BluePay Blog

With nearly 20 percent market share, Fitbit is arguably the most popular wearable technology in the world. These personal fitness trackers can monitor everything from your heart rate to steps taken to sleep patterns. With more than 25 million active users, Fitbit continues to rake in billions of dollars every year — all through sales of its wearable devices.  But the company believes its Fitbit can become more than just a fitness tracker. In 2018, it added mobile payments to its growing line of wearable tech.

Topics: EMV, Payment Technology, Small Business Tips, Payment Trends

Over the last few years, chip-and-PIN has been heralded as the gold standard in payment security. These EMV credit cards come with embedded chips that are next to impossible to clone. To initiate an in-store payment, customers must input a personal identification number (PIN) that only they know.  Additionally, mobile payments and wearable technologies continue to grow in popularity every year. In fact, experts predict that annual in-store sales generated through smart devices could exceed $500 billion by 2020 — in the United States alone. 

Topics: EMV, Mobile Payments, Payment Technology, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, 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

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

There’s a reason why the EMV credit card standard has been adopted globally. These chip-enabled cards are far more secure than their mag-stripe counterparts.  Whereas magnetic stripes are relatively easy to clone and forge, EMV cards are not. This makes in-store retail fraud more difficult. For a transaction to process successfully, the security chip must be physically present at the point of sale. 

Topics: EMV, Payment Technology, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Payment Trends

As a brick-and-mortar retailer, it doesn’t take much to begin accepting credit cards. All you need is a merchant account and terminal — and you’re good to go.  Despite how easy it is to get started, an estimated 55 percent of small businesses throughout the U.S. don’t take plastic. They simply can’t justify the upfront cost of installing expensive credit card readers at every checkout counter.  For them, accepting cash is both easier and cheaper. 

Topics: EMV, Mobile Payments, Payment Technology, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Payment Trends

Swipe-and-sign is one of the most time-honored rituals in retail. When customers are ready to make purchases, they:  Swipe the credit card in a POS reader Receive a printed time-stamped receipt Put their John Hancock on the signature line  On April 13, most major credit card brands will remove the signature requirement at the point of sale. Mastercard and Visa are phasing out this step across North America, while American Express is eliminating the signature requirement worldwide.

Topics: EMV, Payment Trends

Whenever customers are unhappy with products or services, they can request a refund directly from you — the merchant.  This is usually an unpleasant experience, and retailers often go out of their way to avoid issuing refunds. The alternative, however, is much worse.  These dissatisfied customers also have the option of disputing purchases and initiating chargebacks through their banks. The banks then credit those users’ accounts before chasing you down for the outstanding balance. 

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

Set to go into effect in May, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new set of guidelines designed to safeguard how personal consumer information is captured, shared and stored by organizations throughout Europe. More specifically, the GDPR exists to:  “(H)armonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens data  privacy and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy.” 

Topics: EMV, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention

The swipe-and-sign credit card ritual has been a staple of retail shopping for decades. In fact, it’s as American as apple pie.  Swiping your plastic initiates the transaction.  Signing the receipt authorizes the transaction.  Yet retailers don’t employ teams of handwriting experts to verify the authenticity of these signatures. Neither do the major credit card brands. Further, even when fraudulent transactions do occur, checking for forged signatures isn’t realistic or feasible. 

Topics: EMV, Payment Trends