Merchant Services America

What dentists should know about transarmor and data protection

God456zilla356 — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 07:59:00 +0000

Very serious problems indeed when it comes to data theft! Here is the article about the recent data breach: Massive Credit Card Data Breach Of 2nd Largest Processor

With the recent news reports of data security issues at the 2nd largest processor, isn’t it time dentists speak with an agent of First Data? Small businesses are the target of more than 80% of data theft crimes. Think your practice is immune to a data breach? THINK AGAIN! The economic impact of a data breach can be devastating on your business! There’s a reason why you don’t see First Data in the news regarding data breaches, because they haven’t had one in their entire 40 year history.. With it’s industry leading security solution, TransArmor, customers aren’t just protected with plain encryption, BUT encryption AND tokenization, which renders the efforts of data thieves useless against sensitive patient information! This 1-2 punch protects sensitive patient information.

First Data’s TransArmor solution protects payment card data the moment it enters the merchant environment with encryption and substitutes a risk-free token number for use in any post-authorization business processes. In the event of a compromise, there is no sensitive data for attackers to steal, thus protecting sensitive patient info, and the dental practice from exposure! The TransArmor solution preserves the value of cardholder data for merchants while eliminating its value for cyber criminals and risk for merchants. Because it’s a service-based solution, no new hardware, no changes to back-end systems and no employee training are required. The solution is integrated with First Data terminals and will soon be available on a wide variety of other terminals and point-of-sale systems.

The TransArmor solution combined with EMV chip-based technologies is the perfect combination of data theft protection and fraud prevention technologies. EMV Chip based credit cards are much harder to hack into compared with traditional magnetic strip credit cards.

EMV helps mitigate fraud at the POS
EMV does not protect card holder data once the payment method and consumer are validated
Card and cardholder data still sent “in the clear”
A strong encryption and tokenization solution can bolster the security of the entire payment transaction and reduce PCI compliance efforts

Limited warranty— An extra layer of security for merchants. First Data offers a limited warranty that if the token number returned to the merchant is stolen, it cannot be used fraudulently by an unauthorized party. See the TransArmor terms and conditions for full details.

VISA statement concerning the recent data breach incident:

http://corporate.visa.com/media-center/index.shtml

“Every business that handles payment card information is expected to protect the security and privacy of their customers’ financial information by adhering to the highest data protection standards. Visa also supports advanced security layers such as encryption, tokenization and dynamic authentication through EMV chip technology to further protect sensitive account information and minimize the impact of data compromises.”

As an agent of First Data, I take great pride not just for the competitive rates I’m able to offer, but also the value added services like TransArmor data protection, and gift/loyalty cards that have helped businesses increase sales by an average of 25%. When I first looked into providing customers with ATM & credit card processing 4 years ago, I had been recruited by Elavon, TransFirst, TSYS, and RBS WorldPay, and I chose First Data because of their strength in many areas. Security and customer service being the biggest reasons for me, and they have both… I may not earn high commissions with them, but knowing that I provide the best products and customer service to my merchants, makes my job that much easier. I’m able to help business owners cut costs, protect their data, AND increase their revenues! Who else can say that? First Data handles 6o% of all card transactions worldwide, including all of the processing for businesses like Wal-mart, McDonalds, and Starbucks. There’s a reason why large, successful chains use First Data processing!

More and more doctors and dental practices have signed on with me because of the TransArmor data protection i can provide them. Sure, everyone wants to shop for a better rate too, but what good is a better rate, if your data can be easily breached? We provide all of the above, but my point is security is so important these days, that rate becomes a secondary part of the conversation it seems, and for good reason. The dentist who is serious about data protection should contact they’re current processor to find out what they’re doing today to protect data!

Prevent data theft against your patient’s card information with TransArmor! We provide it to you at NO COST, along with wholesale credit card processing rates as low as 1.36% plus .13¢ per swiped card, AND a new SECURITY COMPLIANT credit card terminal, ALSO at NO COST! CALL (888) RX MERCHANT or visit us at: www.MerchantServicesAmerica.com!

This post was provided by Solon Zafiropoulos of Merchant Services America, an independent payment processing firm that assists merchants with payment security, credit card processing, gift card, cash advance, internet marketing, and other value added services. He can be reached at (888) 796-3724 x701. Or, email him at solon@merchantservicesamerica.com.

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Why a dentist deserves the lowest credit card processing rate

God456zilla356 — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:57:00 +0000

As a dental professional, it’s understandable that you might be busy running your practice, and it can be hard finding time to cut costs, and make sure your data is protected. But, the reality is your current processor may be overcharging you $1,000′s in processing fees each year, and possibly providing you with inferior data security. I’d like to show you the industry leading data protection product we provide all of the merchants who process with us, TransArmor! I’d also like to show you how to reduce your credit card processing fees by 35% and SAVE your practice $1,000′s each year! Many times, a processor will give you an attractive rate, only to bump up their fees later.

To calculate your overall rate, add up all the fees on your processing statement and divide them into your total volume. This will tell you what percentage your current processor is charging you.

Example:

Healthy Smiles, Inc
Total monthly volume: $10,000

Total monthly fees: $420
Your Effective rate: $420/$10,000 = 0.042 or 4.2%

A reasonable overall rate for a dentist should only be anywhere from 1.9% to 2.0% of total monthly sales. So in the case above, the dentist should only be paying $190-200! Dental practices deserve to pay a lower rate, relative to other industries: they are a low risk business, transactions are usually conducted with the customer (Patient) present, and the average transaction size is bigger than normal. These are important factors that should result in lower credit card processing fees.

Merchant Services America will work with you to analyze your business, and then customize a program for you that will include check and credit card processing. We do more than just save your business money on processing. We ALSO help you INCREASE your revenues and bring in NEW BUSINESS with gift, loyalty & marketing programs! You get all this backed by industry leading TransArmor data security & 24 x 7 customer service in 140 different languages, at NO COST. If you sign up by April 28th, 2012, we will also provide you with a NEW, SECURITY COMPLIANT credit card terminal – at NO COST!

To get started, please call 1-888-RX-MERCHANT for a FREE rate comparison. You have nothing to lose but the high rates and inferior data protection of your current processor!

The post Why a dentist deserves the lowest credit card processing rate first appeared on Merchant Services America.

How Merchant can increase profits

God456zilla356 — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:56:00 +0000

Small business owners can increase profits by selling products that are in high demand. They may obtain retail reports about these products when starting out, or keep track of sales trends. Subsequently, they can continue ordering the products that sell and drop those that don’t sell. It is also important to have both an ATM machine and credit card processor in the store. Customers who don’t have credit cards or checks with them can use their debit cards for cash. This prevents them from going elsewhere for their purchase. Having a merchant machine is just smart business. Credit cards can increase a merchant’s business by 40 percent or more.

Advertising is another way to increase profits. Retailers must advertise to increase traffic to their stores. The best ways to advertise are newspapers, radio, television and direct mail. Coupon magazines are highly effective in generating traffic. These publications are distributed through newspapers or by mail. They contain ads and coupons from many different retailers, but usually not directly competitors. It is best to put a deadline on coupons to get people in stores more quickly. Merchants can then take their orders by check, cash or credit card processor.

Business owners can also increase profits by having a fair return policy. Customers should be allowed to return merchandise for up to 30 days minimum. Some may receive duplicate gifts, or the merchandise may be damaged in some way. A clothing item may not fit a family member. Whatever the case, customers are much more likely to regularly patronize a retailer that has a fair return policy. The charged purchases can easily be refunded by running a person’s card through a merchant machine.

Frequency programs also help boost profits. A frequency card is usually run through a POS system or computerized cash register. People are then rewarded according to the number of times they shop at the store and make purchases. Rewards can include coupons, free items and even cash back. The magnetic stripe on the card can easily be programmed and run through the card processor.

Internet and mail order retailers can also boost profits by opening a MOTO account. MOTO stands for “mail order telephone order. Telemarketing companies can also benefit by using a MOTO account to process credit card orders. Internet companies can use the web-based systems on their websites. Mail order and telemarketing firms may use the touch-pad or portable units. They both work wonders in increasing sales from people who prefer paying with credit cards.

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