Connected Pay and the BBB

Connected Pay recently became accredited with the Better Business Bureau.  This is exciting as we have reached our 1.5 yr mark!


Check out our report:
http://www.bbb.org/kansas-city/business-reviews/payment-processing-service/connected-pay-in-kansas-city-mo-99154712#complaint


If you have any comments please contact:
BBB of Greater Kansas City
8080 Ward Parkway, Suite 401
Kansas City, MO 64114

Phone 816-421-7800
Fax 816-472-5442

Office Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30AM to 4:30PM
(Inquiry Lines Open Monday-Friday 9AM to 4PM)

Small Business Security - Best Practices

So you are a small business.  You are busy doing numerous tasks and don't have time for everything, but fail to recognize the importance of the security measures below and you could lose everything. Here are some things to think about in regards to that valuable laptop and technology you use everyday and take for granted.  

BEST PRACTICES

No single set of rules will protect every business, but thoughtful owners and managers take steps like these:

Close security gaps: Laptops travel, and contractors and visitors connect to your network. Protect network endpoints, not just perimeter.

Integrate defenses: Combine antivirus, firewall, intrusion detection, and vulnerability management at endpoints – with encryption if they travel.

Patch software: Threats evolve – close vulnerabilities by quickly applying updates you recover from Microsoft and other software providers.

Update virus definitions: Threats evolve – make sure your antivirus software recognizes them, by keeping your virus definitions up to date.

Alert employees: Warn them about the risks of attachments and links in unexpected email, and downloaded software before it is scanned for viruses.

Don’t invite trouble: File-sharing programs and free downloads may install malicious code automatically. Stop them with training, policies, and software.

Strengthen passwords: Require passwords that mix letters and numbers – never names or dictionary words – and change them often.

Schedule backups: Implement and enforce backup schedules – and automate the process as much as possible.

Back up systems, too: Backups are only as good as your ability to use the information you recover, so back up systems and applications as well as files.

Keep backups offsite: Fire, flood, vandalism, and sabotage are facts. Be sure files and systems can survive loss of your facility, or even a regional disaster.

Test backups: Don’t wait until data recovery to discover a resource, process, or technical shortcoming – test the entire backup and recovery cycle.

Get help: Find a local IT partner who understands and can help with both your business and technical requirements, and whom you trust.

Many of these security features take some time to set up, but can be automated once established.  Set a calendar appointment or designate a partner or employee to take care of those items that need some human judgement.    

Thanks to Symantec for these great security measures.  

Update on CC processing rules

I. Executive Summary:

This posting examines the rules that govern merchant payment acceptance in regards to discounts and Surcharges.  Discounts for paying cash are allowed.  Surcharges are prohibited in 10 US States.  Visa and MasterCard discourage merchants from charging a surcharge.

II. Discounts:

1.    Visa Rules

a.    6.2 Visa merchants may not refuse to accept a Visa product that is properly presented for payment, for example, on the basis that the card is foreign-issued2, or co-branded with the merchant’s competitor's mark. Merchants may steer customers to an alternative method of payment, such as providing discounts for cash, but may not do so in a confusing manner that denies consumer choice. Merchants may also consider whether present circumstances create undue risk, for example if the sale involves high-value electronics, but the card signature panel is not signed, and the cardholder does not have any other identification.

b.    6.3 Visa merchants agree to accept Visa cards for payment of goods or services without charging any amount over the advertised price as a condition of Visa card acceptance, unless local law requires that merchants be permitted to engage in such practice.

Source: http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/visa-international-operating-regulations-core.pdf

2.     MasterCard Rules:

a.     A merchant must not directly or indirectly require any Cardholder to pay a surcharge or any part of any Merchant discount or an contemporaneous finance charge in connection with a Transaction.  A merchant may provide a discount its customers for cash payments.  A merchant is permitted to charge a fee (such as a bona fide commission, postage, expedited service or convenience fees, and the like) if the fee is imposed on all like transactions regardless of the form of payment used, or as the Corporation has expressly permitted in writing.  For purposes of this Rule

                                          i.    A surcharge is any fee charged in connection with a transaction that is not charged is another payment method is used.

                                         ii.    The Merchant discount is any fee a Merchant pays to an Acquirer so that the Acquirer will acquire the Transactions of the Merchant.

Source:  http://www.mastercard.com/us/merchant/support/rules.html

III. Surcharge Laws:

1.    10 States with No Surcharge Laws: In 10 states it is prohibited by law for retailers to charge consumers a fee for using a credit card (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas). Consumers who are subjected to checkout fees in states where they are protected by law may report the retailer to their state attorney general's office.

·         California

·         Colorado

·         Connecticut

·         Florida

·         Kansas

·         Maine

·         Massachusetts

·         New York

·         Oklahoma

·         Texas

Source:  http://usa.visa.com/merchants/operations/checkoutfees.html#10states

Financial Reform Passes...Now what

Updates on the financial reform bill:

On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the vigorously debated and much scrutinized Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 into law. For the payments industry, the law's key component is the Durbin Amendment, which, among other provisions, gives the Federal Reserve the power to cap interchange rates on debit card purchases at a level commensurate with the costs of processing those transactions.

Yet a number of questions loom about how, precisely, the amendment's different provisions will be defined and what the ramifications of its enforcement will be.

In her opening address at the Midwest Acquirers Association meeting held in Schaumburg, Ill., from July 21 to 23, Electronic Transactions Association President Holli Targan said the Fed isn't happy that this regulatory task has been foisted upon it because it doesn't know how the industry works.

Among the amendment's components is the stipulation that the Fed cap debit interchange at a level that's "reasonable and proportional" to the processing costs incurred by issuing banks, including costs that go toward fraud management. The cap will apply only to debit cards issued by banks with more than $10 billion in assets.

The law also requires that merchants be connected to at least two networks for debit processing, allowing them to route each debit purchase to the one with the lower interchange rate. Additionally, the law allows merchants to set minimum purchase amounts of up to $10 for the use of payment cards and to offer discounts to customers who use certain payment types over others, for example, cash instead of credit or debit, and debit instead of credit.

The new rules are scheduled to take effect 12 months after the bill's passage, which puts them on track for implementation in July 2011.    From http://www.greensheet.com

Where did credit cards come from?

Did you ever wonder, "When did credit cards start and who was the first?"

Well sit back and ConnectedPay will tell you a little story.

The Origin of Payment Cards 
The first payment card can be traced back to the local “Charg-It” card introduced by John Biggins in his Brooklyn neighborhood in 1946, the Franklin National Bank in New York formalized the practice by introducing the first bank-issued credit card in 1951. Over the next decade, several banks emerged in major cities to work with customer merchants to accept payment cards. However, this system limited consumers’ use of payment cards to an area restricted by the regional banks’ merchant customers.

The concept of a wider payment network was born in the mid-1960s when the InterBank Card Association (now MasterCard Worldwide) brought consistency to credit cards. InterBank developed payment network systems to process the exchange of funds between merchants and cardholders, standardized the billing process, and established rules and procedures to reduce fraud and other abuses.

The first debit transaction, using an automatic teller machine (ATM) card and personal identification number (PIN) to make a purchase at the point of sale (POS), occurred in the 1980s, and the first debit transaction authorized by a signature rather than a PIN was processed in 1988.

This history lesson compliments of MasterCard Worldwide

FAQ: What is cloud computing?

FAQ: What is cloud computing?

According to Carolyn Duffy Marsan, NetworkWorld

"Cloud computing refers to IT services that are purchased and delivered on demand over a network, either the public Internet or a private IP-based network. Cloud computing services are powered by highly virtualized processing and storage systems in data centers that are made available via a Web interface to remote users."

Cloud computing offers a business several advantages – including faster set-up, easier scalability and no capital expenditures for hardware and software.  This is an attractive option for companies wishing minimize cash outflows.  Some examples of cloud computing are Google Apps, Salesforce.com, and ConnectedPay.com.  These services allow businesses to have the benefits of large network without the required capital investment, IT staff, and development time required to maintain the desired services.  Google Apps allows users to share and edit basic office software tools over the internet.  Salesforce.com offers a Customer Relationship Management suite that can be accessed by sales staff from home.  ConnectedPay.com helps businesses accept online credit card payments for services rendered 24/7 even if the business isn't on the web.

Each of these services is dedicated to making business more efficient by providing their subscribers with powerful IT tools at a low cost.  Cloud computing goes back to the term "re-inventing the wheel".  Why should a business spend loads of money to create a static, in-house version of a service that is accessible anywhere there is an internet connection.  Since hundreds/thousands of independent businesses are using the services, each service provider continues to develop more and more features which makes the product even more desirable.

More governmental regulation slated

Per the Electronic Transactions Association: Senate Adopts Interchange Amendment

Despite success in getting the U.S. Senate to require 60 votes for passage, the Durbin  interchange amendment to the financial reform bill was adopted by a 64-33 margin Thursday night. Sponsored by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), the measure gives the Federal Reserve authority to regulate interchange fees on debit transactions, using a "reasonable and proportional" standard that gives the Fed plenty of room for interpretation. The amendment also allows retailers to use discounts to steer consumers to networks charging lower fees, to establish minimums and maximums for credit card purchases, and to offer cash discounts. If the Senate, as appears likely, passes the financial reform measure, it will have to be reconciled with a House version that does not include the Durbin provision. ETA Chief Executive Officer Carla Balakgie said, in a statement , that the association and its members were "disappointed" by the vote and "very concerned about the impact it will have on many types of businesses in the electronic payments chain." Connected Pay Q and A: Q: How will my business be affected by the Fed changing/influencing rates? A: Connected Pay clients do not need to worry about renegotiating rates as our rates move with interchange.  You can feel comfortable knowing that as soon as the card networks adjust debit interchange lower, your rates will automatically move based on the Interchange + cost structure. Those merchants who are using the Connected Pay system with their old processor should consider discussing their rates with Connected Pay to ensure they receive the benefit of the decreased interchange rates. Q: What is the real life impact on my business of the financial reform? A: Connected Pay, in general, believes businesses will not be affected by the passage of this bill.  Consumers may feel an impact of not being able to purchase certain goods due to a merchant requiring a specific dollar threshold to be met before a transaction can be processed.  However, the majority of merchants know that if the consumer receives a positive experience through payment convenience, the merchant will benefit from the consumer's repeat business and most important, become a referral source for the merchant.