CVC/CVV Code
March 17th, 2016 by Elma Jane

A bank in Mexico is the first in the world to publicly experiment with this technology. With their mobile wallet application, cardholders are able to use dynamic CVC/CVV codes, which are generated every twenty minutes.

If somebody is using credit card information stolen from a data intrusion and the merchant accepting payment online asks for the CVV, it likely would have changed by that time, they would enter the wrong CVV and the transaction would be declined.

Cards with CVV code display that randomly changes will ensure that users making orders online are who they say they are. Many e-Commerce sites already ask shoppers for the CVV code during online transactions or over the phone.

The technology is an intuitive solution, but costly to issuers. Cards with displays that enable a dynamic CVV code are 10 times more expensive than chip cards.

As mobile banking, e-commerce, and m-commerce is growing, something had to change sooner or later in the online payment industry.

 

 

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Security, e-commerce & m-commerce Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 19th, 2013 by Elma Jane

10 Great Ecommerce & Mcommerce Ideas

 

Address Commonly-asked Questions

Instead of hiding commonly asked questions on an FAQ page somewhere on your site, display these answers in plain sight. Include your service agreement on every page, and provide frequent updates on orders in the mail, because one of the quickest ways to lose shoppers and sales is to make it difficult for them to do business with you.

Connect with Pinterest Influencers

Connect with the Pinterest influencers…accounts or boards with large followings…that relate to your product category. Ask for a pin here and there for a product you believe they would like. You’ll get large amounts of traffic, sales, and repins from their large followings. This method is repeatable and much quicker and cheaper than building a large following yourself.

Don’t Forget Comparison Shopping Engines

You’ve got a great ecommerce website. But is it hard to get traffic? Comparison shopping engines (CSEs)…like Google Shopping, Shopzilla, NexTag, Pronto, and Bing…deliver millions of shoppers to product pages every day. You list your items on the CSEs where purchase-ready shoppers will see them and click through to your site to complete the transaction. CSEs typically have a pay-per-click pricing model, and many merchants find it’s worth the cost.

Emphasize Product Photography

Whether you use high-quality renderings or actual product photography, make sure you take the time to present your products in the best possible manner. With the proliferation of product and photo sharing sites like Pinterest, The Fancy, Instagram, and OpenSky, having a beautiful product shot is imperative. Lifestyle shots of your product in use could also significantly increase conversion rates.

Make Research Easy for Prospective Buyers

Research (for buying decisions) is a massive resource cost to businesses around the world. It is also a primary reason for lost deals. Were you to provide comprehensive information that was easy to find and on which a buying decision can be made, then your close rate would substantially improve. Add to this, an easy purchasing process and, rather than scouring the web, a buyer would see your site as a preferred source.

Mimic the Brick-and-mortar Experience

Regardless of what channel they may be using to shop, online consumers are demanding the quality of the brick-and-mortar experience. They want to zoom in on a product, rotate it, change its colors…in short, they want to interact with the item as though they were physically in the same room with it. Retailers with rich interactive media that can offer this in omnichannel have a significant competitive advantage during the holiday season and can convert at rates of 30 percent higher than those that don’t.

Offer Support via Social Media

Nielson research discovered that in 2012 one-third of social media users prefer to contact a company via social media than by phone. On your support pages, provide links to your social media profiles. Set up notifications in the social media accounts so you know when someone contacts you. This way you provide timely customer support to those who want it…in the way they want it.

Stay Ahead of the Curve

“It doesn’t take a lot of time for cutting-edge to become old hat. Keep researching to be aware of the latest tools and technology. If you stay still, you will find that your competitors will quickly surpass you.

Take the ‘E’ out of ‘Ecommerce’

Retailers need to realize that the lines of commerce have been, as John Donahoe, CEO of eBay, said, obliterated. It’s no longer a world of online and offline commerce. It’s just commerce. Retailers are competing on a global scale with everyone, everywhere. You need to give shoppers a compelling reason to buy from you. Find a way to differentiate and make sure you can grab shoppers attention and keep them coming back.

Think Like a Shopper

Keep your site’s design simple and clean, make calls-to-action clear, and focus on the product. Go through the flows of your site: search, browse, and buy a product, or have a friend do it and watch him without helping. Pay attention to areas where anything is confusing, doesn’t work the way it should, or takes too many steps. Then make adjustments.

Posted in Credit card Processing, e-commerce & m-commerce, Electronic Payments, Internet Payment Gateway, Mobile Payments Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 22nd, 2013 by Admin

As we move to smartphones and tablets as payment methods security and privacy concerns are a real issue. With recent NSA leaks shedding light on our data and the access others have to it, we have to consider security, privacy and health implications. This year alone e-commerce transactions on smartphones and tablets during the holiday season are set to grow by 15%. Although tablets, not smartphones will drive the bulk of that growth, smartphones are set to overtake mobile-commerce payments over the next 5 years. Tablet payments in the U.S. alone are expecting to reach $26 billion in transactions. Currently tablets are more convenient for m-commerce due to their size, but as far as the future of electronic payment processing, smartphones are where it’s at.

The smart merchant sees this coming and realizes frictionless transactions increase sales. The more comfortable and less complicated a transaction is for a customer, the better. Smartphones, tablets, PCs, laptops and more can already process electronic transactions from credit and debit cards, gift cards, electronic checks and more. Money movement is easier than ever and more convenient than cash. Cash is king however in situations where internet connectivity and power are an issue. In India for example, a poor electric grid makes power outages a common occurrence. During natural disasters, when resources are badly needed, power outages or severed internet communications mean no electronic transactions can be processed. So physical currency remains a must, in the future we may see payment technology evolve to where digital money like crypto currency (BitCoin) may be stored on the device itself similar to having cash. As these electronic payment systems evolve, merchants need to position themselves to accept what their market prefers to transact with.

The smart citizen also sees this coming and has concerns that things like a National ID program being established may compromise their privacy.
As an extreme example of electronic transactions, a nightclub in Spain used subdermally implanted RFID chips in a woman that allowed patrons to pay for food and beverages without a credit card.

Posted in e-commerce & m-commerce, Electronic Check Services, Electronic Payments, Gift & Loyalty Card Processing, Merchant Services Account, Near Field Communication, Smartphone Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 21st, 2013 by Admin

Online Credit Card Processing

Posted in Online Links Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

August 16th, 2013 by Admin

Today the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), an open, global forum for the development of electronic transaction security standards published PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) 3.0 Change Highlights as a preview of the new version of the standards coming in November 2013. The changes will help companies make PCI DSS part of their business-as-usual activities by introducing more flexibility, and an increased focus on education, awareness and transaction security as a shared responsibility with merchant account holders.

The seven-page document is part of the Council’s commitment to provide as much information as possible during the development process and eliminate any perceived surprises for organizations in their PCI credit card security planning. Specifically, the summary will help PCI Participating Organizations and the assessment community as they prepare to review and discuss draft versions of the standards at the 2013 Community Meetings in September and October.

Changes to the standards are made based on feedback from the Council’s global constituents per the PCI DSS and PA-DSS development lifecycle and in response to market needs. Key drivers for version 3.0 updates include: lack of education and awareness; weak passwords, authorization, verification and authentication challenges; third party payment security challenges; slow self-detection in response to malware and other threats; inconsistency in assessments.

“Today, most organizations have a good understanding of PCI DSS and its importance in securing credit card data during transactions, but implementation and maintenance remains a struggle – especially in light of increasingly complex business and payment technology environments,” said Bob Russo, PCI SSC general manager. “The challenge for us now is providing the right balance of flexibility, rigor and consistency within the standards to help organizations make payment security business-as-usual. And that’s the focus of the changes we’re making with version 3.0.”

Based on feedback from the industry, in 2010 the Council moved from a two-year to a three-year standards development lifecycle. The additional year provides a longer period to gather feedback and more time for organizations to implement changes before a new version is released. Version 3.0 will introduce more changes than version 2.0, with several new sub-requirements. Proposed updates include:

  • Recommendations on making PCI DSS business-as-usual and best practices for maintaining ongoing PCI DSS credit card compliance
  • Security policy and operational procedures built into each requirement
  • Guidance for all requirements with content from Navigating PCI DSS Guide
  • Increased flexibility and education around password strength and complexity
  • New requirements for point-of-sale terminal security
  • More robust requirements for penetration testing and validating segmentation
  • Considerations for credit card data in memory
  • Enhanced testing procedures to clarify the level of validation expected for each requirement
  • Expanded software development lifecycle security requirements for PA-DSS application vendors, including threat modeling

Note that these updates are still under review by the PCI community. Final changes will be determined after the PCI Community Meetings and incorporated into the final versions of the PCI DSS and PA-DSS published in November.

The change highlights document with tables outlining anticipated updates is available on the PCI SSC website:https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/documents.php

The Council will host a webinar series for the PCI community and the general public to outline the proposed changes. To register, visit: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/training/webinars.php

“PCI DSS and PA-DSS 3.0 will provide organizations the framework for assessing the risk involved with technologies and platforms and the flexibility to apply these principles to their unique payment and business environments, such as e-commerce, m-commerce, mobile acceptance or cloud computing,” added Troy Leach, PCI SSC chief technology officer.

PCI DSS and PA-DSS 3.0 will be published on 7 November 2013. The standards become effective 1 January 2014, but to ensure adequate time for the transition, version 2.0 will remain active until 31 December 2014.

For more information and to register for the 2013 Community Meetings, please visit:https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/communitymeeting/2013/

About the PCI Security Standards Council

The PCI Security Standards Council is an open global forum that is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and other standards that increase payment data security. Founded in 2006 by the major payment card brands American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., the Council has more than 650 Participating Organizations representing merchants, banks, processors and vendors worldwide. To learn more about playing a part in securing payment card data globally, please visit: pcisecuritystandards.org.

Connect with the PCI Council on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/pci-security-standards-council

Join the conversation on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/PCISSC

Posted in Credit Card Security, Digital Wallet Privacy, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

August 12th, 2013 by Admin

Small businesses are gaining traction in the mobile payment landscape. Mobile credit card readers attached to a smartphone or tablet now account for billions of dollars in m-commerce sales. “Together, mobile and social are transforming the way SMBs acquire and retain customers, With the heavy use of social media, SMB marketing is quickly becoming a two-way engagement rather than a one-way promotion.” Said Steve Marshall of BIA/Kesley. As more people switch to and upgrade their smartphones, AT&T, Verizon and T-mobile are looking to partner with digital wallet provider Isis. Read more of this article »

Posted in Credit Card Reader Terminal, Credit Card Security, Digital Wallet Privacy, Electronic Payments, Mobile Payments, Near Field Communication, Smartphone Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

July 31st, 2013 by Admin

Travel online is an industry that has seen heavy activity as mobile users employ their tablet or smartphones booking their travel destinations. Now travel agency agents are looking to up the ante with more innovative mobile options like ticketless travel. Many last minute patrons are turning to their mobile devices and the agencies m-commerce site to place their bookings and that trend is growing. Therefore it makes sense that the hotel and hospitality industry are looking to whet that appetite. Marriott is looking to fulfill this by making their e-commerce site more m-commerce friendly as well as adding features for travelers that have already booked hotel rooms with them. Read more of this article »

Posted in Mobile Payments Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

July 8th, 2013 by Admin

Areas Include:

  • Digital Wallet or Electronic Wallet

  • Merchant Expertise

  • Rewards and Loyalty Programs

  • Money Transfer

MasterCard, American Express, Discover

A new report shows that American Express, MasterCard, Capital One, Discover and Western Union were focusing on electronic transaction processing. While American Express Company (American Express) recently announced a new executive vice president and a new chief financial officer. Read more of this article »

Posted in Mobile Payments Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 8th, 2013 by Admin

In discussions about merchant service providers, Square and PayPal entering talks is a given. Sqaure offers free credit card readers to entice merchants to switch their credit card processing to them. PayPal recently launched an initiative to expand it’s reach into retail stores and offers to waive processing fees through 2013. With the coming rush to mobile transaction processing more companies are entering the fray. AT&T, Verizon, T-mobile and Sprint are looking to get into the credit card transaction processing gig as they already carry that data over their cellular networks. ISIS Wallet and Google’s digital wallet bring credit card transactions to Android smartphones and tablets, and Visa is expected to launch its Visa Ready program as it rolls out test merchants. Read more of this article »

Posted in Mobile Payments Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 1st, 2013 by Admin

e-commerceThe SD Association has a new ‘smart’ idea. New Micro SD cards, popular for use in  Android smartphones and tablet devices, will soon be available. The new MicroSD  cards will carry the NFC Secure Element which allows Near Field Communications smartphones communicate with a chip on the Micro SD card. These are mainly used in a digital wallet for electronic transactions known as m-commerce. The new SD Cards also support on-board applets for smartphones as well.

Many newer phones are shipping with NFC Radios mainly used with digital wallets. For security, Near Field Communication requires a special authentication method prior to encrypted communications. Now that can be be placed on a Micro SD in addition to additional memory for the smartphone or tablet. The card can also store small digital wallet applications for digital payments when combined with an NFC enabled phone or tablet. These are seen by consumers as a way to ditch plastic cards in favor of digital wallets, and you can also transfer the electronic wallet to different devices as you please.

Additionally the SDA supports Micro SD cards that have both the Secure Element security chip on board as well as a Near Field Communications Radio on the chip to give NFC capabilities to devices that don’t come with the technology. Changing devices seems even easier with these cards as they enable NFC on multiple devices as the user transfers the card. If the MicroSD card owner switches cellular carriers, the card can easily go from the old phone to a new one and the digital wallet user never skips a beat.

The SD Association claims that microSD cards account for 95% of all mobile memory card shipments and that 78% of all mobile phone shipments today have the microSD memory card slot. With the latest round of MicroSD cards with NFC radios and without, they hope new e-commerce and m-commerce applications are built to run on the memory cards. This greatly levels the playing field from vendor lock in as both cell phone carriers and device makers have their own aspirations toward digital payment systems.

Posted in smartSD Cards Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,