New chip reading cards and devices are popping up everywhere, in lines at grocery stores and gas stations, coffee shops and beyond. What is it exactly and how can it benefit your business? EMV ExplainedIt came out of nowhere here in the United States. All of a sudden stores now [...]
Why are Lodging/Auto-Rental merchants different?Many merchants and customers are unaware that Lodging and Auto-rental companies have different requirements for credit card processing. You may be asking yourself… why? The main reason is due to the fact that these merchant types allow for credit cards to have extended authorizations. Think about the last [...]
To set the stage – there are two distinct portions of any credit card transaction. The first is known as the authorization, which happens in real-time, when you swipe/dip/key the card into your system. You’ll receive a real-time response from the card-issuing bank of “approved” or “declined”. The second step [...]
What is Future Delivery?You may be wondering, “why is an annual membership risky?” – great question! First, let’s define a term that we can use throughout this discussion. Whenever you (the merchant) sell a good/service that you haven’t delivered yet, then you are engaging in future delivery. Just like it sounds, future delivery [...]
What's the deal with EMV for Restaurants?EMV cards (otherwise known as “Chip” cards) are the way of the future. If you haven’t seen them already, you will soon as merchants are required to start accepting EMV transactions in October of 2015. For many retailers, this transition will be easy and smooth. [...]
Technically, you are allowed to surcharge your customers for credit card transactions, but there are several specific restrictions you need to be aware of: There are four states which actively prohibit this practice by law. These laws were created with the intention of protecting consumers, and stopping merchants from surcharging [...]
A Point-of-Sale (POS) system is an integrated, full-featured system designed to handle all “Storefront” (aka brick-and-mortar) needs of the merchant. In the old days, a POS was just the cash register. You can think of a POS like a cash register with a brain. Nowadays, most merchant point of sale [...]
Signing up for SNAPThe government-funded SNAP program is built to help low-income families get access to government funding to purchase food. Once a consumer signs up for SNAP benefits through the government, they’ll be issued an EBT card that’s pre-loaded with funds that they can spend on food and other [...]
Visa CPS (or Custom Payment Service) outlines the criteria your transactions need to meet in order to gain access to the lowest possible interchange rates. To help protect merchants and consumers, Visa has defined several criteria that merchants must meet when submitting transactions through the network. These criteria are designed to help [...]
What Does MCC Stand For?A Merchant Category Code is used by Visa/Mastercard/Discover to classify different businesses that accept their cards. By defining a specific MCC code for each business, the card associations are able to regulate what types of cards are accepted, what types of interchange classifications are granted, and how [...]