If you were watching the news last week, you heard about Starbucks launching their Mobile Payment application in over 7000 locations! The mobile app had been tested in lots of stores prior to that but this past week they felt it was time to turn it up a notch! I loaded the Starbucks application on my Blackberry and was quite impressed with the ability to not only add my Starbuck’s gift card but I could also load the card from my Blackberry AND use the card (on my phone) at a local Starbuck’s! Here’s how it works: with the application loaded on your smart phone (Android apps coming soon), you select PAY- the screen then displays a bar code and the barista scans the bar code to pay

2 Weeks down just 50 more to go in 2011! Welcome to the New Year (albeit a bit late) from your friends here at TMC! Now that the holiday season is safely behind us and merchants everywhere have breathed a collective sigh of relief (decent 4th quarter showing & all)- it is time to set our sights on an incredible 2011. Here are a few of the things we are focused on in this New Year: PCI Compliance/Card Security: While card breaches were up in 2010, the actual number of cards that were compromised was lower than in 2009. Making certain that all of our merchants have the necessary tools to insulate themselves from fraud and the fines associated with Non Compliance is a big focus for us

This time of year, there are fundraising opportunities everywhere! Last week, our team had the opportunity to ring the bell for the Fort Vancouver Lions Club (in conjunction with the Salvation Army) and we had a blast! With a willing staff, candy canes and Christmas music we did our best to help the Salvation Army help others! Even my son (now 14), who rang his first Salvation Army bell at 5 years old, enjoyed the ability to give back. As you pass by the red buckets this year- consider adding a few coins or dollars if you can- every penny counts! Cheri PerryFriday, December 17, 2010

Greetings and Holiday Cheer from Sir Smiley and the entire team at TMC! During this VERY BUSY holiday season, a few things have taken a back seat to our daily chores; the blog is one example. So this morning, I checked the email and found this message from one of our very valuable merchants: Good Morning Everyone! I was just doing my monthly check of the TMC web site (a little late I admit) and found that there have been no blog entries since OCTOBER! Christmas is coming and I’m sure there are oodles and oodles of merchants anxiously awaiting a witty and informative blog regarding the Christmas Holidays and New Year from the knowledgeable and customer service oriented folks over at TMC. Brainstorm people! Brainstorm! Within the

Some people think that November is the start to the Holiday season but a quick trip down the center isle of your local supermarket will soon prove that HALLOWEEN is the sweet start of the silly season! This next week people will be busy filling up candy bowls, customizing their costumes and putting the final touches on their ghoulish party plans. Then we are off to the ‘Big 3’: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years! As business owners, one of two things is happening right now: 1- You are winding down from a busy summer and getting ready to plan out 2011 or 2- You are running around like crazy, getting ready for your busiest time of the year ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In either case, here are a few timely tips

Some months back I was at a business conference and one of the presenters said that he had decided ‘Not To Participate in the Recession’. I LOVED that idea and the power it contained! While the financial worries of the day are not completely behind us, there is some good news! Here at TMC, we are seeing a solid flow of new businesses as well as steady increases in transaction volume by our existing merchants. There are still signs that the economy has not completed its recovery but for the most part, the businesses we have the pleasure of working with are moving in the right direction. Perhaps the reason we are moving in the right direction is because we are taking better care of our finances. It