Eliminate the need for a standalone cash register and credit card terminal by obtaining an all in one device by integrating the credit card terminal right into an electronic cash register.  By simplifying the acceptance of your cash and electronic payments not only will you free up counter space but you will be able to track your cash, check, credit card payments as wells as taxes received.

What you get with the Free Cash Register Program:

 *  72 Flat Keys

*  Multi-application support

*  Drop and load thermal printer

*  Free Programming

*  PCI PED Compliant

*  Large LCD Display

*  Large memory capacity

*  Free replacement along with a lifetime warranty

*  Nationwide technical support

*  Dial Up or Ethernet Connection

*  State of the art Casio heavy duty cash register

For as long as you continue processing your credit card transactions through United Bank Card you will be provided with a replacement Casio cash register if yours breaks or malfunctions, for free of charge! 

To sign up now or for more information please visit the merchant enrollment page at http://www.stradafee.com/application.htm

With all of the preparation, problem solving, and management involved in having an eCommerce store, there is one precaution that is grossly overlooked which has the potential of creating huge problems. Credit card chargebacks were created to protect cardholders from unauthorized transactions, and they make it possible for customers to refuse payment for goods or services based on the claim that the services were not received or goods were never delivered. Credit card institutions may also approve chargebacks based on damaged items and items that are not what they were claimed to be, even if the items were never returned to the vendor. As a result, a few customers regularly abuse the system in hopes of receiving products for free. Naturally, this greatly impacts those in the business of online sales by suddenly removing funds that are already collected, thus these entities must take care to utilize certain protocol to prevent as many chargebacks as possible.

It is extremely important for an eCommerce website to exercise extreme clarity in regards to shipping information, products, and checkout. It is imperative that the customer is aware of how the charge will appear on their card statement. Some customers mistakenly submit a fraudulent charge claim because they did not recognize the charge. Another way to prevent such confusion is to send automatic follow-up emails reminding customers that their card will be charged. These emails are also an appropriate time to reiterate to the customer that they are welcome to call you with any questions concerning this order. The business telephone number should appear clearly on the website as well as on the actual credit card charge. This allows customers to easily call to verify the charge without having to research what the charge might have been.

Pre-ordered items should not be charged to credit cards in advance. The time in which it takes to receive the item in stock may give the customer time to change their mind or simply claim a false charge on the grounds that no items were shipped. Instead, wait until the item is in stock and ready to be shipped before charging a customer’s credit card.

Getting rid of mistaken charges quickly is also a valuable policy for eCommerce. Not only does this avoid confusion and assure the customer that you will not be keeping the money, but it will also build your reputation as a professional and organized establishment. If a mistaken charge is not quickly voided, the customer is likely to take matters into their own hands by simply requesting a chargeback. If a customer reports a mistaken charge, you must never put off responding. It is imperative that you send an immediate response at least to let the customer know you are looking into the matter and will correct it as soon as possible.

The basic idea of preventing chargebacks is to have professional quality control and customer service policies that deal with the problem before a customer has time to consider disputing the charge with their credit card institution. It is much better to deal with these issues with customers directly, both for your future business and for your credit and legal integrity.

Merchant accounts make it possible for businesses to provide online credit card processing. For more information on credit card processing visit www.stradafee.com.

Before a merchant or acquirer ponders PCI compliance, it is important to understand which entities PCI compliance applies to. While it is very likely that for each merchant or acquirer, PCI compliance will be mandatory, it is important to remember that it is only required if you are receiving, storing or processing the Primary Account Number (PAN) or the main credit card number of the customer, which is usually no longer than 19 and no less than 16 digits in length.  In addition, a merchant or acquirer must remember that if a PAN is being stored or processed, the other information such as CVV/CVC and card holder information must be protected as well.

For a merchant to become PCI compliant, the merchant has to assess the merchant level relevant for the PCI guidelines, as each different merchant level will have different requirements. In addition, both VISA and MasterCard have certain PCI guidelines in addition to the PCI DSS standard, which need to be adhered to. Discover and American Express follow the PCI DSS standard in addition to a ‘good practices’ handbook, while there are no specific additional requirements. However, in general, the process will begin with the merchant or service provider assessing the validation level, as each different level will involve different audit, questionnaire and network scan requirements.

It would seem obvious that Level 1 merchants occupy the bulge bracket of hacker activity, but it’s actually Level 4, since there merchants tend to be smaller and occupy around 99% of the total market share of credit card transactions, as per estimates by VISA. These merchants tend to be more prone to hacker attacks primarily because they are small and usually do not possess the high end technical infrastructure as mandated by the PCI DSS. To that end, VISA requires that all Level 4 merchants submit a PCI compliance plan. In addition, the level 4 merchant must ensure that in case they are using a point of sale terminal, the terminal must be compatible with PABP and PIN requirements.

Validation levels apply to service providers as well. Service provider levels are categorized differently by MasterCard and Visa, though the emphasis in both cases is on the volume of transactions. For instance, for a Level 2 service provider, VISA prescribes the number of transactions transmitted as more than 100,000 annually, PLUS those who are not in Level 1. MasterCard simply prescribes that Service Providers who transmit on behalf of Level 1 merchants are Level 1 service providers.

The merchant or service provider must build an infrastructure in terms of firewalls, access control systems and data encryption that comply with the PCI DSS. The 1.1 standard issues the following directives for merchants to ensure that they are in compliance with the PCI standards<!–[if !supportFootnotes]–>[1]<!–[endif]–>:

1. Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data.
2. Do not use vendor supplied defaults of system passwords and other security parameters
3. Protect stored cardholder data
4. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks.
5. Use and regularly update anti-virus software or programs
6. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
7. Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know.
8. Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
9. Restrict physical access to cardholder data
10. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
11. Regularly test security systems and processes
12. Maintain a policy that addresses information security for employees and contractors.

Once the technical infrastructure is in place, the merchant or service provider must locate an Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV), who will conduct a network scan to ensure that the safety requirements highlighted above are actually functional and not just placeholders in the self-assessment questionnaire required for Level 2, 3 and 4 merchants and service providers. The purpose of the scan is to locate vulnerabilities in the system that can lead to data breaches and diagnose & recommend measures to fix these problems. The ASV submits a report to the PCI highlighting the potential security holes and the level of vulnerability from 1-5 (but this time, a Level 5 is the highest point of vulnerability). In case of a level 1 merchant, an on site assessment is also mandated by the PCI, to be conducted by a Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs).

Finally, a self-assessment questionnaire on a prescribed format needs to be submitted to the acquiring bank by the processor &/or merchant service provider, which acts as a checklist to ensure that the 12 requirements outlined above have been addressed and met. Some experts believe that PCI compliance has less to do with network and information security, than it has to do with compliance. For one thing, a merchant only needs to be 100% compliant at the time of the review- this loophole can make a merchant lax throughout the year, and only fix up the security holes during the time of the review or audit. That won’t solve any security crises, only make them worse.

<!–[if !supportFootnotes]–>

For more information on how to become PCI Compliant please vist http://www.stradafee.com!