Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) August 15, 2008 — Ingenico, the world’s leader in secure transactions and payment solutions, announced today that they have received Class A certification for their payment transaction terminals running the new EuroPay MasterCard Visa (EMV) application created for Chase Paymentech Solutions. The Ingenico i3070, i5310 and i7780 terminals, running the EMV application, will allow Chase Paymentech merchants to accept chip-enabled credit cards. These credit cards contain a small microchip that securely stores encrypted data using sophisticated security programs. Cardholders must enter a PIN at the time of purchase to complete a transaction. This “chip and pin” combination provides a much higher level of protection against unauthorized or fraudulent use of a credit card.

“Chase Paymentech’s certification of the Ingenico terminals is another example of Chase Paymentech’s ongoing commitment to provide advanced technological solutions to its merchants and partners in Canada,” said Paul Browne, VP, Operations for Chase Paymentech Solutions. “As the Canadian payment card industry moves towards chip technology, the EMV standard will provide an even more secure payment environment; assist in reducing card fraud and increase security of card transactions.”

“The requirement for PIN entry on credit card purchases is changing the way restaurants manage card acceptance,” said Lisa Shipley, Sr. VP, Sales & Marketing, Ingenico North America. “Restaurants are now beginning to use Ingenico’s portable and secure payment terminals, allowing the server to bring the transaction directly to the customer. Our product offerings provide a number of solutions that fit many needs, and the software and certification from Chase Paymentech ensure that each transaction is not only convenient, but safe and secure.”

Ingenico’s i5310, i3070 and i7780 are chip-enabled products using the new EMV application. The terminals prompt users of chip-enabled cards for a PIN number on credit card transactions. The i7780, featuring Ingenico’s Pay@Table solution, is a portable and secure payment terminal that allows the server to bring the payment terminal to the table. The i5310 adds the convenience of a built-in, secure PIN pad. The i3070 allows the merchant to locate the terminal out of reach of the consumer for aesthetic or environmental reasons while providing an easy-to-use key pad that can be handed directly to the customer.

About Ingenico

Throughout the world businesses rely on Ingenico for secure and expedient electronic transaction acceptance. Ingenico products leverage proven technology, established standards and unparalleled ergonomics to provide optimal reliability, versatility and usability. This comprehensive range of products is complemented by a global array of services and partnerships, enabling businesses in a number of vertical sectors to accept transactions anywhere their business takes them. For more information about Ingenico, a leading supplier of electronic acceptance technology, please visit www.ingenico-us.com.

About Chase Paymentech

In Canada, Chase Paymentech Solutions is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and is an affiliate of Chase Paymentech Solutions, LLC. As a leading payment processor and a single source for debit and all major credit cards, the company offers a full suite of advanced payment solutions, including point-of-sale and wireless terminals, electronic gift card programs and secure e-commerce capabilities. Chase Paymentech Solutions, LLC, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is the world’s largest merchant acquirer for businesses accepting payments via point-of-sale, hospitality, Internet, catalogue and recurring billing. The privately-held company is an end-to-end processor for merchants of all sizes and industries. In 2007, the privately held company processed approximately 19.7 billion payment transactions, with more than $719 billion in annual bankcard and debit volume.

Chase Paymentech’s customer base reflects the most respected global brands, including 70 percent of leading ecommerce business and almost 600,000 merchants in over 1 million locations worldwide.

I don’t have the answer for which Retail POS Solution you should choose, but I do have some extremely important tips.

1. Do not enter into a long term contract for your payment processor unless you have been in business for at least 3-5 years.
2. Do not choose a POS solution that has limited choices for who will do your credit card processing.

This is a true story. I contacted a specialty retail shoe store that I shop at to discuss their credit card processing. They are using http://www.ricssoftware.com/ which seems like an excellent solution for this merchant store. In fact, it seems like a great solution for any shoe retailer, their target audience. But no where does it mention, that I could find, that the customer has NO CHOICE about who their payment processor is. That’s right, no choice! RICS is only compatible with ONE merchant service provider.

I talked to RICS about who they use. It’s a quality company, but they don’t necessarily provide the best solution for the retailers. In fact, I’d bet that 50-70% of their retailer merchant accounts could save significantly on credit card processing with a different merchant service provider. I’m not guessing. I know that a certain portion of them are too small to realize any significant benefit. Most of the rest of them are on a price plan usually reserved for very small businesses, or new businesses.

New businesses always pay a premium for merchant card processing fees. That’s because they are higher risk than established businesses. The most stringent underwriters, those that you can get the best deals from, require two years healthy financial statements. Once your business is established you are in a better position to get a permanent solution for managing credit card costs. What do I mean by permanent? One that enables the merchant to see how they are qualifying for interchange levels and what interchange levels they are hitting. Without that transparency, you can’t even begin to manage your costs.

In summary, make sure you choose a retail POS solution that is OPEN and doesn’t lock you into a single vendor solution- whether it be hardware, merchant service provider, or some other service. The more flexibility you have, the easier it will be to grow and expand later without disruption to your business.

Recent alert from Chase Paymentech for Tier 4 Retail merchants (less than $450M in Interlink sales/ 13 M transactions):
Interlink Network = $.75% + $.15 (no cap), switch fee $.04
Pulse network- added new small ticket category- registration is required to receive this rate

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Customers process most transactions using the Visa/Mastercard Interchange system which includes a % of transaction sale, plus per transaction fee for most businesses. The debit network works outside of interchange. Most businesses access this network by installing a PIN PAD attachment to their terminals. The debit network enables merchants to process most transactions for a FLAT PER TRANSACTION FEE instead of a PERCENTAGE FEE. If you do not have a pin pad or do not know if you are taking advantage of the lower cost debit network, CALL NOW.