BluePay Blog

Father’s Day may not receive the same recognition and fanfare as Mother’s Day, but with domestic sales approaching $15.5 billion, this annual event isn’t a shopping holiday you can afford to ignore.  In fact, roughly 75 percent of Americans purchase some sort of gift for Father’s Day. When you run the numbers, this means the average son or daughter spends more than $130 on their dads.  So, ask yourself … is your retail store positioned to take advantage of these Father’s Day shopping trends? Let’s take a look.

Topics: Fun Posts, Small Business Tips, Payment Trends

As one of the most consumer-friendly countries in the world, the United States has a plethora of shopping “holidays” throughout the year. Some of the most popular include Black Friday, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween, Easter and Independence Day.  With so many shopping “holidays” on the books, we don’t really need another — but we have one anyway. Every June 18, the U.S. “unofficially” celebrates National Splurge Day — when consumers can indulge their wildest desires, regardless of price or budget. 

Topics: E-Commerce and Online Payments, Fun Posts, Small Business Tips

Finding clients used to be the most challenging thing about running a small business or freelance operation. However, that challenge has been surpassed by the struggle to get paid by clients. Even one unpaid invoice for the month can lead to problems covering expenses or even getting a paycheck. Now, double those late payments by five or ten invoices and see how quickly your credit and business stability are impacted. 

Topics: Due.com Partner Posts, Recurring Billing and Electronic Invoicing, Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Awareness

As an independent software vendor (ISV), clients expect you to create functional applications that deliver specific benefits to end-users. This delivery must be seamless across a broad range of devices and operating systems.  It’s no longer enough to make powerful applications that work. Clients increasingly demand secure payment tools that integrate seamlessly with the products you deliver. As an ISV, this requires choosing a payment partner that can provide both the technology and support you and your clients need.

Topics: Software and Payment Integration, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, BluePay Partners, ISV/VAR

As a business owner, getting hacked is one of the worst things that can happen.  Whether for financial gain, revenge or pure joy, bad actors exploit vulnerabilities in your IT infrastructure — and they now have access to your sensitive data:  They do this to steal information (such as credit card numbers). They hold your data hostage until you pay a ransom of some sort. They simply corrupt your system for no reason. 

Topics: PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Small Business Tips, Enterprise Business Tips, ISV/VAR

There wasn’t a whole lot of fanfare surrounding the 2011 launch of Google Wallet — a mobile payment technology that allowed users to shop in stores or send money to friends and family members.  For starters, PayPal had already cornered the peer-to-peer (P2P) payment market, leaving little room for Google’s new service. And mobile payments were still a relatively untested technology throughout the retail industry.  Google Wallet may have been a cool service, but there simply wasn’t a burning need for what the platform offered. 

Topics: Mobile Payments, E-Commerce and Online Payments, Payment Technology, Payment Trends

Losing your credit card usually isn’t a big deal. If one of your cards is lost, stolen or somehow compromised, your bank will send you a replacement ASAP.  Many card issuers also provide fraud protection so you’re not personally liable for any unauthorized purchases.  In fact, the algorithms used to monitor fraud are so good that your bank might contact you to verify purchases that “seem” out of character. If you use your card primarily for grocery shopping and gas stations, for example, a sudden weekend shopping spree at the neighborhood electronics store might raise red flags. 

Topics: EMV, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Fun Posts

Revenues help a business grow, while profitability can generate expansion potential. As a business owner, those are your strategic goals. However, within that vision of what you want to become, cash flow plays a critical role. You need to maintain a steady stream of available money to cover expenses, the unexpected, and emerging opportunities. Without that cash flow, there's nothing to move you forward, stalling out your business and, sometimes, even shutting it down. 

Topics: Due.com Partner Posts, Small Business Tips

Roughly 80 percent of American shoppers cite plastic as their preferred payment method. The simple act of hanging credit card logos on your store window or embedding them on your website can help attract more traffic. It’s clear that accepting credit cards can be a great way to boost sales. However, credit card acceptance carries a number of merchant fees. Paid entirely by you (the retailer), these charges are designed to cover payment processing costs such as: 

Topics: Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Merchant Accounts

In the retail world, chargebacks are very similar to refunds in that:  Successful sales are ultimately reversed.  “Unhappy” customers get their money back.  Though unlike refunds, chargebacks aren’t something you implement on your end as a merchant.  Instead, they’re initiated by the customer — with or without your consent.  Thanks to consumer protection laws, starting the chargeback process is very easy for customers.

Topics: EMV, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Small Business Tips, Enterprise Business Tips