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PCI Compliance and The Potentially High Costs of a Breach

PCI Compliance

In the summer of 2019, it came out that Capital One – a credit card issuer themselves – fell victim to a hack that exposed the data of 100 million cardholders and applicants. That might seem extreme, but it’s only the latest in a series of high-profile security breaches that have resulted in the theft of personal data. In 2018, Marriott discovered a years-long breach that exposed the data of 500 million customers. In 2014 a breach exposed the data of 56 million Home Depot customers, and a year before that, Target was hit with a hack that exposed 110 million customers. Other household names that have fallen victim to hacks in that time have included Yahoo, Adobe, eBay, Sony, and more. 

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Authorize.Net Direct Post Security Upgrade: Updating MD5 to SHA-512

Authorize.Net Direct Post Security Upgrade

Authorize.Net – the most popular payment gateway service provider in the world – is in the process of making a big change to how it verifies transactions, and that change impacts the business of every single one of their Direct Post users.

The company is phasing out MD5-based hashing and switching to SHA-512 signature key hashing. The last stage of the switch goes into effect on June 27th, 2019, and every business using Authorize.Net Direct Post, including BAMS users, will have to switch over before that date to avoid interruptions to their payment processing services.

To a lot of merchants, this might be a confusing topic or seem like an unnecessary hassle, but this change is an important step in keeping Authorize.Net’s transaction security on the cutting edge – something that benefits every single merchant on the platform.

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What Tools Does BAMS Offer for Offline and Online Merchants?

Online Merchant

BAMS is the industry leader in payment processing, trusted by thousands of merchants across the globe. That success is due to our full suite of features designed to help businesses like yours accept electronic payments with less fuss, and lower fees. BAMS has been designed from the ground up to provide all of the functionality needed by both our online and offline partners, and thanks to that client-focused design, 98% of our users report lower stress when working with BAMS merchant accounts.  Here are just a few of the many features BAMS offers to our clients in both digital and brick-and-mortar sales.

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How Your Business Can Protect Itself Against Chargebacks

Chargeback Protection

Chargebacks are an unfortunate reality of accepting credit card payments, but they aren’t something businesses have to lie down and accept without a fight. Some chargebacks are completely legitimate, like cases where a purchase was made fraudulently by a third party. But many chargebacks are fraudulent, frivolous, or abuses of the system. In those cases, there is no reason for a company to accept losing the revenue, the product, and the additional chargeback penalty, and fighting back is in order.

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TurboApp – IRIS CRM’s Merchant-Boarding Secret Weapon

Merchant

All BAMS customers receive full access to IRIS CRM, one of the most powerful customer resource management platforms currently available on the market. IRIS CRM provides a full suite of tools that enable companies to manage all aspects of their operations, from communications to leads and prospecting, to sales, to payments, and beyond.

One of IRIS CRM’s most important features is TurboApp, a built-in application designed specifically for independent sales organizations looking to streamline their merchant boarding. With TurboApp, what was once an involved process requiring large amounts of manual entry can now be almost completely automated, allowing users to board new merchants far more efficiently than ever before.

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What Is Level 3 Credit Card Processing And How Can It Help Your Business?

Level 3 Credit Card

The average person doesn’t consider the VISA or Mastercard in their pocket to be any different from a company or government credit card – aside from the limit, of course. But there are actually significant differences in how corporate and government cards are used and processed. Those differences mean that not all merchants can accept all types of credit cards, and they also change the way issuing banks view transactions. The result is that merchants who can process these special credit cards – known as Level 3 cards – stand to benefit greatly.

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Why Chargeback Defense Is Important?

Chargeback Defense

There are only so many parts of running a business that you can prepare for. Like many aspects of life, it’s difficult to truly understand what it takes to be a successful business owner until you’re in the thick of it.

For example, one thing that no one tells you about starting a business is just how problematic chargebacks can be to an owner’s bottom line. Individually, these fees may not add up to much, but when underestimated and mismanaged, they can end up costing you big time.

When searching for the right payment processing solutions for your business, consider the importance of chargeback defense.

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The Best Payments Processing Service Provider For Restaurants

Restaurant Payments

Thanks to technology and the rise of digital, the restaurant industry has seen its fair share of evolution over the last decade.

From self-ordering kiosks to tabletop and handheld server tablets, restaurateurs are finding new ways to invest in customer experience. Having a point of sale (POS) and payment processing system that’s both reliable, secure, and flexible is one area, in particular, that’s of primary focus.

You need to partner with a service provider you can trust when handling the payments of your customers, especially as POS data breaches become more commonplace.

For the sake of your customer’s satisfaction and the long-term success of your restaurant business, this is why BAMS is the best payments processing service provider for restaurants:

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Demystifying PCI Compliance – The Basics And Benefits Of Meeting The Industry Security Standard

PCI Compliance - Security

PCI compliance is one of the most important factors in establishing safe online transaction processing, but many business owners and managers know very little about it. Most either assume that it doesn’t apply to them or that they already have it – whatever it is. But e-commerce software and online payment solutions aren’t PCI compliant by default, and it’s essential that companies accepting credit card payments – both online and off – understand the basics of PCI compliance and the many benefits that it provides.

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Understanding EMV Payment Card Technology

Credit Card Transaction Using the New Security Electronic Chip Technology EMV

Updating payment equipment by companies to chip cards with embedded microchips has added a level of security to businesses and their customers. Fraudulent transactions risk has significantly reduced due to chip cards technology. Implementing point-to-point encryption reduces payment card fraud from counterfeit cards. The liability shift from financial institutions favors applying EMV technology to great effects.

The only challenge which companies are facing is putting in place EMV systems that bonds seamlessly with their specific EMV hardware.

What is EMV?

EuroPay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) is a form of payment that bonds plastic cards with microchips. EMV cards, unlike normal credit cards, generate particular code for every transaction its user makes. The issuing bank shares the code to ensure it is legitimate. The microchip codes generated cannot be replicated, thus ensuring security against creating counterfeit cards by thieves.

Why Create EMV Card?

To curb hackers from stealing and selling credit card information that creates counterfeit cards, EMV was developed. Creating a card that generates random codes for every transaction ensures a minimal chance for counterfeit cards. The challenge, however, is that EMV cards are only helpful where a card can be inserted or swiped into a point of sale. Tokenization and point-to-point encryption eliminate card data breaches.

What Entails EMV Compliance?

EMV compliance requires installing point-of-sale terminals which are EMV-enabled and certified by a particular bank and ensuring that payment application is EMV certified for every card network. Depending on user’s application of EMV compliance, the terminal cost ranges significantly. Users ensure these terminals are installed with the EMV-compliant software.

What are EMV Security Weaknesses?

EMV cards are only applied where payment cards can be used in a point of sale. Online transactions which are highly fraudulent are not protected. Payment card security experts have concluded that hackers can still access unencrypted payment information from personal account number by removing the codes generated. EMV reduces fraud while point-to-point encryption eliminates fraud.

Companies that use debit and credit cards as a form of payment should consider becoming EMV compliant to significantly reduce fraud while also providing other benefits to a company such as the liability shift. Contact us now for more information.