Card Not Present, CenPOS, credit card processing

B2B Cloud payment processing technology blog about increasing profits, efficiency and security.

Card Not Present, CenPOS, credit card processing

Payware PC End of Life and Replacement Options

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Like PCCharge® Software end of life, Verifone also announced the official End Of Life for PAYware PC in May 2015. Company’s that have PC based payment solutions are quickly shutting them down in order to move to cloud based payment gateways, supporting a wider array of newer technology and compliance needs, including EMV.

What does Payware PC end of life mean?

Product development has ended. Verifone has a timeline to stop selling and stop supporting Payware PC. The product owner does not have to immediately change, but should review the timeline and consequences for future business decisions.

PAYware PC Key Dates:

  • Final Order Date: After May 22, 2015, Verifone will no longer take orders for new PAYware PC licenses for new customers. Existing customers may elect to purchase new MID/TIDs or add on services to existing licenses through September 24, 2015.
  • Final Shipment Date: After May 29, 2015, Verifone will no longer ship orders for new PAYware PC licenses. Verifone will ship to existing customers electing to purchase new MID/TIDs or add on services to existing licenses (as set forth above) no later than October 1, 2015.
  • End of Development Date: Effective immediately, there will be no new Verifone sponsored software development with respect to PAYware PC.
  • End of Support Date: Effective October 1, 2015, subject to the following paragraph, Verifone will no longer provide support for PAYware PC. Until October 1, 2015, support will be limited to phone troubleshooting and suggested changes to configurations or third party components in PAYware PC; support will not extend to product code changes.

“This is an ideal time to examine long term omnichannel payment needs to avoid transitioning to other outdated technology,” according to Christine Speedy, a cloud payments expert. “At their core, all payment gateways enable merchants to process web based transactions securely with cloud solutions. Beyond that, there are many differences, and even bleeding edge solutions could lead to further disruption, if the new technology disappears when ideas don’t catch on or venture capital dries up.”

TIPS FOR NEW PAYMENT GATEWAY VENDOR SELECTION:

Is 3-D Secure (Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure) for card not present transactions supported?
Does it have any EMV certifications? If not, what is the roap map time frame? (note- EMV certified is not the same as EMV ready or EMV capable)
Is the gateway processor neutral to provide maximum financial flexibility? (Critical for integrations.)
If business to business, for which sales channels does the gateway support level III processing? (mobile, retail, EBPP, kiosk, online payments, ecommerce, other) Can the user bypass submitting level III data on eligible transactions?
Is ACH supported? (If no, this is a red flag as lagging in innovation.)
What type of audit trail is available for PCI 3.0? How long is the data accessible?

CenPOS differentiator examples:

  • Level III processing all sales channels, even retail
  • Least cost routing and interchange management reduces merchant fees
  • US EMV certified signature capture terminals today, including Verifone MX915; works with your processor and a secure web page, or mobile app or integrated solution
  • Available in over 100 countries

Do you need a new payment gateway for your application? Or to replace your Payware PC account? CenPOS is a flexible omnichannel gateway with EMV, 3-D Secure, tokenization, and Level III processing. CenPOS solutions, including virtual terminal, mobile, and electronic bill presentment and payment, can significantly impact EBITDA, PCI Compliance, and efficiencies. Contact Christine Speedy at 954-942-0483 for integrations and new accounts.

EMV Chip Terminal Buyers Guide

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Merchants and developers are racing to implement EMV terminals to accept chip cards ahead of the October 1, 2015 merchant liability shift deadline. Buyer beware- some ‘EMV Ready‘ terminals may never be certified.

EMV READY VS EMV CERTIFIED

Credit card terminals advertised as EMV Ready, EMV Capable or EMV Compliant are terminals that ‘could’ accept chip cards in the future. But, the terminal must be certified to the processor. Due to the expense and time, not all terminals will be certified. If the terminal is driven by a POS application or payment gateway, both the solution and the terminal must be certified to each processor or merchant acquirer.

Tip: Beware language like “this terminal will get you ready for EMV”.

The image below from First Data shows specific terminals that solutions partners have submitted that their integrating, however, there’s no guarantee any will ever be completed.

CenPOS, an end to end payment engine, offers the only independent payment gateway with US EMV certified terminals available for all major processors today.

CenPOS has offered gateway driven certified EMV terminal solutions since January 2015. Is CenPOS right for your company, POS, or ERP?  Click here to view the full EMV Buyers Guide.

Christine Speedy is a global authorized reseller of CenPOS, specializing in B2B, omnichannel and integrations.

Payment Gateway In Australia With Tokenization

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australia payment gatewayNeed an Australian payment gateway with tokenization and online payment capability? 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 is compatible with merchant processors globally so there’s no change to deposits.

CenPOS Australia Payment Options Boost Profits:

Integrated gateway: Integrate any application with our easy to use API’s. With the embedded payment object option, keep your applications out of scope for PCI Compliance.

Hosted pay page / Online Payments: Included free, add online payments to your web page with just a few lines of code.

Virtual Terminal: Login to secure web pay and manually enter transactions, or set up a schedule to automatically charge.

Batch Processing: This interface enables PCI certified 3rd party processors and others to automate transaction processing with a delimited file. Upload for multiple accounts at the same time.

Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment (EBPP): Eliminate phone calls and faxes for credit card numbers by empowering customers to self-pay 24/7; automate reminders for past due accounts receivables.

More Benefits:

  • CenPOS patented cash management solution improves interchange qualification, increasing merchant profits
  • Unlimited tokens for variable, recurring, installment (fixed or variable) billing
  • Available in over 100 countries – one gateway for all your global payment needs
  • PCI Compliant credit card authorization forms automatically generated
  • Multiple payment types supported for omnichannel needs

Is CenPOS the right solution for your Australian or multinational business? Our special expertise in your region is card not present, primarily business to business. No other payment gateway provides the depth of reduced PCI Compliance burden and operational efficiencies as CenPOS.

Contact Christine Speedy via email or Skype today.

First Data Delisted Certifications for Sage and 3Delta

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First Data regularly publishes a list of certified integrated partner solutions as well as delisted certifications. ERP and other product developers involving payments should monitor this list to ensure compliance for their merchants.

Reasons for delisting include the version is no longer PCI Compliant or doesn’t meet some other processing requirement; a replacement certified version may be available, but that is not always the case, nor are merchants always current with the latest vendor software that has the certified payment gateway connection.

First Data Integrated Partner Solution delisting details:

•    3Delta Systems product EC-Suite Gateway is no longer boarding new merchants. 3Delta has replaced the EC-Suite with Payment Works Suite.
•    Sage Payment Gateway – delisted May 2015, see notes for details. No corresponding certified product is listed under the company name Sage.
•    Fiscal Systems, Inc. products Travstar1 and Travstar1/NEDOS v 9.1.0 are no longer available for boarding new clients. Travstar1/NEDOS v 10.00.01 is certified.

Other products with versions delisted this year include Counterpoint, USAePay, Retail.net, and Aloha EDC. Merchants using Saas product solutions continually have the latest integrated version and can avoid issues related to expired gateway certifications, which may not be readily shared with the parties that need to know.

Another tab on the document lists certified partner solutions, including who’s EMV certified today and for what equipment.

First Data Delisted Integrated Partner Solutions link to First Data download page for a list current certified solutions as well as delisted certifications.  Bookmark 3D merchant security links here for this and other security links.

Editor note:

Prospective CenPOS customers and developer partners often ask how is CenPOS different than the existing integrated gateways. The First Data certifications list is a simple way to compare some technical items. For example, 3Delta is certified for level III processing, but not international or retail.

The list for certifications may be imperfect, though the EMV certifications is likely accurate as this is a hot button that developers are needing current data for. This post has been updated to remove links since First Data removed the related published document.

Call Christine Speedy, PCI Council QIR certified, for simple solutions to complex payment transaction problems, 954-942-0483, 9-5 ET.

Merchants permitted to steer customers from American Express

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The result of a federal antitrust case could change the way merchants treat acceptance of American Express. In short, merchants complained of substantially higher fees to accept American Express, but were not allowed to steer customers to lower cost card brands. A judgement was entered April 30, 2015 in favor of the plaintiff. An open ended stay of the permanent injunction pending appeal was denied.  However, the court allowed for a 30 day temporary stay of the permanent injunction on May 19, which just expired.

Excerpt from the American Express Anti-trust judgement

As reflected in § III.A of the Permanent Injunction, the court has determined that in order to implement an effective remedy in this case—in other words, “to allow Merchants to attempt to influence the General Purpose Cards that a Customer uses by providing choices and information in a competitive market”—merchants must be allowed to steer toward particular brands of debit cards, in addition to steering between brands of credit cards. (Permanent Injunction § III.A.)
The Permanent Injunction does not, however, expressly protect steering to other forms of payment, such as cash and check, although other sources of law provide such protection in certain circumstances…

Finally, the court expressly does not include brands of debit cards within the scope of
§ III.A.7 of the Permanent Injunction. Thus, while a merchant has the right under the Permanent Injunction to communicate to customers the cost of accepting American Express, or the relative costs of accepting different brands of credit cards (and the merchant may do so on an average, rather than transaction-specific, basis), American Express can prohibit merchants from including costs associated with acceptance of debit cards in this calculation, since blending the costs of accepting credit cards and debit cards would likely overstate the difference between the merchant’s overall cost of accepting American Express and its cost of accepting other brands, such as Visa and MasterCard, that have both credit and debit cards.

Keys for merchants who want to adopt steering

  • Merchants can offer discounts or rebates to customers
  • Merchants can display signs stating ‘preferred’ card brand
  • Merchants cannot blend debit and credit rates to communicate cost of acceptance differences
  • Other laws are applicable, including the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. “Retailers can encourage their customers to use other forms of payment, such as cash and checks, and can discount for PIN debit, cash and checks.”

Merchant Card Brand Steering Challenges

Under the Durbin amendment, customer receipts must include a subtotal, discount amount, and final total. Merchants need a software or cloud based solution that can make the calculations and output the correct receipt.

If offering discounts for steering, removing decision making and calculations from cashiers is critical for both compliance and cash management.

CenPOS Steering Solutions

CenPOS is a merchant centric, cloud based payment engine with fully compliant steering technology, including the ability to identify which cards qualify for discounts, and automatically calculating the discount.

  • Analyze transaction data by user/department, day of week, and hour of day, to determine if and when steering is cost effective.
  • Offer steering discounts only when and where it’s financially beneficial instead of 24/7 in all locations.

 

REFERENCES

United States of America, State of Arizona,    State of Connecticut,    State of Idaho,    State of Illinois,    State of Iowa,    State of Maryland,    State of Michigan,    State of Missouri, State of Montana,    State of Nebraska,    State of New Hampshire,    State of Ohio, State of Rhode Island,    State of Tennessee,    State of Texas,    State of Utah, and    State of Vermont
v.
American Express Company, American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc., MasterCard International Inc., and Visa Inc.
http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/americanexpress.html

* http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f313600/313609.pdf

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amex-to-stop-merchant-curbs-2015-06-18-231034750

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2015/02/19/antitrust-lawsuit-loss-puts-amex-among-the-dows-worst-performers/