BluePay Blog

According to The  Nilson Report, payment cards generate more than $6.5 trillion in purchase volume annually in the U.S.  That’s a lot of money.  As a merchant, it obviously makes sense to add “plastic” to your list of accepted payment options. Doing so allows you to tap into this multitrillion-dollar pie.However, this volume includes many types of plastic, with credit cards generating the largest share at $3.7 trillion a year.

Topics: Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Awareness, Consumer Education

Because of their nonprofit, tax-exempt status, churches must survive on the goodwill of their members. Yet, many congregations still rely on cash-based donations to raise funds.  There’s nothing wrong with this approach. In fact, many successful stores only accept cash, as well. It’s possible to do just fine with this strategy.

Topics: Recurring Billing and Electronic Invoicing, E-Commerce and Online Payments, Nonprofits, Awareness

In the worlds of marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), content is still king — but the kingdom is no longer limited to the written word.  Videos are quickly emerging as the dominant way to attract users, convert leads and generate sales. Nowhere is this more apparent than on YouTube, which doubles as the world’s:  Largest video-sharing platform

Topics: Fun Posts, Small Business Tips, Awareness

Credit reporting agencies (aka credit bureaus) are responsible for collecting consumer credit data that businesses then use when assessing a person’s ability to meet certain financial obligations: A bank, for example, might use a borrower’s credit score to determine what interest rates to charge. The lower the score, the greater the risk of not being paid back. As such, that lender would likely charge a higher interest rate.

Topics: Awareness, Consumer Education

March is National Credit Awareness Month — that special time of year when everyone is encouraged to sort their finances and climb out of debt.  To accomplish either of these goals, improving your personal credit score is essential.  Ranging anywhere from 300 to 850, credit scores may seem somewhat arbitrary. After all, how can you accurately capture a person’s financial health with a simple three-digit number?

Topics: Small Business Tips, Awareness, Consumer Education

Americans have a love/hate relationship with debt. Credit cards and cheap financing allow us to enjoy perks we wouldn’t normally be able to afford. Yet, as the numbers below illustrate, this convenience and access can quickly get out of control.  Nationwide, total household debt is now approaching $13 trillion — an amount that has steadily risen over the past four years.

Topics: Small Business Tips, Awareness, Consumer Education

There are already tons of month-long observances celebrated during March, including:  National Celery Month  National Kidney Month  Youth Art Month  March is also National Credit Education Month — a 31-day stretch of the year during which Americans are encouraged to:  Clean up their finances  Fix their credit scores  Climb out of debt  Does America really need an entire month dedicated to credit awareness?

Topics: Small Business Tips, Awareness

The concept of “consumer credit” dates from 3500 B.C. Mesopotamia. Yet, what most of us would recognize as a “credit card” didn’t come along until 1950 — courtesy of the Diners' Club.  This earliest form of plastic wasn’t even plastic. It was cardboard, and you could only use it at select restaurants.  However, the credit card has evolved substantially over the years. Politicians had to step in occasionally to help make the credit card industry fairer and more transparent.

Topics: Payment Trends, Awareness

In today’s day and age, accepting credit card payments is essential to the success of your business. The technology and processes working in the background of electronic transaction processing can be quite complicated. You may have heard the terms Payment Processor and Payment Gateway. What do they mean? Do you need them for your payment processing solution?

Topics: E-Commerce and Online Payments, Payment Technology, Getting Started with Payments, Awareness

The BluePay Blog is dedicated to providing you with useful information to help you understand payments, learn best business practices, or stay attuned to security concerns. We continually publish new content, averaging over 125 posts annually. We took a look at our blog to see which posts resonate with our visitors. Here is a list of our top 10 popular blog posts. If you haven’t read them yet, click on the links below.

Topics: E-Commerce and Online Payments, Payment Technology, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Small Business Tips, Enterprise Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Awareness