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Point of Sale Security Tips

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Fast and efficient point of sale transaction processing is important when it comes to helping your customers feel good about doing business with you. Your customers also need to feel secure when paying for your goods or services with a credit or debit card. Since so many transactions are conducted using credit and debit cards, point of sale security is something that all businesses need to take very seriously. Any lapse in point of sale security can potentially cost a company a lot of money. It could even cost them their entire business. To help ensure that your transactions and customer data are secure, make sure you put these important measures into practice. The Importance of EMV Readers  Many businesses miss one of the simplest ways to make their credit card transactions more secure. By using an EMV card reader, you can eliminate a common source of credit card fraud and data theft. EMV card readers are devices that read the chips on customers’ credit and debit cards.

What is Credit Card Processing?

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Credit card processing is something that sounds both simple and complex at the same time. Simply put, credit card processing involves accessing and transferring funds from a customer’s account to a merchant’s account when paying for something with a credit or debit card. The process itself takes several important steps to ensure accuracy and security. At the same time, it all has to happen in a matter of seconds. Here’s how it works. Credit Card Processing: Step by Step   When a customer makes a purchase using a credit card—either at a cash register, over the phone, or online—that payment has to go through a few steps. That’s where a merchant processor comes in. This is a company that takes a merchant’s credit card transactions and translates them into the money paid for its products or services. First, the customer’s bank is contacted using the card info that is swiped or entered. That info has to be verified as accurate, and the availability of funds has to be confirmed. On

Merchant One Reviews How Credit Card Processing Works

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A customer comes to the checkout counter in your store and sticks a credit card into the chip reader to pay for a purchase. The terminal displays a message saying, “Do Not Remove Card.” The terminal asks the customer to key in his or her PIN. The terminal shows the transaction approved or denied, and tells the customer to remove the card. Or maybe your customer swipes the card and ends up with the same results. What’s happening from the time the customer inserts/swipes to the moment the payment is approved? It may seem like a simple process where the terminal sends the transaction to the credit card company, and the credit card company sends back the approval, but there are a lot of steps in between. How the Process Works  The terminal sends transaction details to the payment processor. The payment processor is not the same as the bank that issued the card. The bank that issued the card belongs to a network of banks that issue the same kind of cards, like Visa or Mastercard. Th

The Basic Tools of Organizing Business Finances | Merchant One

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Not everyone who starts a business has had coursework or experience in finance. But every business deals with money, and it pays to have well managed and organized finances. If you’re a business owner who feels a little overwhelmed by dealing with finances, Merchant One created this guide for you as a primer on basic business accounting terminology and essential documents. Let’s get started. Basic Accounting Terms  For those without an MBA or other formal business training, business accounting buzzwords can sound like a foreign language. Let’s break down the language barrier: Expenses  Expenses are basically everything you need to pay to keep your business running. This means all operating costs, including rent and utilities, inventory, software and technology, production costs, payroll, and taxes. Total or Gross Revenue This is the total amount of money that you earn from running your business. It is your inflow of cash, the sum of everything you’ve received from custo

Merchant One Reviews: 5 Ways to Optimize Your eCommerce Website

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A difficult eCommerce checkout system can be enough to lose a sale. A simple, secure, and clear online checkout, on the other hand, can provide a positive experience for customers that helps build loyalty and keeps them coming back. As a business owner, customer experience should be a priority. Merchant One offers eCommerce solutions for businesses that are looking to streamline their online checkout systems. But before your customers get to the shopping cart and checkout stage, you need to get them to the site in the first place, and make it a friendly place to navigate, before these hits convert into sales. Let’s look at some easy ways to optimize eCommerce sites. 1. Product Page SEO Begin optimizing your eCommerce website with SEO keyword research. That is, find out what keywords your target audience is searching for online, and how you can place them in your website to rank higher on Google (and other) search engine results. It’s not just blog post and welcome pages that ne

Cash Advance: The Pros and The Cons | Merchant One

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Do you need cash now and fast? You might consider getting a cash advance if: You need to pay the rent on your retail space.  You have a utility bill due tomorrow.  You have a vendor payment to complete today but are waiting on a payment to come through to cover the expenses.  Cash advances are a simple way to get money quickly to cover payments you either can’t or don’t want to use a credit card for. Just as you buy inventory for your business on credit, sometimes you may need to buy cash you can use right away. That’s basically what a cash advance is. This method can be a lifesaver if you’re in a tough situation, but keep in mind that it can be expensive. Take a look at the pros and cons of getting a cash advance to decide if this quick money solution is right for you. Pros of Cash Advances Fast Payments A cash advance is not a bank loan. When your business is first starting out, cash will be hard to come by, and anything you earn will likely be invested back into