EMC2Billing - High Risk Merchant Processing

FTC Seeks Public Comment on Proposal to Ban Payment Methods Favored in Fraudulent Telemarketing Transactions

AndyFree — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:03:58 +0000

In the ongoing effort to protect consumers from deceptive telemarketing, the FTC is seeking public comment on the proposed amendments to strengthen the Telemarketing Sales Rule’s against bogus charges and services. The proposed rules would stop the use of four payment methods favored by con artists and scammers. The proposed changes would:

Stop telemarketers from dipping directly into consumer bank accounts by using unsigned checks and “payment orders” that have been “remotely created.” These instruments can make it easy for unscrupulous telemarketers to debit bank accounts without permission, according to the FTC.

Bar telemarketers from getting paid with traditional “cash-to-cash” money transfers, as well as “cash reload” mechanisms, that scammers rely on to get money quickly and anonymously from consumer victims.

Public comments will be accepted until July 29, 2013.

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2013/05/tsr.shtm

ISO’s Authorization Costs Decline, but Other Expenses Are on Their Way Up

AndyFree — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:39:28 +0000

The credit card processing world is constantly changing. Expenses passed onto the banks are going up in some cases and going down in others. When that happens, they pass those costs (or reduction in costs) to their ISO partners. In a recent study conducted by The Strawhecker Group (TSG) it was discovered that SSL (internet) authorizations have declined by 14% since 2011 and dial-up costs have fallen 10% in that time. In contrast to the authorization costs, ISO’s clearing and settlement costs have stopped declining and leveled out. The fees that ISO’s are starting to see rise are general customer service costs, terminal help desk charges, and PCI compliance fees.

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/3987

Feds Seize Assets from Mt. Gox’s Dwolla Account

AndyFree — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:21:16 +0000

Department of Homeland Security issued a seizure warrant to Dwolla for the money in Mt. Gox’s Dwolla account related to Bitcoin. Mt. Gox is the leading company in Bitcoin buying and trading and this is the second time this month Mt. Gox has been in the news, first being sued by CoinLab, which claims Mt. Gox dropped the ball on an agreement which would have put CoinLab in charge of Mt. Gox’s North American accounts.

The CEO of the Japanese startup company now faces up to five years in prison for failing to register in the US as a money transmitting company.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/16/mt-gox-dwolla-account-money-seizure/

Visa Europe Offers to Cap Credit-Card Fees to End EU Probe

AndyFree — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:33:23 +0000

Visa Europe, Ltd plans to “significantly” reduce the fees it sets for processing cross-border credit card payments in a bid to appease European Union.

Visa Europe’s intends to bring its fees in line with MasterCard. Visa Europe also committed to overhaul its rules so that banks will be able to apply a reduced cross-border interbank fee when they compete for clients cross-border.

“It will put at the same level the fees that are used by MasterCard and by Visa and this will allow cheaper use of cards that are a payment system used in almost half of our total payments in the EU,” Joaquin Almunia, the EU”s antitrust commissioner, said in a video statement. Visa Europe’s offer will mean “the two big credit and debit card companies” can’t use “their market positions to have extra profits.”

Visa proposed to reduce by 40-60 percent its interbank fees for credit card payments to a level of 0.3 percent of the value of the transaction for cross-border and domestic transactions, the commission said. This fix will last for four years. Visa Europe was sent a formal complaint over the levies last year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-14/visa-europe-offers-to-cap-credit-card-fees-to-settle-eu-probe.html

First Legal Poker Site Launched in the US

AndyFree — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:39:37 +0000

Last week the first legal pay-to-play poker website in the United States was approved for live transactions for a 30-day trial period. Players from across the nation and Europe are logging on as casino companies, tech developers, regulators, and lawmakers study the technology and stress testing the process.

Station Casinos, which owns 16 properties in the Las Vegas area, launched ultimatepoker.com. The end goal for Station Casinos is to bring some clarity to the debate among gambling officials and lawmakers about online gaming. The largest and most pressing issue is whether the company can verify the site’s users are over 21 and are located in Nevada, which is the first state to legally launch an online casino since the business was made illegal. Station Casinos plans on using identification and geolocation software, and a variety of other tools. Visitors to Nevada can register to play before arriving in the state.

The site’s activation accelerated a race that started this year when Nevada passed a law that legalized online gambling, beating New Jersey by a matter of weeks. Keith S. Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, said “the internet poses risks for problem gambling,” and pointed to data from Europe that suggest that frequent gambling on the internet is associated with problem gambling, or addictive behavior.

Mr. Whyte said he wants to see online gambling in the United Sate unfold with controls like those in Europe, including software that tracks gambling behavior online and displays for user information like account balances and time spent playing.

A. G. Burnett, chairman of Nevada’s Gaming Control Board, said that comments and observations would be gathered from users and Ultimate Poker during the 30-day trial. The board will decide whether the site should be allowed to continue operating and, two weeks after that, the Nevada Gaming Commission will make the final decision.

Nearly two dozen companies have obtained licenses to participate in some aspect of online gambling, including MGM Resorts International, Bally and Caesars, often through subsidiaries or in partnership with other companies.

EMC is poised and positioned to assist gaming companies and technology companies who want to enter into the legal online gaming space with strong banking and preferred partnerships.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/business/poker-web-site-advances-online-gambling.html?_r=0

Discover, Ariba Launch AribaPay

AndyFree — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:40:36 +0000

AribaPay, the electronic B2B payments solution, launched today (May by Ariba and powered by Discover Network, is reported to “solve the last mile” of B2B payments by offering an “efficient and transparent” way for buyers to pay suppliers. Checks have been declared dead outside of the US years ago, but they are alive and well in the B2B payments space. Billions of checks, worth tens of trillions of dollars are written each year by buyers and sent to suppliers to settle invoices (many sent electronically).

AribaPay, via the Discover Network will enable a buyer to initiate an electronic payment from its bank account, which Discover will then direct to the supplier’s bank account. Discover, as the enabling platform, will handle all settlement functions and will hold banking information. One of the big perks according to the beta test participants is that buyers don’t have to mess with getting and keeping bank account information. The big focus right now is for Ariba and Discover to get suppliers enabled tor receive payment via AribaPay.

The biggest factor in determining the potential success of AribaPay will be the pricing. At this time the pricing is TBD, but AribaPay has promised to be “aggressive” and “lower than the cost of processing paper checks and card payments”.

AribaPay could be a very welcome sight for US consumers. Countries throughout the world already have similar systems in place and have had them for years. There are no other countries that are as highly dependent on credit cards as the US is. If AribaPay is able to get the pricing to work it could signal a huge shift in payments to a direct transfer of funds.

http://www.pymnts.com/commentary/b2b-breakthrough-discover-ariba-launch-aribapay?utm_source=News+NL+-+Discover+5%2F8%2F13&utm_campaign=Discover+5%2F8+NL&utm_medium=email

Authorize.Net Payment Gateway Now Available in the United Kingdom

AndyFree — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:20:01 +0000

On May 2nd it was announced that Authorize.net would be available for UK and European merchants processing in Pounds, Sterling, Euros, and USD. Authorize.net, which is a small business solutions of CyberSource which is owned by Visa, will now allow small business merchants based in the UK to use the popular payment platform to accept and manage bank card transactions, fight fraud, store sensitive data, and automate recurring transactions.

Developed in 1996, Authorize.net has been one of the leading providers of e-commerce payment services and is the leading gateway for merchants, resellers, and developers. Currently over 380,000 merchants use Authorize.net’s services because of its reputation as a secure and reliable platform for processing transactions 24 hours a day.

In addition to bank card processing, Authorize.net provides merchants with standard fraud prevention tools, a virtual terminal and a website payments seal. It also offers merchants a number of low-cost, value-adding services designed to assist merchants with managing their businesses. The add-ons include Recurring Billing, an Advanced Fraud Detection Suite, and Secure Data Storage.

Authorize.net making itself available to UK merchants is a big step. It already has a such a huge market share in the US and will now have the ability to gain traction in a largely populated country.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/authorize-net-payment-gateway-now-102300602.html

FTC Launches Coast-to-Coast ‘Biz-Op’ Rule Blitz

AndyFree — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 20:34:08 +0000

The FTC has wasted no time enforcing its modified Business Opportunity (“Biz-op”) Rule, which was established in March. In November the FTC filed its first six cases across the country in an effort to crack down on Biz-Ops. A number of the companies had been running for years without hearing from the FTC, however in addition to being charged with violating the Biz-Op Rule they are also being charged with violating the FTC’s basic statute against “unfair and deceptive” practices.

The fact that the businesses were charged for violating the FTC’s basic statute against “unfair and deceptive” practices in addition to the Biz-Op rule makes you wonder why the FTC didn’t bring forth the charges earlier. One of the assumptions is that, individually, they weren’t important enough enforcement priorities before. However, with the new Biz-Op rule the FTC has a powerful tool to target an entire marketing sector, “work at home” programs, that it sees populated with parasites seeking to take money from financially distressed consumers.

Once confined to the realm of vending machine businesses and the like, and limited to biz-ops costing $500 or more, the Rule now covers “work-at-home” offers carrying no purchase minimum. It requires detailed written disclosure, in a prescribed form, of several items of information, including the basis of earnings claims – the sine qua non of biz-op offers. The seller must disclose, at least seven days prior to sale: a) who it is; b) whether it’s making an earnings claim; c) whether it, its affiliates, or key personnel have been involved in any legal actions; d) whether it has a cancellation or refund policy; and e) a list of purchasers within the past three years. If the seller makes earnings claims, has been sued, or has a cancellation/refund policy, it must provide supplementary information substantiating the claims, identifying the suits, and stating the key cancellation/refund terms. The disclosure document must be provided even if the seller is not making earnings claims.

There may be hope, though. Biz-Op Rule defendants need to read the Rule carefully to see if it even applies to them. Its definition of “business opportunity” doesn’t apply to just any work-at-home program but only to those based on a solicitation to “enter into a new business” that involves a “required payment” and in which the seller offers to “provide outlets, accounts or customers, including … Internet outlets, accounts or customers, for the purchaser’s goods or services.” It does not include providing “advertising and general advice about business development and training….”

Parsing this definition, Biz-Op Rule targets, in constructing their defense, need to ask themselves: 1) Do my customers actually become their “own bosses,” selling their own goods or services to their own customers, or are they just “finders” for my products? 2) Do I actually “provide outlets, accounts or customers” to my customers, or concrete assistance in obtaining them, or am I really just offering advertising and general business help? 3) Are my customers really making a purchase “payment” if my offer is initially free with at most only shipping and handling fees and a chance to cancel?

If you’re a work-at-home opportunity seller and the answer to any of these or other coverage questions is no, the heavy-handed new Biz-Op Rule may not apply to you. If so, then the next challenge may be getting the FTC or a judge to agree.

http://www.responsemagazine.com/drma/ftc-launches-coast-coast-biz-op-rule-blitz-4924

MasterCard certifies multiple NFC handsets

GregBerard — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:55:21 +0000

MasterCard has certified a plethora of NFC-enabled smart phones for use with MasterCard PayPass contactless payment technology.

The certified devices include: BlackBerry Bold 9790, BlackBerry Curve 9380, HTC One X, Intel Smartphone Reference Device, LG Viper 4G LTE, LG Optimus Elite, Nokia 603, Nokia Lumia 610 NFC, Samsung Wave Y, Samsung Galaxy mini 2, Samsung Galaxy S Advance, Samsung Galaxy Nexus (GT-i9250), Sony Xperia S, Sony Xperia P and Sony Xperia sola.

These newly certified smart phones listed above, join the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360, which were the first to become certified for PayPass in fall 2011.

MasterCard has also unveiled a new brand identifier––”MasterCard PayPass Ready”––that device manufacturers can use with NFC-enabled smart phones that have received PayPass certification.

The MasterCard PayPass Ready identifier can be included as a sticker on the approved device, and in an approved device’s packaging, marketing collateral and advertisements. According to MasterCard, Nokia and BlackBerry-maker RIM are among the first handset manufacturers committed to supporting this new brand.

http://www.nfcnews.com/2012/05/04/mastercard-certifies-multiple-nfc-handsets?issue=nfcnews_20120507

Bank of America May Reconsider Debit Card Fee

GregBerard — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:44:44 +0000

Bank of America’s $5-a-month debit card fee may not happen next year as initially planned due to extremely negative feedback from Bank of America customers. Reuters, citing “a person familiar with the bank’s plans” says B of A may make it possible for many of their customers to avoid the $5 monthly fee, which has drawn mass amounts of criticism since the plan was revealed last month.

Reuters says “The second largest US bank is likely to allow many customers to avoid taking the fee by taking measures such as maintaining minimum balances, having paychecks directly deposited, or using Bank of America credit cards, the person said”

The news about B of A came out after the report that JPMorgan Chase will drop its test of a similar fee and will not be imposing a debit card fee on any of its Chase customers. Other large bank, including Citibank, US Bank, and PNC, have also stated that they do not have any plans to charge their customers a monthly fee to use their debit cards.

The fact that the banks are no longer going to impose a fee means that the charges will be coming somewhere else. Because of the Durbin Amendment, which cut the amount the banks could charge merchants from an average of $0.44 per transaction down to no more than $0.24, banks are trying to find ways to make up for that lost revenue.

Citibank, which is one of the banks that decided not to charge a monthly debit card fee, has already raised the fee for use of their basic checking account services. “We’re going to see more creative, stealth-like fees,” Dennis Moroney, research director at TowerGroup, told SmartMoney. Among the possibilities:

- A fee for not using your debit card each month

- Fees for papers statements or speaking to a teller. These fees are already in place at some banks

- Higher overdraft fees

http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post.aspx?post=bf841417-eddb-4a06-8911-4824e018119b