Contents tagged with Payment Industry

  • PIN Debit Punishment Pushed Back

    October 17, 2009
    Visa and MasterCard set a mandate effective July 1, 2010 to ensure that all installed PIN pads are using the most up to date triple data encryption standard (3DES) for processing PIN debit transactions.  In an effort to enforce this mandate, fines were slated to be imposed on those deemed out of compliance.  While technically, the July 2010 deadline is still in place, the threat of punishment has been pushed back.  The new policy isn’t threatening fines until Aug. 1, 2012, however Vantage will continue working with our clients to ensure compliance by July 2010.

    The most interesting part of the article as reported on StorefrontBacktalk was that several of the nation's largest chains were threatening to abruptly cut off PIN debit at the deadline, possibly switching to … more

  • US Financial Transactions Exceed 100 Billion in 2009

    October 17, 2009
    As reported by BUSINESS WIRE -- For the first time in US history, the number of consumer and business transactions including checks and electronic transactions for debit cards, credit cards and automatic payments will exceed 100 billion by the end of 2009, according to Moebs Services. 

    Type of 100B Transactions in 2009:

    Debit card transactions, 33 percent

    Paper checks, 24 percent

    Credit card transactions, 23 percent

    Automatic Payments (ACH), 20 percent

    Mike Moebs, CEO provides noteworthy analysis:

    Based on current transactions, our projections show that debit cards and automatic payments are taking over at an increasingly rapid rate from the traditional checking account for most Americans

    Over the past 30 years, paper check usage has dropped from 85 percent of all … more

  • More Intelligent Merchant Rates

    October 12, 2009
    As a merchant, do you feel the fees you pay for accepting card payments are too high?  I’ve not talked to anyone in business who thinks they aren’t paying enough for merchant services.  If you’ve been following the Interchange debate, you realize the Interchange fee paid back to the issuing bank is the target of reform.  And while Interchange reform is a healthy debate, for most businesses, it’s beside the point.  They don’t get Interchange pricing.

    Most small and mid sized businesses don’t pay Interchange pricing, they pay discount rates and service fees set by their service provider, processor or bank.  The most common pricing structures are based on formulas, bundles, tiers and definitions invented by their payment … more

  • Go Green With Your Pay

    October 03, 2009
    The American Payroll Association is part of an initiative to eliminate the use of paper paychecks nationwide. Currently, employers can go paperless in about 20 states. We’re tackling the rest state by state, and we need help from employers! We’re posting sample letters pre-addressed to the state officials in those states that currently keep employers from enjoying a paperless payroll. If you are an employer, please download a copy of the letter, personalize it, and send it on company letterhead.

    The focus of the request is to allow employers to mandate direct deposit. Where employees do not provide their bank account information, employers should be able to provide paycards instead of paychecks.

    Please join the effort!  Sample letters can be downloaded from the “ … more

  • The future of peer-to-peer currency?

    September 20, 2009
    A digital currency for Microsoft Outlook? Social Networks? WSJ's Andy Jordan talks to currency renegades tired of big-government centralized cash, and desperate to make their own (legal) money systems.  On the new currency frontier are several examples including Ven and Attent are showcased.    According to Wikipedia, Ven is a virtual currency used by members of Hub Culture to buy, share and trade knowledge, goods and services with anyone in the network and can be spent at any Hub Culture Pavilion. The currency is currently linked to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 10 Ven to the dollar and trades against other major currencies at floating exchange rates. Ven first appeared as an application in Facebook on 4 July, 2007. In late 2008, the currency became tradeable to anyone … more