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	<title>Electronic Payment Experts -Blog</title>
	<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog</link>
	<description>Useful Insights and Information About Electronic Payments for U.S. Merchants</description>
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		<title>A Case For Regulating Debit Card Fees</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An amendment sponsored by Senator Dick Durbin to tackle &#8220;swipe fees&#8221; passed last Thursday in a 64-33 vote. This amendment focuses on how much Interchange fees issuing banks can charge merchants for accepting debit cards. Although this amendment still has to go through several hurdles (Senate must pass broader financial services regulatory reform legislation called [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/a-case-for-regulating-debit-card-fees/</link>
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		<title>Interchange fees cost you more than you realize</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is an interesting article from WalletPop, a consumer finance website.  Click here to read.  It talks about the broader economic impacts of interchange fees. While we don&#8217;t think that reducing interchange will increase jobs as the article asserts, we do agree that Visa and MasterCard have unchecked pricing power. This pricing power manifests every [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/interchange-fees-cost-you-more-than-you-realize/</link>
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		<title>The Basics of PCI</title>
		<description><![CDATA[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 &#38; Noble, Sports Authority or large sophisticated processors like Heartland Payment Systems. Perhaps more acutely, merchants are paying nuisance fees guised with [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/the-basics-of-pci/</link>
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		<title>‘No Signature Required’ Programs Expand</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In an effort to increase the number of &#8220;Small Ticket&#8221; and &#8220;Quick Service&#8221; merchants and increase overall card usage, card networks are expanding the &#8220;No Signature Required&#8221; (NSR) programs while offering chargeback protection for these transactions. According to a Visa survey, &#8220;69 percent of participants surveyed cited either convenience or speed as the primary reason [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/%e2%80%98no-signature-required%e2%80%99-programs-expand/</link>
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		<title>2010 Spring Interchange Updates (Increases) are Here</title>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/2010-spring-interchange-updates-increases-are-here-2/</link>
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		<title>U.S. Retailers Receive $1.1 Billion Payment In Visa/MasterCard Antitrust Case</title>
		<description><![CDATA[From PRNewswire &#8211; http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/New_York/2009/12/08/NY22671 NEW YORK, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ &#8212; In an unprecedented payment to U.S. retailers, the law firm Constantine Cannon LLP today announced that merchants across the nation will receive checks this week for approximately $1.1 billion as part of a landmark antitrust settlement over Visa and MasterCard-branded signature debit cards.The payments, which [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/u-s-retailers-receive-1-1-billion-payment-in-visamastercard-antitrust-case/</link>
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		<title>CFO Magazine Article &#8211; Use of Third Party Services</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I found the following article interesting and relevant, especially given the focus of Optimized Payments.   There are so many subtlties, nuances, and changing dynamics in the marketplace when it some to the procurement of non-core products and services that it would be difficult for a typical buyer to appreciate.  And when it comes to buying [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/cfo-magazine-article-use-of-third-party-services/</link>
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		<title>GAO Releases Interchange Report</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its report on interchange as required by the CARD Act that was enacted earlier this year. Read the full report here.  Some merchant groups like the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) released statements praising the report (read full statement). The statements goes on to say, &#8220;The [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/gao-releases-interchange-report/</link>
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		<title>Focus on Interchange Fees</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Two articles spotlight the focus on interchange fees and potential for reform in Congress]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/focus-on-interchange-fees/</link>
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		<title>Card Fees Pit Retailers Against Banks</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Here's a good article from the New York Times titled, "Card Fees Pit Retailers Against Banks". The article was published two days ago and it summarizes the latest efforts by retailers to lobby for interchange reform.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.optimizedpmts.com/blog/index.php/card-fees-pit-retailers-against-banks/</link>
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