Contents tagged with Best Practices

  • Finding the right payment processing provider for your enterprise

    May 14, 2015
    This week, Nerd Wallet conducted a cost-benefit analysis of expanding enterprises to include payment card processing systems.

    This week, Nerd Wallet conducted a cost-benefit analysis of expanding enterprises to include payment card processing systems. While few industries rely on cash-only models of doing business in 2015, some holdouts may not be sold on the benefit of accepting card payments. 

    Some of the benefits included broader reach to new customer bases, ease and convenience, reduced trips to banks to make cash deposits and streamlined accounting. Emily Starbuck Crone also noted that in competitive industries, giving customers the option to pay with their cards can help businesses gain an advantage. She cited a vendor at a farmer's market as an example: In the past, these have been largely cash-based enterprises, but some customers might not have the physical currency to make a purchase. … more

  • April blog roundup: Data security, mobile payments, Congressional oversight

    May 11, 2015
    In case you missed it, here are some of the topics we covered on the Vantage Viewpoint blog last month.

    From mobile payments to data security, April was an active month in the payment processing space. In case you missed it, here are some of the topics we covered on the Vantage Viewpoint blog last month:

    Not all businesses require EMV terminals: Does yours?

    Key takeaway: Just because a company doesn't require a new EMV terminal doesn't mean there aren't steps it can take to protect itself and its customers.

    3 mistakes when selecting a payment processor

    Key takeaway: With a host of regulatory and compliance considerations to make as well as cost and convenience, a third party service provider can help decision makers find the ideal solution.

    Hospitality industry routinely the target of breaches

    Key takeaway: All participants in the hospitality industry can be susceptible to … more

  • 93 percent of retailers say customers want more payment options

    May 05, 2015
    In the payment processing space, providing customers with options for purchasing goods or services can improve their experience and open your business up to new customers.

    In 2015, convenience is a primary driver of innovation. In the payment processing space, providing customers with options for purchasing goods or services can improve their experience and open your business up to new customers. According to a survey by market research firm Ovum called "2015 Global Payments Insight," a customer-focused approach to omnichannel payment processing is catching on among retailers. 

    "While half of the retailers recognized in their responses that the customer is king, and the key driver to increase their payments investment, many are still hesitant to invest in technologies they are wary of," explains PYMNTS. "It's worth noting that 93 percent of retailers surveyed said they believe consumers want access to a broad selection of payments tools — … more

  • Penetration tests should be sophisticated and controlled

    May 01, 2015
    PYMNTS spoke to Graham Steel, CEO of Cryptosense, a company that creates software for testing vulnerabilities in secure systems.

    Earlier this year, we discussed the importance of conducting penetration tests. Recently, PYMNTS spoke to Graham Steel, CEO of Cryptosense, a company that creates software for testing vulnerabilities in secure systems. According to the site, Cryptosense focuses on back-end security gaps in PINs, security keys and other forms of encoded information. 

    "What we usually find are just little mistakes, little configuration errors or small things that are being done wrong," said Steel. "The things we find wrong are often easy and simple but they are hidden among all the other functions that are found in payments back office application. They are shallow, but they are hard to find because of all the other layers."

    One of the best ways to ensure that your system … more

  • Most merchants say high-profile breaches have served as wake-up call

    April 30, 2015
    Although a significant number of merchants have been proactive about reviewing their payment security strategies, 69 percent is far from 100 percent.

    After a year of high profile breaches, some might assume that merchants are on high alert about payment card security. And while a majority say that the spate of compromises has caused them to think seriously about the issue, about 30 percent say the media attention has had little effect on their approach to data protection. 

    On this blog, we just discussed the findings of "Data Security in the Evolving Payments Ecosystem," a report by Experian and the Ponemon Institute. One of the study's areas of focus was on the response from merchants in relation to breaches at companies like Target, Home Depot and Michaels.

    "Sixty-nine percent said highly publicized data breaches did increase their awareness about securing their payment processes," summarizes Roy Urrico of Payment Union … more

  • Study shows merchants value convenience over security

    April 30, 2015
    Despite the hype that surrounds new payment methods, the most important aspect of data security is doing what you do, well.

    It seems that each week there's a new payment method on the market. Whether it's the launch of a new mobile payment platform or the looming October deadline for EMV migration, merchants may feel a sense of urgency to implement systems that give their customers a variety of options for purchases. However, a new study by Dublin, Ireland-based Experian and the Michigan-based Ponemon Institute found that retailers may need to realign their priorities when it comes to new payment platforms. 

    "While risk and security concerns loom, large and new technologies are being deployed because they offer vastly improved customer convenience. Throughout our study, we found a large percentage of companies are likely to keep moving forward with deployment of new technologies … more

  • Target to pay $19 million settlement following breach

    April 29, 2015
    This month, it was announced that Target will pay as much as $19 million to MasterCard and banks to address losses sustained by customers.

    The last year has been rocky for payment card security. With a spate of high-profile breaches in the retail industry, corporations face costly settlements to rectify the damage caused by compromised payment card data. This month, it was announced that Target will pay as much as $19 million to MasterCard and banks to address losses sustained by customers. 

    "Under the agreement, Target will make available up to $19 million in alternative recovery offers to eligible banks and credit unions across the globe," MasterCard said in a statement. "These funds will settle their claims for operational costs and fraud-related losses on MasterCard-branded cards believed by MasterCard to have been affected by the data breach."

    While the money will have a restorative effect for individuals and … more

  • 3 mistakes when selecting a payment processor

    April 22, 2015
    Selecting a payment processing system can be a daunting task for business owners, especially when updating an old system.

    Selecting a payment processing system can be a daunting task for business owners, especially when updating an old system. With a host of regulatory and compliance considerations to make as well as cost and convenience, a third party service provider can help decision makers find the ideal solution.

    On the Small Business Trends blog, Shawn Hessinger suggested some of these common mistakes businesses make when selecting a payment processing platform:

    Not getting enough fraud protection. 

    Over the last two years, a spate of high-profile breaches has made payment card data security chief among business leader concerns. Hessinger suggests selecting a provider that will work with your company to help alleviate the burden of fraud, from an immediate response to preventative … more

  • Not all businesses require EMV terminals: Does yours?

    April 07, 2015
    Do I need an EMV terminal for phone and online transactions?

    At Vantage, we routinely field questions about payment processing technology. Clients come to us every day with their queries: sometimes specific ones about their business model while others become more frequently asked. With the growing buzz surrounding EMV chip card rollout, driven in part by a frenzy to sell terminal hardware, here is one of our top EMV FAQs to date:

    Question: "My business processes all credit card payments online and never sees a physical credit card because we receive this information over the phone.  Is this EMV-ready terminal something that we will need to acquire?" Answer: If payments online and over the phone are the only transactions your company manages, then no, you won't need an EMV terminal. EMV is being implemented in an attempt to prevent … more

  • Verizon: 80 percent of merchants fail interim PCI assessments

    April 01, 2015
    According to Verizon, 80 percent of merchants fail interim PCI compliance assessments.

    On this blog, we discussed previews of the 2015 Verizon PCI Compliance Report from January, which suggested that fewer than one-third of merchants remained compliant between audits. According to the full report released this month, that figure could be as low as one-quarter. The firm states that 80 percent of all retailers fail interim PCI audits, leaving a sizeable majority of merchants vulnerable to cyber attacks through most of the year. 

    "Today's cybersecurity landscape is constantly changing," said Rodolphe Simonetti, managing director, professional services for Verizon Enterprise Solutions. "Compliance at a point in time isn't sufficient to protect data. Putting the focus on making compliance sustainable is key. It must be a part of day-to-day activities within an … more