Over the last couple of years, more retailers and providers of merchant services in the United States have been settling into the new Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) credit card processing system. As EMV acceptance expands, business owners will start to see more technology upgrades offered by through their merchant services providers. One current quirk […]
Speeding up Chip Card Checkout Times with Visa Read More »
American companies that use credit card processing and merchant services are on high alert after a Russian hacking group breached the servers of various POS or point of sale systems. The first victim of the breach was tech giant Oracle, which in mid-2016 acquired MICROS Systems, a major provider of POS solutions for the retail
Oracle MICROS Hackers Also Hacked 5 Other Companies Read More »
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is investigating reports of a data breach at several of its properties. Kimpton operates 62 boutique hotels across the country and has begun to look into the scale of this hacking. Management has hired a computer security firm to find out if guest information or internal systems have been hacked. The
Hotel Chain Looking into Data Breach Read More »
Discovering Visa and PayPal were partnering up has shaken up the credit card processing industry. It is believed that everything from merchant services to eBay will be affected. Some immediately lauded how the partnership will enhance in-store NFC payments. The most cynical critics believe Visa, with PayPal under its watchful eye, will be better suited
What the PayPal and Visa Partnership Means for the Future of Payments Read More »
Businesses are striving to stay on top of trends in consumer behavior, and mobile payments have been a hotbed of activity. Walmart Pay just rolled out nationwide, and the company is hoping that the app will help them collect more information about how customers use their products and make purchasing decisions. Credit card processing has seen
Walmart Pay to Deepen Information about Shopper Habits Read More »
A jarring amount of 17.6 million people (7% of Americans) had at least one incident of identity theft in 2014, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Unfortunately some of that identity theft can come from third parties, including criminals accessing business accounts to get information about consumers. Nonprofits, small businesses and large corporate companies
Err on the Side of Caution: Nonprofits and Virtual Credit Cards Read More »
The swipe fee antitrust lawsuit that The Official Merchant Services Blog has been covering for a few years now has an update: Wal-Mart, accusing Visa of excessively high card swipe fees, is suing Visa for $5 billion. The action by Wal-Mart is being taken because Wal Mart opted out of the settlement of the class
Wal-Mart Sues Visa Read More »
On Tuesday, February 25, 2014, Nevada and Delaware lawmakers signed a landmark agreement to join the states together in online poker ventures, potentially increasing payouts for residents who gamble online. The Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada and Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware established a legal framework for the first authorized interstate
Online Poker in Delaware [2024 Update] Read More »
Today marks the start of CoinSummit San Francisco, a two-day event ”connecting virtual currency entrepreneurs, angel and VC investors, hedge fund professionals and others who are looking to learn and network in the virtual currency industry.” CoinSummit will take place on March 25-26 2014 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Many in
Here Comes CoinSummit! [2023 Update] Read More »
Sometimes the future just sort of sneaks up on you. Even if you’ve given yourself reminders, sticky notes, calendar alarms, and the proverbial string tied around your finger, the future still has a way of creeping up on you unawares. Which is why Host Merchant Services is happy to offer its customers a payment processing
The VX 520 Embraces the Future Read More »
Twitter, the modern equivalent of Mad Libs and the yellow journalism of the late 19th century, has revealed to us a gem of irony that makes the whole Target getting hacked story seem that much more poignant. No one is safe in this bold new era of credit card hackers and identity thieves. Not even
PayPal President Hacked [2023 Update] Read More »
It’s mid-February 2014. The Mid-Atlantic, homebase to Host Merchant Services, has been mired in a series of snowstorms that makes the jaunty tune of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” seem months and months away. Yet today, February 12, is the day pitchers and catchers report for Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training 2014. Six days ago
It’s 1, 2, 3 Swipes, You’re Out! Read More »
Back in November, The Official Merchant Services Blog dove into the Bitcoin currency craze with an in-depth look at Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin, introduced in 2008 by a programmer or group of programmers under the name Satoshi Nakamoto, has no central issuing authority and uses a public ledger to verify encrypted transactions. It is a virtual currency
The Bitcoin Roller Coaster Read More »
According to a story in the payment processing industry periodical Digital Transactions, Heartland Payment Systems Inc. filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against Mercury Payment Systems LLC. The suit alleged deceptive pricing by Mercury allowed Mercury to lure scores of merchants — well, 30 — away from Heartland and attract prospects to Mercury that had been weighing
Heartland Payments Sues Mercury Read More »
Holiday Inn, Marriott Hotels Suspected Targets of Data Breach The Official Merchant Services Blog has breaking news regarding the ongoing series of credit card data breaches. One the heels of the major hack of discount retailer of Target that stole credit and debit card data from 40 million accounts right smack dab in the middle
Hackers find new target: Mariott [2023 Update] Read More »
The massive data breach at Target is a big shining beacon illuminating exactly how behind the times the United States remains when it comes to credit card security — namely EMV® chip technology. EMV is a worldwide standard for credit and debit card payments based around the use of chip card technology. The acronym stands for Europay, MasterCard,
Can Chip Cards Stop the Hax? [2023 Update] Read More »
With the 2014 holiday shopping season about to grind down to the home stretch, the sales figures are already rolling in. And once again, online transactions have maintained their brisk and healthy growth from years past. Cyber Monday chalked up record sales, rising a reported 17 percent from 2012 according to USA Today. Cyber Monday,
Marketplace Fairness Act Looms [2023 Update] Read More »
Merchants who want to offer convenience to customers by providing self-service options often struggle with the dilemma of receiving payments without being in the physical location of their customers. Unattended payment solutions offers merchant services to collect payments securely from customers. VeriFone UX Solutions For Merchant Services VeriFone recently launched UX Solutions for unattended payments.
VeriFone Solution For Unattended Payments Read More »