Are Your Vendors PCI Compliant? Visa, who has always been the strictest association regarding PCI compliance, data security, and cardholder protection, has set the pace again. Merchants who accept multiple card types are required to follow the strictest card operating guidelines to become PCI compliant which usually come from Visa. They issued series of mandates […]
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 […]
In January, MasterCard made an effort to enforce new regulations and best practice guidelines pertaining to online direct marketing – specifically “negative option” marketing, which they consider to be a “brand damaging” practice. The FTC Negative Option staff report, featuring five key marketing principles, triggered both Visa and MasterCard to make changes to their operating […]
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 […]
As a merchant, you accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. You have learned that each card brand has its own set of data security standards guidelines. So, which one do you follow? Good news! The card industry has made that decision for you. A Little History The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) was […]
It seems as though anytime a company gets large enough, there will always be people who feel it is unfair and begin to wage war on what they don’t know. I have talked about Visa and MasterCard having to pay large settlements to Discover after a long anti-trust battle. Although Visa lost that battle, the war on […]
We have seen the contactless payment technology and their functionality pop up in many stores over the last few years. You have probably seen the popular commercial where people are walking in an efficient circle, taping their card onto a contactless device, until one guy pulls out cash and the whole line comes to a […]
Most people don’t distinguish a difference between Visa and MasterCard – both are champions going head to head in a fight to see which plastic is going to be in your wallet. As far as the average person is concerned, the two cards are identical. In most other industries when you have two similar companies, […]
Visa has always been on the cusp of technology and is always looking for new and innovative ways to expand their sphere of influence. Visa is launching four new programs that allow payments and services via mobile devices which will introduce the start of mobile technology in the payment processing industry. Two such programs are […]
In recent news, Discover Financial Services has been going round and round in a lawsuit with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. Discover claims restrictions were placed by Visa and MasterCard – the world’s two largest card companies – on banks to stifle competition and violate antitrust laws. Visa and MasterCard argue that Discover simply has […]
