Today The Official Merchant Services Blog brings you all an update on the Stop Online Piracy Act. This legislation has been picking up traction in the news the past couple of days because it’s become a talking point in the GOP Presidential Nomination race, and because Congress is set to resume discussion of the bill. […]
Stop Online Piracy Act Coming Back [2023 Update] Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog focuses today on an aspect of payment processing important to both merchants and processors: Chargebacks. Chargebacks occur when the amount of the original charge that was credited to a business’ checking account is reversed. The chargeback is forcibly initiated by the consumer’s issuing bank. Realizing that chargebacks can gum up the
Merchant Services: Chargeback Tips Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog shines its spotlight today on Discover –– notably Discover Financial’s strong fourth quarter earnings predictions that are making news. On December 13, Business Week reported that a strong holiday shopping season would spark a boost in Discover Financial’s fourth quarter earnings. As the article portended: “The Riverwoods, Ill.-based credit card
Discover’s Strong Fourth Quarter Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog returns to The Durbin Amendment today. We’ve been a little lax in keeping this story as updated as we were previously. Much of this month has been focusing so much more on The Holiday Shopping Season. With sales booming, and e-commerce setting record numbers, the focus slipped away from Durbin
Merchant Services: More Durbin News Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog continues it’s two-part epic delving into the details of what VeriFone Terminals –– specifically the Vx series –– can do. Our previous blog dealt primarily with the features of the Evolution branding and what that has done to enchance and change Vx terminals. Today, we see how that branding has
Part Two: VeriFone’s Vx Terminals Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog has been covering the basics of payment processing, offering insight and tips on the general topics of the credit card and debit card transaction industry for merchants. Today we’re going to go a little deeper, and delve into a nuts and bolts topic: payment terminals. This kicks off the first
A Look at VeriFone’s Vx Evolution Read More »
As part of an ongoing series covering the basics of payment processing, The Official Merchant Services Blog is going to discuss Batch Processing today. You may have seen the term come up before –– possibly in reference to your statement or when your merchant account representative first met you. What is Batch Processing? Providing quick
Merchant Services: Batch Processing Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog is here to share information with merchants to get them better prepared to understand how the payment processing industry works. This premise stems from Host Merchant Services and its philosophy to bring trust to the industry. Payment processing can be confusing. And nowhere is that more evident than in a
Merchant Services: Statement Sleuth Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog is going to be quick today. The Holiday Shopping Season is still going great and merchants are still reaping the rewards of the boost in business. But we wanted to take a moment to step out of the holiday shopping mindset and look toward the future. We’d like to point
Stop Online Piracy Act Controversy [2023 Update] Read More »
Let the shopping season begin! Black Friday is here, and the traditional marker for holiday shopping is off to an unusual start for 2011. The Official Merchant Services Blog is taking today’s blog entry to give you a bit of a roundup on the event. It Started Early The first sign that this year’s Black
Merchant Services: Black Friday is Here Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog functions on the logical premise that our readers are interested in the topics we cover, most notably merchant services. We strive to bring you useful news, tips, and insight that can help you as both a merchant and a consumer. That means that sometimes we delve into complex topics, like
Merchant Services: Why You Need a Processor Read More »
A previous post by The Official Merchant Services Blog featured a story about what credit card companies are doing to make themselves the more alluring choice instead of debit during this holiday shopping season. Today’s post is a bit of a follow up to that, with a specific program that one credit card company is
Merchant Services: Discover on Discover Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog continues its far reaching and ongoing coverage of the Durbin Amendment and the aftermath of what this legislation brings. Just a quick recap of what the Durbin Amendment did: On October 1, the legislation put in place a cap on interchange fees from debit card usage. Prior to the legislation
Durbin Aftermath: Banks Go Ninja Style Read More »
With the Holiday Shopping Season fast approaching –– Black Friday is 11 days away, Cyber Monday is 14 days away –– the payment processing industry is still getting the last pieces in place for a brisk rush in the use of credit and debit cards. The Official Merchant Services Blog continues its series focusing on
The Allure of Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping Read More »
For merchants navigating their business through the e-commerce industry, there’s quite a lot of technical jargon to be aware of. It’s now more important than ever to stay on top of the latest buzz words that go along with the technology that is at the heart of e-commerce. It can sometimes be a hassle to
Merchant Services: Defining Tech Talk Read More »
The Official Merchant Services Blog tackles the topic of Debit Card processing today. While the blog has extensively delved into the Durbin Amendment and the affects the legislation is having on merchants, one topic we’ve overlooked is Debit Card processing –– specifically PIN Debit vs. Swipe Debit. Difference Between Credit, Debit, and Check Cards First
Merchant Services: PIN Debit vs. Swipe Debit Read More »