Category Archives: level 3 processing

Distributor EMV Credit Card Terminals – Profit busters, profit boosters

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Distributors have special needs for retail credit card processing to maximize profits and mitigate risk. Here we identify credit card terminals that are certain fall short on delivering in an EMV environment. The two most critical retail needs are requiring customers to comply with the highest security supported, and supporting level III processing. Additionally, P2PE, encrypting at the terminal head, is important for a security and compliance.

Only cloud payment solutions have the potential to meet the primary distributor retail processing needs.  This precludes all First Data terminals, one of the most popular brands distributed, and similar devices. DISCLAIMER: comments are specifically regarding business to business needs, not all retail industry needs, and are not in any way intended to imply anything negative about the terminals.

The terminals below DO NOT meet the two most critical distributor needs to maximize profits.

verifone vx520 emv terminal

Verifone vx520

Clover Mini by First Data

Clover Mini by First Data

First Data FD35 EMV pin pad terminal

First Data FD35 EMV PinPad, attaches to a variety of FD terminals.

Ingenico iCT250 emv capable countertop terminal.

Ingenico iCT250 emv capable countertop terminal.

magtek mini card swiper

Magtek mini card swiper.

The terminals below have the POTENTIAL meet the two most critical distributor needs to maximize profits. Special certifications and payment gateway logic is required.

ingenico isc250 signature capture terminal

Ingenico isc250 EMV

 

verifone MX915 EMV terminal

Verifone MX915 EMV chip terminal

Fraud liability review for MasterCard, American Express, and Discover (credit and debit)

  • If the card is chip & sign, and the terminal is EMV only, the card issuer is liable
  • If the card is chip & pin, and the terminal is EMV without pin, or pin debit without EMV, the merchant is liable
  • If the card is chip & pin, and the terminal is EMV with pin, the issuer is liable
  • If the terminal supports EMV & pin, but the customer uses chip & sign, the merchant is liable. Acquirers generally support chip and pin bypass to chip and signature. Merchants should only use solutions that require the highest security on every transaction, including prohibiting customer bypass.
  • If the terminal supports EMV & pin, but the customer does chip & sign, the merchant is liable.

Merchants should only use solutions that require the highest security on every transaction, including prohibiting customer bypass.

If you want to enhance your customer experience, make a change that also maximizes profits too.

Christine Speedy, CenPOS global sales and integrated solutions reseller, 954-942-0483. CenPOS is a merchant-centric, end-to-end payments engine that drives enterprise-class solutions for businesses, saving them time and money, while improving their customer engagement. CenPOS? secure, cloud-based solution optimizes acceptance for all payment types across multiple channels without disrupting merchant banking relationships. Keep your processor, upgrade your technology! Quick and easy to implement with no long term contract.

Microsoft Dynamics AX EMV terminals certified today

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EMV chip certified solutions are now available for Microsoft Dynamics AX. As they’re still fairly new, it’s important to ask questions about functionality. EMV chip card acceptance certification is complicated, which is why many companies did not complete their certifications by the October 2015 liability shift.

Dynamics AX EMV for Retail tips to compare solutions:

  • How is pin-debit managed? Is EMV chip and pin supported? Can customers bypass entering pin? This is important because whoever supports the highest level of security determines liability for fraud.
  • Is level III data supported? This is important if the customer base includes business to business. For example, building materials distributors have retail and wholesale customers, and qualifying transactions for level 3 interchange rates can significantly improve profits.
  • What are the acquirer options? Can you choose your own, or are you required to use a specific processor?
  • Is P2P supported? Point to point encryption is an extra layer of security to prevent data breaches from malware and other criminal activities.
  • What is the audit trail? Identifying who did what and when is a part of PCI Compliance.
  • Can user functions be limited by job role, required for PCI Compliance?
  • If omnichannel, how will the solution help with all sales channel needs?
verifone MX915 EMV terminal

Verifone MX915 multilane signature capture terminal

ingenico mobile emv icmp

Christine Speedy, 3D Merchant Services owner,  can help guide you through the complexity of choosing the best solution for your business. Which terminal is certified with which processor? From mobile to multilane, Christine’s knowledge and experience will help you implement faster, and take the pain out of consulting with multiple vendors that come up short on solutions.

3 Profit Boosters for Lumber, Building Materials, Distribution Companies

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Lumber, building materials, and distribution companies increase profits and cash flow almost instantly with these credit card processing and accounts receivable tips.

  1. Use a credit card processing solution that supports level III processing for retail. Prior to the October 2015 EMV liability shift, there were more companies that offered this, but today, to my knowledge, we offer the only solution that has both US EMV and level 3 retail certification.
    level 3 processing interchange rate

    Sample interchange rates for the same credit card transaction; Failing to qualify for level III is costly.

    Benefit: Potential 1% or more profit margin increase.  TIP: No countertop credit card terminal supports level 3 due to the data that must be sent with transactions; no bank currently offers a level 3 retail solution with US EMV. A cloud-based payment gateway is required.

  2. Ensure key entered transactions are sent for authorization with the MOTO (mail order, telephone order) transaction type indicator. If not, the transaction will default to the highest ‘non-qualified’ interchange rate possible for the card type, and in the event of a dispute, merchant must be able to produce a signed receipt.  TIP: Never key enter on a countertop terminal since it is set up for RETAIL. VX520 emv NFC verifone terminalThe best solution manages proper presentment for processing automatically so employees don’t need to understand the nuances of the best way to process any transaction to qualify for lower rates or mitigate risk.
  3. Enable online payments, with level III credit card processing. By empowering customers to pay 24/7, they’ll pay faster to clear up credit lines to buy more. Also, with cardholder authentication, payment can sometimes be guaranteed against fraud and qualify for even lower interchange rates due to lower risk; key entered transactions carry more risk and while risk can be mitigated, payment is not guaranteed. Accepting alternative methods like ACH, wire, and Paypal will also reduce friction, increase efficiency and increase cash flow.
On the surface negotiated rates are often great, but the right tools are critical to qualify transactions for maximum profits.  The building supply industry, including plumbing, electrical, lumber, windows, doors, stone, marble, flooring, insulation, lighting, fencing, roofing, gutters, appliances and more will greatly benefit from 3D Merchant Services solutions and consulting expertise. Free trial to measure the value with existing merchant account.

Accept Payments Online

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Winter Storm Jonas is a reminder of the importance for business to business companies to accept payments online. What if you have a desktop terminal, but staff is working from home? How can accounts receivable be reached for call in or fax payments? Cash flow and efficiency will improve with 24/7 online payments.accept payments onlineTo accept payments online via a self-serve 24/7 online payment form, a payment gateway is required to secure the transaction. The most popular non-integrated methods:

  1. Hosted pay page – merchant provides customers an email or web site link to make payments on the payment gateway hosted web page. Click here for hosted pay page example.
  2. Embedded payment object– the buyer stays on the merchant web site, with the gateway html code embedded as an iframe.

Online Payments FAQ

What is the rate? There are two service types: Payment gateway or bundled gateway with merchant account. For flexibility to change merchant accounts, which most businesses will do every few years, keep your gateway separate to minimize business disruption. When the merchant account changes, there’s no programming needed. Just update the gateway settings with the new merchant account information. Never, ever choose a payment gateway by comparing the cost per transaction. Instead, measure the net transaction cost, including gateway fees, for card types accepted. (Click here for online payments example of authorize.net vs CenPOS for business to business.) B2B companies need a gateway solution that supports level III processing and will help qualify transactions for the lowest rate.

How long does it take to get started? Usually 2-5 days after the decision has been made, from gateway sign up to accepting payments. The actual implementation time is minimal.

How do I know when someone makes a payment? An email is automatically sent with details. TIP: Create an email alias to a distribution list. For example, epay@mydomain.com.

Can my invoices be automatically marked as paid in my accounting software? With an integration, yes. Depending on your software, and the gateway, there may be a module available for quick and easy implementation.

Where can I view transaction reports? By logging in to the virtual terminal via a secure web browser, or in some cases, via mobile app.

Can customers save their credit card information? With most gateways, yes.

Is it PCI Compliant? All the major US payment gateways are PCI Compliant. Accepting payments online can improve PCI Compliance for merchants, as risky practices like credit card authorization forms are abolished.

Can customers pay with an echeck (ACH)? It depends on the gateway.

 

Card Not Present Token Billing Best Practice & CenPOS Training

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Ready to improve PCI Compliance with token billing? Step by step instructions for CenPOS card not present token billing including creating, modifying, and using tokens follows.

  1. In the virtual terminal admin, Create a new Role* or Modify an existing role to include token billing permissions, only for what the user is allowed to do. For example, if you employees are allowed to create tokens, but not conduct sales, check the Manage Token and Positive Card only.

    token billing roles

    Virtual Terminal administration- Partial list of permission options; token billing related items are checked

  2. Are email receipts available now? If no, send an email request to support via link on the virtual terminal login page. In the subject put: “your CenPOS MID” email receipt request. In the body, include all your contact info, the MID, and what email address you want receipts to come from.
  3. Prepare training worksheet for distribution
  4. Distribute Self-paced training checklist (10 minutes to complete) to all users
  5. Get documentation of all training- who, what, when. It may be useful as part of an overall PCI Compliance (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) plan to comply with section 12, Maintain an Information Security Policy.
  6. Assign users to the new roles with return of documentation
  7. If there’s any legacy cardholder data on file, plan it’s secure destruction

References: Token Billing Training Videos

*See CenPOS Virtual Terminal Manual for details on using Role Templates.

A sample document, created by Christine Speedy,  for training and documentation is available upon request.