CardFellow Credit Card Processing Blog

Credit Card Processing

Rolling Reserve

by Ellen Cunningham

For example: If your merchant account has a 5% rolling reserve for 18 months, the processor will withhold 5% of your gross sales. The 5% of sales that are withheld will not be accessible to you for a year and a half. Why are rolling reserves imposed? Transactions Affected by Rolling Reserves Effects of a…

A rolling reserve allows a credit card processor to withhold a pre-specified percentage of your gross sales. The processor deposits the held funds into a non-interest bearing account for a pre-determined period of time that is specified in your merchant processing agreement.

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Credit Card Processing

Credit Card Processing Comparison Charts

by Ellen Cunningham

Charts are easily manipulated, leaving you to try comparing apples and oranges. Even if the creator of the chart doesn’t intend to mislead, a lack of complete information can be just as detrimental to finding the right solution. When you’re looking for the best credit card processor, the key is to find the right one…

I’m often asked why this site doesn’t have a lengthy merchant account comparison chart. The answer is simple – these intricate comparison charts are useless.

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Credit Card Processing

Introduction to Samsung Pay

by Ellen Cunningham

What is Samsung Pay? How does it work? Samsung Rewards What cards work with Samsung Pay? Security How much does it cost? How can I accept Samsung Pay at my store? What is Samsung Pay? Samsung Pay is a digital wallet that can be used with Samsung Galaxy phones in models S6 and later. Users…

Samsung Pay is a digital wallet available from major electronics manufacturer Samsung.

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Credit Card Processing, Restaurants and Bars

How Tips Paid by Credit Card Could Affect Your Restaurant

by Ellen Cunningham

Tips over a certain percentage of the bill can trigger flags for fraud, resulting in card issuer-initiated chargebacks, or can cause your transaction to be downgraded to a more expensive interchange category. Tip Tolerance What happens if I get a chargeback for a big tip? Tips and Interchange Downgrades Spotting Downgrades on Your Statement How…

Now that credit and debit cards have become a popular way to pay for meals, customers often add tips for servers when they sign their credit card receipt. However, this common practice could have implications for your bottom line.

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Credit Card Processing

Introduction to Apple Pay

by Ellen Cunningham

Since it’s launch in 2014, Apple Pay has been gaining traction as a payment method for consumers. More businesses are switching to contactless terminals, meaning there will be even more locations that can accept Apple Pay in the future. What is Apple Pay? Apple Pay Online How does it work? Apple Pay on Websites Security…

By now, most people have heard of Apple Pay, a contactless option to pay using a credit or debit card through your iPhone or Apple Watch. But how does a business accept Apple Pay?

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Credit Card Processing

Digital Wallets: Intro to Apple Pay, Google Pay, Chase Pay, and more

by Ellen Cunningham

Digital wallets are becoming a more popular way for to pay for goods and services. With choices like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, the upcoming Samsung Pay, and even PayPal, there are plenty of options for customers no matter what kind of smartphone or electronic device they use.

Digital wallets (like Apple Pay) are a way to pay for goods and services using your compatible smartphone or smartwatch instead of pulling out a physical credit card.

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Credit Card Processing

EMV Chip Card Acceptance

by Ellen Cunningham

For most businesses, the compliance date was October 1st, 2015. (Pay at the pump gas stations have until 2020 to comply.) If you’re holding out on upgrading to EMV chip card equipment, here’s what you need to know. What is EMV? Traditional Credit Cards vs. EMV Cards Fraud Reduction with EMV EMV Liability Shift Becoming…

By now, most businesses are aware of EMV or chip cards, the new technology in credit card processing. The major credit card companies announced requirements for processors and businesses to accept these chip cards that have been shown to reduce fraud in card-present environments.

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Credit Card Processing

American Express OptBlue Pricing & Acceptance

by Ben Dwyer

Several months ago American Express introduced OptBlue, which is a new pricing structure that will replace the company’s current One Point pricing for most businesses. OptBlue’s pricing functions similarly to that of Visa and MasterCard’s interchange in that processors pay “wholesale” rates to American Express and apply their markup through a cost-plus or tiered pricing model.

American Express’s OptBlue program provides the possibility of lower fees for informed merchants.

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Credit Card Processing exposed