ISOs

Some 221 members of the acquiring industry took the exam for the Certified Payments Professional credential during the first round of testing, according to the Electronic Transactions Association, which expects test results later this week.

Payment card-based merchant-funded incentives are saturating the market, leading observers to predict market consolidation among service providers.

Opportunities for new business are arising in Canada’s acquiring market as independent sales organizations work to develop an ISO model there, according to a report released last week by Maynard, Mass.-based Mercator Advisory Group Inc.

Acquirers representing merchants such as coffee shops and quick-service restaurants may be paying more in interchange for some small-ticket transactions under the Federal Reserve Board’s reduced debit rates than they are for cards exempt from the new rate cap, notes an attorney who frequently deals with clients in the payments industry.

About 40% of the retailers and restaurant operators that sign up for merchant services with United Bank Card Inc. are getting free point-of-sale systems as part of the deal.

IVR Technology Group LLC’s Pay-by-Phone virtual terminal now can process check payments through a partnership with processor Global eTelecom Inc., the phone automation services provider announced Nov. 22.

When the hassle of managing phone calls for an inside sales team becomes severe enough, ISOs and other businesses often seek the help of a third party.

The first round of testing ended Nov. 30 for the acquiring industry’s new Certified Payments Professional credential, and at least one candidate found the exam “appropriately difficult.”

Credit cardholders are satisfied with their most frequently used cards mainly because they never have had problems with them, according to new research from Auriemma Consulting Group.

Soon, even unbanked consumers can accept payment cards.

Transaction processor Vantiv on Nov. 29 introduced its first prepaid program, offering issuers general-purpose reloadable MasterCards.

European card issuers continue to report more ATM-related fraud losses associated with their cards’ use in the United States than in any other country, a new report reveals.

Attention to detail is becoming increasingly important for ISOs as a complex industry becomes even more demanding.

The hotel industry successfully introduced “resort fees.” The airlines gradually added baggage-handling fees. Cell phone and cable TV marketers steadily increase fees for expanding services.

In light of recent Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council recommendations regarding advanced encryption, acquirers and processors are giving greater attention to the hardware-security module used to protect card data while transactions are processed, a technician who specializes in security devices suggests.

Mobile-payment proponents let out a collective groan when Apple Inc.’s latest iPhone 4S lacked a Near Field Communication chip.

The United States remains in a balance-sheet slowdown: overleveraged households are tightening their belts and holding back on consumption, thereby choking off the economy's main engine.

Based on a groundswell of optimism surrounding Near Field Communication payment applications on display this week at the Cartes & IDentification conference in Paris, executives at NXP Semiconductors are eager to counter criticism from some quarters that NFC is too complex and bank-centric to catch on widely.

ISOs and agents can offer merchants new technological tools to help ease the task of complying with Payment Card Industry data-security standards.

While it seems natural that retention rates might decline after a merchant portfolio changes hands, purchasers have found ways of keeping losses to a minimum. What matters most is maintaining continuity so merchants have no reason to switch to another processor, sources suggest.