Archives

• What accessories are needed to improve a tablet cash register

  • Tablet POS

  July 30, 2014

  Every company is looking for ways to improve operations while saving money. In recent years, this idea has led to an increase in the adoption rates of various technologies, one of which was the tablet POS system.

  Mobility is something that every company is dealing with, and the reason is that these devices have evolved to the point that they can handle business critical tasks. This includes acting as a cash register. However, for it to be successful, there are several accessories needed.

  A recent article from TabTimes examined the different peripherals that are available. The list includes mainly traditional tools like a cash drawer, receipt printer, barcode and a credit card reader, as well as a stand for the tablet. If you are using this system to replace a traditional cash … more

• Majority of consumers believe in security of EMV

  • EMV

  July 29, 2014

  Security is a major topic of conversation in the payment industry. Every major breach is news and consumers and businesses alike are putting a higher priority on having the right security features in place.

  Recently, NXP sponsored a survey by Vision Critical of 1011 American adults to examine consumer feelings toward EMV chip-card technology and POS security in general. The results show that that 69 percent of respondents believe that an EMV chip would make their credit payments more secure, while only 5 percent believe the opposite would be true.

  "There is a trust in technology and [in] their financial institutions to ensure their safety," Brintha Koether, the segment director for payments at NXP, told eWeek in a recent article.

  She added that many consumers in the U.S. appear to … more

• Business cite several reasons for upgrading POS systems

  • PCI Compliance

  July 24, 2014

  

  More organizations are looking at their POS systems in a new way. The ever evolving technology landscape has sped up the decline of traditional systems and increased the need to upgrade to a new solution that embraces the latest in technological innovation.

  Recently, Vertical Systems Reseller released its third annual "State of the POS Market Study 2014." The research looked at the point of sale market across numerous industries and asked the question, why upgrade? The answers to this were numerous, but hit on a number of core payment processing challenges and trends.

  Topping the list, cited by 53 percent of the respondents, is PCI compliance. This is a challenge that businesses never fully conquered because PCI regulations are always changing. Keeping customer and payment … more

• Ballpark deploys tablet POS to speed up transactions

  • Tablet POS

  July 22, 2014

  

  One of the main reasons an organization would want to upgrade its POS system is the speed of processing transactions. The longer a customer has to wait for a credit card payment to be processed, the longer the line at the cash register, which can heighten the level of frustration for those waiting. As any business knows, upset customers can cause major problems.

  A recent case study profiled some moves made by the Joliet Slammers, a minor league baseball team. During the most recent offseason, the organization hired a new Director of Food and Beverage named Tom Fremarek. He started looking at the biggest customer service issues that the organization has faced and found multiple complaints about the wait times for processing credit cards.

  The manual registers and … more

• How hard is the EMV deadline?

  • EMV

  July 21, 2014

  One of the biggest topics in the EMV chip card conversation is the looming October 1, 2015 deadline for banks to deploy it. Over the last year, talk surrounding the technology has increased significantly, especially in the wake of the Target security breach. After this debacle, Congress summoned executives from the company to answer questions.

  While all paths seem to be heading toward this solution, the road is not as clear as you may think. A recent article from Fox Business examined several frequently asked questions about EMV, one of which is about the deadline. Many experts seem to believe that this deadline will not be hard.

  "Don't expect a big bang in October of 2015," Doug Johnson, vice president of risk management policy for the American Bankers Association, told the news … more

• Examining the murky waters of credit card swipe fees

  • Interchange Regulation

  July 16, 2014

  

  This blog has been covering the ongoing issues, both legal and regulatory, surrounding credit and debit card fees and rules for some time. Recently, NACS featured a guest column from Jeff Miller, the president of Miller Oil Co. and the NACS chairman from 2010 through 2011. He wrote about how swipe fees are really hurting businesses.

  Card fees (or swipe fees in retail environments) represent the cost that businesses pay in order to accept cards and process these payments from approval code through settlement of funds to their business bank accounts.  While these fees vary depending on the provider, most of the underlying costs are largely regulated either by the Fed or by the card companies themselves, who publish Interchange in the public domain and are set the same for all banks … more

• AmEx starts trial over interchange fees

  • Interchange Litigation

  July 14, 2014

  

  The legal battles between businesses and credit card companies have mainly seen Visa and MasterCard as the defendants. However, a trial started this week that has American Express defending itself from allegations from the Justice Department that it is trying to stop competition.

  According to an article from Time Money, the battle has been ongoing for nearly four years. The Justice Department originally brought the suit against Visa, MasterCard and American Express in 2010. Visa and MasterCard quickly settled, but AmEx fought.

  The allegations stem from American Express' "take it or leave it" policy. Merchants are required to pay a fee - generally between 2 percent and 3 percent of the total purchase - every time they process a credit transaction. The government claims American Express … more

• Best practices for implementing small business credit card acceptance

  • Credit Card Terminals

  July 02, 2014

  The decision to accept or not accept credit card payments is something that every business owner will need to make.  Because it takes research, it is advisable to not wait until the last minute.  Proper planning is essential to identifying the best payment service providers for your business. 

  A recent article from Business News Daily laid out some advice that every organization should consider when it comes to implementing credit card payment processing. These include:

  Educate yourself on the lingo

  Partner with a credit card processor that meets your needs

  Understand data security and PCI compliance requirements

  Know the processing fees

  As we have written about in the past, for those just starting out in business we suggest companies consider their payment … more

by Ty Hardison

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