Month: December 2019

A merchant statement is a summary of one’s monthly fees, sales, and transactions. Although the format is not regulated with a standard, it usually contains information such as account and business information, reserve and release activity, the statement summary, the amount of funding, dispute information (in the form of chargebacks and reversals), and merchant purchases. This may be in addition to an overview of miscellaneous transactions, interchange costs, transactions such as the total amount of sales, the subscription costs, or currency conversion fees, as well as graphs that showcase sales and purchase-related trends that occur on a monthly basis.

It’s integral for a merchant to take a closer look at their merchant statements, find trends, and identify where their business requires improvement. This ensures that unnecessary costs can be cut, problem areas can be addressed with either new or improved service providers, and the bottom line meets business goals.

A key aspect of a merchant statement is the credit card processing fees section. This is an important section to go over in detail in order to ensure that one is paying the correct rates and that the business is not overpaying in processing fees. By looking over this section on a periodical basis, merchants can save on costs and improve the bottom line in the long run. 

By looking over the credit card processing fees section, a merchant can also calculate their effective rate. The effective rate as a percentage is useful when making sure that one is not overpaying in processing fees. To calculate this, one should divide the total processing fees charged by the total of processed sales and multiply the number by 100. 

Another aspect of merchant statements to think about is the interchange fees. This transaction occurs between one’s bank and their customer’s bank whenever the latter party uses either an issued debit or credit card to make a purchase. If an interchange fee is 3%, then the merchant must pay $3 when a customer makes a $100 purchase. 

As for assessment fees, they are charged by credit card networks. Examples of these networks include American Express, MasterCard, and Visa. Taking one’s interchange and assessment fees into account helps one to better understand the costs associated with their selected payment processor. 

Getting the most cost-effective credit card processing rates is important to the success of a merchant’s business. There are several ways to achieve excellent rates, and one of them is by working with a company that is transparent in their actions and puts a focus on outstanding customer service. PayFrame understands the complexity that comes with selecting the best payment options. Our experts pride themselves with integrity, honesty, the commitment to the long-term success of clients, and intimate knowledge of the credit card processing industry through countless years of experience.

For service of the highest quality and to work with PayFrame experts, contact us at either info@payframe.com or 1-888-668-0733.

Choosing the right payment processor for one’s business would improve the bottom line, as well as increase the trust between a business and its customers. The ideal payment processor should be cost-effective, secure, and transparent when it comes to its associated processing fees. 

What PayFrame does is bring the world’s top tier payment processors together. These companies then compete for a merchant’s business by showcasing their rates and fees. The merchant receives this information in an easy-to-read format, courtesy of the PayFrame team. 

The PayFrame team can provide clients with in-depth information on comparative shopping. This is in addition to walking clients through contracts and tackling questions about the latest industry trends and predictions, as the team is well-versed in the latest news. Investigating particular topics on a client’s behalf is also within PayFrame’s capabilities. The team provides professional advice, keeps information confidential, and is committed to the philosophy of ethical conduct.

If a client has questions about refunds, fraud prevention, or would like chargeback advice, then the PayFrame team is ready to have those conversations with the goal of leaving clients satisfied with answers, new insights, and suggestions. 

By being affiliated with the top processing companies, the team is flexible when working with a wide variety of businesses. 

Ultimately, PayFrame saves clients time and money while working with them side-by-side. The team is happy to walk clients through the entire process of choosing the right payment processor for your business. 

PayFrame takes pride in being able to negotiate the best payment processing rates out there on the market. What makes the team stand out is not only each member’s expertise and experience, but also the speed at which results and comparisons can be given to clients. 

To get started on working with PayFrame, a business owner should answer a few questions that pertain to themselves and their business. After receiving a selection of bids and choosing the one that would best suit the business’ needs, the PayFrame team will be in contact, review the selection, and work with the client from start to finish on completing the application process. 

To further discuss payment processing options and get the best rates possible, interested business owners may also contact PayFrame at either 1-888-668-0733 or info@payframe.com.

As a merchant, it is important to understand what a payment processor is and how it can help the bottom line of your business. A payment processor is a company that works with a merchant in order to ensure that transactions between the involved bank accounts and customers are being processed smoothly, securely, and correctly. 

When a customer makes a credit card purchase from a merchant’s store, the payment must go through a payment processor in order to check for fraud and eventually move the monetary sum from the customer’s bank account to the merchant’s bank account. Having these transactions approved and the rate of fraudulent transactions decreased not only helps with a merchant’s bottom line, but also their customer’s trust in the business. 

There are numerous ways to ensure that the customer buying experience is streamlined and secure. For one, merchants should ensure that their website is secure by using an SSL protocol, which encrypts sensitive information. Websites that are secure helps protect credit and debit card information in addition to personal information. In fact, according to research conducted by security solutions provider GlobalSign, 85% of online shoppers would not make a purchase from a website if they are unsure if their information is protected and secure.

Related to SSL, having one’s website be in HTTPS as opposed to HTTP is another important factor in security. The “S” in HTTPS stands for “secure” and indicates that the data being transferred is encrypted to protect users from theft, fraud, or even hacked accounts. Google itself has been using HTTPS as a means of ranking websites as well. For a merchant to optimize their business and be shown on top of the Google rankings, encryption is a step in the right direction. This is because it helps with driving website traffic, increasing customer trust, and making sales. 

Another method that contributes to secure online payments is the use of 3D Secure, which helps authenticate transactions. When a customer makes a purchase online, they can be prompted to prove their identity and verify the transaction through a personal code request. This may be in the form of a verification code sent to their mobile phone or even a fingerprint. Other methods of authentication and security include Apply Pay and Google Pay, which commonly require users to either enter the correct password or give biometric information. Biometric identification includes a fingerprint or facial recognition. 

This extra step in security ensures that merchants are protected from fraudulent transactions, too. According to LexisNexis’ study, merchants reported a loss of about 1.32% due to fraud and the costs associated with it. Fraud not only has a negative impact on the bottom line, but also the trust in a merchant’s business when sensitive information gets stolen.

According to another study, which was conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research, a total of approximately $112 billion was stolen from customers due to identity fraud within six years. Customers who are often victims of fraud activity neither use email alerts nor monitor their transactions carefully. Therefore, it is integral to have extra layers of security in place integrated within the transaction process.

In a study conducted by Oberlo, it was found that 1.92 billion consumers bought goods and services online in 2019 alone. By 2021, the number of people who shop online is estimated to reach 2.14 billion. In the age of digitalization and the popularization of online shopping, it is integral for merchants to keep up-to-date with the latest customer safety measures by working with secure payment processors. 

PayFrame works with business owners and top tier processors to ensure both customer and merchant security. Clients who work with PayFrame are guaranteed the best payment processing rates on the market. To contact a representative, call 1-888-668-0733 or email info@payframe.com.

As a merchant, there are several key terms that must be understood in order to streamline the transaction process between all involved parties. 

First and foremost, a payment processor is the party that ensures that the transaction process runs smoothly. This requires communicating between a bank and a merchant in order to ensure that the latter party gets their earned monetary sum. A trusted payment processor also ensures that payments are received on time and the transfer of funds between different parties is quick and secure. 

As for an issuer, it refers to a card owner’s bank. The bank is responsible for collecting payments from the customer, as well as approving transactions and sending a merchant’s earnings to their bank account. On this note, an acquirer is a bank that manages a merchant’s account and allows for the acceptance of credit card and debit card transactions. 

For merchants, there is a set of standards to follow in order to ensure the safety and security of the information belonging to all parties involved in the transaction process. This is in the form of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance.

It should be noted that PCI DSS is not a fixed checklist. Rather, it is a standard that changes with the evolving merchant landscape. In fact, on December 4, 2019, the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) published a new standard to suit the needs of contactless payment methods. This pertains to cardholders who use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) payment methods such as smartphones and tablets. With this standard, called the PCI Contactless Payments on COTS (CPoC) program, merchants can work with payment processing vendors to get the latest lab-tested technology. 

“Contactless, or tap and go, payment adoption is on the rise globally, and merchants want affordable, flexible and safe options for contactless payment acceptance that allow them to best serve their customers,” Troy Leach, the senior vice-president at PCI SSC, said in the press release detailing the contactless standard update.

He added that in addition to the PCI software solutions that allow for contactless payments, the council’s standards and program allows merchants to use tested solutions that do not require additional hardware.

An example of a party that follows PCI DSS compliance is Visa. There are certain types of merchants defined by Visa that help determine compliance levels. The first level pertains to merchants who process over six million transactions using Visa on an annual basis. Meanwhile, level two pertains to merchants who need to process between one to six million transactions annually. As for the third level, it pertains to 20,000 to one million e-commerce transactions. Level four affects merchants who process less than 20,000 Visa transactions annually when it comes to e-commerce.  

Visa also makes a point to inform merchants about customer card data protection through the use of EMV chip technology. According to a study conducted by Visa, the use of cards with EMV chip technology is on the rise, and the use of it has reduced counterfeit fraud by 76% after merchants agreed to a chip upgrade. The study also found that the number of merchants who use the technology has increased by 219% between the start of October 2015 and the end of March 2019. To encourage the move toward chip technology and the continual use of it, Visa has put forth a Technology Innovation Program (TIP). When 75% of a merchant’s yearly transactions are from dual-interface EMV chip-enabled terminals, then the requirement to verify PCI DSS compliance is eliminated. 

Ensuring the security and protection of cardholder information in the form of names, service codes, and expiration dates among other sensitive information is integral to any business. PayFrame has an experienced team that is determined to find the best payment processor for each and every client. The company works with top payment processing companies in North America, and is dedicated to finding the best rates on the market.

To get in touch with the PayFrame team, contact either 1-888-668-0733 or info@payframe.com.

A money service business (MSB) is a financial institution that provides services that deal with foreign exchange, money transferring, dealing with virtual currency, as well as issuing and redeeming traveller’s cheques and money orders. 

MSBs can be useful and integral to communities with a lack of banks, and therefore financial services, or when an individual’s bank account is terminated and they require assistance. MSBs are also a way for individuals to transfer money to and from others both domestically and internationally. 

The speed at which MSBs can process transactions is another advantage over traditional financial institutions. This is due to the level of technology that MSBs can have that are not accessible or used by banks. In addition, working with an MSB can involve less expensive fees compared to using a wire transfer. 

In order for an MSB to operate, it must follow the rules and regulations detailed by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). Much like a bank, MSBs comply with these rules in order to ensure the security and protection of its customers. On top of excellent customer service, an MSB should encompass advantageous acquirer arrangements and a fee structure that is transparent. This ensures that sensitive customer information is well-protected and not abused.

It should be noted that there exist tensions between MSBs and banks, however. In fact, according to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), MSBs are part of a high-risk industry. A business owner who wishes to enroll their MSB with the bank may have to pay additional fees and be subjected to additional reviews. 

The reluctance to accept MSBs is not universal. Republic Bank is an example of a bank that is willing to work with MSBs. In fact, the financial institution has a dedicated MSB Division with experts who understand the relationship between the two different financial institutions. 

At the time of writing this article, Republic Bank’s MSB Division serves prepaid card programs, money transmission services, online alternative financial service providers, and retail storefront alternative financial service providers.

Another payment acquirer option is First Midwest Bank. The financial institution has a variety of services that pertain to, for example, operating and ancillary accounts, remote deposit capture, as well as zero balance accounts. This is in addition to financing services like revolving lines of credit sweeps, swamping interest rates, and acquisition funding. Fraud prevention and risk mitigation are other services that First Midwest Bank offers to its MSB clients. 

It is important to note that MSB owners should be prepared with all the necessary information required before setting up a meeting with bank personnel. MSBs are heavily regulated and must comply with the rules and policies outlined by FINTRAC and other legal entities. Therefore, banks are in need of transparency and excellent communication when it comes to the functions of MSBs and the type of point of sale equipment they propose to use. 

To get in touch with an expert and drive your MSB forward, contact PayFrame at either 1-888-668-0733 or info@payframe.com.