Garage door industry magazine for garage door dealers, garage door manufacturers, garage door distributors, garage door installers, loading docks, garage door operators and openers, gates, and tools for the door industry.
Issue link: https://idoi.epubxp.com/i/105596
SALES&MARKETING; What you need to know about credit card processing TODAY, SOON, and LATER By Erica N. Baker Once again, changes are coming to the credit card processing industry. If you're accepting credit cards, it's time to prepare. The following overview is subject to change, but it is the most current outline of future changes. For regular updates, follow Electronic Data Payment Systems on Facebook, Twitter, or Blogger*. Soon you will see credit cards with "Smart Chips" or "Embedded Integrated Circuits" which transmit data instead of a traditional magnetic strip. Retailers will be required to upgrade their equipment in order to accept payment from these new smart cards, but the changes will provide increased credit card security. The EMV smart card means better data encryption and lower fraud risk. Merchants and business owners who embrace this change will lower their payment acceptance risks. What you need to know TODAY: • Only retail merchants will be affected. MOTO and ecommerce merchants will not. • This change involves equipment upgrades that will provide relief of financial liability. • Equipment options are available today, but you have plenty of time to upgrade. • Beware of unscrupulous credit card processing salespeople who urge an immediate change. Primarily, this change will affect retail merchants. However, even MOTO (Mail Order, Telephone Order), and ecommerce merchants should be aware of this change. Credit card processing companies may knowingly or unknowingly urge you to upgrade equipment or change programs. You will need to know that this change does not affect your business and you do not need to adjust anything. Retailers, on the other hand, have a new opportunity to protect themselves against financial liability for fraud and chargebacks. (Retailers are any merchants who accept payments face V O L U M E to face by swiping the cards.) A liability shift will occur in October of 2015, providing retailers chargeback protection that has never been available before. Currently, a customer could use a card, and then dispute a retail purchase, claiming that they did not present their card to a merchant. The merchant then assumes financial responsibility for that chargeback even though the service or merchandise has already been provided. With new equipment that accepts payments from Embedded Integrated Circuits instead of a magnetic strip, you will be protected against the financial liability associated with any purchase made with a smart card as of October, 2015. Equipment upgrades are beneficial for retailers because retailers which upgrade their equipment will experience a new level of financial security which has never in the past been available. Given the liability relief this upgrade provides and the current availability of equipment options, one would assume that upgrading right away would be beneficial. While getting a jumpstart on changes puts your business ahead of the game, processors will not be required to support EMV transactions until April of 2013, and the liability shift will not occur until October, 2015. Continued on page 62 4 6 I S S U E 1 2 0 1 3 61