Contents tagged with Best Practices

  • Holiday returns eating into your profits? Here's how to lower your return costs

    January 08, 2016
    Don't let returns cut into your holiday profits any more than possible.

    Every holiday season, as consumers scramble to purchase all the presents on their lists, retailers enjoy the boost in sales as a little gift of their own. However, they are soon snapped back to reality when revenue falls back to normal in January and customer returns start to eat into the stellar profits they recorded before the holidays.

    In fact, most U.S. e-retailers can expect return rates of between 20 and 40 percent of their total online sales, according to Rakuten Super Logistics' recently published "Holiday Returns Handbook."

    "Most U.S. e-retailers can expect return rates of between 20 and 40 percent."

    For businesses without an optimized return process, these returns can cut into profits beyond just the cost of issuing reimbursements — they may lose even more on … more

  • The partner of choice: Vantage

    September 14, 2015
    Choose a merchant account provider with the best customer service and commitment to help you succeed.

    When looking to partner with a merchant service provider, avoid settling with the ordinary and partner with the extraordinary. At Vantage, clients will benefit from our payment system consulting expertise and our state of the art credit and debit card processing services.

    Successfully navigating through the complexities of pricing, technology and regulations with card processing can be difficult, but with a professional consultant and partner to guide you through the process, your business operations and profitability will have never been better. Our experienced team has serviced every kind of merchant, therefore we will work with you to determine what payment solution is best for your industry and business needs, along with providing you with resources and tools to best … more

  • Streamline escrow services with DepositGuard

    August 26, 2015
    Whether you own one rental unit or multiple income properties, you've likely encountered the hassle and frustration that comes from collecting money from tenants.

    Managing vacation properties can be a tedious process of collecting payments, holding security deposits in escrow and transitioning funds back to renters as soon as the stay has ended. For properties that are rented frequently on a seasonal or year-round basis, this can get particularly painstaking. That's why we we extend DepositGuard, an escrow service, as one of the payment solutions we offer at Vantage. 

    Vacation rental markets naturally have a lot of clientele turnover. If you own or manage a dozen properties that are rented weekly, you may have hundreds of clients and renters in a single summer. Without a streamlined solution, that makes hundreds of security deposits and other payments to hold and process on an individual basis. You also may need to manage rental trust … more

  • Missouri-based retailer accepts Apple Pay in all stores

    August 04, 2015
    Missouri -based retailer issues Apple Pay at all its locations.

    A St. Louis, Missouri-based retailer has now opted to let its customers pay in a "simple, secure and private way" with Apple Pay, according to the company's press release. Schnucks, which has 98 locations in five different states, has evaluated its business model and clientele to determine that shoppers at all its grocery stores can leave their wallets at home and utilize their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch to pay in an easy and secure way. Payments Leader reports that Apple Pay uses tokenization, technology that replaces the 16 digit card number with a randomly generated 16-digit number.

    "Credit card industry executives believe that tokenization is a new standard that is going to 'shift fraud patterns' in the future, successfully preventing retail hacking incidents that have … more

  • Chargeback reason codes to be aware of with the EMV liability shift

    August 03, 2015
    Make sure that your business is EMV-compliant.

    Retail Dive reports that of the businesses surveyed by Randstad Technologies, only 58 percent stated they are actively preparing or making the EMV chip transition. Despite this resistance, the same survey reported that two-thirds of IT professionals said that chip cards are needed to enhance fraud security for businesses.

    Each year, card fraud costs the U.S. economy around $8 billion, however, many experts have stated that if there is not increased adoption of EMV technology, this number will rise to over $10 billion. One of the major efforts behind this EMV transition is to lessen the chances of card fraud, yet through businesses delaying the transition, they are instead facing an even greater liability. 

    This October deadline, is not truly a deadline, as it is … more

  • Google launches Eddystone, an open-source Bluetooth LE beacon

    July 30, 2015
    Google is launching a new, open-source Bluetooth Low Energy beacon format.

    The world of beacons has just gotten more convenient. Ars Technica reports that Google will now be launching a new, cross platform, open-source format for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, called Eddystone. It was created to combat the problems in existing beacon services and unlike its predecessors, it is easily compatible with both iOS and Android devices.  

    This new beacon technology will be able to support multiple frame types, which will perform a wide array of functions. Google stated that existing beacons can be tailored to fit the Eddystone format, which will mean that different beacon vendors will be able to use the same system for varying purposes. NFC World reports that Bluetooth beacons are one-way communications, where the goal is to provide a means … more

  • Government fees demand flexible payment option

    July 15, 2015
    Managing a city, town or county is no small task, particularly when it comes to collecting fees.

    Managing a city, town or county is no small task, particularly when it comes to collecting fees. Residents may accrue traffic violations, parking tickets and other debts that penalize irresponsible conduct and help maintain the efficiency of the community's revenue cycle. This is to say nothing of taxes, license fees and other sources of revenue. Having the ability to collect on these payments effectively is critical to keeping the community's finances healthy. 

    However, this is easier said than done in places where paper systems are still dominant. The long lines and red tape that many consider synonymous with government can make it challenging for administrators to manage the volume of payments they're due to receive. One of the best ways to accelerate the revenue cycle for a … more

  • With LoopPay, Samsung could take early lead in mobile payments

    June 25, 2015
    Samsung stands to take what observers call an

    One of the hurdles to implementation for mobile payment technology is the cost of adopting new physical systems compatible with methods like Apple Pay. Samsung stands to take what observers call an "early lead" on the marketplace due to its acquisition of LoopPay. 

    "LoopPay developed a technology called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) which will be integrated into new Samsung phones," reports John Heggesteun of Business Insider. "The technology will allow mobile users to pass their phones over a typical credit card reader to make a payment. In addition, Samsung Pay users will also be able to pay by presenting a barcode to be scanned at checkout."

    This means that a higher number of merchants should be able to accept Samsung Pay payments sooner than its competitors, as the … more

  • How complex are your payment interface needs?

    June 17, 2015
    One of the benefits of technological innovation is that in stores and restaurants, a point-of-sale system often performs other functions.

    One of the benefits of technological innovation is that in stores and restaurants, a point-of-sale system often performs other functions. From workforce management to ordering and timekeeping, many different services can be integrated into a single, unified system. Moreover, many companies have expanded to multiple locations, so consistent platforms across those outlets is a priority. 

    While this has streamlined digital transactions across multiple channels of a business model, it presents potential hurdles to upgrading old card reading devices. As the October EMV migration deadline nears, studies have shown that many businesses will take their time to get compatible with the new chip-and-pin system. The bigger and more complex an enterprise and the more heavily dependent it … more

  • Finding the right payment model for your clientele

    May 18, 2015
    One of the best ways to identify payment processing models that are appropriate for your business is to learn from your customers.

    One of the best ways to identify payment processing models that are appropriate for your business is to learn from your customers. For leaders at supermarket chain Whole Foods, this has meant listening to their sought-after millennial demographic for direction about adopting Apple Pay and other digital payment options. 

    "We are, through the use of technology, building out and extending ourselves where our customers are whether it's through Instacart for home delivery, which we're doing more than any other grocery store in America now," Co-CEO Walter Robb said during the company's earnings call. "And we're really just getting started whether it's through affinity, which builds a personal connection to customers who will allow to customize their relationship with us [or] … more