Credit Card

It seems all too easy to just swipe your card or tap it on a terminal and the payment will have been made. As the great minds got to work to provide an effortless mode of transaction for the people, they come up with chip encrypted cards and even RFID infused credit cards. All of this led to the thinning of wallets and generation of more “plastic money” income.

The big businesses that had been a step ahead in this game of monopoly had already applied the proper application of credit card readers and payments in their business. They had the upper hand during this transition, but what about the small and medium-sized businesses?

Well let’s say they were at an awkward halt, they were confused as to what to do whether to accept card payments or follow the traditional method of making sales in wads of cash. It is advised that businessmen buckle up and start initiating the proper application of credit card processing in their business.

If they fail to do so they might lose customers or even worse, end up going out of business. As cash transactions have depleted over the years and the number of card payments has boosted up in the past 5 years, it is only advisable that small and medium-sized businessmen accept and act on the change.

It has been found the merchants are hesitant on accepting card payments because of two reasons; they are afraid they might get duped of their money by a fraudulent buyer or they might face certain losses in their business due to the alarmingly high transaction charges imposed by conventional banks.

Well, those two reasons shouldn’t become an issue which is stopping you from credit card processing. There are various measures adopted by credit card companies and even you can adopt some in order to keep yourself safe from fraud. While there credit card companies like SumUp which tend to help out small and medium-sized businessmen, by providing them with modern credit card readers at a low cost.

The company also charges a low transaction fee; 2.65% per transaction and makes sure the payments are made within a few days. SumUp has opened up their office in Boulder, Colorado and is looking at opportunities to increase their presence in the American markets. The company has shown massive success in Europe and South America, SumUp aspires to be a globally accepted card brand and is working towards achieving their vision.

Before merchants invest in card reader technology they should be well aware of the types of card readers available in the market, we have mentioned the 3 types of card readers available in the market:

EMV Card Reader:

This credit card machine operates on chip technology; the card which is used on this card reader has an encrypted chip placed firmly on top of it. The chip contains all the essential details that will assist in initiating a transaction between a merchant and a consumer. EMV stands for “Europay MasterCard Visa”, it has gained immense popularity in the market due to the advanced chip technology. These plastic cards can be used on nearly all modern terminals. And no need to worry as this payment method is secure and is not a victim of fraud in a card-present situation

Swipe Card Reader:

This is the most basic and widely used card reader technology available in the market. This card reader requires the user to swipe their card along with a physical terminal. The card should have a metallic strip which once swiped will help assist the transaction and complete the payment.

Swipe card readers have become out of fashion and will soon be phased out, due to security concerns like; A fraudster can easily replicate this mode of payment

NFC Card Reader:

NFC stands for “Near Field Communication”, in this type of card reader all those cards which have been equipped with NFC technology, smartphones or other smart devices that use RFID are eligible for making transactions. This type of payment is known as “least-contact” payment.

A merchant should also be aware of the new reforms introduced to protect them or hold them liable in a case of fraud. The Liability Shift was introduced on October 1, 2015. This reform was made to protect visa chip cards or people who had implemented chip technology. It states that “In the case of an in-store fraudulent payment, the party which has not invested in chip technology will be held responsible for the fraud.”

Not investing in chip technology will get merchants into situations which they will find themselves hard to get out of. One such case is; if a fraudulent payment is made using a chip encrypted card on a conventional swipe terminal, the merchant is held liable while the customer walks away. If the merchant had invested in chip technology then he wouldn’t have been held liable.

So it is wise that merchants adopt credit card processing and invest in chip technology it will only benefit their business in the long run.