American Express SafeKey for hotels

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Direct from American Express hospitality industry webinar, hotels number one protection from card not present fraud is American Express SafeKey®. SafeKey leverages the global industry standard, 3-D Secure®*, to detect and reduce online fraud by adding an extra layer of security when Card Members pay online.

How to mitigate 3rd party authorization chargeback risk? Merchant best practices:

  • Ensure the cardholder participated in the initial transactions. Safekey is the best method to prove that, making signatures irrelevant.
  • Get written authorization of what expenses the cardholder will allow.
  • Put cardholder name on the folio.
  • Show where cardholder opted in to all policies, including damages, cancellation etc.
  • Authorization must be CARD NOT PRESENT.
  • Use solution that includes cardholder name in the authorization response; retrievable record.

American Express SafeKey

How does Amex SafeKey impact the customer shopping experience? The cardholder may have some or no difference in the checkout experience, based on many factors, including prior online shopping history. The cardholder may be asked authentication question(s) to confirm it’s really the cardholder.

How does Amex SafeKey impact merchants?

  • Fraud liability for “It wasn’t me, I didn’t authorize it” goes away as liability shifts back to the issuer.
  • For business to business, where cardholder billing and shipping address frequently vary, cardholder authentication plays an important role not available with four digit CID security code validation only.
  • At this writing, American Express merchants do not receive a specific interchange discount as may be available with other card brands.

How can merchants adopt the Amex SafeKey service?

  1. Enroll your company on the American Express web site. https://network.americanexpress.com/globalnetwork/safekey/us/en/merchants-acquirers
  2. Receive e-mail from SafeKey Certification Team with your SafeKey ID and next steps.
  3. SafeKey Certification Team gets approval from Acquirer.
  4. Acquirer and SafeKey Certification Team complete required setup.
  5. Activate 3-D Secure on the application. (Ecommerce shopping cart, payment gateway, or ERP.) Both payment gateway and application must support the service.

* 3-D Secure is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association in the United States and other countries.

Want to add American Express SafeKey to your business and get a great third party authorization form solution all included? Contact CenPOS global sales and integrations reseller, Christine Speedy, 954-942-0483 for more information.

10 Most Promising Payment and Card Solution Providers 2019

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Who made the top 10 list of of most payment and card solutions providers? The first ten companies to fork out $3000, which 3D Merchant Services declined to pay. The criteria for getting on the top ten list of anything and then to top google search results is usually all about the money, not the product. Here’s an actual offer for how to get on the top ten list, just pay the bucks and you’re in!

Greetings from MyTechMag, a technology magazine which has already proved its strong hold in various industries and technology vertical. Now MyTechMag is all set to explore the Payment industry focusing on the Payment and Card Solution Providers. With great pleasure I would like to communicate that our Editorial team has selected as one among the “10 Most Promising Payment and Card Solution Providers 2019”.

Payments are now evolving at a rapid pace with new providers, new platforms, and new payment tools launching on a near daily basis.The payments industry would be in a transformational state in 2020. The ongoing war with alternative payment channels will intensify and challenges in emerging markets would force the incumbents to take drastic measures.

I was exploring the possibility of participating in this special edition. We offer a one-page profile to all the Top 10 companies. We would be keen to feature a one-page exclusive profile about  in our upcoming Payment and Card edition. The company profile will provide an in-depth perspective of the company’s product offerings, strengths, and unique proposition. The Payment and Card special edition will be sent to 166,000 technology leaders across the industry verticals.

The Branding package is at a cost of $3,000
* would have unlimited digital and prints right for the one-page profile with Senior Executives photo.
* One Full Page color advertisement space in the magazine.
* will also receive the logo of the “10 Most Promising Payment and Card Solution Providers 2019”.
* We would be happy to host all the news from your company on our website.

This is undoubtedly going to optimize your company visibility as it will reach 166,000 senior leaders, and key decision makers across the industry. Kindly go through the same and let me know your thoughts on how you would like to take this opportunity ahead.

I look forward to hearing from you.

When you need to find the best payment processing solution or credit card processing solution, call a professional and have a conversation. How knowledgeable is that person? For web sites, does it have material relevant for your business?

Did you find this web site useful? Call Christine Speedy, PCI Council QIR certified, for all your payment processing solutions needs. Have a knowledgeable professional helping you maximize profits. 954-942-0483, 9-5 ET.

D365 Finance & Operations Questions To Ask Before Choosing Credit Card Processing Solution

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Upgrading to D365 from Microsoft AX? Engaging a payment processing professional can save boatloads of development time while opening up new ways to engage with customers. Additionally, payment gateway selection directly impacts EBITDA project objectives. What three key questions must be asked when choosing a credit card processing solution for your business to business operation?

I’ll save merchants and consultants reading this a lot of time. Ask the 3 questions and then pretty much disregard the answers. You’re unlikely to find anyone who will be able to answer all three questions adequately so on that basis alone, it’s best to contact a subject matter expert like Christine Speedy, here at 3Dmerchant.com.

  1. Does the payment gateway support Unschedule Credential On File? Virtually every business to business operation stores at least a few credit cards for the occasional customer on file need, which is a good thing because if you’re one of those that require customers to call in each time, that’s negative friction impacting cash flow, profits, and satisfaction. What most businesses don’t know is that the rules and technical specifications for storing cards and processing transactions with stored cards changed tremendously in October 2017. Virtually no payment gateway has upgraded to get compliant, leaving businesses exposed to multiple financial penalty risks. Note, this is not just ‘tokenization’, which most gateways support, but rather a specific set of new card acceptance rules. Everyone in the payment ecosystem has some responsibility to make changes for compliance- issuer, acquirer, merchant and payment gateway. No one can ‘automatically’ get merchants compliant with new UCOF rules; if any vendor says they have, call 3Dmerchant to review why it’s not.
  2. If the initial authorization and final settlement amount are not the same, what happens? This is a common scenario for distributors, manufacturing and ecommerce, but if there’s a mismatch, an or an open authorization is not reversed, merchants pay an expensive processing penalty fees. For example, MasterCard Data Rate 1 might appear on merchant statements for interchange rate qualification, which is nearly 100 basis points higher than if settled optimally.
  3. Is there any difference between the type transaction transmitted to the acquirer when a customer self-pays an invoice such as through a payment portal vs when an employee key enters the cardholder data? The answer must be yes. One is submitted as a phone order (MOTO) and one is submitted as an ecommerce order.
  4. BONUS: What’s the process for renewing an expired authorization? Preauthorizations are common in manufacturing and ecommerce. While an expired authorization is usually approved for final settlement within 30 days, there are financial penalties and risk associated with using expired authorizations. Merchants should automate this process as much as possible, removing decisions from employees, which is always fraught with risk.
  5. BONUS 2: Can I process EMV chip transactions with level 3 processing in F&O? Due to October 2019 licensing changes, some merchants may find it more profitable to skip the retail license add-on.

Call Christine Speedy, PCI Council QIR certified, for all your Microsoft Dynamics AX and D365 payment processing needs from ACH to credit cards and more. Get a new or keep existing merchant account at 954-942-0483, 9-5 ET.

MasterCard and Visa Class Action Suit Update 2019

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The U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York has preliminarily approved a proposed settlement of between $5.54 Billion and $6.24 Billion in a class action lawsuit against Mastercard, Visa and member banks. Millions of merchants were sent direct mail solicitations from law firms in 2019, possibly creating confusion about how to process claims.

visa mastercar payment card settlment
Official court notification sample and official settlement web site.

The final approval hearing is November 9, 2019 and if nothing changes, merchants will be able to file their claim through a simple process. Merchants will automatically be notified about the process; at this time, there is nothing to do.

In the interim, if you have any questions, please visit the official settlement website www.paymentcardsettlement.com.

Equifax Announces Comprehensive Consumer Settlement Arising From 2017 Cybersecurity Incident

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Jul 22, 2019 Agreements Establish Restitution Fund for Consumers

ATLANTA, July 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced a comprehensive resolution of significant U.S. consumer-related litigation and regulatory matters facing the company related to its 2017 cybersecurity incident. 

EFX logo - Powering the World with Knowledge (PRNewsfoto/Equifax Inc.)

The $671 million resolution includes settlement agreements that would resolve the multi-district consumer class action litigation, as well as investigations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Attorneys General of 48 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

If approved by the Court, a consumer restitution fund of up to $425 million will be available to pay for three-bureau credit monitoring for consumers whose information was impacted in the 2017 breach, actual out-of-pocket losses related to the breach, and other consumer benefits such as identity restoration services. Equifax has been providing free credit monitoring services to consumers since September 2017.

“This comprehensive settlement is a positive step for U.S. consumers and Equifax as we move forward from the 2017 cybersecurity incident and focus on our transformation investments in technology and security as a leading data, analytics, and technology company,” said Equifax Chief Executive Officer, Mark W. Begor. “The consumer fund of up to $425 million that we are announcing today reinforces our commitment to putting consumers first and safeguarding their data – and reflects the seriousness with which we take this matter. We have been committed to resolving this issue for consumers and have the financial capacity to manage the settlement while continuing our $1.25 billion EFX2020 technology and security investment program. We are focused on the future of Equifax and returning to market leadership and growth.”

As part of the resolution, Equifax has agreed to continue the significant steps it has taken in the wake of the cybersecurity incident to enhance its information security and technology program. It also has agreed to make payments totaling $290.5 million directly to certain state and federal regulatory agencies and to pay attorneys’ fees and costs in the multi-district litigation. Equifax recorded an accrual of $690 million in the first quarter of 2019 and expects to increase its accrual by approximately $11 million in the second quarter of 2019 principally related to the comprehensive consumer settlement, resulting in a total $701 million accrual related to the 2017 cybersecurity incident.

If the Court approves, members of the settlement class will receive notification of their rights and options as part of the multi-district litigation. More information can be found at www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com.

Additional detail on the terms of the proposed settlement in our Form 8-K filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Equifax CEO Mark Begor will provide details in the following conference calls:

  • 9:00 a.m. ET Conference call for investors, analysts and others
    U.S. and Canadian participants should dial: (888) 254-3590.
    International callers should dial: (786) 789-4797. 
    A replay of this conference call will be available beginning Monday, July 22 at 12:00 p.m. ET and ending at 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday, July 29.  To access the replay, please register.
  • 9:30 a.m. ET Conference call for media
    U.S. and Canadian participants should dial: (800) 289-0438. International callers should dial: (786) 789-4783.

Please dial the appropriate number 5-10 minutes prior to the start of the calls to complete registration. Name and affiliation/company are required to join.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. These statements can be identified by expressions of belief, expectation or intention, as well as statements that are not historical fact. These statements are based on certain factors and assumptions. While the company believes these factors and assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect.

Several factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, potential adverse developments in new and pending legal proceedings or government investigations, including the failure to obtain final court approval of the agreements which make up the Consumer Settlement; uncertainties regarding the ultimate amount and timing of payments the Company may be required to make in connection with the Consumer Settlement; the cost of compliance with the Company’s non-monetary obligations associated with the Consumer Settlement; uncertainties regarding the outcome of the remaining legal proceedings or government investigations related to the 2017 cybersecurity incident; and limitations on the Company’s ability to access the capital markets and corresponding effects on the Company’s ability to finance its obligations. A summary of additional risks and uncertainties can be found in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, including without limitation under the captions “Item 1. Business — Governmental Regulation” and “— Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” and in the Company’s other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are given only as at the date of this release and the company disclaims any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

About Equifax 
Equifax is a global data, analytics, and technology company and believes knowledge drives progress. The Company blends unique data, analytics, and technology with a passion for serving customers globally, to create insights that power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500® Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 11,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit Equifax.com and follow the company’s news on Twitter and LinkedIn.