Digital payment processing startup Stripe Inc said in a press release it raised $250 million in its latest funding round, bringing its pre-money value to $35 billion, which is more than a 50% increase to its valuation at the beginning of the year. After raising $100 million from Tiger Global Management in a Series E […]
Stripe Funding Round Values Company at $35 Billion Read More »
The world of merchant services is extremely exciting, yet it can be competitive. There are countless opportunities to make money in this industry, but throughout it all, you want to ensure that you are providing the best possible experience for your clients. Because of this, joining the best merchant services agent program is absolutely critical
How to Choose the Best Merchant Services Agent Program Read More »
The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, has been defending individual rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, as well as by the laws of the United States of America for close to 100 years. Most recently, the ACLU turned its focus to cashless stores. Reasons ACLU Says No to Cashless Consistent with the ACLU’s
ACLU Makes the Case Against Cashless Stores Read More »
The Western States Acquirers Association is a not-for-profit company that holds a yearly conference aimed at educating about trends and new technology in the payments industry. This year’s conference will take place September 17-19th in sunny Palm Springs, CA. Topics covered at WSAA 2019 will include financial services, payment technology, education, and networking. In addition
HMS to Exhibit at WSAA 2019 Read More »
Interchange Plus vs Tiered Pricing No one wants to pay more than necessary for credit card processing, which can already eat into profits. When comparing merchant services, it’s important to understand how different pricing systems work. Many merchant account providers advertise very low fees as a teaser, even though most transactions do not qualify for
Interchange Plus vs Tiered Pricing Read More »
Protect Your Business from Credit Card Skimmers Each year, companies sign on to take advantage of merchant services offered for credit card processing. Skimmers are quickly becoming a threat to unsuspecting customers as companies rely more heavily than ever on point of sale services for their businesses. As a merchant, you want to protect your
Protect Your Business from Credit Card Skimmers Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »