Discussion of the Purpose Behind the Questions on the PCI Compliance Survey The PCI survey questions include queries about whether the business has written procedures in place for employees regarding the protection of credit card numbers. For example, an easy question to answer might be whether the company writes down or stores their customer’s credit card numbers. That answer should be a resounding NO. If … Read More
Is There a Value to Being PCI Compliant OR Is it Just Another Way for Card Processing Companies to Make Extra Money?
Is There a Value to Being PCI Compliant OR Is it Just Another Way for Card Processing Companies to Make Extra Money? I recently met a woman, named Merissa, from Big Byte, a company that does data storage, IT for large businesses and disaster recovery. Merissa and I talked a lot of about PCI. Yes, they know companies who have been hacked. She told me … Read More
FRAUDULENT Credit Card Transaction SCAM
Watch Out for This FRAUDULENT Credit Card Transaction SCAM! I just heard from one of my customers who got an email and text from someone who wanted to use their credit card for a HUGE SALE! I am changing the name of the merchant and proprietor, but wanted to let you all know about this SCAM! We have heard this same story several times over … Read More
Gobbledygook Fake News!
In the credit card processing business, it is common, or should I say most probable, that every merchant will run into a salesman who blows smoke, and sells a bill of goods that is FAKE NEWS! In fact, most likely, every merchant in the country has one time or another gotten taken, scammed, or hoodwinked with “I am going to save you money on your … Read More
True Story About a Low Rate Hussle!
A Long Time Client is Being Hussled! One of my long time clients called me and asked a strange question. She was bombarded by companies calling her to switch her processing. Tired of the hassle she finally said yes, she would listen to the salesperson’s program! She made an appointment with her. Then she called me and asked if I would be at her side … Read More
Scam to Save you $500! Say What?
A current merchant called us and asked us to review a proposal from a competitor. The competitor had a copy of the merchant statement and wrote on it, “Savings of $500!” and circled it in red. He had no data to back up the savings. The merchant wasn’t even paying anywhere near $500 in fees over the wholesale interchange. Bob the scammer got found out.
Scam for Restaurants!
One of our large volume fine dining restaurant client’s was approached by Bob who said he would save them over $300/mth on their fees. Our client asked us to evaluate. We said we needed to see the rates Bob was presenting, not just a number of $300 with nothing to back it up. It took the client 10 days to get a copy of the … Read More
Scam – How Processors Lie About the Rate on their Monthly Statement!
A new merchant contacted us recently about comparing our rates to his current processor. He told us the low cost plus rate he thought he was paying. He even verified it with his processor that this rate was all he was paying. When I got the statement, sure enough, there was a very low rate in plain site. However, when I delved deeper into every … Read More
Scam – Will My Rate Ever Change?
When asked about rate increases, Bob from Brand X always LIED, (that’s right I said LIED) and said that rates would never change with him. The fact is that 99% of processors raise rates whenever they want to. Typically they raise rates when they are getting ready to sell out to a bigger processor, in order to inflate their bottom line. I have experienced this … Read More
Scam – Flat Rate
Bob’s new trick is an old one. His new rate is 1.69% and he says he won’t have any higher rates for keyed-in cards, rewards cards, or corporate cards (?). I think that Bob is either an outright liar or he is new to credit card processing and doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about. Too bad the company he represents has such a … Read More