I mentioned in a previous blog that all of us can learn from the massive retail data breaches that were announced during the holidays, and we should be using the knowledge as a tool to strengthen protection of our own data. We’re finding out more about these digital heists all the time. A big disclosure […]
As almost everyone has heard, a number of large retailers suffered massive data breaches over the Christmas season. While all of the details around these attacks have not been made public, we can all learn from what is happening. Over the years, we in the retail industry have gotten very good at building walls around […]
Most of us have heard of BYOB, a popular acronym for Bring Your Own Bottle. The big new thing in the credit card processing arena appears to be BYOD – Bring Your Own Device. Bringing your own smart phone, tablet or other mobile device into the part of your business that accepts credit and debit […]
What happens if the credit or debit card from one of your customers is declined or flagged for pick up during a purchase? I was asked recently about those messages. Here’s what they mean and how you should respond when processing a card transaction. Being aware of what to do – and then doing it […]
Remember the public service announcements of the 1970s and ’80s asking parents, “Do you know where your children are?” As a business owner in today’s dangerous business environment, you should be asking yourself, “Do I know where my customers’ data are?” I had dinner recently with a colleague who was complaining that while traveling in […]
I wrote recently about the proposed settlement to the anti-trust class-action lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard that has received the courts’ tentative approval (“Credit card surcharges: the good, the bad and the ugly…”). The proposed settlement has received a lot of media attention due to the size – over $6 billion – and the fact […]
As of Sunday, January 27, 2013, merchants can for the first time elect to pass along the cost of processing a credit card transaction to the cardholder in the form a surcharge on the purchase price. This is a result of a recent class-action lawsuit settlement involving the major card brands (Visa and MasterCard). If […]
What is happening to the look of credit and debit cards, and what do those design changes mean to retailers? After many years of forcing banks to adhere to standard formats for designing credit and debit cards, the major card brands (Visa and MasterCard) have loosened up on their strict requirements. This has allowed card-issuing […]
I don’t know if the Mayan calendar (which appears to end abruptly later this year) indicates some impending disaster or not, but every business should have a detailed disaster plan in place in case something happens on 12/21/12 or any other time. Super Storm Sandy, with the billions of dollars in destruction it has caused […]
In the world of merchant processing, as with many aspects of daily life, the only constant seems to be “change.” And there are several important changes coming in merchant processing. Some of these changes are available today, and some aren’t going to happen for a number of years – but it is prudent to understand […]