by amspcs In tough economic times, small businesses seek out ways to cut expenses. One of the best places to start is to lower the cost of credit card processing. Here are ten proven ideas that every merchant can and should implement. To learn more about each item, please refer to the resource links provided below. 1.) Minimize surcharges Circumventing terminal prompts such as bypassing Address Verification (AVS) or failing to settle batches properly cause transactions to downgrade to...

PCI Compliance If you don't understand the current Payment Card Industry guidelines for your business, you may be putting yourself and your customers at risk By Reed Richardson Over the past three decades, as our society has increasingly shifted toward one where both consumers and merchants prefer credit over cash (as a recent Visa commercial not so subtly pointed out), the threats from fraud have also radically increased. Gone are the days when criminals are satisfied with the paper bills...

By Gene Marks Meet Josh, the best negotiator in the world. Josh is six. Whenever he wants something, he asks for it. "I want juice". "I want that game." "I want to watch Rugrats." "I want ice cream." And if he doesn’t get what he asks for? Well, he just keeps asking. And asking. Sometimes this tactic has the opposite effect. My wife or I will reprimand him. But a lot of times we cave. And he gets what he wants. Just to keep the peace. He’s relentless. He’s diabolical. He’s a great...

With credit and debit cards increasingly becoming the norm, the business that doesn't accept them could be setting themselves up for failure By Chris Freeburn In a recent VISA commercial, dozens of hungry customers march in an easy, rapid dance through a coffee shop, pausing only briefly to tap their VISA card on the cash register, paying for their food and moving on with the greatest efficiency. Unfortunately, one woeful customer who tries to pay for his coffee with cash brings the whole...