CardFellow Credit Card Processing Blog

Credit Card Processing, News

New Mastercard Bins – 2 Series

by Ellen Cunningham

What is a BIN? Mastercard’s New BINs BINs by Card Brand What do I need to do to accept the new Mastercards? Ecommerce Businesses Notification of Affected Businesses What is a BIN? A Bank Identification Number (or BIN) is the first 6 digits of a credit card number. BINs identify the bank that issued the…

In summer 2017, Mastercard will begin issuing cards with a new bank identification number (BIN.) Where previously Mastercards started with the number 5, some cards will now begin with the number 2. Find out what this means and get details on how to make sure your business is ready to accept these new 2 series cards.

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Credit Card Processing, Legal, Scams and Fraud

Avoiding Fraud: Takeaways from the Commerce Payment Systems Scandal

by Ellen Cunningham

In this article, I will lay out the allegations and show you how to avoid potential scam practices when choosing a credit card processor for your business. The Allegations Fees Rates Guaranteed for Life Cost Comparison Calculators Negative Reviews Red Flags Getting Help – CardFellow.com The Allegations The Justice Department’s notice alleges that the two…

According to the Department of Justice, two executives of a credit card processing company have been charged with fraud. The executives, who worked for Commerce Payment Systems, are accused of perpetuating a scam against thousands of small businesses and obtaining more than $30 million through overcharging and deceptive tactics.

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Credit Card Processing

EMV PIN Debit – Common Questions and Problems

by Ellen Cunningham

EMV Debit vs. PIN Debit My new EMV terminal doesn’t require a PIN for debit – what’s the issue? Terminal Not Set Up with Common AID The Customer Did Not Choose the Common AID What is US Debit vs Visa Debit? The Card is Not PIN-Preferring The Terminal Does Not Have Proper Injection PIN Debit…

As the United States’ transition to chip cards crawls along, businesses are finding that debit card transactions aren’t going as expected. Some customers aren’t prompted for PINs when entering their debit cards, with the machine instead defaulting to signature debit. Why does this matter, and what can you do about it?

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Credit Card Processing, Specialty Businesses

Credit Card Processing Restrictions on Marijuana Businesses

by Jane Meggitt

In 2016, Alaska, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada voted to legalize recreational marijuana. While medical marijuana has long been available in the Golden State, with fairly flexible prescription standards, legalizing recreational marijuana in California is predicted to bring in billions. So can credit card processors and banks ever get a piece of the marijuana pie,…

The legal marijuana industry is incredibly lucrative, but customers have little choice but to pay cash for their weed. That’s because while recreational marijuana is now available for sale through dispensaries in three states – Colorado, Oregon, Washington – as well as the District of Columbia, it’s not legal on the federal level. In fact, the federal government lists it as a Schedule I drug, considered as dangerous as heroin.

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Credit Card Processing

Card Present vs. Card Not Present Transactions

by Ellen Cunningham

However, the rise of alternative payment channels has muddied the waters a bit, leaving some businesses confused as to why their transactions are CNP when they expected CP. Types of Transactions Why does it matter? Costs for Processing Chargeback Liability Test Your Knowledge Types of Transactions Firstly, let’s define “card-present” and “card-not-present.” More than just…

On the surface, “card-present” and “card-not-present” seem like self-explanatory terms. Either the card was present at the time of a transaction or it was not present.

Card-Present-vs-Card-Not-Present-Transactions

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Health and Fitness

zingFit Fitness Review

by Ellen Cunningham

Unlike some other software choices, zingFit was specifically designed for group fitness businesses, meaning it’s particularly suited for yoga and pilates studios, bootcamp-style fitness classes, spinning, and other activities done in a group or on a team. The software does offer recurring billing services, so you could use it for individual-style gyms and fitness business,…

A competitor of services like MindBody and RhinoFit, zingFit is fitness management software to help you run your fitness business.

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Credit Card Processing, Scams and Fraud

Avoiding Credit Card Factoring Scams

by Ellen Cunningham

Officially termed “credit card factoring” or “credit card laundering,” this type of misrepresentation is illegal. You could end up with fines, lawsuits, and more. Under no circumstances should you sign up for a merchant account for someone else’s business in your name, or allow another business to use your business’ merchant account. Let’s look at…

While it may not be the most common scam out there, at CardFellow we regularly field questions from people asking about opening a merchant account for someone else in your own name.

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Business

7 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make

by Brian Penny

While not every industry is the same and constructing a recreational dispensary in California’s newly legal market requires different paperwork than opening an organic juice stand in your local library, there are generalities in business. Half of legitimate businesses in the U.S. fail within the first year, according to the Small Business Administration. Even for…

Starting and growing a business isn’t as easy as it can look on TV. You don’t just come up with an idea, raise money, and become the next unicorn startup.

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Credit Card Processing exposed