The Omaha independent sales organization kicked off the phone effort Oct. 1, after trying a direct-mail campaign for three months with less-successful results.
PCI compliance rates have jumped to 48% now, from roughly 10% at the start of October, said Steven Cartwright, American Payment's chief financial officer.
"When you send [merchants] a letter, it's a passive contact that they can set aside," but a call is less easy for them to ignore, he said.
Phone campaigns could be more effective with small merchants because "you have instant two-way communication," said Cliff Gray, a product-services expert with Strawhecker Group, an Omaha consulting firm.
Many small merchants believe the PCI requirements are very technical, and "see an e-mail and think it is too complex. But they get a phone call and an explanation and they think they can manage it," he said.
