The switch to EMV chip cards was a mess for many businesses. The need to purchase new equipment, long delays in certification, customer confusion over using the chip cards, and retraining staff on accepting cards are a few of the problems businesses experienced.
Since 2010, when Total System Services, Inc. (also known as TSYS) purchased a majority stake in First National Bank of Omaha’s merchant acquisition business, the company has been a significant player in the credit card payment processing industry. It’s one of the largest processors in the world, and offers a full range of services.
As of June 28, 2016, CurrentC, the mobile payment app created by the Merchant Customer Exchange, has officially shut down. The move follows an announcement in May that MCX was laying off 30 employees and refocusing its efforts on partnerships with financial partners like Chase.
It’s a case of a home improvement retail giant versus two network payment processing behemoths. In mid-June 2016, Home Depot filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal district court in Atlanta against Visa and Mastercard, alleging credit card security is inadequate and exposes retailers and customers to hacking.
No business is exempt from an attack on their sensitive credit card customer databases by hackers and other criminals. And small businesses who might not be able to afford the latest security measures have found themselves especially targeted.
The US chip card rollout was confusing and sluggish. Additionally, in locations that have implemented chip card machines, customers were often frustrated or want to swipe their chip cards through the magstripe reader. The primary complaint was that chip card transactions were painfully slow.
CardPointe is a processing solution available through CardConnect, designed to make transaction processing easier and safer.
Payment processing company Square has built a reputation on offering simple, flat-rate credit card processing for small business. The well-publicized 2.75% rate was a good deal for businesses with small average transactions or low monthly credit card sales, but the company no longer offers that rate.
