March 2010
Monthly Archive
The Basics of PCI
srini 26 Mar 2010 | : Education, General
There is significant amount of buzz and concern about PCI compliance with merchants. Merchants are particularly concerned when they hear of data breaches from household names like TJX Companies, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority or large sophisticated processors like Heartland Payment Systems. Perhaps more acutely, merchants are paying nuisance fees guised with names like PCI compliance or PCI non-compliance. And now many processors are offering PCI insurance in the event of a data breach. Like extended warranties, PCI insurance doesn’t make sense for most companies. There are specific situations where PCI insurance is valuable but you should really understand your organization’s card data storage vulnerabilities and map those vulnerabilities with what PCI insurance covers.
‘No Signature Required’ Programs Expand
srini 25 Mar 2010 | : Education, General
In an effort to increase the number of “Small Ticket” and “Quick Service” merchants and increase overall card usage, card networks are expanding the “No Signature Required” (NSR) programs while offering chargeback protection for these transactions. According to a Visa survey, “69 percent of participants surveyed cited either convenience or speed as the primary reason for using their credit or debit card.” Increased convenience by not having to sign for a transaction leads greater card usage and faster checkout for the consumer. This convenience is also enjoyed by merchants and card networks through increased transactional revenue. Continue Reading »
2010 Spring Interchange Updates (Increases) are Here
srini 13 Mar 2010 | : Analysis, Education, General
Visa, MasterCard, and the PIN debit networks are starting to release their annual Spring interchange and dues updates. For the most part, the updates reflect interchange increases that will be passed on to merchants, and will drive up the overall effective cost of electronic payments.
Visa has taken a major step by pricing a Visa signature debit card (check card) transaction the same as a Visa Interlink PIN debit transaction, both at 0.95% + $0.20 plus assessment or switch fee, respectively. Other PIN debit networks are also increasing their interchange rates or eliminating the cap on interchange fees, and thus, are slowly eroding the cost differential between signature and PIN debit transactions. Star was the last major debit network to remove its cap on interchange fees. Â Continue Reading »
