Apple Pay EMV Ready Terminal Ad Review

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applepay emv terminal

Apple Pay EMV terminal advertisement.

I received this attractive ad today in an email. At first glance, it looks like an Apple offer, but the fine print below says “Apple does not sponsor, endorse or promote this offer. 
Apple Pay is currently available only in the United States.” Let’s review the ad and the landing page at http://link.emlservices2.net/u.d?bYGu4iinutyt1X88jzB=1.

The merchant fees advertised by Total Merchant Services, a First Data ISO, are 1.59% plus $.19 per transaction. The fine print of the offer is not shown. However, this type of offer is for ‘bundled’ pricing. That means it starts at a low retail swipe rate for certain cards, but other types of cards and key entered transactions will be at a much higher rate to achieve the desired profit margins. Nothing wrong with making a profit, but this type of plan is only suitable for certain small retail businesses because bundled pricing always costs more than interchange plus pricing. Additionally, they’ll need to recoup the cost of the free terminal either through a long term contract or high profit margins or both.

The ad message is clear that your business needs to be ready for EMV Compliance and buying this terminal will get you there.  While the terminal is EMV ready, as of today, the unit has not been EMV certified on First Data. Since they’re promoting it, someone is probably working on the certification, but for now, the terminal is EMV capable, or in their words “EMV Compliant”.

“YOU will be RESPONSIBLE for CREDIT CARD FRAUD if you do not have an EMV-compliant terminal by October 2015.” Beginning October 2015, either the issuer or merchant that is the cause of a contact chip transaction not occurring will be financially liable for any resulting card present counterfeit fraud losses. Lost and stolen card use is not applicable for Visa, but is applicable for MasterCard. The card brands also have differing exceptions and extra incentives to encourage adoption of EMV. Refer to EMV deadline misinformation is rampant for more information.

apple payIs it an Apple Pay Terminal? That’s just sales jargon. The terminal supports NFC or ‘contactless’ payments, including Apple Pay and Google Wallet.

Ingenico iCT250 emv terminal

Ingenico iCT250 emv capable countertop terminal.

Note, the iPhone and iWatch are not included and it’s not a mobile terminal. The Apple products shown are items that consumers can use to make payments with Apple Pay.

In summary, nice ad, and easy way for small businesses to update their terminal with a quality brand. If you like their deal, I’ll match any offer they make – and offer an additional incentive- because I know it’s going to be profitable!

My core customers process over one million annually; They’re not required to change processors and this isn’t the solution I’d recommend for them.

 

 

First Data EMV Certified Terminals For Chip Cards

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Which terminals are EMV certified to accept chip cards with First Data today?  There are terminals that are First Data only compatible and there are terminals that can be used with any processor, but need to be certified for each payment solution integrated to First Data.

EMV Capable vs EMV Certified

  • EMV Capable or Ready: A terminal that has the hardware, but has not been certified. EMV capable terminals have been distributed for years in hopes to convert to EMV later. Not all capable machines will ever be certified for EMV.
  • EMV Certified: A terminal that has been certified to a specific processor, including specific application, if applicable.
  • EMV Activated: A merchant with an EMV certified terminal, and merchant account updated to accept chip card transactions.

EMV Certified For First Data:  Requires the merchant to use the certifying partner and have a First Data merchant account either direct or through an independent service organization. The terminals can generally be used with multiple processors, but each will have to choose to certify.

For example, the terminal is compatible with Paywhere and other applications, but each application will need to certify to First Data and or other processors.

  • VeriFone MX915, requires CenPOS, a merchant centric enterprise payment engine; contact Christine Speedy, 954-942-0483 for CenPOS sales and integrations.

    verifone MX915 EMV terminal

    Verifone MX915 multilane signature capture terminal

  • VeriFone E315/E335 PINPAD, requires High-Line payment gateway and merchant account
verifone e315 EMV

Verifone e315 EMV requires Apple® iPhone® 5 or Apple iPod touch® 5 and Highline merchant account

First Data EMV Certified Terminals: These terminals usually require a First Data merchant account and are locked to prevent use with other payment processors.

  • FD35 peripheral accepts EMV today. The FD35 must be paired with an FD50, FD50Ti, FD100, FD100Ti, FD200 or FD200Ti terminal.

    First Data FD35 EMV pin pad terminal

    First Data FD35 EMV PinPad

Additional Information:

 

MasterCard Supports U.S. Small Businesses Making Big Shifts to Chip Cards

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Launches Chip 360o Campaign to Communicate, Educate, Advocate

PURCHASE, N.Y. – May 5, 2015 – MasterCard today announced a new campaign to help the approximately nine million U.S. small businesses already engaged in electronic payments prepare for EMV or chip card technology. Called Chip 360o, the program aims to communicate actionable information, educate on steps to take and advocate why the change is needed to protect cardholders.

EMV is a global standard for authenticating credit and debit card transactions to help minimize counterfeit fraud. Microchips or chips embedded in the card face ‘talk’ with chips in payment terminals or ATMs creating unique codes for each transaction. The unique codes make the cards almost impossible to copy or counterfeit. The United States is the only country in which counterfeit-card fraud is consistently growing — accounting for 47 percent of the world’s counterfeit fraud — costing banks $3.4 billion and merchants an additional $1.9 billion per year, according to The Nilson Report (2012).

“Chip cards all but eliminate counterfeit fraud. We know this because we’ve seen significant fraud reductions in all 80+ countries where EMV has been implemented,” said Carolyn Balfany, senior vice president of Product Delivery – EMV, MasterCard. “The power of chip is realized as more cards and terminals are enabled and used. The goal isn’t to move card fraud around the system. The goal is to drive card fraud out of the U.S. – benefitting banks, merchants and, most importantly, consumers.”

The Payment Security Taskforce estimates that 63 percent of credit and debit cards will contain EMV chips by the end of this year, expanding to 98 percent by the end of 2017.The estimate indicates that banks and retail outlets are delivering on their promise to secure consumer payments with chips. The industry wants to ensure that small- and mid-sized businesses – employing less than 500 people – have the tools to keep pace.

Enter Chip 360o

MasterCard is reaching out to small businesses, directly and through its business partners, to ensure small and mid-sized businesses have the necessary information to develop their own EMV plans, deciding how and when to upgrade their technology. The campaign will run from Small Business Week (the week of May 4) through the end of 2015 and include:

EMV Central – MasterCard launched a webpage for small businesses dedicated to all things EMV. Business owners can review articles by industry experts and view fun and informative videos and infographics. The site can be reached via www.mastercardbiz.com.
Small Business EMV Webinar and Makeovers – MasterCard and National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) will host a webinar, “EMV for SMBs,” on Thursday, May 7 at 12 p.m. ET: Click here to register for the webinar on NFIB.com. Small businesses are invited to listen to the webinar live or the audio cast afterward to learn more about payment safety and security.
Small businesses can also enter our EMV Makeover contest*. MasterCard experts will collaborate with local service providers to trade out terminals, update software and train employees on accepting the next generation of payments.

Expanded Master Your Card Curriculum – Master Your Card, a community empowerment financial education program sponsored by MasterCard, enables financial inclusion and literacy by bringing education on the benefits of electronic payment technology to consumers, small businesses and governments. Course curriculum, including webinars, workshops, brochures and a website, has been expanded to include beginner and advanced EMV modules. Visit the site at https://www.masteryourcardusa.org or by clicking here.
Acquiring Education and Support – MasterCard has developed an informative video on the next generation of payments that has been made available to acquiring banks to share with their small business customers. The video runs about 2 minutes. Click here to watch:
https://vimeo.com/user39278885/review/124956646/4fe5b7fc53
MasterCard has been leading the adoption of chip payments around the globe for over two decades. We remain committed to actively supporting our customers and cardholders as the U.S. adopts chip and other next generation payment technologies.

About MasterCard

MasterCard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com,is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.  MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

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MasterCard Media Contact: Beth Kitchener | 914-249-2058 |beth_kitchener@mastercard.com

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to small business owners and partners who are US residents, 18+. Void where prohibited. Starts 5/7/15. Ends 5/14/15. Restrictions apply. For Official Rules and complete details, visit mcnfibsmallbiz.com.

Does My Company Need CenPOS? B2B Payment Gateway Checklist For Credit Card Processing

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If your company has a business to business component and more than five hundred thousand in credit card processing revenues, this article is for you. If you answer yes to any question, you’ll almost certainly increase EBITDA with very little effort by switching to CenPOS.  Changing your merchant services provider is not required.

  1. Do you have a desktop terminal?
  2. Do you use authorize.net, Paypros, or Paypal for your payment gateway or virtual terminal?
  3. Do you have mixed swipe and card not present transactions on the same merchant account?
  4. Do you preauthorize cards and charge when ready to ship- sometimes weeks later?
  5. Do you ever preauthorize card for one amount, but capture or settle a different amount (change order)?
  6. Is MasterCard Data Rate I or II on your merchant statement, but not Data Rate III?

The list is what I call ‘easy pickings’ for big financial impact, and I don’t even need to see your merchant statement. CenPOS fees will nearly always be more than offset by merchant fee savings. That’s not necessarily a big enough reason to make a change, but isn’t it compelling enough to call 954-942-0483 now and learn more about how our platform can help your company?

PCCharge Replacement Alternative – End of Life

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pccharge end of lifeMerchants should plan now to switch from PC Charge since Verifone has announced the end of life schedule for 2015. Read the full article on Linkedin PCCharge End of Life.

Choosing a gateway is complex. While most seem similar, the differences can be extremely costly including resulting in expensive non-qualified transactions. Developers may choose the path of least resistance, such as an older gateway they’ve integrated many times. Merchants though, are the ones who suffer from the results by replacing one outdated solution with another one that is struggling to keep up with newer innovators.

Verifone End of Life Announcement

For alternative integrated and non-integrated solutions, call Christine Speedy 954-942-0483.