Credit Card and Payment Processing

Everyone is feeling the pain these days at the gas pump these days. With oil prices at near all time highs, gas prices have kept right up with them.

As a result everyone is looking for ways to cut their gas bill, which is why some gas station owers are starting to offer different pricing for customers who pay with cash instead of credit cards. Sometimes offering discount of up to 10 cents a gallon or even more.

When a business agrees to accept credit cards like Visa and Mastercard, they pay what are called interchange fees typically in the range of 2-4% of the transaction amount. Debit cards work slightly differently.

Visa and Mastercard both recently announced that they were capping their fees on petroleum purchases to help “ease the burden” for both consumers and business owners. but in reality they really are trying to avoid situations like this where people get a better price for cash, and to make sure that you still keep using that credit card.

Mastercard has agreed to settle with American Express about a complaint that it blocked banks from issuing its American Express Credit Cards.  American Express sued larger competitors MasterCard and Visa Inc. in November 2004 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they violated antitrust laws by preventing member banks from offering rival cards

Mastercard will pay approximately $150 million a quarter for a period of three years. Visa International entered into a similar settlement recently for $2.7 billion

There has been a lot of discussion recently with regard to the Egg Credit Card in the last few weeks.

Many Angry customers of the internet bank Egg  were suprised when there were told that 161,000 cards of customers who “have deteriorated credit” were cancelled by the bank.  This represents approxiately 7% of the EGG bank portfolio.

The bank is not demanding immediate repayment of outstanding credit balances or forcing changes to cardholders terms and conditions or adjusting their interest rates, but is instead deciding to terminate the cardholder account.

In the classic chicken and egg scenario, you want to refinance, but you have poor credit. So you need someone to trust that you have helped rebuild your credit well enough to get a refinance loan.

Finding someone to loan you money is getting more and more difficult in todays credit crunch market, even if you have good credit. But when you have moderate, or bad credit, it can be a complete nightmare. If you are lucky enough to find someone who is willing to risk loaning you money, they are most likely going to charge you sky high interest rates, exorberant fees, and unreasonable terms and conditions.

Try not to get too discouraged. Just remember that credit repair doesnt happen over night. You need to take small steps and remember that every step that you take is one step closer to getting your credit score back up to where it should be.

Tips for Repairing bad credit

• Always pay your bills on time
• Try not to keep high balances on your revolving credit accounts
• Don’t apply for credit too often.
• Only buy things that you can afford and don’t outspend your means.

Accepting payments internationally can be a risky business. As a result, most banks will shy away from allowing its bankcard customers from processing credit cards from other countries like China, Nigeria, Egypt, and other countries which are known hotbeds for fraudulent activity.

Once you understand the risks of processing credit cards internationally, like little to know address verification service, inability to verify identity of consumers, IP spoofing, and other ways to commit credit card fraud,  you can start working on ways to help limit your exposure to such activities.

There are billlions of customers outside of the united states who have credit cards and may be interested in your products. Tapping into this international credit market can be a significant boost to your sales.

Technological, economic, and legal developments are driving significant changes to the competitive environment, opening the door to innovative solutions and new relationships. These developments are fundamentally altering how consumers and businesses use the electronic payment tools at their disposal. In this rapidly changing landscape of payments, knowledge is crucial to the near-term and future success of your business. PAYMENTS 2008 delivers:

• LEADERSHIP. Thought leaders in the industry share their insights and focus on long-term strategies for all electronic payments participants. Sharp, focused, and targeted sessions drill down into the precise elements you need to be aware of to manage risk, optimize performance, and embrace change.
• INNOVATION. The latest research, industry pilot results, insights, trends, and forecasts for the future are delivered by payments system experts representing financial institution, regulatory, provider, and customer perspectives.
• SOLUTIONS. There are no broad generalizations or vague theories offered at PAYMENTS 2008 sessions. Crisp, concise case studies offer the practical information and best practices you need to apply to your organization immediately.

In addition to outstanding educational offerings, PAYMENTS 2008 offers a wealth of networking opportunities. Receptions, breaks, and luncheons offer attendees the opportunity to reconnect with old acquaintances and forge valuable new alliances.

PAYMENTS 2008 is the foremost and most influential payments knowledge forum.

Read more about it:

http://www.nacha.org/conferences/Payments2008/default.htm

Minimum deposit for the Egg Savings Account (Internet) is £1, maximum deposit £2,000,000.

Gross rate is the contractual rate of interest payable before the deduction of income tax at the rate specified by law. In other words, the figure you see is the rate that will be used to work out the interest you’ll be paid before income tax is taken off.Tax free is the contractual rate of interest payable where interest is exempt from income tax. In other words, you won’t have to pay income tax on any interest you’re paid from this product. AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the interest rate would be if interest was paid and compounded once each year. So what’s compounded interest? Each day you’ll earn interest on whatever is in your account. So, come the next day and so on, you’ll not only have earned interest on the original amount you deposited, but you also earn interest on the interest you earned previously. As every advertisement for a savings product which quotes an interest rate will contain an AER, you will be able to compare more easily what return you can expect from your savings over time.

http://new.egg.com/visitor/0,,3_94368–View_2081,00.html

Everyone likes to know who they are doing business with, but in the internet age that kind of interaction is rare. Because of this non face to face transactions or in the world of payment processing, this is known as card not present transactions.

Since neither party can see one another, and there is no phyiscal credit card present to obtain a magnetic card swipe to validate the authenticity of the card, there is a much greater risk of fraud. Is the card stolen? is the number valid? Is the person entering in the information really who they say they are?

 All of these are valid questions. So what can you do about it?

Well for starters, in every internet based transaction there are at least two IP addresses in use. Your IP address as the merchant accepting the payment, and the IP address of the person attempting to make a purchase. Well each IP address is assigned from an Internet Service Provider, or ISP.

Just like the zip code in your postal address. each IP Address can help geo-target where this transaction is originating from. Now geo-targeting can try to get down to a neighborhood type area like a zip code can, but typically this data may not be as accurate, so more often than not, it is used only to isolate what country the customer is trying to make the purchase from.

So Why is that important? well studies have shown that a majority of international orders that are fraudulent originate from only a handful of countries, like North Korea, Nigeria, China, Russia, and so on. So really its about managing risk. Depending on your level of risk tolerence maybe you will automatically decline these sales, or perhaps you will consider the transaction, but with a more stringent set of identity guidelines.

Either way, knowing what your up against is an important part of everyday business.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center or, IC3, is  a partnership of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center.

This agency works at trying to help stop internet based fraud and educating the public consumer at large on how to not be scammed.

Here are some tips they offer :

Avoiding Credit Card Fraud

• Don’t give out your credit card number(s) online unless the site is a secure and reputable site. Sometimes a tiny icon of a padlock appears to symbolize a higher level of security to transmit data. This icon is not a guarantee of a secure site, but might provide you some assurance.
• Don’t trust a site just because it claims to be secure.
• Before using the site, check out the security/encryption software it uses.
• Make sure you are purchasing merchandise from a reputable source.
• Do your homework on the individual or company to ensure that they are legitimate.
• Try to obtain a physical address rather than merely a post office box and a phone number, call the seller to see if the number is correct and working.
• Send them e-mail to see if they have an active e-mail address and be wary of sellers who use free e-mail services where a credit card wasn’t required to open the account.
• Consider not purchasing from sellers who won’t provide you with this type of information.
• Check with the Better Business Bureau from the seller’s area.
• Check out other web sites regarding this person/company.
• Don’t judge a person/company by their web site.
• Be cautious when responding to special offers (especially through unsolicited e-mail).
• Be cautious when dealing with individuals/companies from outside your own country.
• The safest way to purchase items via the Internet is by credit card because you can often dispute the charges if something is wrong.
• Make sure the transaction is secure when you electronically send your credit card numbers.
• You should also keep a list of all your credit cards and account information along with the card issuer’s contact information. If anything looks suspicious or you lose your credit card(s) you should contact the card issuer immediately.

How can I exclude my name from nationwide consumer credit reporting company lists for unsolicited credit and insurance offers?

You may request that consumer credit reporting companies exclude your name from lists for pre-approved, unsolicited credit and insurance offers. To find out more, please call 1–888–5OPTOUT (1–888–567–8688).