As often happens when there’s confusion, scammers and unethical companies take advantage of the confusion. Here are some of the chip card scams you may run into, even if you've already upgraded your machines. Chip Card Scams Unfortunately, chip card scams are not uncommon. They include phone scams, invoice scams, and even tampering with phy...

Note: Following TSYS's acquisition by Global Payments, the Guardian Security Suite no longer appears to be available under that name. We're leaving this article here for historical purposes, but it will no longer be updated. Any security services offered by Global will be covered in their own articles. Looking for something specific? Give us a call...

CurrentC was initially rolled out in a beta pilot program in Columbus, Ohio on September 15, 2015. A nationwide rollout was planned for 2016 but was canceled as the organization looks at other growth methods. Merchants who accepted CurrentC should inform customers that it's no longer available. However, other forms of mobile payments are still a...

Wal-Mart filed a similar suit against Visa in May. The Security Problem According to Home Depot Home Depot accuses Visa and Mastercard of being more concerned with protecting their “inflated profits and dominant market positions” than in the security of payment cards used by consumers and “the health of the United States economy.” It allege...

In response to this threat that can cripple or virtually destroy any retail business, Total System Services, Inc. (also known as TSYS) created a Credit Card Compromise Assistance Plan (C-CAP). This service can ease the financial risk and reassure business owners who accept credit cards at their retail locations and online.  C-CAP protects them from...

Unlike magnetic stripe cards, chip cards inserted into the reader must stay there until the transaction is complete. In some cases, customers wait 15 seconds or longer for the authorization to go through once the cashier has hit the appropriate payment button. This creates a lot of friction, slowing the checkout process, increasing wait time in lin...

In July of 2016, businesses may have noticed a new fee on statements: the CardPointe fee. Charged by CardConnect, the CardPointe fee is a monthly charge that may be added to existing processing fees. What is it, does it affect you, and what are your options? Let’s take a look. What is the CardPointe fee? Popular payment provider CardConn...

In 2019, Square did away with its 2.75% rate in favor of 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction. Additionally, the company is now offering equipment leases, a practice that we generally advise against here at CardFellow. Read on to see what these Square fees mean, and what the leasing is all about. Square’s Per-Transaction Fee “Per-transaction ...

Update - in November 2017, Walmart and Visa announced that they are settling the lawsuits. Details of the settlement have not been made public, though Visa made a public announcement that they're pleased with the settlement decision. We're leaving the rest of this article for historical purposes.  Setting the Stage: PIN vs. Signature The la...

Interchange rate & fee: 2.70% + $0.10 Also known as: COMM CNP P Commercial Card Not Present (or COMM CNP P) is an interchange category that is used to calculate the interchange fee for card-not-present transactions involving a payment made with a commercial purchasing card instead of a consumer credit card. The transaction takes place by phon...