Core Competencies
Today I was on a meet with a group looking for a processing partner for their software. It had great potential... until the meeting started. It was clear from the [...]
Completely Avoidable $40,000 Loss from Local Business
An Orange County salon had nearly $40,000 in losses from a completely avoidable theft. You see, this garbage person didn't go for the cash register, they went for something else. [...]
The Trouble with Crypto
As a Libertarian, I love Crypto. I am excited about a currency that is difficult if not impossible to manipulate and isn't held hostage by the whims of political breezes. [...]
Merchant Account Reserves
If you've ever had reserves placed on your merchant account, you know it's a frustrating but sometimes necessary thing to enable electronic payments. A reserve is a way to manage [...]
MCC Matters
When your business was enrolled for payment processing with your (hopefully local) sales rep, what were the questions like when it came to MCC code? They're hard to spot, but [...]
OCCIP Concludes Pax FBI Raid a False Alarm
The Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection (OCCIP) released an update on the FBI raid on PAX USA headquarters in Jacksonville, FL: At present, OCCIP does not believe that [...]
FBI Raids PAX Technology – What It Means for the Payments Industry
Yesterday, October 26th, Action News Jacksonville reported FBI personnel executed a court-issued search warrant at Pax Technology in Jacksonville, FL. Very few details were known until Krebs on Security, a [...]
Free Ain’t Free – Unless It Is
I've been in payments for long enough to know that no matter how good your service is, how reliable your equipment is, shit happens. Beers spill, lightning strikes... equipment drops. [...]
Visa EMV Excessive Fallback Fee – Starting October 2021
You may have seen a new line item on your merchant processing statement - Visa EMV Excessive Fallback Fee. Yes, it is a Visa imposed fee and no, that doesn't [...]
PCI Compliance – The Mask Mandate of Payment Processing
For the past 2 years I have taken a very hands-on approach to PCI compliance. Often I'm right there with my clients as they go through their portal, answering questions, [...]