud on the rise, online merchants face increasing risks. In card-not-present transactions, there are two basic levels of credit card validation used to validate that credit cards presented for payment actually belong to the person initiating the transaction. The first involves using the Luhn algorithm (also called the “Mod 10 Method […]
Online Shopping On The Rise online shopping Online shopping is at an all-time high. According to, Statista Portal over 1.66 Billion consumers have shopped online. This is up 40% in the last two years. The most purchased items are books, clothes, accessories, video games, airline tickets and electronic equipment. Purchasing goods and services online has […]
Most merchants like to think they are savvy when it comes to shopping for a merchant account. I mean how hard can it be, you just look at the rate, find the cheapest one and sign up, right? It is no wonder that many merchants feel taken advantage of by their processor and angry with their sales […]
Shopping Cart Features and Security When starting a new business, most merchants generally focus on the features of their shopping cart and how the website itself looks. We pick our colors and how much items cost. We look for how the customer will enter their order, or how we will track shipping. The most important […]
VISA and MasterCard Rules and Regulations Many merchant violations of the VISA and MasterCard rules don’t even know they have committed a violation. Most stores don’t have any procedural information about how to process a credit card sale as part of their employee training other than hitting the “sale” button, and why should they? Are […]
This spring, U.S. Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Bill Shuster (R-PA), introduced HR 2382, the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009. Welch, the bill’s author, states that “credit card fees are killing small businesses.” The act, targeted to help small retailers, would limit the fees charged to merchants. It would also prohibit charging higher […]
According to MasterCard’s presentation at the Goldman Sachs US Financial Services Conference on Dec 8, retail sales are showing positive signs – relative to card payment usage. They cited November as the third consecutive month of growth since July, 2008. They attributed the growth to changes in consumer attitudes. Consumers are focusing more on quality […]
