Last week I spoke with a cloud accounting and financial software solutions company executive regarding their vision for secure cloud payments. He indicated they’ve probably fielded over one hundred inquiries from payment gateways that them to integrate their gateway. With no perceived differentiation, the software company recently chose two they thought would satisfy their clients both with domestic and international needs for at least a few years. What critical characteristic is missing from these payment gateways for mid-size and larger accounting firms, professional services, and wholeseale distributors? Interchange Management.

The impact of failing to implement automated interchange management is .50% to 1% or more in direct incremental fees above the lowest qualified interchange rate. For a company with $150M in annual credit card processing, it equates to $150,000 in Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization in lost profit. Is a gateway with automated interchange management intelligence important? You’re darn right it is!

A payment gateway facilitates the transfer of money from the buyer’s account to the merchant’s account, including checks, and credit and debit cards. A payment gateway service authenticates and automates electronic payments from the shoppers account to the merchants account.

Most payment gateways remind me of computer programming back in the 80′s. They’re a simple script, but with added security, that pass whatever data you input. Remember the old adage, ‘garbage in, garbage out’? The result is the user who processes orders, often accounts receivable,  is pretty much in charge of what a merchant pays for accepting credit cards and the risks associated with acceptance. This is crazy. How much does a user really understand about interchange rates and rules?  If you’re not sure, here’s a simple test: How often do users review and or refer to the MasterCard Worldwide U.S. and Interregional Interchange Rates document? I bet 99.9% don’t even know what the document is.

A passive gateway sends require transaction information and whatever extra data is input by the user. In some cases, the gateway is set up to send additional data automatically. An intelligent gateway uses a combination of software rules and merchant defined rules to optimize a transaction for a desired result.

TRANSACTION EXAMPLE: A wholesale business to business distributor key enters an authorization via a virtual terminal for $10,000 on April 1. On April 18th, the merchant ships the product and collects the money

A) Passive Gateway, for example, authorize.net or Skipjack:  the user locates the original authorization and selects capture to receive the funds.  Because the authorization was only valid for 72 hours, the transaction is automatically downgraded by the card issuer to the highest ‘non-qualified’ interchange rate. Image shown: authorize.net virtual terminal partial page.

B) Intelligent gateway, for example, CENPOS: the system automatically prompted the user for all required fields to qualify the transaction for the lowest qualfiied interchange rate possible at the time of authorization. Recognizing the initial authorization is no longer valid, a new authorization is obtained, and the transaction is completed, with all data needed for the qualified rate.

With gateway A, the user is in control of merchant fees. With gateway B, the software is in control, a far better solution that relying upon human education.

About CenPOS: CenPOS is an innovative payment processing network that streamlines the payment experience for both merchants and customers. It’s multi-channel support and SaaS model, has catapulted a shift in payment technology adoption in a variety of industries. CenPOS is fast, easy to use, and requires no capital investment to implement. For CenPOS sales call Christine at 954-942-0483 or click here for more information.

About the author: Christine specializes in providing merchants with innovative technology to manage the cost of accepting credit cards, without changing merchant accounts.  With a primary focus on “card not present” payment processing solutions for mid-size companies, including manufacturers and wholesale distributors,  merchants improve PCI Compliance and streamline the payment experience for both their company and their customers. It’s fast, easy to use, and requires no capital investment to implement. For sales call Christine at 954-942-0483 or click here for more information.

Dealerships that try CenPOS payment technology stay customers for life. Here’s three features CenPOS users will never give up, and that competitors can’t duplicate:

1. Interchange optimization- CenPOS removes people and outdated terminals from impacting the cost of accepting credit cards. Other cloud solutions have the same intelligence as old dial up terminals- NONE. CenPOS dynamically makes decisions in seconds based on risk and other merchant defined rules.
2. Token billing with online payments- CenPOS replaces fax credit card authorization forms and telephone orders. I don’t care what HQ policies are, every dealer has this going on whether upper management knows it or not; sometimes only accounting has permission to accept them but that’s stiil too many people. In either case, it’s a poor business practice. Making it easier for your customers to pay, while mitigating risks, can make all the difference whether a customer chooses to do business with you or not. CenPOS offers two secure online payment solutions. No employees ever have access to payment data- no one, ever. No payment data touches your servers, ever.
3. Reporting- whether one location or many, CenPOS creates numerous back office efficiencies, including reconciliation, transaction research, electronic receipt retrieval, and audit trails are just a few.
4. Bonus- Mobile payments- not quite a necessity for everyone yet, but there has been growing demand, especially in service departments. Why is CenPOS different? There is no additional effort needed to implement or for reconciliation. User permissions carry across all points of payment acceptance per rules merchants set up, and all the other benefits of CenPOS extend to mobile.

Dealer Brochure- CenPOS  overview

CenPOS products include:

• Virtual Terminal
• Online payments
• Pre-filled Request for Payment (electronic bill presentment & payment or EBPP)
• Dashboard- exeuctive insights
• Recurring Billing- installment and scheduled payments
• Token billing- charge any amount to stored payment method
• Mobile apps – Droid, iPad, iPhone

About CenPOS: CenPOS is an innovative payment processing network that streamlines the payment experience for both merchants and customers. It’s multi-channel support and SaaS model, has catapulted a shift in payment technology adoption in a variety of industries. CenPOS is fast, easy to use, and requires no capital investment to implement. For CenPOS sales call Christine at 954-942-0483 or click here for more information.

In this training video, I show how to securely store credit card data so that no one can ever see it again. It’s virtually impossible to prove Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) Compliance if storing credit card authorization forms with full card data. This solution can significantly increase boost PCI Compliance and reduce losses due to disputes and resulting chargebacks.

The positive card verification checkbox is used to submit a zero dollar authorization transaction. This validates all rules in the merchant administration and on a user basis. For example, if rules require an address, zip code, and cvv security code verification, the items will be validated with the card issuer. The receipt is the merchant record of proof that the card issuer passed the verification.

Optionally send the repeat sale credit card charge form to your customer. Have the customer sign and send it back. This replaces credit card authorization forms that have full card data.

TIP: Include a cancellation and refund policy on all invoices, as required for all card not present transactions per card acceptance guidelines.

CenPOS works with your existing processor, and is fast, easy, and requires no capital investment to implement. Call Christine Speedy in sales 954-942-0483 or click here for more information.

If your business has been impacted by Sandy and you need a way to process credit cards locally or from another site, please accept my offer for a free mobile technology solution.

• Free virtual terminal.
• Obtain a smartphone or ipad reader from any source ( or we can sell you one cheap if needed) for retail card present sales.
• Free e-invoicing- use our invoice creator or we’ll send yours.
• Free iPhone, iPad, iTouch, or Droid compatible mag stripe card reader for any new car dealer or car repair shop, durable goods retailer, or building supplies company. 1 per location.

What is not included:

If you’re starting a new business to help storm victims or work in those areas, and need a new merchant account, we cannot help you. This offer is for existing businesses only, who already have their own merchant account and just need a way to keep their business going. 

PS search for DISASTER  to read related articles.

^ Christine Speedy

 

 

 

The Chase Paymentech Orbital™ Virtual Terminal and Gateway is a mature credit card processing solution for card not present merchants. In this article we expose the  shortcomings for B2B merchants using the VT as of June 2012.

1. The virtual terminal supports card-not-present transactions only.  The limitation reduces merchant flexibility.

• Mobile payments has created a  new opportunity for B2B merchants to accept payments in person, mitigating risk,  potentially reducing cost of accepting credit cards, and providing benefits of electronically stored signed receipts.
• B2B merchants also accept checks, but the Orbital Electronic Check function is available only to Paymentech merchants, and only to those merchants processing on the Salem platform. This severely restricts who can use the service and eliminates portability.
• Paymentech does have the iTerminal for retail transactions, but it this is a separate program from the virtual terminal. Transactions key entered on the iTerminal are considered retail transactions requiring face to face and signed receipt.

2. The Orbital Virtual Terminal does not require additional data for Purchasing Cards.

• Statistics prove over and over that virtual terminal users will consistently do what’s required and nothing more, putting merchant profit margins in the hands of their employees. Users simply bypass any fields that are not required. How does this impact profits? For example, the interchange rates for MasterCard commercial, Business Enhanced, Business World and Business World Elite cards issued in the U.S high end is 3.17% and $.10/transaction and the low end is Commercial Data Rate 3 at 1.92% + USD 0.10. Large tickets are as low as 0.70% + USD 0.00. One of the key factors to qualify for the lower rates is sending the right data with the transaction.

3. The Orbital Virtual Terminal stores transaction records for 6 months.

I think that’s a misprint, but that’s what their web site says. http://www.chasepaymentech.com/faq_orbital_virtual_terminal.html

4. There is no transaction search by customer name.

So simple, yet so annoying. Ask any merchant who does transaction research for troubleshooting issues and this is sure to be a top pet peeve.

How we fix these problems with the CenPOS virtual terminal and gateway:

• CenPOS supports transactions from all inputs including mobile, virtual terminal, online payments, EBPP, retail, ecommerce. Equally important, CenPOS recognizes card present vs card not present, and delivers the appropriate transaction indicator code for processing. This will mitigate fraud risk, mitigate losses from disputes, and reduce the cost of accepting credit cards.
• Does your gateway help you qualify for the lowest interchange rates possible? CenPOS prompts for exactly the information needed for every card type- including level III data. The user has no decision making power. At the other extreme, some gateways require all the extra fields get completed- what a collossal waste of time.  CenPOS prompts for just the right information for that card type- nothing more, nothing less.
• Merchants can access real time reports for 7 years.
• Merchants can search by many fields, including customer name, and custom fields that you create on the fly.

DISCLAIMER: This review uses publicly available information posted on the Chase Paymentech web site as of 6/5/2012. The review does not include the processor, just the virtual terminal. It is not a comprehensive review of all the positive nor negative points. Merchants should identify and talk to a sales consultant to determine the best solution for their situation. Contact 3D Merchant Services for both the Orbital and CenPOS solutions. Each has a place in the market and we’ll help guide you to the right solution for your business.

 

Following the Transfirst review with Transaction Express Gateway,  this article shows a direct comparison of two gateways. Because CenPOS is more than a gateway, and is a complete cloud payment processing platform, the differences are significant when you dig in beyond the surface of accepting credit cards.

When you first look at the chart below, it seems that the gateways are very similar. If you think all gateways are alike, you’re wrong.

For example, if your company is primarily business to business, it’s virtually impossible to qualify transactions correctly for the lowest interchange. Why? Because there are so many rules about how and what data to capture. Some businesses try to deal with that by entering lots of information on every transaction. What a colossal waste of time!

A traditional gateway has some fields that are required and some that are not. You decide what to enter.  All transactions are processed as Retail or MOTO, however  your merchant account was set up.

The CenPOS gateway doesn’t leave decisions up to employees. When the card number is entered, the intelligent gateway identifies all the relevant factors for the merchant and then automatically prompts for just the information needed for that transaction. Nothing more, nothing less. Users do not get to decide what to enter. CenPOS will process as a MOTO or retail transaction based on merchant and system defined rules, not a one-time merchant account set-up.

Payment Gateway Features As Listed on Transfirst 5/25/2012
Payment Gateway	TransFirst® Transaction Express				CenPOS
Gateway Features	Online	Retail	MOTO	Mobile	Online	Retail	MOTO	Mobile
Connection methods
Customer Support
Support via Phone
Merchant Interface
Virtual Terminal/ Batch Upload		n/a		n/a		n/a		n/a
Security and Compliance
Shopping cart – supported		n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
Virtual Point Of Sale					n/a
Mobile App (note 1)	n/a	?	?		n/a
VALUE ADDING PRODUCTS
Recurring Billing						note 2		note 2
Secure Card Data Storage
ACH Check Processing	future	future	future
Advanced Fraud Protection	?	?	?	?
THIRD PARTY SOLUTIONS
API
Shopping Carts		n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
Point of Sale Solutions	n/a		n/a		n/a		n/a
Kiosks	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a
Mobile Device integrations	n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
Payment Gateway Features DIFFERENTIATORS
Note 1	1. Are all payment sources integrated to a single hub for Transfirst? That is, can you view all transactions and reports from the virtual terminal?2. If you have a MOTO merchant account, but add a mobile device, will those transactions qualify at retail interchange rates? If you have a Retail merchant account and also set up recurring billing, are your recurring billing transactions presented with the MOTO indicator to qualify for card not present interchange and proper receipt requirements? With CenPOS, the answer is yes.
Note 2	CenPOS empowers merchants to swipe the first transaction, and store the payment data for future card not present needs. All of the payment information needed to qualify the transaction properly for future card not present transactions is automatically collected. The initial transaction will qualify for RETAIL and the subsequent transactions will qualify under MOTO rules. Both are represented properly to mitigate risk of chargebacks from disputes with regard to proper receipt and signature requirements.
“Company” or “Family” contract management for recurring billing
Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment
Capture accounting codes at time of payment
Secure Online Paypage
Change installment or recurring pay date after started	?		?
Variable recurring billing- encrypt and tokenize			Tokenize-yes. Method not known.
7 years data storage and retrieval, including signature capture
Automated email transaction alerts- custom criteria
Dashboard and corporate hierarchy reports
Custom Crystal Reports – actionable data intelligence
Customer transaction Search by name
Integrated ACH/check processing

Companies change processors every 2-3 years on average because they are looking to reduce expenses. What you really need to do is switch to the industry’s only intelligent gateway, which uses a variety of proprietary methods to positively impact EBITDA. Cenpos is the only intelligent gateway to automatically optimize payments for EBITDA improvement. CenPOS removes users from making decisions that can negatively impact profits through a variety of proprietary methods.

Another significant difference is portability. With CenPOS, a merchant can change processors with minimal business disruption. The merchant CenPOS account is updated with the new processor account number.  It won’t impact stored payment data (tokens), reports, 7 years transaction history and insights, online payments, internet integrations etc. Because Transaction Express is proprietary to Transfirst, when you switch processors, you lose not only the data, but you may need to update everything else – equipment in the field, mobile apps, web integrations and more.

 

WHERE TO BUY

CenPOS is sold through direct agents and resellers. There is also a referral program. Click here to become a CenPOS agent, reseller, or referral partner.  Click here to become a customer or call the hotline at the top of this web page.

Transfirst Merchants had a .10% increase in their merchant discount rate last month, resulting in an uptick in calls from merchants searching for other options. I have no way to know how widespread the increase is, but thought now would be an appropriate time to write a review.

BACKGROUND:

Founded in 1995, Transfirst is a privately-held direct processor that lists over $15 billion in portfolio additions on their web site through mergers and acquisitions. Their objective is to help merchants with technology and product differentiation.

SALES & PRICING

Like most processors, they use both an internal sales force and independent sales agents. As well, prices are subjectively offered to merchants based on a number of different factors. Transfirst agreements may include a cancellation fee at the end of the term or liquidated damages for early termination. This is not typical in todays market, so merchants should exercise caution.

comment: A merchant educated about interchange, and identifying negotiable and non-negotiable fees,  will always have an advantage negotiating “Schedule A”.  General contract terms are usually not negotiable with any processor and merchants frequently sign ackowledgement that ‘cross outs and deletions’ will be ignored.

TECHNOLOGY

Transfirst launched it’s own gateway in 2011, Transaction Express. The gateway works with multiple end points, including retail, mobile and integrated web services. It supports recurring and tokenization.

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED

Merchants often don’t know what they’re missing until they need to use it. Here are some things you should know:

• Search by or view customer name in settled batch is NOT AVAILABLE.
• Data is stored for only 13 months.
• Does not support signature capture for retail.
• It is unclear how multiple merchant accounts are managed. Does the user choose whether to use the retail or moto account, or does the gateway automatically switch depending on how the transaction is received? This is a SIGNIFICANT since it will impact fees, fraud risk, and ability to defend against disputes.
• Does not support level III data.
• The gateway is an integral service with their processing. Merchants who desire to switch processors at any later date will lose all their stored payment data/token capabilities.
• Their gateway does not currently support ACH, though it will in the future.

CONCLUSION

Transfirst has made a critical step for client retention and growth with Transaction Express, and their mobile app. That puts them ahead of some players in the market and behind some others. In our opinion, there are better options for both merchant services and technology.

DISCLAIMER

Data was obtained almost exclusively from publicly available information on the company web site. If there is an error, your correction is welcome.  This author sells and markets competitive services.

 

Are you worried about fraud or PCI Compliance issues? Looking for ways to decrease your workload? Harnessing the power of CenPOS, a universal payment gateway, stored payment options will save you hours and hours of time, reduce the scope for PCI Compliance, and mitigate risks associated with Card Not Present (CNP) Transactions.

WEBINAR DETAILS:

Are you worried about fraud or PCI Compliance issues? Looking for ways to decrease your workload? Harnessing the power of CenPOS, a universal payment gateway, stored payment options will save you hours and hours of time, reduce the scope for PCI Compliance, and mitigate risks associated with Card Not Present (CNP) Transactions.

WEBINAR DETAILS: 5 Specific Solutions to Recurring Billing Problems (click to reserve your seat)

When: April 17, 11:00 a.m-noon EST.

Who Should Attend: If your company stores credit card or check information for any type of recurring billing, you should attend if you:

• Accept credit card or check payment information via phone or fax
• Key enter transactions
• Set up or modify scheduled payments for customers
• Supervise any of the above
• Reconcile, review or create related financial reports

What You’ll Learn:

1. Four Rebilling Options: Repeat sale, Recurring, Installment, and Variable Installment. Best practices to save time, improve collections and manage your payment charge schedule for any situation!
2. Fraud check: How to validate a customers credit card before securely storing for recurring sales.
3. Authorizaton Forms: How to create customer credit card authorization forms, without storing exposed credit card numbers, that meets newer card association requirements to protect against disputes.
4. Encrypt Payment Data: Two ways to create secure ‘tokens’, unique alpha numeric payment ID’s that drastically reduce keystrokes needed to bill your repeat customer again.
5. Rebilling Customers: How to easily retrieve tokens.

Interact:

• Send questions in advance
• Chat- ask questions during the conference
• Live Q&A
• This is a live demo, not a slideshow.