Credit Card Processing, Security and PCI Compliance

PCI Compliance is Required – Soon, Validation Will Be, Too

Ben Dwyer
by Ben Dwyer

Every business that takes credit cards is required to comply with PCI standards, no matter how few credit card transactions it processes. What is PCI? Secure Card Processing Network Protect All Cardholder Information Protect Your Systems Against Malware Put Access Control Measures in Place Monitor and Test Your Networks Create and Maintain an “Information Security”…

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PCI compliance is a set of rules for the security of credit card transactions. It’s split into 12 basic requirements grouped into 6 categories to help businesses and payment processors create and maintain a reliable, secure processing system.

PCI Compliance

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Credit Card Processing, Legal, News

Visa, MasterCard Settlement & Your Business

Ben Dwyer
by Ben Dwyer

Many large plaintiffs oppose the current Visa and MasterCard settlement, and the fight looks far from over. Update: December 13, 2013 — According to the Wall Street Journal, a judge cleared the swipe-fee settlement. Earlier this month, Visa, MasterCard and several of the nation’s largest banks settled an antitrust suit with a group of seven…

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Visa, MasterCard and several of the nation’s largest banks settled an antitrust suit with a group of seven million retailers. The suit, which dates back to 2005, accuses the card networks and banks of conspiring to fix interchange fees that businesses pay to process credit and debit cards.

Visa MasterCard Settlement

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Credit Card Processing

Debit Card Transaction Fees

Ben Dwyer
by Ben Dwyer

Unnecessarily high debit card transaction fees are an easily correctable source of significant losses for many businesses. Understanding debit card transaction fees and the difference between signature debit and pin debit transactions will save your business thousands in processing fees. Feel free to jump down to the Signature Debit Vs Pin Debit Cost section if…

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Contrary to popular belief, PIN debit transactions incur more than just a flat fee, often making signature debit transactions cheaper to process. Understanding the ins and outs of debit card transaction fees will ensure you’re not losing hard-earned money pennies at a time.

Using a pin pad for debit purchase

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Credit Card Processing

What is a POS WATS fee?

Ben Dwyer
by Ben Dwyer

Credit card processing statements are full of confusing acronyms and opaque fees. We can help you figure out what they are and how to lower your costs if your fees are adding up to an expensive processing solution. What is a POS WATS Fee? As mentioned above, the pos wats fee is a fee you’ll see…

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A pos wats or pos wat fee is a communication fee that is charged each time a business’s credit card equipment dials the processor’s toll-free 800 number to get or give information.

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Credit Card Processing

Credit Card Transaction Fees

Ben Dwyer
by Ben Dwyer

A common and costly mistake when shopping for credit card processing services is to focus on a processor’s rate while paying little attention to transaction fees. The financial impact of this mistake is especially damaging for businesses with a low average sale amount. What’s the difference between a transaction fee and a processing rate? Authorization…

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More often than not, credit card transaction fees contribute more to cost than credit card processing rates.

Transaction fees

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Credit Card Processing

Merchant Category Code: Reporting & Rates

Ben Dwyer
by Ben Dwyer

We will discuss the finer points of MCCs below. What is a merchant category code? How are merchant category codes used? For HSA and FSA Card Acceptance For Consumers Why are merchant category codes important? Can I get set up with a different MCC to get lower rates? MasterCard Merchant Category Codes Merchant Category Code List…

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Originally created in 2004 to streamline 1099 reporting, merchant category codes are now used for a number of different purposes. Of particular importance to businesses is a merchant category code’s impact on interchange fees charged by issuing banks.

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Credit Card Processing

Acquiring Bank — Where the Money Comes From

Ben Dwyer
by Ben Dwyer

An acquiring bank is named for the role it plays in credit card processing. Acquiring banks accept or acquire credit card transactions from banks that issue credit cards to consumers, called issuing banks. An acquiring bank maintains a merchant account for each business it services. A merchant account is an open line of credit that…

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An acquiring bank is a registered member of a card association such as Visa, MasterCard or American Express that provides businesses and individuals with the ability to accept credit, debit and prepaid cards as payment for goods or services.

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Credit Card Processing

What is a Monthly Minimum Fee?

Ben Dwyer
by Ben Dwyer

A merchant account monthly minimum fee really isn’t a fee by itself — it’s more like a benchmark.

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A monthly minimum fee is one of the more confusing credit card processing fees because it’s not really a fee at all. A monthly minimum is more accurately described as a benchmark that may result in a fee, rather than as a fee by itself.

Monthly minimum charge

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