Transaction Resources Inc

Announcing a new partnership

2012-02-29T08:39:00.000-08:00

We're so excited to announce our new partnership with Merchant Link, a true leader in cloud-based payment services. Read the press release below for more information.

MERCHANT LINK AND TRANSACTION RESOURCES TEAM UP TO STREAMLINE AND SECURE PAYMENTS FOR SKI RESORTS

New Partnership Allows Ski Resorts to Manage All Payment Transactions from
Any Point-of-Sale Across the Resort

SILVER SPRING, MD (February 28, 2012) -- Merchant Link, a leading provider of payment gateway and data security solutions, and Transaction Resources, Inc. (TRI), a provider of innovative payment processing solutions, have announced a partnership that allows ski resorts and other hospitality providers to obtain enhanced security and support for their payment transactions – from lift ticket sales, to food and beverage transactions, to hotel bookings, spa services and more.

Eight ski resorts throughout the U.S. have already implemented this integrated solution, which includes the Merchant Link Payment Gateway™ and TransactionVault™, Merchant Link’s tokenization solution that replaces each card number with tokens. TRI and their clients will have the ability to add TransactionShield™, Merchant Link’s point-to-point encryption solution. Four additional implementations are expected to be complete by Q2.

“We are very pleased with how smoothly all of the accounts are being boarded and with all the positive feedback we are receiving about the Merchant Link service,” said David Frick, President TRI. “Thanks to this partnership, we can offer a solution that streamlines and secures payments across multiple channels, easing the administrative burden for our hospitality customers. We looked at other solutions and partners, and did not find the same level of flexibility and personalized support offered by Merchant Link.”

Merchant Link’s Payment Gateway provides significant advantages over premised-based or direct connect systems. These benefits include better reliability, flexibility and control, as well as real-time reporting and easy implementation. From a security perspective, the cloud-based gateway solution and added tokenization technology removes all cardholder data from the merchant’s IT environment – dramatically reducing the risk of a data breach while reducing PCI scope.

“TRI is an ideal partner for Merchant Link,” said Dan Lane, CEO of Merchant Link. “We both have a passion for customer service and innovation. Together, we hope to help ski resorts and other untapped markets realize the benefits a robust payment gateway and security solution can provide in the ever-evolving, complex world of payments today.”

About Transaction Resources, Inc.

Transaction Resources, Inc. (TRI) offers innovative payment processing solutions by combining the latest technologies and a passion for customer service. Since 1993, the company’s key markets have grown to include retail, restaurant, lodging and resort industries. Its employees bring years of experience from hardware & software providers, network processors, banks and merchants. CardDog, a dynamic gift and loyalty system, is the latest product in the company’s committed growth as a leading payments provider. For more information on TRI and CardDog, visit www.transactionresources.com and www.carddog.com.

About Merchant Link

Merchant Link is a leading provider of cloud-based payment gateway and data security solutions, removing the risk and hassle from credit card acceptance for more than 150,000 retailers, hotels and restaurants. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., Merchant Link currently enables more than 3 billion transactions annually for some of the world's best-known merchants, providing connectivity to the major U.S. payment card processors. TransactionVault™, our tokenization solution, and TransactionShield™, our point-to-point encryption solution, mitigate the risk of a data compromise while lowering the cost and effort of PCI compliance. Further information is available at www.merchantlink.com. For our expert opinion on encryption, tokenization and PCI compliance, visit the Merchant Link blog at www.merchantlinksecuritycents.com.

Join TRI at the upcoming New England Food Show

2012-02-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

Join TRI and CardDog at

New England Food Show
March 11-13, 2012
The Boston Convention & Expo Center, Boston, MA

Transaction Resources, Inc. (TRI) offers innovative payment processing solutions by combining the latest technologies, a passion for customer service and competitive rates.

CardDog is powered by:

Merchant processors are required to provide a Form 1099-K

2012-01-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

1099’s Coming Later This Month

The 2011 tax year is the first time that merchant processors are required to provide a Form 1099-K. This requirement was part of federal legislation; The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Three and a half years later the implementation of key provisions of this legislation are taking place.

Since Internal Revenue Service reporting is tied to a taxpayer identification number (TIN) and credit card processing data was not previously stored by TIN, new systems needed to be developed. In October 2011, the IRS announced a one-year delay in enforcing the most severe part of a law requiring processors to withhold 28 percent of payments to businesses whom they don’t have verified TIN’s. Such withholding will begin in 2013 instead of 2012. TRI has worked diligently the past 2 years to verify the accuracy of merchant TIN’s and will continue to do so in 2012.

If you have any questions regarding your TIN and your merchant account, please call TRI Customer Service at 888-494-9988 option 2 or email customerservice@transactionresources.com

TRI and CardDog team up to Offer Deer Valley® Resort the Best Gift and Loyalty Program in the Nation!

2012-01-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

As a premier ski destination, Deer Valley ® Resort in Park City, Utah, provides an unparalleled customer experience featuring the finest in skiing, lodging, dining and shopping. Their commitment to the highest level of service in the ski industry has earned Deer Valley Resort the rating as the #1 resort in North America for the last five consecutive years by SKI Magazine readers, as well as an enviable customer retention rate.

From guest service attendants who assist you with your skis upon arrival to gourmet dining, Deer Valley Resort strives to make each visitor’s stay as luxurious, convenient and relaxing as possible. To that end, this award-winning resort has employed a substantial loyalty and gift card program that features a private-label Deer Valley Resort credit card as well as its own lunch card and gift card. Season Pass holders and new visitors alike love the ease of ultimate “one-stop shopping” during their stay.

With extensive resort offerings that include over 2,000 acres of world-class skiing, over 300 rental condos, 11 restaurants, retail stores, wedding and conference facilities, and a burgeoning website e-commerce presence, it’s no surprise that the sheer volume of all of these Deer Valley Resort point-of-sale opportunities creates logistical management challenges.

Deer Valley Resort’s vision for the best possible customer experience pushes the envelope and they knew they needed a strategic partner who would do the same for their loyalty card program. Fully integrating Deer Valley Resort’s 45 merchant locations and 150 points-of-sale with a resort-wide card processing system had been a goal of theirs for several years, but most vendors simply could not deliver on such a large and complicated undertaking.

Enter CardDog, the innovative solution from Transaction Resources, Inc. (TRI) that Deer Valley Resort had sought. Within several months, CardDog had achieved for the resort what had previously seemed an impossible goal: development, testing, and successful implementation of a fully integrated and resort-wide new credit card and gift card processing system.

“CardDog has proven to be a rare and deeply capable service provider for Deer Valley®. With the expertise to support each of our dedicated legacy POS systems while connecting and enhancing them, they bring a new level of scalable technical solutions and a big feature set to our loyalty card business. We love that CardDog takes the same quality-without-compromise approach to our brand that we do.” reports Dan Shroyer, a Deer Valley Resort IT programmer.

Beyond achieving the resort’s goals of seamless card processing integration, the CardDog implementation also achieved other important goals for the Deer Valley Resort team. First, all restaurant tips were switched over from manual capture to electronic, saving the resort thousands of man hours to date. In addition, reporting was brought online, with intuitive “drill-down” features, putting it at personnel’s fingertips when and how they need it. Browser-based reporting also makes reconciliation more efficient. What’s more, a best-in-class security framework, which initially removes cardholders’ personal card information from the resort, was put into place, with further security enhancements on the horizon.

“Whatever our current challenges may be for managing and growing efficiencies and customer-driven conveniences for our loyalty card program, CardDog meets and exceeds them.” says Mr. Shroyer.

Want to know more about how a CardDog gift and loyalty program will make your customers sit up and take notice? Call or email us today for all the details.

Contact: David Frick, President
Phone: 888-494-9988 x 9693
Email: david.frick@transactionresources.com

Happy Holidays

2011-12-16T06:52:00.001-08:00

Click Here to Read More about Community Action Partnership.

Double your donation by going to the CardDog Facebook page and clicking on the like button.

TRI is pleased to make a donation of up to $5,000.

Visit TRI's Booth at these Upcoming Trade Shows

2011-12-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

You are invited to stop by the TRI/CardDog booth at the NSAA's upcoming

Western Winter Conference and Tradeshow
January 17-19, 2012
Squaw Valley, CA

And

Eastern Winter Conference and Tradeshow
February 7-8, 2012
Killington, VT

to see why ski areas like Deer Valley® Resort, Alta Ski Area, and many others have made their marketing dreams a reality with CardDog Gift & Loyalty programs powered by Transaction Resources, Inc.

Be sure to visit our booth at both events!

Visit our booth for your FREE offer from TRI and CardDog. Register now for a 15-minute introduction to CardDog and our Loyalty and gift card program.

Accept Credit Card Payments Anywhere with PAYware Mobile

2011-12-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

Process credit cards on your iPhone today!

Turn your iPhone 3G®, iPhone 3GS®, iPhone 4G® and iPhone 4S® into a mobile credit card processing machine.

Download the PAYware Mobile app from the App Store to your phone and begin processing transactions on the go. The iPhone connects neatly into the VeriFone encrypted card reader. Card swiping is quick and efficient. Customer receipts are sent via email.

What is the price if I already have a retail processing account with TRI?

$50 One-time set up fee per Merchant ID. (You can have as many iPhones as you want on each Merchant ID for only one $50 set-up fee).

$15 per month for the first iPhone per Merchant ID.

$79 for VeriFone encrypting card reader

FREE iPhone App

Credit card processing rates and fees are the same as your existing Merchant Account with TRI. It’s just like adding another terminal in your store or restaurant.

How to get started:

Call your TRI sales representative or email us by clicking here today to get set-up and begin processing!

Easy Setup

Seamlessly integrates with existing accounts

If you have an existing merchant account with a Transaction Resources, Inc. (TRI), integrating PAYware Mobile is a snap. If you’re just starting out and do not already have a merchant account, we’ll help you establish one.

Cost-effective from the start

PAYware Mobile helps you significantly increase the number of ‘card present’ transactions, reduce errors and grow sales & profits. No matter how you look at it, it’s a more cost-effective way to do business.

Secure Transactions

Instant data encryption protects everyone

All card data is fully encrypted the instant it’s read by the PAYware Mobile device. Not only does this capability provide complete end-to-end security over the entire transaction process, it significantly reduces your liability risks.

Totally secure for peace of mind

Every PAYware Mobile payment you collect is secured on multiple levels with VeriFone’s VeriShield Total Protect solution featuring end-to-end encryption of cardholder data. In addition, the PAYware Connect Gateway is PCI Level 1 certified.

Remote deactivation secures lost devices

You say your PAYware Mobile device has been lost or stolen? No worries. Among the many ways your account administrator can manage PAYware Mobile devices, one is the ability to instantly and remotely deactivate your device(s).

Everything You Need

The complete package omits nothing

Imagine a state-of-the-art encrypted card reader, transaction management console and a mobile app. Now imagine all those features fully integrated into a sturdy unit that fits neatly in the palm of your hand.

Complete back office control.

Business reports, multiple card reader management and more delivered in real-time.

Geo-tagging keeps everybody on track

Knowing that the ability to make transactions from anywhere increases the possibility of disputes, we’ve included the integrated geo-tag feature on the iPhone. PAYware Mobile records the exact location of every transaction and puts that geo-tag, in the form of latitude and longitude points, on the card statement.

TRI President David Frick Helps Rebuild Haiti

2011-11-21T09:24:00.000-08:00

David Frick, President of TRI (right) in Haiti this September

For 12 days in September, David Frick was among a group of 8 people from the Main Street Congregational United Church of Christ in Amesbury, MA that built houses in Gressier, Haiti in partnership with The Fuller Center for Housing and Grace International (Haiti).

The team moved dirt, sifted sand, made and poured concrete, shaped rebar and jumped in to help as needed, working under the direction of Haitian construction supervisors and alongside the fathers who would eventually move their families into the completed duplex.

Their future homes are the third and fourth of an eventual 72 houses that will be earthquake resistant by using better building practices and better quality materials

Don't Forget to Visit Us at Business Connect 2011

2011-11-14T02:10:00.000-08:00

Join TRI and CardDog at

“Business Connect 2011”

B2B Conference & Expo

The largest business-to-business conference
south of Boston
November 15-16.

The Resort & Conference Center at Hyannis-Grand Ballroom.

Transaction Resources, Inc. (TRI) offers innovative payment processing solutions by combining the latest technologies, a passion for customer service and competitive rates.

CardDog is powered by:

Recent Changes to Debit - Durbin Has Negative Impacts

2011-10-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Recent Changes to Debit Economic Model Substantial; Durbin Has Unintended Effect As Consumers Will Absorb Negative Impacts

Payments consultancy’s comparison of the debit value chain before and after implementation of the Durbin Amendment’s interchange provision shows variable impacts to all involved in the transaction. Impacts are likely to be negative, directly or indirectly, to large financial institutions, to some merchants, and in particular, to consumers.

OMAHA (October 14, 2011) – TSG Metrics, a division of The Strawhecker Group (TSG), released details today on the economics of debit signature and PIN debit transactions for three purchase amounts ($100, $40, and $5) before and after new interchange fee regulations were implemented on October 1. This provision is a cap on the fees that the largest U.S. debit card issuing banks (those with more than $10 billion in assets) can collect when their customers use a debit card to make a purchase (bank interchange fees).

Interchange is only one component of the cost of the transaction as shown on the charts on this and the following pages. Beyond the banks that issue cardholders debt cards, there are thousands of companies that make debit card transactions possible, from merchant acquiring companies who provide merchants the ability to accept debit cards, to various technology and transaction execution players in between. Consequently, these companies collect fees for the services they provide - these are in addition to the regulated interchange fees.

HIGH-LEVEL FINDINGS INCLUDE:
• Most merchants will see substantial debit fee savings for transaction amounts of $100 and $40 and have no incentive to pass on savings to consumers.
• Changes to the economics of small-ticket debit purchases have potential to drastically alter the overall debit market place:
— Merchants who sell predominantly small-ticket items (e.g. coffee shops) will see increases in their interchange fees compared to pre-Durbin costs. As such, merchants will not be inclined to actively push debit acceptance to consumers for small-ticket items.
— Banks are incented to push consumers towards debit usage for these smaller purchases and are no longer incented to drive towards higher-ticket usage since no additional revenue is produced from a larger ticket. Additionally, banks are now more inclined to drive consumers towards credit card usage instead which may be achieved by increasing fees for debit services. (Bank of America, Citibank recently announced new fees)
— Consumers prefer using debit cards now more than ever as their volumes surpassed credit cards’ for the first time in late 2008. Despite this, consumers are now disenfranchised as merchants and banks will fight to push merchants towards utilizing payment methods that favor their new situations.

SIGNATURE Debit Transaction Economics: Pre-Durbin vs. Post-Durbin*

As regulated banks add debit-related fees to customers, non-regulated banks have an opportunity to gain debit cardholder market share, using the heavy media coverage of the new fees (and its inherent portrayal of big banks as the ‘bad guy’) to their benefit. (Bank of America, for example)

• A distinct advantage is clear for large merchants over small merchants in regard to this regulation:
— Large national retail chains already experience much lower ‘non-interchange’ fees (processor fee, etc.) for taking debit cards than their small merchant
counterparts, as their high sales volumes provide leverage in fee negotiations.
— Traffic at small ‘mom and pop’ merchants is likely to cater to consumers who bank with local community financial institutions which do not fall under
the umbrella of the interchange fee cap. Therefore these merchants will not benefit from the break in interchange fees. To make matters worse, these
merchants already likely pay more to other companies within the payments supply chain due to their smaller card based sales volumes. This is the case
geographically as well, as rural consumers are more likely to be customers of banks that fall outside the regulation’s reach.

• There are potential influences in regards to new payment method adoption:
— Merchants are less inclined to invest in the ability to accept new payments methods such as mobile payments devices, as these are often tied to debit
cards and are often intended for small-ticket purchases.
— Consumers’ role in driving new payments technology adoption and demand is even greater than before, as the hurdles of adoption on the acceptance-
side of the transaction have been raised.

PIN Debit Transaction Economics: Pre-Durbin vs. Post-Durbin*

The charts below offer the ability to plainly illustrate the changes in dynamics to debit transaction economics and its negative effects on consumers.
Looking at the orange pie charts below, for example:
— Pre-Durbin:
— A consumer buys a $100 product from a merchant using a signature debit card issued by a large national bank.
— The merchant’s expense for accepting that transaction is $2.00 total in fees.
— The consumer uses their debit card free of charge from their issuing bank.
— Post-Durbin:
— A consumer buys a $100 product from a merchant using a signature debit card issued by a large national bank.
— The merchant’s expense for accepting that transaction is $1.12 total in fees. The merchant saved $0.88 due to Durbin and has zero incentive
to pass on its savings to consumers.
— The consumer’s issuing bank makes up the lost revenue by charging new debit usage fees to its customers.
— Customer still pays $100 for same product while now also paying new bank fees.

Fee Sources & Assumptions

• Card Issuing Bank Fees Sources:
— Pre-Durbin Signature: Visa Interchange Reimbursement Fee Table - CPS Retail Debit (April 2011)
— Pre-Durbin PIN: Interlink Interchange Reimbursement Fee Table - All Other (Retail) – Tier III (April 2011)
— Post-Durbin Signature: Visa Interchange Reimbursement Fee Table - (October 2011)
— Post-Durbin PIN: Interlink Interchange Reimbursement Fee Table - (October 2011)
• Card Association Fees: TSG estimates based on proprietary information
• Debit Network Fees: Baseline fees derived from published multiple debit network switch fees as well as inclusion for assumption of additional other
apropos fees
• Processor Fees: Assumptions based on TSG Metrics’ proprietary MPPS database
• Merchant Acquirer Net Revenue: Assumptions based on TSG Metrics’ proprietary MPPS database

Business Track

2011-10-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Business Track SM
We understand that as a busy merchant you value the convenience of accessing and managing all processing data through a consolidated, user-friendly web portal. Business Track provides key information on all of your payment streams in a single, consolidated web tool.

Key Data at a Glance

The newly designed user interface has key applications organized by popular use, so frequently accessed applications are prominently located. Easy to read charts visually depict daily sales and deposit data by
payment type, along with new SpendTrend® excerpts to help you benchmark performance against your competition.

Key Features and Data

 Card Processing Summary- Displays 7 day processing summaries

 SpendTrend- View same store dollar volume growth by merchant industry

 Statements- Link to monthly statements for credit and debit card activity

 Disputes- View summary information on open disputes with hot link to online tool

Self Service & Online Support

 Account Maintenance- Update statement delivery method, address and contact information

 User Preferences- Change Password, Request
Additional Applications and Update User Profile

 Contacts- Handy reference of bank contact information

 Resources- Convenient links to training demos, industry news, and business glossary

 What’s New- Keep informed with latest announcements and time-sensitive information

Links to Popular Applications

 Reporting- View payment processing information such as sales, bank deposits, and statements. Access to over 150 scheduled reports, viewable online or available via email

 eIDS- Receive, view and respond to chargeback and retrieval disputes online

 Alerts- Receive notifications by email or text

for events related to Reconciliation and Dispute activities

 Data File Manager- Self-service tool to create, test, manage, and generate raw data files daily or on demand as needed

(click to enlarge)

Payment Solutions for
Maximum Performance

Around the world every day, First Data makes payment transactions secure, fast and easy for merchants, financial institutions and their customers. We leverage our unparalleled product portfolio and expertise to deliver processing solutions that drive customer revenue and profitability. Whether the payment is by debit or credit, gift card, check or mobile phone, online or at the point of sale, First Data helps you maximize value for your business.

To Enroll, click here, or call your local TRI representative.
© 2011 First Data Corporation. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners.

Recruit Employees With Your Printed Receipts

2011-10-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

#7 Using Printed Receipts to Recruit New Employees

If you are looking to hire new employees, why not advertise on your receipts? It’s an inexpensive way to inform your customers of opportunities to work for you. With the average cost to find and hire a new
employee at $1,500 or more, this additional advertising method is certainly a money saver.

Educate Your Employees

Now that you have some pointers on how you can market to your customers, you want to be sure that the customer sees the message. It is vital that you train your staff to point out the message by circling or highlighting it with a marker in order to increase read rates.

Taking it One Step Further

In addition to printing messages directly onto the receipt, you may also want to consider custom printed receipt paper rolls. Your message can be printed in full color which has been shown in studies to increase customer retention. For more information, visit: http://www.possupply.com/TRI

Reprinted with permission from POSSupply Solutions, Inc.

Use Printed Receipts to Survey Your Customers

2011-10-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

# 6 Survey customers

Surveys not only drive customers to your website, they also provide important feedback. You will have very precise data on the participants which will help you better market to them in the future. By asking customers to complete a survey it also shows that you value their opinion. To thank them for completing the survey, the customer can be entered into a drawing or you can simply offer a discount off a future
purchase.

Check our blog tomorrow for the #7 way you can increase profitablity with printed reciepts.

Reprinted with permission from POSSupply Solutions, Inc.

Promoting Special Events on Printed Receipts

2011-10-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

#5 Promote Special Events

Increase awareness of your anniversary events, holiday promotions and clearance sales by adding information to the bottom of the receipt. Clear out excess inventory and previous season stock with the added foot traffic you will receive. You can go one step further by including a special coupon code that can be redeemed for added savings.

Check our blog tomorrow for the #6 way you can increase profitablity with printed reciepts.

Reprinted with permission from POSSupply Solutions, Inc.

Advertising Specials on Receipts to Increase Profits

2011-10-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

#4 Advertise Specials

Specials are a great way to drive incremental revenue and increase guest frequency. Do you want to increase sales on Tuesdays, which is normally your slowest day of the week? Offer a special if they visit your location on that specific day. Try promoting a limited time offer on a new product to boost product visibility.

Check back for #5 way to increase profits using sales receipts.

Printed with permission from POS Supply Solutions, Inc.

Email Registration Prompts on Receipts to Sign Ups

2011-10-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Email Registration

Build your e-mail database by directing your customers to register on your website for an e-newsletter, special promotion or sale notification. This will allow you the ability to further communicate with the customer and stay in the forefront of their mind. As an incentive to register, try offering a discount or coupon for completing the sign-up process.

Using Coupon Offers to Increase Profitability

2011-10-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

# 2 - Using Coupon Offers on Printed Receipts

People are always looking for ways to cut costs and save money. Coupons are a great way for you to help customers save while bringing in business at the same time. Incentives like these can encourage custom ers to buy something that they may not have tried otherwise. Experiment with using a coupon to promote a new product or offer a BOGO or % off promotion.

Check our blog tomorrow for the #3 way you can increase profitablity with printed reciepts.

Reprinted with permission from POSSupply Solutions, Inc.

Logos on a printed receipt can increase your profitability

2011-10-17T13:40:00.001-07:00

# 1 Printing Logos on your Sales Receipts

A receipt is the perfect place for you to further promote your company. At a minimum, your website (if you have one) and logo should be included on every receipt. From there, the next step is to add a call to action. This is simply a reason for the customer to shop at your establishment again or visit your website. Receipt marketing is a simple way for you to stand out from the competition and build company recognition.

Check our blog tomorrow for the #2 way you can increase profitablity with printed reciepts.

Reprinted with permission from POSSupply Solutions, Inc.

Sales Receipts as a Marketing Tool

2011-10-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

7 Ways to Increase Sales With Your Receipts:
The power of POS Sales Receipts as a Marketing Tool

If you are looking for an affordable way to increase sales and encourage repeat business, look no further than your paper roll receipt. In the past, a point of sale (POS) receipt was simply used as a proof of purchase. Many POS terminals, POS printers, credit card terminals and cash registers now offer the capability to print custom messages on every receipt. This low cost tool makes it possible for you to market to your customers, every time they purchase from you.

There are two areas of the receipt that you can print a custom message: the header and the footer. Just printing the bare minimum is a missed opportunity to do some inexpensive and highly effective marketing.

Stand by for our upcoming blog posts to check out the 7 ways a printed receipt can increaese your profitablity.

Reprinted with permission from POSSupply Solutions, Inc.

Amesbury Chamber Tradeshow Event

2011-10-06T07:25:00.001-07:00

TRI and Card Dog will be at the
Amesbury Chamber of Commerce & Industrial Foundation’s 2^nd Annual Business Expo

Thursday, October 6^th from 4:00-6:00pm

At the Amesbury Sports Park, 12 South Hunt Road, Amesbury, MA

The Business Expo will be followed by a Mixer from 6:00-7:00pm

http://www.amesburychamber.com/events.htm

Join TRI in Cape Cod for Business Connect 2011

2011-10-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

Join TRI and CardDog at

“Business Connect 2011”

B2B Conference & Expo

The largest business-to-business conference
south of Boston

November 15-16.

The Resort & Conference Center at Hyannis-Grand Ballroom.

Transaction Resources, Inc. (TRI) offers innovative payment processing solutions by combining the latest technologies, a passion for customer service and competitive rates.

CardDog is powered by:

TRI's Presentation at the Freedom Fall Forum

2011-09-27T15:07:00.001-07:00

Fall forum

View more presentations from tothepointmarketing.

2011-09-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

Customer Service Team Grows

Maria Alexander, Customer Service Supervisor is pleased to introduce Olana Mangine as the newest member of the customer service team in Richmond, VT. Olana brings to TRI a wealth of customer service experience having worked at the American Automobile Association as well as a calm and positive attitude to the office which is very valuable.

A native Vermonter, Olana joined TRI in July of this year. Olana has jumped right in at TRI; working to process new customer orders, set-up and program terminals, answer customer questions and research outstanding issues.

When she’s not working she enjoys cooking and camping as well as spending time volunteering at the local humane society.

Welcome Olana!

Join us at the Freedom Data Fall Forum

2011-09-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

You are invited to stop by our table at the Freedom Data Fall Forum to see why pharmacies like Theatre Pharmacy, Eaton Apothecary and many others trust their merchant services to Transaction Resources, Inc.

Freedom Data Fall Forum

September 21- 23, 2011

Granbury Convention Center

Granbury, TX

Friday morning, Enjoy your refreshment break compliments of Transaction Resources, Inc.

Be sure to attend Sue’s Industry updates

Friday afternoon from 1:00 to 1:30

Visit Sue at our booth for your FREE gift from TRI. Register now for a 15-minute introduction to TRI and our Loyalty and gift card program.

We are headed to the SANY/PSAA Tradeshow

2011-09-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

Check us out at Booth # 16:

2011 SANY/PSAA Fall Expo

September 19-21

Lake Placid Conference Center, Lake Placid, NY

Catch us moving about the calendar and states

2011-09-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

September is a very busy month for families and our TRI family is no different!

Ski season on the horizon brings the ski industry to tradeshows to learn, teach, purchase, and mingle. Visit with Jesse Snyder in Newry, Maine as he will be at the Northeast Summit and in Lake Placid, New York at the SANY/ PSAA Fall Expo. Jesse will be bringing CardDog to the show- come check out our newest breed of dog.

Sue Strezo will be attending the Freedom Data System’s Fall Forum in Granbury, TX, as she works with current and prospective pharmacy owners to understand and compare their merchant services portion of their business.

We look forward to seeing you and helping your business achieve higher profits.

Optimum Performance with Maximum Security

2011-09-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

The Optimum T4220 terminal is the most capable IP and dial terminal in the industry today. Hypercom has combined the best features of the Optimum family of terminals and the powerful IP technology to suit any merchant’s needs; large or small.

The T4220 IP provides performance and security second to none and comes with the integrated PCI PED approved PIN entry capability. The safety of the HyperSafe®32 architecture and unrivaled IP transaction and download speeds. The T4220 also shares the same user interface as the T4200 dial and wireless models.

The IP diagnostics application only found on Hypercom IP terminals is more than your average IP monitor, checking failure at the cable, in-store gateway, the ISP and then the processing host. It then clearly tells the user where the error occurred and then how to remedy the situation! Don’t just replace an IP terminal, fix the problem instead.

For more information, speak with your TRI sales representative or call 888-494-9988 x 1 or email info@transactionresources.com

Do You Have a Different Type of Credit Card, Sir?

2011-09-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

In October, 2010, Visa announced a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and several state attorneys general to seek resolution of an antitrust investigation into Visa’s merchant acceptance policy in the United States. On July 20, 2011, the court approved the settlement and entered a final judgment in the long and tedious case. You can view the judgment ruling by clicking here.

Visa and MasterCard’s existing regulations allows merchants to steer customers to other forms of payment by offering a discount to customers who choose to pay with cash, check or PIN Debit. The recently approved judgment allows merchants to steer customers to a particular network brand (Visa or MasterCard) and to a type of card (non-reward cards). Merchants may engage in the any of the following methods of steering customers:

Offering an immediate discount or rebate
Offering a free or discounted item
Offering a free, discounted or enhanced service
Offering an incentive, encouragement or benefit
Expressing a preference for the use of a particular brand or type of card
Promoting a particular brand or type of card through posted and communications to customers
Communicating to customers the reasonably estimated or actual costs incurred by the merchant when a customer uses a particular brand or type of card
Engage in any other practices substantially equivalent to these

Visa also revised its rule regarding the size, color and prominence of the Visa mark displayed at the POS.

The rule changes merchants’ ability to manage costs associated with accepting electronic payments. However, the merchant must respect the cardholders‘decision to pay with any non-encouraged method of payment. Merchants must agree to not confuse customers in their steering to accept a different form of payment.

Now is the time to launch your gift card program!

2011-09-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Here are two key reasons to launch your gift card program this month (September), if you already haven't already:

Card order lead times are short. Most card orders can be fulfilled in two weeks during September and early October. As mid-October and November approaches, card order lead times can expand to three to four weeks.
Staff training is easier now during the busy November and December selling times. The best time to train you staff on something new, like selling gift cards is during non-peak months. September and October are great months to get everyone used to selling and redeeming gift cards.

Our gift card programs offer the ability to start with standard card designs and low upfront expenses or custom card designs to compliment your existing advertising and marketing plans.

Cards can be sold and redeemed easily via credit card terminals, virtual terminals, POS systems, and the Internet. Some businesses issue gift cards instead of cash refunds during special sales. This keeps money in your cash drawer and encourages customers to return to your location to redeem the outstanding value. Customers extend your advertising dollars by carrying your name in their wallet and showing the card to their friends and associates.

If you don’t have a gift card program, speak with your TRI sales representative about getting one started. If you do have a gift card program, check your supply of gift cards now so you can place replenishment orders today.

For more information, speak with your TRI sales representative, or call 888-494-9988 x 1 or email us at info@transactionresources.com.

Northeast Winter Sports Show

2011-08-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

JOIN US
Sunday River, Newry, ME
September 14-16, 2011

Come by our booth and see why ski resorts like Alta, Deer Valley® Resort and Peak Resorts like CardDog and TRI.

Transaction Resources, Inc. (TRI) offers innovative payment processing solutions by combining the latest technologies, a passion for customer service and competitive rates.

Contact us to schedule a 15-min one-on-one intro to CardDog.

CardDog is Powered by:

TRI on panel at MSAA Show

2011-08-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

David Frick – President, Transaction Resources, Inc. was a panelist at the Midwest Ski Area Association Summer Meetings and Trade Show at Devil's Head Resort. The topic, “Cyber Attacks, Data Breaches, and Dormant Dangers, Oh My: Lessons Learned” was well received by the audience with lots of questions and interaction. David and Linda Grenier of Snow Creek Resort were also featured on the panel along with several insurance industry representatives.

Customer Service Team Grows

2011-08-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

Team brings a new breed of dog to the ISAA Tradeshow

2011-07-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

David Frick, President, Jack Waller, CTO and Tom Summers, Software Developer, brought a new breed of dog to the Intermountain Ski Area Association Tradeshow. This is a hybrid dog, created by TRI and named CardDog, for all merchants looking to build flexible gift and loyalty programs. The system is hosted processing for gift, loyalty, prepaid usage, discount, and charge cards. CardDog supports multiple POS systems and terminals. For more information visit www.carddog.com or call 888-494-9988 x 1.

Sales office expands to larger suite

2011-07-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

Phil Kluge, Sales Manager and staff have relocated to an expanded office suite within the city of Woburn, just 10 minutes northwest of Boston, MA. This office suite boasts the latest in technology and allows for large comfortable meetings. Please be sure to visit our office when you are in town.
Please note our new address:
444 Washington Street, Suite 503, Woburn, MA 01801

Did you "Batch out" your Credit Card System today?

2011-07-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

So, what is a batch?

A batch is a total of all of your transactions that you processed, since your terminal “batched” the previous time. Immediately following swiping your customers’ credit card, your terminal contacts the cardholder’s issuing bank for authorization of the funds requesting to complete the sale. The authorization is placing a temporary hold on the cardholder’s available credit and reserving it for your business.
The cardholder’s issuing bank authorized the funds immediately, but will not transfer the funds to your settlement account until you batch out (aka.: settlement, closing out) When you transmit your batch, the funds are electronically debited from the cardholder’s account and credited to your settlement account. This process generally takes 24-48 hours from the time you batch.

So, what happens if you DON'T transmit your Batch every 24 hours?

Daily batching becomes a habit or can be automatically done by the terminal’s memory and internal clock. There is no need to batch on days when there are no transactions, but it is highly advisable to make this part of the daily routine of reports and reconciliation.

If you fail to transmit your batch within 5-7 days, the authorization is removed from the cardholder’s account and is available for the customer to spend at another merchant location. In this case, your customer did not pay for their service/ products and you would need to authorize the funds again before batching out. If, in the meantime that card was closed or has reached its credit limit, you are not getting paid from that customer.

Due to this risk, most card brands (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc.) will charge you higher rates when batches are not transmitted within 24-48 hours.

Be sure that if you choose to automatically batch your system, you verify that it was transmitted each day and know how to do it manually if the need arises due to phone line or power interruption.

TRI and Security Metrics partner to offer PANscan™ to TRI customers

2011-07-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

Make sure you do not have unencrypted payment card data on your network

Storage of unencrypted card data makes you liable to fines and other penalties in the event of card data compromise.

Merchants may unknowingly store unencrypted card data because:

Payment applications are incorrectly configured
Payment applications do not meet data security standards
Old files are not deleted after switching payment applications
Businesses are unaware unencrypted payment card data should not be stored

Discover if your business unknowingly stores unencrypted payment card data for FREE with Security Metrics PANscan.

What is PANscan?
PANscan is FREE software from Security Metrics that searches computer systems for unencrypted payment card numbers and magnetic stripe track data. After scans finish, a summary report identifies the location of unwanted card data - making it easy to find and delete.
PANscan never stores your customer's payment card data and never displays full card numbers.
How do I use PANscan?
For more information, and to begin using PANscan:

Go to www.securitymetrics.com/sm/PANscan/
Register and download PANscan for free
Start the scan

Questions?
For any questions, please call a Security Metrics Technical Support Representative at 801.995.6803 or via email at: panscan_support@securitymetrics.com

Credit Card Payments to be Reported to the IRS

2011-07-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

Income from credit and debit card payments to be reported to IRS

Income received through credit and debit card transactions will be reported to the Internal Revenue Service starting in the 2011 tax year.

Banks and merchant service providers will report annual gross payments processed by credit or debit cards to the IRS and to merchants. Credit card payments will be reported by the merchant service using Form 1099-K with copies sent to the business and to the IRS. The law takes effect January 1, 2011.

Details of Credit Card and Merchant Payment Reporting
Banks and merchant service providers will need to report gross annual receipts for each merchant. The income reporting will apply to "any transaction in which a payment card is accepted as payment" (new Internal Revenue Code section 6050W(c)(2)). Thus, banks and merchant service providers will be reporting the total, gross amount of credit card and debit card payments for the year for each merchant.

Planning Ahead for Credit Card Reporting
All businesses will want to review their bookkeeping and accounting practices. Once card payment reporting begins, businesses will need to reconcile the information reports submitted by the banks to their own books. Any discrepancies in reporting will need to be addressed so that accurate tax returns can be filed with the IRS. Further details regarding credit card and merchant account reporting are outlined in proposed regulations issued by the Internal Revenue Service (REG-139255-08). Among other issues, the IRS details who is responsible for reporting, how gross amounts are calculated, and that merchant payment firms can be required to withhold funds for backup withholding. The IRS has also released instructions for Form 1099-K. Businesses and accountants should review this new form to familiarize themselves with the format.

One bookkeeping issue is becoming clear. The new law requires banks to report gross receipts. However, merchants often have chargebacks, issue refunds, or have debit card transactions where the customer receives cash back. Under the proposed regulations, banks and other payment transaction services will be reporting only gross monthly and annual payments. Fees, chargebacks, refunds and other items will not be netted against these gross amounts for IRS reporting purposes. Accordingly, businesses should have thorough accounting procedures to keep track of these items separately. In other words, if you are accustomed to recording only a net deposit from a merchant account, it would be wise to separate those net amounts into gross receipts and the associated fees and refunds. That way your internal financial reports can be more easily reconciled to this new Form 1099-K.

Payment Card Reporting Requires Merchant Identification
Since financial institutions will need to report credit and debit card receipts to the IRS, merchants will need to provide their payment processor with the full legal name of the business, their address, and taxpayer identification number. For most businesses, this will be their Employer Identification Number (EIN). As such, payment processors will likely request businesses to provide them with a Form W-9 to obtain this information.

Possible Backup Withholding Issues
Merchants who fail to provide their taxpayer identification number could become subject to backup withholding at a rate of 28% on their payments. To prevent backup withholding, merchants should provide their card payment services provider with the name, address, and EIN for the business.
Another concern is that credit card transactions could become subject to backup withholding or garnishment if a business becomes delinquent on their tax payments. Under the proposed regulations, the IRS made it clear that backup withholding would occur on gross card payments. This could leave a business in severe financial difficulties. Businesses who are struggling with tax debts should work with their tax professional to develop a repayment strategy that prevents any withholding on their card payments.

Debit Cards and the Durbin Amendment

2011-07-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

(Excerpts from article written in June 29, 2011)
The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday issued a final rule establishing standards for debit card interchange fees and prohibiting network exclusivity arrangements and routing restrictions. This rule, Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing), is required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Debit card interchange fees are established by payment card networks and ultimately paid by merchants to debit card issuers for each electronic debit transaction. As required by the statute, the final rule establishes standards for assessing whether debit card interchange fees received by debit card issuers are reasonable and proportional to the costs incurred by issuers for electronic debit transactions. Under the final rule, the maximum permissible interchange fee that an issuer may receive for an electronic debit transaction will be the sum of 21 cents per transaction and 5 basis points multiplied by the value of the transaction. This provision regarding debit card interchange fees is effective on October 1, 2011.

The Board also approved on Wednesday an interim final rule that allows for an upward adjustment of no more than 1 cent to an issuer's debit card interchange fee if the issuer develops and implements policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve the fraud-prevention standards set out in the interim final rule. If an issuer meets these standards and wishes to receive the adjustment, it must certify its eligibility to receive the adjustment to the payment card networks in which it participates. Comments on the interim final rule are due by September 30, 2011. The fraud-prevention adjustment is effective on October 1, 2011, concurrent with the debit card interchange fee limits. The Board will re-evaluate this adjustment in light of feedback received during this comment period.

When combined with the maximum permissible interchange fee under the interchange fee standards, a covered issuer eligible for the fraud-prevention adjustment could receive an interchange fee of up to approximately 24 cents for the average debit card transaction, which is valued at $38.
In accordance with the statute, issuers that, together with their affiliates, have assets of less than $10 billion are exempt from the debit card interchange fee standards. To assist payment card networks in determining which of the issuers are subject to the debit card interchange fee standards, the Board plans to publish by mid-July and annually thereafter lists of institutions that are above and below the small issuer exemption asset threshold. Also, the Board plans to annually survey the networks and publish a list of the average interchange transaction fees each network provides to its covered and exempt issuers. This information should enable issuers, including small issuers, to more readily compare the interchange revenue they would receive from each network.

The final rule prohibits all issuers and networks from restricting the number of networks over which electronic debit transactions may be processed to less than two unaffiliated networks. The effective date for the network exclusivity prohibition is April 1, 2012, with respect to issuers, and October 1, 2011, with respect to payment card networks. Issuers of certain health-related and other benefit cards and general-use prepaid cards have a delayed effective date of April 1, 2013, or later in certain circumstances.
Issuers and networks are also prohibited from inhibiting a merchant's ability to direct the routing of the electronic debit transaction over any network that the issuer has enabled to process them. The merchant routing provisions are effective on October 1, 2011.

The Board's notices for the final rule and the interim final rule that will be published in the Federal Register are attached. Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

2011-07-01T06:34:00.001-07:00

Join us at the

Midwest Ski Areas Association Summer Meetings & Tradeshow August 7-10, 2011 at Devil's Head Resort, WI

Stop by our booth and see why ski resorts like Alta, Deer Valley® Resort and Peak Resorts like CardDog and TRI.

Transaction Resources, Inc. (TRI) offers innovative payment processing solutions by combining the latest technologies, a passion for customer service and competitive rates. Since 1993, TRI has grown into one of the leading providers of payment processing solutions. Our staff brings years of experience from hardware/software providers, network processors, banks, and merchants in retail, restaurant, internet and lodging. We stay with our clients every step of the way from solution design, implementation and training to 24/7 support.

CardDog is powered by:

Data Compromise-A Merchant Guide

2011-06-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

What is a card data compromise?

A card data compromise occurs when payment card information is stolen from a merchant. Some examples of card data theft include:

Theft of card data from merchant receipt copies or merchant transaction information (i.e. printed batch summaries)
Internet hacking of card data from computer-based point of sale systems with Internet connections (common with restaurants and hotels)
Internet hacking of card data from e-commerce websites

There are several ways card data can be stolen; not all are computer or Internet-related. However, in the world of computers and Internet technology, thousands of technical issues make merchants vulnerable to card data theft.

Small merchants experience card compromise

Many merchants assume that data compromise only happens to large companies. While you may have heard about several large-scale merchant compromises in the media, hundreds of small-merchant compromises happen every year that are not made public.
_____________________________________________________________________________

The majority of data compromises happen to merchants who process fewer than 1 million transactions annually.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Internet-connected businesses of all sizes face the same threat. Cyber-criminals use the same techniques to hack small businesses that they use to attack large companies. To prevent compromises, small Internet-connected merchants must apply the same data security principles used in large-scale corporations.

Stolen data results in fraud and reduced card use

Stolen card data is the primary source of credit card fraud and credit card fraud hurts everyone. Merchants suffer when their goods and services are purchased with stolen credit card data, as the card brands may cancel payment on these fraudulent transactions. Consumers lose confidence when their card data is stolen and are less likely to make future purchases.

Because merchants aren’t aware when card data is stolen, it often takes weeks, months, and sometimes years for a merchant to learn of a data breach. As a result, once a merchant has learned of a compromise, fraudulent card use has likely begun.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was created to protect consumers, merchants, processors and banks from data compromise.

The PCI DSS is a set of requirements for the security of payment card information. These requirements were developed by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), which was founded in 2006 by the major card brands (Visa International, MasterCard Worldwide, JCB International, Discover Financial Services, and American Express).

A merchant’s card handling practices and processing environment determine which portion of the PCI DSS applies to their business. Some merchants must validate their compliance with all of the PCI DSS; others may only have to meet a portion of the requirements.
_____________________________________________________________________________

All merchants that process, store, or transmit cardholder data are required to comply with
the PCI DSS standards.

_____________________________________________________________________________

The PCI SSC has authorized a select set of security vendors to help merchants ensure their proper
compliance with the PCI DSS.

Merchant consequences of a data compromise

Data compromise consequences depend on the status of your PCI DSS compliance at the time of the compromise. The costs for a compromise also vary depending on the size and scope of the incident. The following sections discuss the potential cost of a compromise if your business is not fully PCI DSS compliant at the time of the breach. A summary table is provided at the end of this document.

Forensic investigation fees

When a business is compromised, one or more of the card brands may require a forensic investigation by an approved vendor. A forensic investigation involves the following actions:

Determining which systems require investigation
An onsite investigation performed by an approved PCI Forensic Investigator (PFI)
Creation of a forensic reports for the merchant bank and the card brands

The average forensic investigation is four weeks long and requires: 1) employee labor, 2) access to company data, and 3) employing a forensic team. Forensic investigation costs vary by the investigator, the size and complexity of the systems being reviewed, the extent of the compromise, and other fees as required by the investigator. These costs typically range from $12,000 to over $100,000 per
investigation.

Security remediation

The card brands require vulnerabilities found in the forensic investigation be remediated3. Updating security requires employee labor as well as IT professionals making the necessary hardware, software, and network modifications. On average, this costs over $2,000.

Card brand compromise fees

The card brands may fine the acquiring bank for the merchant data compromise, but this fine is almost
always passed on to the party responsible for the point of the breach—the merchant. The compromise fees will vary depending on the following conditions:

Number of cards compromised
State of your security systems at the time of the breach
Your responsiveness to report and remediate the breach

These fines are relative to the scope of the breach, but typically start around $5,000 with the potential to exceed $500,000 from each card brand.

Card reissuing and monitoring fees

In the event card data is compromised, banks must determine the extent to which they will issue new cards to replace the ones that have been stolen, and monitor accounts where there is the suspicion of fraudulent charges. The cost associated with these actions may be passed on to the merchant responsible for the breach.

For example, MasterCard may require up to $25 to reissue cards to customers and $5 to monitor accounts where no card was reissued4.

Fraud reimbursement

When a merchant is compromised, card brands may require the acquirer to help pay for fraudulent charges against the stolen cards, normally calculated in chargeback costs5. The acquirer may pass these costs on to the merchant. Depending on the credit limits and the number of cards stolen, these penalties have the potential to be enormous, as stolen cards may remain in circulation long after the breach. One small merchant recently reported nearly $450,000 in fraudulent use of stolen cards. These penalties are relative to the size and scope of the breach and are at the discretion of the card
brands.

Card brand non-compliance fees

In addition to compromise penalties and fines from the card brands, each card brand requires compliance with their security program to protect card data. These programs are listed below:

Visa, Cardholder Information Security Policy (CISP)
MasterCard, Site Data Protection Plan (SDP)
JCB, JCB Data Security Program
Discover, Discover Information Security & Compliance (DISC)
American Express, Data Security Operating Policy

Enforcement of these programs and fines are dependent on the card brand and their policies. MasterCard, for example, may assess noncompliance fines of up to $100,000 per violation for breaching its “Wrongful Disclosure and Failure to Safeguard Account Data” regulation6. According to Visa, members not PCI compliant at the time of a compromise may be subject to fines of up to $500,000 per incident7.

Lost business & damage to customer confidence

A recent survey found the following consumer trends that result in the event of a data compromise1:

55% of breach victims lost serious trust in the company responsible for their data being stolen
30% of victims state that they would never purchase products from the company again
29% would never maintain any relationship with the organization in the future

A separate study concluded that up to 70% of the cost of a compromise is revenue loss. While revenue losses of this magnitude may hurt a large corporation, they would be devastating to a small company.

How do I prevent a card compromise?

The best way to prevent a data compromise is to comply with the PCI DSS. Non-compliant merchants
are responsible for over 99% of all data compromises. PCI DSS compliance dramatically reduces your risk and limits your potential liability in the event of a compromise.

Is my business PCI compliant?

To validate compliance with the PCI DSS, you must:

Determine validation requirements
Complete the self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ)
Pass all required vulnerability scans (if applicable)
Report compliance status
Maintain compliance by revalidating annually

Contact SecurityMetrics for your free PCI compliance consultation by calling 801.705.5665 and telling them you are a Transaction Resources, Inc. merchant or by clicking here.

Transaction Resources, Inc. has partnered with SecurityMetrics to ensure that your compliance is
validated quickly and accurately, leaving leaving you to get back to what matters most—your business.

If you suspect or discover a compromise

According to Visa, in the event you suspect a compromise you should:

Immediately contain and limit the exposure to minimize data loss.
Do not access, alter, or turn off the compromised systems.
Preserve all logs and document all actions that are taken.
Alert all parties immediately including your internal incident response team and information security group, merchant bank, and the appropriate law enforcement group.

Your merchant bank can counsel you on other actions needed. If you suspect a data breach, SecurityMetrics can help determine if there is a breach and, if so, to what extent.

Additional Resources:

SecurityMetrics:
http://www.securitymetrics.com/

PCI Security Standards Council:
http://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/

Visa Risk Management:
www.usa.visa.com/merchants/risk_management/index.html

MasterCard Merchant Rules:
www.mastercard.com/us/merchant/support/rules.html

1- 2008 Javelin Strategy & Research, Consumer Survey on Data Breach Notification • June 2008

2- Visa approval is a Qualified Incident Response Assessor (QIRA)[What To Do If Compromised,

Version 1.0 (U.S.)-December 2008] MasterCard, Security Rules and Procedures- Merchant Edition

• 31 July 2009, Chapter 8.2

3- Visa, What To Do If Compromised, Version 1.0 (U.S.) • December 2008

4- MasterCard, Security Rules and Procedures-Merchant Edition • 31 July 2009, Chapter 10.3

5- MasterCard, Security Rules and Procedures-Merchant Edition • 31 July 2009, Chapter 8.2

6- MasterCard, MasterCard Rules • 3 June 2009, Chpt. 5

7- http://usa.visa.com/merchants/risk_management/cisp_if_compromised.html

8- MasterCard, Security Rules and Procedures-Merchant Edition • 31 July 2009, Chapter 7

9- www.pcisecuritystandards.org/qsa_asv/index.shtm

If You Accept Credit Cards You Must Know About PCI DSS

2011-05-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

You have probably heard about credit card data being stolen from such companies as TJX Companies and Hannaford Brothers. Millions of credit card numbers are being stolen every year and as a result credit card companies have created the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)

If you accept credit cards today, you must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. To repeat, PCI DSS compliance is required of all merchants and all service providers that store, process, or transmit credit card data. PCI DSS applies to all payment channels, including retail (brick-and-mortar), mail/telephone order, and e-commerce no matter the size of the business.

The PCI DSS guidelines were established through a collaboration of Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover and Diners to create a single standard. Thus, once you are compliant with the standard you will meet the requirements for all the credit cards you accept.

Cybercrime is growing in diversity and sophistication. This is no longer high school and college kids hacking for fun. This is organized crime which is perpetrated from around the world. It could be from Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Africa, South America, LA or NYC. Using the Internet, highly organized criminals can come through your network and steal credit card or other important data without you even being aware of it.

Hackers aren’t just targeting e-commerce merchants; they are going after all types of point-of-sale servers including, restaurant, lodging and retail servers.

These systems are increasingly targeted as sophisticated criminals use network vulnerabilities to make their attack via the Internet. Sensitive data can be stolen from log files and traditional databases. Common vulnerabilities include inappropriate data storage (e.g. full track, CVV2, PIN blocks), non-secure wireless, vendor default settings and passwords, lack of network segmentation, unnecessary and vulnerable services on servers, and missing or outdated security patches.

Why all the concern about PCI? Larger companies and banks have considerable expertise and experience in Security and have been diligent in securing all aspects of Credit Card data flow and access to their networks. The Hackers are now looking to harvest the low hanging fruit of smaller Merchants. When the Hackers gain access into your network, they bring with them an assortment of elegant malware tools that can easily compromise your Credit Card Data anywhere along the data flow path; starting with keyboard, USB, and serial port sniffers that can capture CC data before it can be encrypted; network sniffers that can reside on a CC processing server and capture all network traffic on the Server and quickly detect and extract the CC data; and cute little programs that can scan the contents of all files on a PC or server for the existence of CC data and when found take a copy of the file home to the extraction team. So you are thinking that your Antivirus will detect this malware? Forget it. The hackers also have Antivirus in more than one flavor and most assuredly check their toolkits for detect-ability.

Do not think that your company is too small to come under attack. The hackers do not know the size of your company when they detect an open port on the Internet for your e-mail server, web server, or point-of-sale system server. They commence fire with all the tools in their extensive arsenal to gain access into your network. If you have vulnerabilities, they will be found and Malware will be installed, backdoors opened and bots loaded that can be controlled by the Hackers to do their bidding.

Scan. Scan. Scan your outside facing network for vulnerabilities. And if you have ecommerce of any size that communicates in any way back to point-of-sale servers on your inside network and you are not scanning the web pages for vulnerabilities, you are at a very high risk level for intrusion and compromise of your entire network. Without scanning you are relying on the developer of your web pages to eliminate and test for the myriad of vulnerabilities that exist. Just as small merchants are unaware of the vulnerabilities and how to mitigate them; so too are in-house developers and small web development companies limited by knowledge and experience in staying current and dealing with the ever expanding list of vulnerabilities in web applications. Have you ever heard of Web Application Cross Site Scripting, Microsoft RDP Server Private Key Disclosure, SQL Injection Vulnerability, Website Directory Index or MS SQL Database Error Disclosure? Even though you have not, the hackers have a thousand times over, and they have an intimate knowledge of hundreds more vulnerabilities that they are prepared to exploit.

Close all the barn doors by building a better Firewall that starts with the concept that ALL traffic in and out or your network is bad! Then only allow traffic in very small increments as required for operational needs. Drastically limit the inside and outside destinations that all POS systems can access and can be accessed from. And then monitor and analyze the firewall logs for anomalies.

Secure Your Credit Card Data! Do you know where all of your Credit Card data originates, travels and is stored. Is the data encrypted at all stops along the way? How would you know? Request annual PCI compliance statement from all point-of-sale software vendors for the version of software you are running. Request details on Credit Card data flow, encryption, storage, archiving, and secure transport methods (http vs. https) (ftp vs. ftps) (ip vs. ip with ipsec). Also request the same compliance from your processor (i.e. Shift4, Protobase) and ensure that they clean up disk space after upgrades and debug sessions. It will be very important during the current escalation of attacks on smaller businesses that software vendors provide patches as vulnerabilities are found and fixed. And, these patches should be available without the purchase of version-level updates that would delay implementation.

The risk and potential dollar loss to card companies, card holders and merchants is enormous. Stolen card data can be used to make counterfeit cards and to perpetrate fraud through mail order and e-commerce transactions. This creates significant chargeback risk, penalties, fines and losses which in turn necessitates card re-issuance. Negative media coverage follows with damage to the merchant’s reputation. Additional side effects include the possible erosion of consumer confidence as well as the potential for new federal or state legislation to control data compromise.

If a merchant experiences a credit card data compromise, it is responsible for the expense associated with the forensic investigation, the re-issuance of compromised cards, the fraudulent use of stolen cards at not only their own location(s) but at any other merchant’s location (think about how much that could amount to), and fines levied by the card companies. The bottom line is you do not want to have a data compromise.

What you need to do is become compliant with the PCI DSS! Your credit card processing entity was required to notify you about PCI DSS and should have a plan that you can undertake to become compliant. You need to adhere to the requirements laid out under PCI DSS and, through that process, identify and remediate all of your vulnerabilities through the compliance validation process.

Once compliant, you can achieve Safe Harbor status. Safe harbor provides merchants protection from fines and compliance exposure in the event of a compromise. To attain safe harbor status a merchant must maintain full compliance at all times, including at the time of breach as demonstrated during a forensic investigation and must demonstrate that prior to the compromise they had already met the compliance validation requirements, demonstrating full compliance.

It is important to note that the submission of the compliance validation documentation, in and of itself, does not provide the member safe harbor status. The entity must have adhered to all the requirements at the time of the compromise.

So start working on the PCI DSS requirements to make your business compliant. Do not store track, pin, or CVV2 / CVC2 data. Educate your employees on PCI DSS compliance and the associated risks. Ensure your third party POS vendors are PCI DSS compliant (anyone touching your data for any purpose). And, utilize a qualified data security assessment firm. Get started today!

CardDog Gift Now Available for Datacap Tran™ Products

2011-05-20T10:58:00.001-07:00

Press Release from our partner - Datacap Systems is pleased to announce certification and availability of high speed IP gift card interface to CardDog, the processing system for gift, loyalty, prepaid usage and discount card processing from Transaction Resources Inc. Tran ™ users can now access CardDog’s gift services with fast, 1-2 second IP gift card transactions. The expanding use of gift card programs by retailers of all sizes and CardDog’s growing customer base in the retail, restaurant, resort and lodging markets makes this an important new addition to Datacap’s Tran interfaces.

“Over the past 16 years, TRI has become a leading provider of payment processing solutions. We are very pleased to have certified the Tran interface to CardDog for Datacap users that are interested in processing gift, loyalty, prepaid and discount card transactions directly through their POS system,” announced TRI President David Frick. “We already support stand-beside terminals with CardDog,” explained Mr. Frick, “but connecting directly to the POS speeds the checkout process and provides a better experience for the merchant and their customer.”

Gift and prepaid cards are proven to increase retailer traffic and average ticket and margin, all while providing new revenue and promotional opportunities. Gift/prepaid card programs also reduce typical ‘gift certificate’ expenses, and can even be used to improve the cost and profitability of return transactions. Strong benefits to both consumers and retailers make gift card a required POS/ECR feature. Fast, IP-based gift card transactions enhance customer service and store operation efficiency. Having gift card transactions integrated into the store POS/ECR system provides additional retailer benefits, streamlining operations and enhancing store and cashier accountability. Dealers benefit from selling the additional gift card feature, additional revenue opportunities and improved customer retention.