Last week we talked about why businesses have to be approved to obtain a merchant account. Shortly after our Blog was published, a friend of mine (Thank you Rosemary!!) sent me the following article. Credit card fraud costs everyone a ton of money each year and it is important to understand the various ways that fraud can be perpetrated so we can protect ourselves! Recommendations for Avoiding Application Fraud AP, Canada, CEMEA, LAC, U.S. | Acquirers, Issuers Visa is reminding clients to be vigilant of new and complex fraud schemes. In February, FBI announced that 18 people were charged in connection with a U.S.-based credit card fraud ring that used false identities and fake businesses to steal at least US $200 million from financial institutions. According to the

Delivering EXCELLENCE requires an ‘All Hands On Deck’ attitude! We are super excited to introduce 5 new team members to our TMC referral partners and merchants! The process of training new people to represent your company or brand is not easy but it is something that business owners must get good at, if they want to continue growing their businesses! Here are a few of the things we have been working on to keep the promises we make to our merchants; we hope you get some value out of the information! Cheri PerryMonday, March 11, 2013

During the past 2 weeks, merchants across America received the 27 page legal notice regarding the 6+Billion Merchant Discount Antitrust Lawsuit– it was a riveting read! In this blog- we will hit the high points and make sure you know what actions you need to take. Cheri PerryWednesday, February 13, 2013

Our credit cards are CHANGING!! It won’t happen today and many of us will not go willingly but chipped credit cards are on the way! DEFINITION Cheri PerryTuesday, February 12, 2013

Conflict is a part of life and in the credit card processing world, we sure have our fair share of conflict! A ‘Credit Card Dispute’ happens when a customer is not happy with their purchase (for any reason) and they choose to contact their card issuing bank to reverse the credit card transaction. These disputes have many impacts on merchants and the credit card processing industry overall. Merchant Account Approvals: Because consumers have up to 6 months (past any implied warranties) to dispute a transaction, business owners have to be credit approved in order to gain a merchant account. A business owner must be able to prove their ability to handle disputes from their customers so account balances and credit history play a part in whether a business

In July of last year, we reported the changes that were coming with regards to the ability of merchants to ‘ surcharge’ or add a fee when their customers paid with a credit card. (See the article here) For years, the practice was prohibited by Visa/MasterCard but just like the rest of the credit card processing industry, the landscape for surcharging has changed. THE REGULATIONS: CHANGED!In November 2012, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York preliminarily approved a proposed settlement agreement in the In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation. As part of this settlement, Visa is required to implement certain Visa International Operating Regulation rule changes, including the ability for merchants in the U.S. and U.S. territories to