Here is an interesting article on a new credit card processing deal in Asia I found on MSNBC

Sino Payments, Inc. (OTCBB: SNPY) is pleased to announce that it has received clearance from the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) to trade on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board under the trading symbol SNPY.

Sino Payments is an Asian-based credit and debit card processing merchant services company, which has developed an IP (Internet Protocol) processing network to provide credit and debit card clearing services to merchants and financial institutions in China and regionally in Asia. The primary focus of future development efforts will be the rapidly growing Chinese credit and debit card market. Sino Payments aims to become a leading China-wide provider of world-class IP transaction processing services to bankcard accepting merchants.

Matthew Mecke, Chairman & CEO of Sino Payments, commented, “We have been working for some time to complete our system and company product offering to be able to bring added value to the credit card processing business throughout Asia and particularly for international merchants doing business in China. We are confident that we will be in a position to begin providing services to an initial group of clients within the coming months and will focus our efforts on rapidly building out our China client network. Initially we will be focused on key target markets in China as well as large regional retail merchants with stores across Asia.”

Your thoughts?

Credit Card Processing asia, Credit Card Processing

Jake Marcinko at TheNonProfit Times wrote an interesting article on credit card processing fraud and upcoming industry changes.  Here is a sample:

Credit card fraud has been a growing problem and is big business for malicious individuals and organized groups alike. According to July 2007’s Neilson Report, losses to card issuers (e.g. Visa, MasterCard, etc) due to card fraud in 2006 totaled $4.84 billion, up 12.8 percent from the previous year. As fraud losses have increased, credit card companies have realized a greater need for formalized security standards and practices.

In an effort to facilitate the broad adoption of consistent security measures on a global basis, American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide, and Visa Inc., in June 2004 jointly created the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The PCI DSS is based on six fundamental objectives that are further divided into 12 major requirements and a slew of sub-requirements. These requirements cover broad topics such as network design, software development, security administration, and IT governance.

With a growing number of online companies storing credit card information online, data security has never been more important.  Always select a trusted vendor for credit card processing

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Yes everyone.  The madness of the holiday season is upon us again.  Store employees trampled over sales.  Moms fighting over a prized toy.  Tis the season to be jolly!

Michele Johansen & Lexie Tigre on the Examiner have posted an interesting article on ways to help others while you shop for gifts this season.  Here is a snip-it:

Started in 2007 in Seattle, TisBest allows you to by a gift card that can be redeemed for a charitable donation to an organization chosen by the recipient. Basically, you buy a gift card (and even get to choose the picture on it and even upload your own), give it to someone as a gift, then they go to the TisBest website and choose which charity to redeem it for.  There are over 250 charities to choose from, like the African Wildlife Foundation, La Lache League, the USO, and MusicCares.   There is a small fee for the transaction and the credit card processing, but most the bulk of the money goes straight to the charity.  And you even get a tax-deduction!

Everyone do what they can to help struggling families this holiday season.  Tis the season to be sharing!

Credit Card Processing charity, credit card fees, Credit Card Processing

A restaurant in Michigan had their security hacked, leading to credit card information being stolen. Newschannel3 has the story:

A new West Michigan restaurant is reeling from a hacker.

Spicy Pickle in Portage recently discovered a security breach. Someone stole credit card information and is using that information to go on a shopping spree.

The restaurant says it has contacted the Portage Police Department.

Detectives say they’re looking at several dozen cases of credit card fraud. Police say what they all have in common is those people used their credit or debit cards at the Spicy Pickle on Centre.

The restaurant says about 10 days ago, its credit card processing company reported the breach.

Police aren’t sure how the hacker or hackers got into the Spicy Pickle’s computer system, but they recommend people check their statements more often during the holiday season.

Hopefully this trend does not continue now that the economy is in official recession.

Credit Card Processing Credit Card Processing, hackers, restaurant credit card processing

I just read an interesting story on credit card processing for landlords.

Here is a snippit from the press release:

“The service is secure, fast, convenient and easy to use. ‘We started RentExpress after a considerable amount of research in to the industry, including the 2003 National Landlords Survey which found that, 86.6% of all Landlords claimed non payment of rent as their biggest concern’.

We also found that the payment options for Tenants was fragmented with options ranging from the most favourable being Automatic Payments through to cash and cheque. However, no one was offering a secure and convenient credit card payment option.

At RentExpress, Tenants can register their details for free, enter the property and landlord details and select the option of either making a one off payment or setting up a recurring payment schedule from their credit card. All of this can be done in a matter of minutes. RentExpress provides full reporting on all payments made and can be accessed securely 24 hours a day.”

An interesting development with a potential for a shift in credit card processing trends.

Credit Card Processing Credit Card Processing, Landlords, Merchant Account, Rent

Greetings everyone.  We launched this blog to discuss news and events related to the Merchant Account industry.  It is important to stay up to date with all credit card processing related activity.  We will examine all trends, new developments, and other Merchant Account topics of discussion that effect your client’s ability to accept credit cards.

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