Criminal behavior is constantly changing in response to the methods designed to prevent it. Given technological advances, successfully robbing a bank is much more difficult than it used to be. And this holds true for any form of theft that requires the offender to be physically present. The advent and proliferation of the internet, however, […]
So you want to start an eCommerce business. That’s great! You’re going to need 3 things: Products (of course), a website (obviously), and a credit card processor. You don’t just need any old credit card processor, though. You need one that’s tailored for online businesses, with decent rates and compatibility with your website. Who you […]
We live, unfortunately, in the age of the data breach. Target. Home Depot. Sony. The IRS. ADP. Noodles & Co. Wendy’s. Yahoo. Over the past few years, all of these companies (and many, many others) have been hit with some sort of data breach that has compromised personalized data ranging from social security numbers and W2 information to credit card numbers. […]
Unless your small business consists of running a lemonade stand on the corner of your street, sooner or later you’re going to need to accept credit and debit cards as payment to compete in today’s marketplace. Customers are increasingly relying on their “plastic” to make purchases, and consequently carrying less cash. eCommerce – something that […]
Have you ever wondered why we shake hands when meeting new people? One of the prevailing theories is that it originated as a way to ensure the mutual safety of two strangers; by shaking each other’s hands, both parties would be able to tell if the other “had something up their sleeve,” such as a […]
Every sector has its own language. The government, the military, and the medical field aren’t the only ones that seem to have more acronyms than actual words; now, the private sector gets to join in the esoteric fun. In this article, I’ll reveal the latest acronym that merchants need to know – EMV. What It […]
Watch out, merchants: Dubbed “PoSeidon” by Cisco Security Solutions, this malware is a new type of trojan that specifically targets POS (point of sale) systems, nabbing the credit card information of your unsuspecting customers. Cisco stated in a March 2015 report that POS malware attacks are on the rise, affecting businesses both large and small. […]
A large majority of companies in the U.S. are considered small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). Most SMBs don’t process any more than 20,000-1,000,000 (some much less) transactions per year, categorizing them as Level 4 merchants in the PCI world. For those of you that have read my article on merchant risk levels, you’ll know […]
Both VISA and MasterCard have created a structure for determining the risk level of a merchant. The more transactions you process, the more risk you pose to the two credit card organizations. In order to maintain some sort of order within PCI compliance, VISA and MasterCard have created 4 risk levels that will apply to […]
Have you noticed a PCI compliance fee on your statement lately? Want to know what it’s for? Want to know if it’s legit? Want to know how to get rid of it? Then, keep reading… In the past year, I’ve had quite a few merchants ask me about this new PCI Compliance fee that’s been […]
