Retailers

From the March 2010 issue of ISO&Agent.

From the March 2010 issue of ISO&Agent.

From the March 2010 issue of ISO&Agent.

From the March 2010 issue of ISO&Agent.

Will Detterman, the chief executive of Leap Payments Inc., admits he is taking a chance in introducing a payment card acceptance pricing model that bucks the traditional formula.

Some ISOs are providing qualified leads to sales agents as incentives so they will work harder. The tactic tends to motivate the agents while enabling the ISO to spend less on incentives than they would through monetary bonuses, according to some observers.

Chase Paymentech LLC this week announced plans to extend its offer of fraud-detection services for card-not-present transactions to all of its merchant customers later this year. The Dallas-based processor will integrate Kount Inc.’s fraud-detection services so merchants of all sizes may use them without requiring a separate contract with Boise, Idaho-based Kount.

More than 300 T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants plan to use a payment card security method that masks sensitive transaction data with a numerical token, says Merchant Link, the company providing the TransactionVault service.

International expansion will not benefit every company, and merchant-service providers that want to expand outside the United States should carefully evaluate their business models to determine whether such a strategy is feasible, some observers note.

Merchant Warehouse Inc. says its mobile payment-acceptance software for smartphones now works with devices using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile and Google Inc.’s Android operating systems.

Heartland Payments Systems Inc. has signed Martin Eagle Oil Co. Inc. as the first customer for the processor’s SmartLink consolidated-network technology, Princeton, N.J.-based Heartland announced this week.

Nxgen International is opening operations in the United Kingdom and Italy as part of a European expansion strategy the Whitefish, Mont.-based merchant-service provider announced last week. Diversifying geographically can help Nxgen grow and differentiate itself further, says Giuseppe Caltabiano, Nxgen president.

As one of the first resellers of VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s PayWare Mobile service, Merchant 360 Inc. says some mobile merchants like that the service includes a card reader that enables them to get card-present transaction rates.

Ingenico SA has introduced a suite of mobile-commerce applications designed to work with most mobile devices merchants already own, thereby simplifying the sales process for independent sales organizations hoping to convince more merchants to accept payment cards, contends the France-based point-of-sale terminal maker.

As one of the first resellers of VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s PayWare Mobile service, Merchant 360 Inc. says some mobile merchants like that the service includes a card reader that enables them to get card-present transaction rates.

Lingering effects of a weakened U.S. economy continue to inhibit U.S. small businesses from making significant payment-systems upgrades, according to VeriFone Holdings Inc.

A recent study that focuses on Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliance among large merchants also is helpful for educating independent sales organizations and the smaller merchants with which they typically work, observers note. ISOs should educate themselves not only about their specific markets but also about all aspects of data security and compliance in the payments industry to better serve their clients and ensure all merchants protect card data, they say.

First National Bank of Omaha plans to relinquish controlling interest in its First National Merchant Solutions merchant-acquiring arm to Total System Services Inc. in a joint venture announced this week.

Monoprix Group, a France-based retailer with more than 300 locations and approximately 4,000 point-of-sale devices, is using Hypercom Corp.’s Wynid payment server to process its transactions, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based terminal maker says.

Nxgen International is opening operations in the United Kingdom and Italy as part of a European expansion strategy the Whitefish, Mont.-based merchant-service provider announced this week. Diversifying geographically can help Nxgen grow and differentiate itself further, says Giuseppe Caltabiano, Nxgen president.