<<

November/December 2016 www.isoandagent.com

IF EMV ISN’T SELLING, WHAT IS? Sales of EMV hardware are dropping off. Here’s what ISOs can do to keep sales strong

ISO111216_Cover_Final.indd 1 11/8/16 11:20 AM 002_ISO111216 2 11/8/2016 5:25:32 PM Fund and Retain Your Prime Merchants

Prime Merchants Demand First Class Rates

For a merchant with 687 FICO and 9 years in business: $ $50,000 $55,241 1.10 12-month loan pay back pricing term

Contact Opportunity Fund at 408.516.4602 to find out more.

For more information visit www.opportunityfundloan.org/partners

Opportunity Fund is a U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution. Loans will be made or arranged pursuant to Department of Corporations California Lenders License #6050609.

001_ISO111216 1 11/8/2016 5:08:11 PM Inside 11 /12.2016 Cover Story

If EMV Isn't ADOBE STOCK Selling, What Is? 30 The U.S. liability shift for EMV is well behind us, but it has not lit a fire under the merchants who have still not upgraded. If they're not spending on EMV, what are they buying?

ISOs EMV 06 | Expect More ISO- 18 | Gas Stations Under 50 | Merchant Cash Ad- Vendor Teamups Pressure to Upgrade vance's Allure Hides Risks Independent sales organizations and Gas stations have an extra year to The merchant cash advance market independent software vendors are upgrade their pumps to support EMV, is enticing but turbulent, with a high equally threatened by disruption. but many are moving slowly. What can turnover. Is the reward worth the risk? Does this make them natural allies? the payments industry do to speed things up? Technology Processing 59 | Mobile Wallet Lessons 12 | Chase Gives Walmart Technology from Walmart and Dunkin' Ammo in Its Swipe-Fee Fight 22 | A Decades-Old Payment Walmart and Dunkin' Donuts have separately built their own mobile ChaseNet, a closed-loop system Tech Fights for Its Future payment apps, learning a lot along the developed by JPMorgan Chase, gives ACH is popular for its low cost, but way. Can their experiences help other Walmart something it has long de- this is offset by its slow speed. As merchants? sired: less costly Visa transactions. the U.S. pushes to develop a faster payments infrastructure, will ACH still EMV have a meaningful role? ISOs 16 | How the Payments 61 | To Survive, ISOs Need to Find Allies Industry Failed an Arizona Merchants Grocery Chain The technology world is changing 36 | Merchants Warm to far more rapidly than most ISOs can Bashas' had the best intentions for Surcharging adapt. Rather than get left behind, its EMV migration, having begun its some are seeking allies from other Merchants have long desired a way to upgrade well ahead of the liability shift types of businesses. deadline. But the payments industry offset card fees. Now that stores can could not move as fast, leaving the add a surcharge at the , grocery chain exposed. what will change?

2 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

002_ISO111216 2 11/7/2016 4:47:21 PM Play with the Big Boys.

Join EMS and leverage the power of the industry leader’s flexibility • Multiple Sponsor Banks (No Good Merchant Left Behind) • Flexible Agent Agreements & Bonus Programs • Industry Leading Products & Retention Tools • Full Marketing Support • Dedicated Sales Support • In-House Leasing, Customer Service, Cash Advance • Key Accounts Relationship Team

1.866.845.6026 emsagent.com

35 Years of Helping Agents Build Stronger Portfolios

003_ISO111216 3 11/8/2016 5:08:15 PM Daniel Wolfe Editor’s Letter Editor

one State Street Plaza, 27th floor • neW York, nY 10004

EDITOR Daniel Wolfe 212-803-8397 [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITOR David Heun ART DIRECTOR Monica Pizzi GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, BANKING Richard Melville Looking Past the EMV Upgrade [email protected] VP, RESEARCH WE'VE COME A LONG WAY IN THE MIGRATION TO EMV CARDS IN THE Dana Jackson , but the journey is far from over. NATIONAL SALES MANAGER, ADVERTISING Hope Lerman The biggest issue seems to be a lack of enthusiasm — for many merchants, 312-475-0649 the world did not end when the fraud liability shift took effect in October [email protected] VP, CONTENT OPERATIONS AND CREATIVE SERVICES 2015, so their motivation to upgrade disappeared. And as consumers adjust Paul Vogel their expectations at the point of sale, the pain points of EMV seem to disap- DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE OPERATIONS Michael Chu pear as well. DIRECTOR OF CONTENT OPERATIONS But whether or not a merchant is EMV compliant, the pace of technology Theresa Hambel GROUP MARKETING DIRECTOR marches on and new payment options invade brick-and-mortar stores and Jeannie Nguyen digital marketplaces. Convenience and security are among the big drivers MARKETING MANAGER of these changes, but loyalty also plays a growing role. Raquel J. Lucas FULFILLMENT MANAGER The landscape is also becoming easier to understand, as early innovators Christopher Onyekaba drop out of the race, creating a more streamlined and comprehensive list CUSTOMER SERVICE 212-803-8500 of options for merchants. [email protected] Even if the U.S. never fully migrates to EMV, it’s clear that technology will continue to improve and the point of sale will continue to be a platform for innovation. The only question is what shape that innovation will take.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Douglas J. Manoni

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Michael P. Caruso

CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER Marianne Collins

EVP & CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER David Longobardi

CHIEF MARKETING AND Minna Rhee DIGITAL OFFICER

SVP, CONFERENCES & EVENTS John DelMauro

SVP, HUMAN RESOURCES Ying Wong

© 2 016 I SO&Agent a nd S ourceMedia, I nc. a nd I SO&Agent. ISO&Agent i s p ublished 4 t imes a y ear b y S ourceMe- dia, I nc., O ne S tate S treet P laza, 2 7th F loor N ew Y ork, N Y 10004. F or c ustomer s ervice c ontact u s a t ( 212) 8 03-8500; email: h [email protected]; o r s end c orrespondence t o C us- tomer S ervice, I SO&Agent, O ne S tate S treet P laza, 2 7th F loor New York NY 10004. For m ore i nformation a bout r eprints a nd l icensing c ontent f rom ISO&Agent, please v isit w ww.SourceMediaReprints.com or con- tact P ARS I nternational C orp. ( 212) 2 21-9595. T hose r egistered with the Copyright Clearance Center (222 Rosewood Drive, Dan- vers, Mass., 01923) have permission to photocopy articles. The fee is $10 p er c opy. C opying for other t han p ersonal use or i nternal reference is prohibited without express permission. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject m atter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering financial, l egal, a ccounting, t ax, o r o ther p rofessional s ervice. ISO&Agent is a trademark used herein under license.

4 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

004_ISO111216 4 11/7/2016 4:34:07 PM 005_ISO111216 5 11/8/2016 5:08:18 PM ISOS PARTNERSHIPS

Expect More Vendor-ISO Teamups To fight back against the disruption, independent sales organizations and independent soft- ware vendors are joining forces. BY DAVID HEUN

hen V isa o pened sent the proverbial best of times and ing common practice for them to seek its network to third- worst of times. partners they might not have considered party software de- The trend is good because there are to be allies in the past. velopers for the first far more opportunities for partnerships But they also face an ongoing threat. time in its history and deals; it is bad because having many “As the networks and ISVs become earlierW this year, CEO Charlie Scharf choices isn’t the same as making the more sophisticated, the gateway com- said his company was going after a right choices. panies and ISOs become less valuable,” “staggeringly large” opportunity. “The days of an ISO just dialing for Robshaw said. “While we use a couple Now, independent sales organizations dollars and standing on their own as an gateway companies, we primarily tie and independent software vendors are independent solution are about over,” directly into one of the leading process- equally threatened by disruption, mak- said Rick Robshaw, CEO of Club Prophet ing networks.” ing an alliance a logical — i f uneasy Systems, a software vendor providing In an example of the types of ISO- — step for both groups. point of sale, management and food/ vendor partnerships possible, Club It’s a quickly changing environment beverage software and services to the Prophet works with Linked2pay, In- up and down the payments food chain, golf industry. tegrity Payment Systems and TSYS especially for the ISO and ISV opera- ISOs understand that their traditional for the majority of its clients, but also tions. They may find the current fast role in merchant acquiring has changed with gateways Phoenix and Shift-4 for pace of payments technology to repre- because of technology, and it is becom- niche markets.

6 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

006_ISO111216 6 11/7/2016 4:55:38 PM Reduce churn and grow your restaurant portfolio.

How? With Upserve’s Agent Program. • Increase average deal size • Sell on value • Reduce customer churn • Capitalize on repeat business • Dedicated agent support team

We know that restaurateurs don't want just another card processor. But what they do want is a technology that can help them grow their business. As an Upserve partner, independent sales agents can provide these customers the tool they've been looking for.

“After almost a decade as an Independent Sales Agent professional, I had

hit a brick wall selling into the restaurant vertical. As an Upserve Agent, I’ve never seen a product that is more purpose-built for restaurateurs and has allowed me the flexibility to grow in an otherwise commodity hospitality market.” — Jay, Upserve Agent

PARTNER WITH UPSERVE

upserve.com/partners (888) 701-5480 Restaurant Management Platform

007_ISO111216 7 11/8/2016 5:08:19 PM ISOS PARTNERSHIPS

In Canada, the company works with added. “Then we call our customer to But it is a good time to be a software to serve its install base. find out they have no intention of mov- developer because most acquirers, Ultimately, for software vendors, it ing their processing.” processors and ISOs have developed a becomes critical to choose the correct After understanding where the land strategy to partner with more of them, partners and find ISOs and processors mines exist, the first a s oft- McNulty added. that will help benefit the customers they ware developer must make is whether Most have taken notice of the recent already have. to remain more agnostic and provide acquisitions of companies like PayPros, In that regard, software vendors are choice for their merchant customers, Accelerated Payment Technologies, Ele- becoming keenly aware of old — but or to embed a p referred or exclusive ment Payment Services and Mercury apparently not forgotten — ISO tactics partnership for payment processing Payment Systems, and realize it is a that are considered ineffective in today’s in their solution, said Chris McNulty, buyer’s market for integrated payments, landscape. president of payments industry consult- McNulty said. “We probably get calls from four ing firm Wimsett & Company. Indeed, after acquiring Mercury, ISOs per week asking us to integrate “They are lured into the latter by payment processor Vantiv took steps with them,” Robshaw said. “They use financial upside on a p art of the solu- to increase its level of collaboration all kinds of tactics to try to get through tion ecosystem that they may not have with payments software developers, the filters to talk to the right people, and participated in previously,” McNulty creating the Vantiv ONE hub to better most of these tactics are quite sleazy.” said. “That path may not be in the best organize technology development and On occasion, an ISO will tell a soft- interest of their customers, as they lose collaboration. ware vendor that one of its customers is control over pricing and margin levels But even with expanded opportuni- switching to the ISO network, creating in the future as well as f lexibility to ties and channels to advance services a need to integrate with them, Robshaw ensure the best service.” and develop new products, the software

8 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

008_ISO111216 8 11/7/2016 4:55:39 PM 009_ISO111216 9 11/8/2016 5:08:30 PM ISOS PARTNERSHIPS

developers and vendors don’t always By its nature, an open network gen- PCI scope” without that integration, have clear choices. erally means more traffic. As such, it Robshaw said. “It can be confusing on what is the can translate to a logjam for software Or they might say, “If you handle best model to benefit and protect their vendors seeking integration with a card data in your ISV software, your customers they have worked so hard to payment provider. are in scope.” earn,” McNulty said. “That logjam has much more to do Neither is likely to be entirely true, ISVs also want to land non-exclusive with the PA-DSS [payment application he added. contracts with ISOs and acquirers, data security standards], than it does However, if an ISV is actually taken McNulty added. “Locking into exclusive integrating to a payment provider,” Club out of scope through an integration, contracts with the wrong partner can Prophet’s Robshaw said. they still have to understand the need damage the reputation and long-term “Any change to the logic to clearly inform the merchant about success of their solution,” he said. “Even in the card data environment causes which entity is responsible for each the best choices at one point in time can the ISV to re-validate to the PA-DSS, facet of PCI validation and compliance, later become a bad choice.” and this is an effort of hundreds of man Robshaw said. A merchant’s satisfaction has to hours and upwards of $100,000.” Ultimately, most ISOs do not develop remain an ISV’s most important asset. In those cases, the software vendor the technology they assemble, but now “The software developer owns the cus- has to be a bit wary of ISOs that promise more options are available to them tomer relationship and should protect a simple integration and suggest that to consolidate by working with the that at all costs,” McNulty said. customers will be “completely out of right platform partners, said Richard McShirley, chief marketing officer for linked2pay, which provides card and core bank services in a c onsolidated package for its ISOs. “The approach taken by ISOs as a hub results in too many semi-integrated apps, which is a maintenance issue for the ISV, and potentially a major one af- fecting compliance, service quality, user cost and other factors,” McShirley said. Linked2pay looks at the current payments trends as a c onsolidation opportunity for those that do not pay for technology development, but have the tools to sell those new technologies, McShirley added. In that way, an ISO touting a secure payments application and PCI compli- ant system can approach a merchant or financial institution and offer mobile, online or e-mail payment acceptance options, McShirley said. It also means the ISO can concen- trate on what it does best — sell stuff to merchants. “The ISO may need to embrace the role of being the sales team for a finan- cial institution and stop trying to be the solution provider hub for the software vendors,” he added. “That approach is getting harder by the day.”

10 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

010_ISO111216 10 11/7/2016 4:55:40 PM 50 FREE TERMINALS TO THE FIRST 5 NEW AGENTS!

At Provident Payments, we’re serious about our merchant’s service.

Nobody provides a higher level of merchant service than Provident. We’re on the street, by your side, offering excellent compensation and the highest approval percentage in the industry. At Provident, you’ll make more money and have fewer headaches.

Call now and ask about our 50 Free Terminal offer.

MAKE MONEY. NOW. 800.710.1134 [email protected]

011_ISO111216 11 11/8/2016 5:08:31 PM PROCESSING CHASENET

Walmart’s Fee Fight Gets Ammo Walmart's deal to handle transactions on ChaseNet does more than deepen its relationship with JPMorgan Chase Ð the pact gives the retail giant more bargaining power when fighting for better card acceptance rates. BY KATE FITZGERALD

almart’s pact with stores through ChaseNet, a closed-loop this deal hands it a l ong-desired holy JPMorgan Chase is system designed to slash costs for mer- grail: less expensive Visa transactions. anything but rou- chants. Walmart has also committed to “We will still have a relationship tine. accpeting Chase Pay in its stores and with Visa for non-Chase transactions,” The processing in its Walmart app. but the deal with Chase “will bring deal,W which expands on the compa- Chase accomplishes this by acting much-needed competition to the pay- nies’ earlier relationship for handling as the acquirer, network and issuer for ments markets,” said Randy Hargrove, Walmart’s e-commerce transactions, transactions where both the cardholder a Walmart spokesman. diverts Chase card payments at more and the merchant are Chase clients. Walmart has been a scathing critic than 5,000 Walmart and Sam’s Club And from the perspective of Walmart, of Visa’s fees and routing structure,

12 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

012_ISO111216 12 11/7/2016 4:33:37 PM CastleTech_Ad_110416.pdf 1 11/4/16 8:13 AM

You're busy, so we'll make this quick.

C MP200 VEGA1000 UPT1000 M

Y

CM

MY Flexibility Value Innovation

CY (TM) CMY Future-proof Affordable solutions Luna Platform K Durable devices to meet your needs Quick Chip (TM) Cloud-based Easy semi-integration Technology management Pay-at-Table

(470) 273-6350 [email protected]

www.castlestech.com

013_ISO111216 13 11/8/2016 5:08:33 PM PROCESSING CHASENET

repeatedly confronting the card network Kimberly Fitzsimmons, U.S. market esting, according to Hewitt. “Walmart in court and, more recently, going so far president for Chase Merchant Services, has made no bones about its interest as to ban Visa cards at certain locations explained ChaseNet’s structure this in breaking up t he card networks,” in Canada. year at SourceMedia’s annual Card she said. The deal with Chase, announced Forum and Expo. “They’ve been at the forefront of that today, gives Walmart significant new “What is ChaseNet? It is a s impli- fight since the 1990s and went so far as leverage in how it handles Visa trans- fication of an ecosystem. It takes a to try to develop their own network,” she actions. “Walmart will have the ability traditional five-party acquiring system said, pointing to Walmart’s key role in to selectively route transactions based and takes it down to three,” she said. establishing the Merchant Customer on the performance of the payment “When you take two extra parties out Exchange mobile wallet initiative, providers,” Hargrove said. of touching that system, nothing is MCX abandoned its efforts to develop Visa did not provide comment on more secure.” a merchant-branded mobile wallet. In- the Walmart-Chase deal by deadline. Because ChaseNet is a closed-loop stead, MCX is now working with Chase ChaseNet has its roots in a 10-year system, it enables the issuer to provide to enroll merchants with Chase Pay. contract that Visa entered with Chase fixed-rate pricing for Chase Visa credit With the growing momentum around in 2013 to create a customized process- and debit payments for the term of the Chase Pay—now supported by Best ing and end-to-end payments platform. contract. Buy, Shell Oil and Phillips 66—Chase ChaseNet has since become the founda- With its giant volume as the nation’s also is advancing its agenda to wrest tion of Chase Pay. largest retailer, Walmart already likely control over payment networks. Walmart is inviting other issuers to has favorable pricing arrangements with “With the assets Chase now controls, consider similar arrangements, Har- the payment networks, said Patricia it can offer Walmart something very grove hinted. “We believe other issuers Hewitt, CEO of PG Research & Advisory close to autonomy over Visa and this would benefit from the efficiencies Services in Savannah, Ga. deal also creates an even more muscular created by connecting directly with But it’s the strategy behind Walmart’s entity to deal with when it comes time to Walmart,” he said. deal with Chase that’s especially inter- renegotiate contracts,” Hewitt said.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHASENET, A CLOSED-LOOP PAYMENT SYSTEM When JPMorgan Chase announced a 10-year contract mobile wallets that gave life to Android Pay, Samsung Pay with Visa in early 2013 to create a customized processing and, by the end of this year, Chase Pay. and end-to-end payments platform, it seemed to have little The original selling point of Chase Pay was its pricing to do with the bank's mobile wallet plans. structure. ªThere's no network fees, no merchant-acquiring But everything that makes Chase Pay possible is built on fees, we will not charge them back for fraud once we've the foundation of that platform, called ChaseNet. approved a transaction, and we will also give them the ªWhat is ChaseNet? It is a simplification of an ecosystem. opportunity to drive down further their cost of acceptance It takes a traditional five-party acquiring system and takes based on how much volume they do with Chase,º Gordon it down to three,º said Kimberly Fitzsimmons, U.S. market Smith, head of JPMorgan Chase's consumer bank, told president for Chase Merchant Services, during presentations Bloomberg News in October 2015. at SourceMedia's 2016 Card Forum and Expo. According to Fitzsimmons, pricing is just one piece of the A traditional five-party system involves the consumer, the Chase Pay puzzle Ð and it isn't even the most important acquirer, the network, the issuer and the merchant. piece. ChaseNet takes over the role of three of these ªWe took it from the cardholder and the consumer participants, functioning as the acquirer, the network and the perspective, No. 1,º she said. ªAs consumers, we're the ones issuer. that are really driving the adoption and the change at the ªWhen you take two extra parties out of touching that point of sale at the merchants.º system, nothing is more secure,º she said. That's why Chase Pay will have two interfaces when it In addition to improving security, ChaseNet also trims launches: Consumers, not the bank, will decide how this cost, allowing merchants to pay lower fees to accept mobile wallet is used. payments. This strategy is already evident in the bank's deal with ªIt is a closed-loop environment which fixes interchange,º Starbucks, wherein the coffee chain will accept Chase Pay Fitzsimmons said. ªIt's also ... the onramp for additional as both a standalone app and as a funding option within the functionality, hence Chase Pay.º Starbucks app, Fitzsimmons said. ChaseNet was announced a year and a half before Apple This also benefits Chase Pay's second-biggest Pay's announcement kicked off a wave of ªPayº-branded stakeholder, the merchant community, she said.

14 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

014_ISO111216 14 11/7/2016 4:33:37 PM 015_ISO111216 15 11/8/2016 6:05:24 PM EMV POINT OF SALE

What made this sting even worse was that Bashas’ had already suffered a serious data breach in 2013 as a re- sult of a malware attack, and its EMV implementation was meant to provide Good EMV Intentions, Bad Results a much-needed boost to its defenses. An Arizona grocery chain got a head start on its EMV migration, expecting to be ready by the EMV-chip cards are designed to deter October 2015 liability shift. But the outcome was beyond its control. BY KATE FITZGERALD the counterfeiting methods that are prevalent with older magstripe tech- nology. “We experienced a data breach that was extremely painful, but what’s worse is that authorities told us there was no way we could have foreseen that breach, and nothing we could do to prevent it,” Buhr said during a panel discussion. Bashas’, which has 130 locations, ultimately had to wait almost 10 months after the liability shift went into effect to begin accepting chip cards because vendors were unable to provide the necessary supporting software and services any earlier, due to industrywide bottlenecks. One contributing factor in the slowdown was the fact that the industry didn’t resolve EMV specifications for debit network routing rules until April 2015. Bashas’ finally began accepting chip cards in all of its stores in July 2016, but continue to pour in, Buhr said. Other EMV-compliant retailers at- tribute the ongoing chargebacks to delayed notification of transactions that predate their EMV migration. It can take up to five months for issuers and processors to provide mer- chants with details about counterfeit card transactions, because of the time involved in reporting and verifying ashas’ Inc., Arizona’s largest were collecting dust — a nd Bashas’ ware,” Buhr said. “But because of all the each case. independent grocery chain, had to absorb the losses through no industry slowdowns, software vendors Ultimately, the experience has not was certain it was prepared fault of its own, said Jim Buhr, CFO of and payments gateway providers weren’t deterred Bashas’ from encouraging the for the October 2015 EMV Bashas’, at the Western States Acquir- ready when the liability shift went into use of payment cards. The company liability shift. After all, it had ers Association’s annual meeting in effect. We spent millions on terminals attributes 70% of its transactions at its Bbegun purchasing terminals for all of its Scottsdale, Ariz., this month. that sat on a shelf for two years and we Bashas’, AJ’s Fine Foods and Food City 1,400 checkout lanes a year in advance. “We were one of the few retailers got penalized by absorbing the charge- stores to credit, debit and EBT cards. But when the card networks’ fraud in the (supermarket) field that was backs on counterfeit card fraud in the The tough lessons Bashas’ has liability shift arrived, those terminals completely chip-enabled with our hard- following months.” learned over the last few years have

16 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 17

016_ISO111216 16 11/7/2016 4:32:54 PM What made this sting even worse was that Bashas’ had already suffered a serious data breach in 2013 as a re- sult of a malware attack, and its EMV implementation was meant to provide Good EMV Intentions, Bad Results a much-needed boost to its defenses. An Arizona grocery chain got a head start on its EMV migration, expecting to be ready by the EMV-chip cards are designed to deter October 2015 liability shift. But the outcome was beyond its control. BY KATE FITZGERALD the counterfeiting methods that are prevalent with older magstripe tech- nology. “We experienced a data breach that was extremely painful, but what’s worse is that authorities told us there was no way we could have foreseen that breach, and nothing we could do to prevent it,” Buhr said during a panel discussion. Bashas’, which has 130 locations, ultimately had to wait almost 10 months after the liability shift went into effect to begin accepting chip cards because forced the company to take a more effects of newer payment options such vendors were unable to provide the active role in supervising its own card as mobile wallets. “When necessary supporting software and security and having a bigger voice in became available, we were accepting services any earlier, due to industrywide driving payments policies, Buhr said. it 30 days later,” Buhr said, adding that bottlenecks. One contributing factor “You don’t find out what you need customers appreciated the convenience in the slowdown was the fact that the to know until you have a breach,” Buhr and “it seems like it’s more difficult to didn’t resolve said, describing the crash course he hack.” EMV specifications for debit network undertook to put the brakes on losses Bashas’ isn’t the only merchant to routing rules until April 2015. during the 2013 malware attack. “Af- have a ‘horror story’ tied to the EMV Bashas’ finally began accepting chip terward, we learned a lot about the migration. cards in all of its stores in July 2016, technical side of things, and we got to Early on, Netflix complained that the but chargebacks continue to pour in, know everyone at our processors and process of reissuing magstripe cards Buhr said. the card brands. Now we have all their as EMV was disrupting its ability to Other EMV-compliant retailers at- contact numbers, we know them very collect funds from subscribers, since tribute the ongoing chargebacks to well, and we know the FBI very well. many banks were changing card account delayed notification of transactions that “We also looked more closely at numbers in the process. predate their EMV migration. what the PCI security standards, and Overall, this led Netflix to report a It can take up to five months for we didn’t like some of it, so we went to a 10.2% decline in year-over-year sub- issuers and processors to provide mer- speak to them, and now we’re getting scriber count in 2015, the year the EMV chants with details about counterfeit directly involved with the PCI Council,” liability shift took effect in the U.S. card transactions, because of the time Buhr said. Gift card sellers also suffered, since involved in reporting and verifying Payment c ard i nterchange a lso many gift card issuers saw little point ware,” Buhr said. “But because of all the each case. casts a g rowing shadow over Bashas’ in adding EMV security. industry slowdowns, software vendors Ultimately, the experience has not card-acceptance program, Buhr added. This made gift cards a target of fraud; and payments gateway providers weren’t deterred Bashas’ from encouraging the “Rewards credit cards cost us a lot of scammers would use stolen magstripe ready when the liability shift went into use of payment cards. The company money, and now we’re seeing a whole credit cards to buy gift cards at non- effect. We spent millions on terminals attributes 70% of its transactions at its new wave of expenses from the new EMV merchants. A fterwards, they that sat on a shelf for two years and we Bashas’, AJ’s Fine Foods and Food City Costco Visa card, which has a very big would use the gift cards anywhere, got penalized by absorbing the charge- stores to credit, debit and EBT cards. rewards program,” Buhr said. since even at EMV-compliant stores backs on counterfeit card fraud in the The tough lessons Bashas’ has And with the EMV shift behind it, it was expected that gift cards would following months.” learned over the last few years have Bashas’ can focus its attention on the remain magstripe-only.

16 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 17

017_ISO111216 17 11/7/2016 4:32:57 PM EMV AT THE PUMP

Gas Stations Face EMV Pressure Gas stations are getting closer to their own EMV liability shift at the pump, but they are still lagging. Vendors are stepping up to make the transition easier. BY DAVID HEUN

eplacing gas pump hardware is a big, disruptive move for any fuel seller, but with the sector’s EMV liability shift only a year away, more Rcompanies are facing the inevitable. Gas stations were given a two-year extension on the October 2015 deadline that the rest of the U.S. had to meet for accepting EMV-chip payment cards, which improve security over older mag- stripe cards. But even that extra t ime hasn’t convinced many gas stations to begin the painful process of putting in new hardware. Gas stations have been able to con- vert standard point of sale terminals inside their stores, but even in this piecemeal approach they are lagging other industries. POS equipment at gas retailers, on average, is about 3.6 years old, a statistic providers have recognized this dilemma, Farms. Installing Optic means the sta- that is the highest among retailers in a essentially letting the station operators tion is simply adding a touchscreen to survey by Aite Group. determine what sort of rollout they want its pump, not breaking concrete and “It’s true that it may be easier than in place for their customers. completely building new pumps. first thought for stations to convert to NCR Corp. is making its pitch that At the same time, JPMorgan Chase EMV, but you have to think about how converting fuel pumps from magstripe has continued to sign stations onto its many pumps there are at each station,” card acceptance to chip cards doesn’t mobile platform for Chase Pay accep- said Thad Peterson, senior analyst with have to be a complex and lengthy pro- tance starting later this year or early Boston-based Aite Group. “It’s not like cess. next year. putting in three or four POS terminals The company signed Speedway gas Shell Oil and Phillips 66 have agreed at a retail operation. Even if you are not stations to a contract three months ago to offer Chase Pay as a mobile payment replacing an entire pump, is still new to deploy its NCR Optic platform for option for its customers. Both Chase technology with a lot of costs.” EMV acceptance, and did the same Pay and NCR’s Optic accept mobile Terminal hardware and software with a smaller petroleum firm, Rutter payments through bar code scanning.

18 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

018_ISO111216 18 11/7/2016 4:36:44 PM Are you in control? With TSYS®, you can be!

Our Independent Sales Program combines more options and industry- leading support to maximize your potential:

• Signing bonus of up to $3000 • Up to $500 per activation paid daily • Lifetime residuals • Same-day approval for qualified deals • State-of-the-art electronic boarding, tracking and training • Registered ISO programs available

Ready to rise above the competition and realize financial independence? Talk to a business representative today.

[email protected] www.TransFirstSales.com

All aspects of program subject to change or discontinuance without notice. Restrictions may apply. TSYS acquired TransFirst in April 2016. © 2016 Total System Services, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide. TSYS® is a federally registered service mark of Total System Services, Inc. TF6332B

019_ISO111216TF6332B_CS_ISO-Agent-Final.indd 19 1 11/8/201610/13/16 5:18:32 9:58 PMAM EMV AT THE PUMP

NCR’s Optic software ties in loyalty fective tool that has allowed some gas components, but operational, signage program capabilities and mobile wallet station operators to buy time for more and training to consider as well,” Nich- acceptance — a combination it hopes will cost studies and other preparations for ols added. convince more gas stations to choose converting to EMV. Because many gas stations have its product. Beyond the cost of ripping out and converted the terminals in their on-site “It [provides] the flexibility to address installing new terminals, gas stations convenience stores, they may find the the technology need for the liability shift, are also sensitive to the cost of handling advancement of the card brands’ Quick but [also] to add value-added services in individual transactions. Chip technology, a s oftware upgrade a way in which NCR has not been able If they can get a b etter deal at the to reduce EMV chip transaction times to previously,” said Jason Nichols, solu- same time as converting to EMV, they from about 10 seconds on average to tions manager for the Optic Program. are far more interested in the invest- two seconds, to be beneficial in a gas Pump manufacturers generally have ment. station setting, said Simon Hurry, a one-way communication channels for As such, the door has been opened senior director and EMV expert at Visa. station operators, offering content such for small banks and credit unions to find “It will only take weeks, not months, as advertising or video showing news partners to set up mobile payment op- for merchants that are going directly to or weather included. tions at the pump at less cost to retailers Quick Chip to get EMV-enabled,” Hurry Optic provides a high-definition through a financial institution mobile said at the Western States Acquirers touch screen that retailers may use banking app. Association conference this month. to control the customer experience at In a 2016 survey of merchants deploy- Visa’s Quick Chip (and the equiva- the pump and from within the on-site ing mobile technology, Aite Group found lent solutions that other card networks convenience store. that 29% of gas retailers currently accept offer under their own branding) also Despite technology advancements mobile payments, with 19% saying they streamlines the checkout process, which and the looming October 2017 liability don’t offer it now, but plan to support it should come in especially handy for shift, the conversion of U.S. gas sta- in the future. card customers pumping gasoline, tions to EMV will likely remain a slow But 45% said they had no plans to Hurry said. and challenging process, said Aite’s add mobile acceptance. In addition, the move to Quick Chip Peterson. Various other partnerships and alli- reduces the development and testing Fuel retailers not accepting chip- ances have been forming to offer mobile time for EMV implementation by up card transactions at the pump after the payments at the pump, including Mas- to 85%, he added. liability shift are responsible for any tercard and platform Specifically, Quick Chip saves time chargebacks on fraudulent transactions. provider P97 a year ago. by eliminating issuer scripting, response “I am seeing technologies to offset “We have the flexibility to address and card-initiated rever- or bridge EMV adoption, such as Visa any rollout plan the retailer needs,” sals that were built into the original coming up with a software platform that NCR’s Nichols said. “We understand EMV authorization process. catches more fraud at the pump than tra- what is required to introduce new solu- Because the majority of U.S. credit ditional methodologies,” Peterson said. tions in this industry.” and debit transactions are handled “There will also be new anti-skimming Some station operators may base tim- online, rather than offline, the card net- technologies in the marketplace, so this ing of an EMV rollout on the marketplace works later determined there’s no need is a t ransitionary period because it is and amount of fraud occurring, while for those steps, which were designed such a c omplex and costly migration some have to consider the weather as for other markets. for fuel operators.” part of planning to avoid terminal work “What’s been slowing down EMV Visa provides the Visa Transaction during the winter, Nichols said. is the fact that it can take 30 seconds Advisor system for fraud screening at “There is no magic formula for this or more for scripting as a s eries of the pump, and describes it as an ef- because not only are there technology systems query one another and resend queries, but Quick Chip bypasses all “I am seeing technologies to offset or bridge EMV that,” Hurry said. adoption.” “For merchants like petroleum re- tailers that haven’t even begun their ‑Thad Peterson, senior analyst, Aite Group EMV rollouts, Quick Chip is especially promising.”

20 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

020_ISO111216 20 11/7/2016 4:36:45 PM The Grass Is Greener On Our Side

As a Sterling partner, you’ll experience the personal attention usually found in smaller businesses – while having to technology typically found in larger companies.

Some of the benefi ts you’ll receive as a Sterling partner: • EMV solutions for every merchant type • Secure, reliable payment integrations • Responsive and personalized customer support • Financing programs that help you sell more POS • Honesty and transparency in pricing and residuals

DISCOVER WHY A GROWING NUMBER OF POS RESELLERS AND DEVELOPERS ARE PARTNERING WITH STERLING. Visit sterling.cc/green

021_ISO111216 21 11/8/2016 5:18:35 PM TECHNOLOGY FASTER PAYMENTS

ACH Fights for Its Future As more companies develop faster payment networks for the U.S., will the Automated Clear- ing House still have a role in moving funds? BY DAVID HEUN AND DANIEL WOLFE

t the start of its fourth decade, the Automated Clearing House — a pay- ment method most com- monly known for facilitat- ingA payroll direct deposits — has found itself firmly in the crosshairs of the card networks and alternative payment providers. ACH, built as a way to convert paper checks into electronic payments when making its debut in 1974, has become the standard for payroll deposits because it is a lower-cost alternative to traditional payment methods. But the tradeoff has always been its speed; it can take several days to clear and settle an ACH payment, making it a clunky and aggravating option for some businesses and consumers — and a non-starter for retailers. And since ACH typically relies on both the sender and the recipient having a bank account, it is rarely an option for the unbanked. Two forces threaten to change this longstanding status quo. The first is same-day ACH, part of an overall industry push for faster pay- ments. It will initially benefit business- The prepaid card sector has gained The Loyalty Factor to-business payments and eventually significant ground in handling payroll, Mastercard’s pending acquisition of trickle to the retail side when ACH and Visa and Mastercard are succeed- the U.K.’s is one of the ways debit is added. ing in giving their brands preference ACH is expected to reach new audiences. These changes started to take effect over ACH as a funding method in the The goal of this acquisition is, in Sept. 23. PayPal ecosystem. part, to allow ACH payments to benefit The other force is the exploding But there are ways to push back from many of the same advancements popularity of alternative payment op- — hard — a t the forces threatening that have helped credit and debit cards tions for ACH in its dominant areas. traditional ACH. flourish, said Michael Miebach, Mas-

22 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

022_ISO111216 22 11/7/2016 4:31:59 PM 023_ISO111216 23 11/8/2016 5:18:51 PM TECHNOLOGY FASTER PAYMENTS

tercard’s chief product officer. However, he expressed confidence never went beyond the testing phase “The convergence of cards and ACH that the U.S. will get to the same point and was shelved in late June. rails, many years out, is something that as the U.K., in part due to VocaLink’s It is currently unclear whether ACH- is absolutely in the cards,” Miebach said. existing contract with The Clearing based mobile wallets would become a “If you take our existing services that House, one of the parties developing a more favorable option if same-day speed we have today in Mastercard. … a nd fast ACH system. became a factor. you assume for a second that loyalty Even under same-day rules, ACH matters to a c onsumer regardless of The Importance of Speed will not be able to compete against the the underlying type of payment, you Mastercard — and the many other real-time validation and memo post- can make an ACH payment an even parties interested in fortifying the busi- ing of the card networks, said Richard more valuable payment by combining ness case for ACH — is hinging its am- Crone, chief executive of San Carlos, it with a loyalty feature.” bitions on the promise of a faster ACH Calif.-based payments consulting firm Particularly in the U.K., ideas like system. But how big is the demand for Crone Consulting LLC. these are sparking interest, he said. this system in the U.S.? Receiving depository financial insti- However, there are some market dif- For their part, some merchants have tutions will hop on board with same- ferences to consider when exporting shown a desire to have more transactions day ACH right away because they are the concept to the U.S. move through ACH or a similar process required to handle the two clearing “In the U.K., fast ACH is already to avoid card network interchange fees. times, but it will take some time to established,” Miebach said. “Here in the The Merchant Customer Exchange determine how originators like billers, U.S. it’s a bit different because fast ACH mobile wallet venture was built in part payroll processors and retailers adapt doesn’t exist here yet, so you start off the on that premise, using ACH payments to it, Crone said. conversation at a very different level.” as the foundation, but their product “For same-day ACH to be competitive [with card options], it has to expand its points of acceptance and has to grow beyond billers to get to more retailers,” Crone said. Visa and Mastercard have an advan- tage in that it is not restricted to two clearing windows, Crone added. LIke any other advancing payments technology, ACH has to look for new customers in areas not yet developed, Crone said. “The breakout opportunity for ACH and faster payments in general is to adopt its infrastructure into a greenfield op- portunity,” he said. “Rather than chase the credit cards, take the infrastructure and adapt it to land-blocked accounts that aren’t available for these services, and you do that through mobile payments or mobile cardless cash.” For its part, Nacha — the organiza- tion that maintains the rules and trans- action types for ACH in the U.S. — has already established a mobile wallet team to study the potential for industry collaboration, including participation by the card networks, for the potential use cases of same-day ACH.

24 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

024_ISO111216 24 11/7/2016 4:32:01 PM 025_ISO111216 25 11/8/2016 5:18:54 PM TECHNOLOGY FASTER PAYMENTS

And card networks will absolutely Ultimately, transaction speed was of financial institution and network have to respond to this push from rival a key factor for both companies and products already in place. ACH providers, said Nancy Atkinson, “a great way to collaborate with each But this new rail will operate only wholesale banking expert and senior other,” Frew said. for push payments or a request to push analyst with Aite Group. Venmo, PayPal’s person-to-person a payment. It will not have a debit, or “I believe same-day ACH puts more payment option, is a fast payment meth- pull payment, option like ACH. Out of pressure on the card networks, even od, but it “takes days through ACH, not the gate, it will concentrate on bill pay- with the networks’ movement towards minutes,” Frew added. ments, payroll, insurance claims and same-day capabilities,” Atkinson added. The main benefit beyond customer business-to-business needs. With both ACH and card transac- choice that Visa wanted to secure in The Clearing House is hoping to tions, the funds are recognized in the the PayPal deal was increasing volume launch its real-time payments option receiver’s bank account, but the posting for issuing customers while improving during the first quarter of 2017, in col- of the payment to the payer’s account the overall card experience, Frew said. laboration with VocaLink and FIS. by the receiver may be delayed to the “Consumers want to use cards to see “This will be a brand new channel, next day, Atkinson said. “For years, con- their money more clearly and send a new rail that is not ACH, but avail- sumer payments have been supported money.” able to all,” said Amy Smith, head of by 24/7 customer service at banks, but payments association for The Clearing business payments have not.” Slow and Steady Won't Win House. “It is one of the proposals that New Challengers ACH’s fate in the U.S. is linked to the Federal Reserve is looking at [for While Mastercard aims to align itself the many faster-payments initiatives faster payments].” with ACH through its VocaLink deal, currently in play. The Clearing House, which will de- Visa is marketing its competing Visa The Federal Reserve is coordinating liver payments in less than nine seconds Direct platform to the same audience. this effort, but it is not in the business of on the new rail, has a goal of making The platform was developed for the picking winners and losers. Thus, even it available to, and connect with, every U.S. in collaboration with the bank-run though several pro-ACH companies financial institution in the U.S. Early Warning venture’s clearXchange are working with the Fed, their future “This is not a closed-loop project that network, also known as Zelle. is not guaranteed. will only benefit a few,” Smith said at a Visa Direct’s technology enabled the Payments technology provider Dwol- recent acquirers conference. card brand to make peace with longtime la, for example, has been working on The rail will initially have a $25,000 “frenemy” PayPal, according to Cecilia a faster payments rail for the past two limit, but that will likely elevate as the Frew, senior vice president and head years as well with its FiSync protocol industry gets more experience in real- of U.S. push payments, operating Visa and white-label A PI as an alternative time transactions, Smith said. Direct in the U.S. to ACH. It will target all push payments finan- Visa and PayPal announced a deal Early Warning and clearXchange/ cial institutions have in place such as in July in which PayPal would openly Zelle have been pushing the concept business-to-person, person-to-person, market Visa as an alternative to ACH that their P2P payments network can be person-to-business and business-to for funding PayPal accounts. expanded into a real-time environment. -business. “Before the agreement, a PayPal user If ACH doesn’t deliver on the type If The Clearing House option were to had only one way to get money out of a of payment speed that would benefit eventually expand to pull payments, or PayPal wallet or a Venmo wallet, and retailers and consumers beyond what it those from a checking or debit account, that was ACH that would take a day or currently offers, The Clearing House, an it could ultimately represent another two,” Frew said.”Now, they can use this ACH operator, says the next best thing option for merchants. new option [Visa Direct] and it is all is developing a new rail for real-time Until then, same-day ACH may yet about offering choice to the customer.” payments to operate under the hood rise to the forefront as an element in mer- chants’ ongoing war with card networks “This will be a brand new channel, a new rail that over transaction interchange rates. “If markets demand changes, I expect is not ACH but available to all.” the card networks will eventually modify ‑Amy Smith, head of payments association, The Clearing House at least some of their pricing models,” Aite’s Atkinson said.

26 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

026_ISO111216 26 11/7/2016 4:32:01 PM ISO Agent - 8.25x11_Layout 1 8/19/2016 12:05 PM Page 1

M Splash gives your users an edge and your platform a win!

Whether you’re building a service or fundraising platform, Splash gives you maximum value!

 Seamless Onboarding  Multi Language API

 Personalized Support  Integrated Web Services

Give your merchants a seamless payment platform!

good for sellers great for business heart healthy With instant seamless As ultimate decision- As your dedicated onboarding, your maker, you set the partner, we will work to merchants swoosh right transaction experience for make every interaction a through the compliance your platform, with easy pure pleasure so process instead of integrations and custom payments can truly be the jumping through hoops. fee schedules. power of your platform.

775.2748 SplashPay.com 1.844.SPLASH.U

027_ISO111216 27 11/8/2016 5:18:57 PM SECURITY E˜COMMERCE

Merchants Aren’t Matching Shopper Security Zeal BY DAVID HEUN reported experiencing fraudulent on- whether it be online or mobile,” said line sales and nearly half of consumers Mike Matan, vice president of industry f online merchants can keep their who shopped online in the past year engagement, product and marketing sites secure, they stand to make report experiencing payment fraud, for ’ Global Network big gains from a consumer base representing nearly 80 million people, Business. that is overwhelmingly willing to the report said. Consumers are willing to take extra play its part in protecting payment Incidents of fraud have reached a steps for better security, with between Icredentials. point where most consumers are willing 60% and 80% saying they would welcome However, while nearly 80% of con- to take extra measures to strengthen CVV code requests, billing address sumers indicate a willingness to enter their online security, creating an oppor- verification, security questions, one- a security code for their credit card tunity for merchants to increase sales time passwords or building a profile. online, only 57% of merchants require and build customer trust, Amex says. “Taking these steps may enable it for e-commerce transactions, the “Merchants can take steps to ensure merchants to build trust with their American Express Digital Payments they not only are providing a s mooth customers and ultimately convert more Security Survey reported. commerce experience for their cus- people who visit their sites into purchas- Sixty percent of merchants have tomers but also a s ecure experience, ers,” Matan said.

FROM POSSIBILITY TO PERFECTION Make business bloom with cross-border eCommerce payments that are simple, global and secure.

Deliver the ultimate in simplicity, global connectivity and security to merchants with ACI’s white label UP eCommerce Payments solution. With a single integration, you’ll enable connectivity to more than 350 market-relevant alternative payment methods and card acquirers, while ensuring PCI compliance.

LEARN MORE at aciworldwide.com/ecommerce

28 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

028_ISO111216 28 11/7/2016 4:32:04 PM Your payment partner of choice

• PAX is the PCI, EMV and NFC Experts • LOCK TERMINALS and future earnings • Manage your TERMINAL NETWORK with ease • Reliable, feature-rich, COST EFFECTIVE solutions • THIRD LARGEST POS terminal provider in the world • INTEGRATED TERMINALS to take POS/ECR systems out of EMV and PCI Scope • Fullybehindourproductsofferinga2-YEAR WARRANTY • SIZE, STABILITY and TRUST, PAX Delivers!

US HEADQUARTERS: REGIONAL OFFICE: 4901 Belfort Road, Suite 130 40 West Baseline Road, Suite 210 Jacksonville, FL 32256 Tempe, AZ 85283 +1-877-859-0099 | [email protected] +1-877-859-0099 | [email protected]

© 2016 PAX Technology Limited. All Rights Reserved. PAX’s name and PAX’s logo are registered trademarks of PAX Technology Limited. All other products or services mentioned in this advertisement are trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks or registered service marks of their respective owners.

PAX-2016Ad-ISO&Agent.indd029_ISO111216 29 1 11/8/20161/5/16 5:18:59 8:42 AMPM IF EMV ISN’T SELLING, WHAT IS

Sales of EMV hardware are dropping off, but merchants still have an appetite for new technology.? What can ISOs do to keep their sales strong?

BY CHERYL WINOKUR MUNK

30 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 31

ISO111216_EMVCOVER.indd 30 11/9/16 2:06 PM 30 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 31

ISO111216_EMVCOVER.indd 31 11/9/16 2:06 PM TECHNOLOGY AFTER EMV

After a year of pushing EMV full- equipment and then it just died off at Sadovskiy says his agents have seen throttle, many ISOs are shifting gears the beginning of the year,” he says. demand for tablet-based solutions that to focus on other products and services. are somewhere in between traditional They’re now seeing chip card-related ISOs changing their approach terminals and a full-fledged POS system, revenue take a backseat, as sales associ- As the need to supply merchants with which are bigger and costlier than a ated to point of sale systems, consumer EMV hardware has waned, DePuydt terminal and offers functionality that financing, business advice and mobile says Apogee Payments has seen more smaller merchants don’t always need. payment acceptance gain traction with small and midsize merchants express- “To some merchants, a POS system merchants. ing an interest in switching from basic is a waste of money,” he says. “We would rather talk about some- terminals to POS systems. Not all of thing that is going to help their business these systems are even EMV-compliant, Demand rises for finance, mobile than putting the fear into customers he notes. While POS systems are becoming about EMV,” says Derek DePuydt, “It’s not that merchants don’t want more popular, they aren’t they only president and chief executive of Apo- chip compliance. They do. It’s just that focus for ISOs looking to boost revenue gee Payment Systems LLC, an ISO in they want other things more,” he says. beyond EMV. Some ISOs, for instance, Mukwonago, Wisconsin. “EMV isn’t Nick Bencivenga, chief operating are branching out into other areas like part of the main discussion anymore officer of Dharma Merchant Services, consulting, consumer finance and mo- like it was a year ago.” an ISO in San Francisco, predicts that bile payments. Apogee is one of a number of ISOs EMV will rear its head again in the Dharma, for example, is on the cusp across the country changing course form of chip and PIN upgrades in the of offering merchants tax and business after spending the latter part of 2015 next few years. But for now, his ISO advice on demand. and early 2016 heavily pushing EMV is also more heavily focused on meet- The ISO has recognized that many to merchants. ing growing demand from small and small businesses have an increasing Apogee still supplies an EMV solution midsize businesses for POS systems need for easy-to-use business services for new customers that aren’t already that are searching for ways to run their and professional advice. Accordingly, accepting payment cards, but DePuydt operations more effectively. “There’s a the ISO has partnered with a third party finds that most merchants it seeks to lot of value in finding a product that’s to provide real-time advice on its web- poach from other ISOs are already on going to meet [a merchant’s] needs for site for existing or prospective clients. board with EMV, so it’s not the sales the next 10 years,” he says. Merchants would receive an hour’s draw it once was. For some merchants, a full-fledged worth of services for free by visiting Instead, Apogee is spending its time POS system is too expensive, so ISOs Dharma’s website and requesting to talking to businesses about switching are touting less expensive options that initiate a real-time chat session with a to a p oint of sale system that can do offer more bells and whistles than a licensed CPA. The service is expected to more than just credit card processing. traditional terminal. To meet this need, launch in the fourth quarter, according To be sure, EMV terminal sales some agents have begun offering tablet- to Bencivenga, adding that details of the haven’t completely ground to a h alt based solutions like Clover Mini for arrangement are still being ironed out. industrywide. Nonetheless, earnings under $400, giving merchants the ability PayProTec, an ISO in Warsaw, Indi- reports from terminal manufacturers to accept multiple types of credit and ana, has a relationship with Loanhero. as well as anecdotal data from ISOs in- debit payments and manage tips and com where it can offer lending to mer- dicate that the pace of sales has slowed pre-authorized tabs and cards. Clover chant customers in all 50 states. Agents significantly from its peak. Mini also has a built-in printer, offers earn a residual on every loan they bring Indeed, Paul Ganci, a payments in- on-screen signature capture and has in that’s funded, and the availability of dustry veteran, says he doubts terminal bar code and QR code reading ability. this service has helped PayProTec sign sales will ever be as hot as they were It’s a c ost-effective solution if you up a lot of independent agents, says back in October 2015 when the credit want more soup and nuts than a t ra- Marc Beauchamp, the ISO’s president. card networks’ EMV liability shift took ditional terminal for only a little more “Finance is becoming a key compo- effect and his phone was ringing off money, says Vlad Sadovskiy, president nent for business owners, especially the hook. of Merchant Services at TOT Payments, in the medical space, as well as home “From October to December 2015 subsidiary of TOT Group in North Miami improvement and auto repair,” Beau- it was a mad rush for people to get Beach, Florida. champ says.

32 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

ISO111216_EMVCOVER.indd 32 11/9/16 2:06 PM Shouldn’t Simplicity and Seamless Integration Go Hand in Hand? Now They Do. G3: ONE CERTIFICATION. MULTIPLE POSSIBILITIES. Introducing ExaDigm’s new G3 line of semi-integrated solutions. G3 terminals work with your existing POS system, offering you a cost-effective way to implement EMV. Their innovative and fully-supported electronic payment and wireless communication solutions deliver quick and secure POS payment processing. Our launch process enjoys trouble-free remote confi guration and keeps you out of PCI scope, making it easier for your business to reach higher levels of profi tability and growth.

Seamless Integration: Built to work with your POS solution, creating Payment Solutions state-of-the-art integration and connectivity able to adapt to future needs Secure Transactions: We have the highest level of security for payment processing Cellular Wireless Solutions E-Signature Option: Minimize fraud risk and cut down on paper using the environmentally-friendly e-signature Professional Services Contactless: Offers customers the option for fast, easy, and secure transactions

One Provider. Many Solutions. All the Support.

To learn more, please contact 949.486.0320 or [email protected]. exadigm.com

033_ISO111216 33 11/8/2016 5:19:01 PM TECHNOLOGY AFTER EMV

Drew Freeman, president of Free- are now doing more business in multiple sides, it can be a hard sell to convince man Consulting, a payments consulting currencies and are looking for applicable merchants to accept B-to-B payments firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also solutions from ISOs. via credit card. knows of a number of ISOs trying to One feature within the Pivotal Pay- First off, checks are seen as an easy help merchants drive mobile sales. ments platform that has been popular and time-tested form of payment. Sec- There’s not a single solution, but ISOs over the last few years is multi-currency ondly, transactions via ACH, another are starting to focus more attention on pricing, which has been a selling point popular form of payment, are signifi- mobile technology. for e-commence merchants that sell cantly less expensive than sales pro- “The future of all commerce is mobile across the world, according to Frank cessed with commercial cards. “That’s so ISOs should be aware of the different LoSchiavo, senior vice-president of certainly one of the challenges that solutions that are in the marketplace. sales and marketing at the ISO based B-to-B ISOs come across,” says Frank They should be able to provide solutions in Plano, Texas. Pivotal’s merchants Martien, a partner with First Annapolis to merchant portfolios and be ready can sell their products and services in Consulting. to embrace third-party applications,” over 60 foreign currencies and receive Some ISOs are also having luck he says. payments directly in U.S. dollars. signing merchants up to use products John Mayleben, senior vice president Some ISOs are also trying to help that can make the customer experience of technology and product development retailers fight the battle against card- safer, such as point-to-point encryption at the Michigan Retailers Association, not-present fraud as they shift more technology. an ISO in Lansing Michigan, says he business online. Within the past year, iStream Finan- has seen some traction in the contact- ISOs that deal with online merchants cial Services Inc., a payments solution less payments space. All the merchants should be looking at this as an opportu- provider in Brookfield, Wisconsin, has that upgraded to EMV through his ISO nity, given that card-not-present fraud been actively marketing point-to-point have the potential to accept contactless is going up, according to Freeman, the encryption technology, primarily to its payments. Interest in this feature var- industry consultant. It’s a relatively customers in the health care space. ies by the type of business a merchant new and fresh opportunity for ISOs to With point-to-point encryption tech- operates and the demographics of its help merchants mitigate online fraud. nology, credit card data is encrypted customers, Mayleben notes. Bigger ISOs can establish third-party after it is swiped or keyed in by an For instance, he works with mer- relationships to offer tokenization, en- employee. chants around Ann Arbor, near the cryption, and authentication services This means that unencrypted data University of Michigan. Because of the to merchants, while smaller ISOs will never resides on the merchant’s net- large number of college kids in the area, be more reliant on their processors to work, says Katie Robinson, director of merchants that serve this market have offer these services. “ISOs need to be payment services at iStream. to support mobile payments because it’s educated on what solutions are available what the younger generation expects. and how they can get those solutions to EMV still drives revenue for ISOs “A certain number of consumers will the merchants,” Freeman says. Of course, even as many ISOs are still purchase from you initially, but Beyond e-commerce, ISOs have an branching out beyond EMV, some con- they might choose to go somewhere opportunity to help merchants accept tinue to heavily pursue opportunities else [where contactless technology is business payments via credit as opposed in this area and expect it to remain offered]. The premise that consumers to paper checks. “When merchants are a large part of their revenue for the are going to shop with you, no matter dealing in paper processes, it costs them foreseeable future. what, is not the best business model to more than they realize. Time is money. “Nine-nine percent of my day is operate under. As a merchant you have The faster they can get paid the better,” talking to people about EMV,” says to be accommodating to the consumers Freeman says. David Leppek, president of Transaction and how they want to pay,” he says. At present, checks represent about Services, a full-service ISO in Omaha, half of B-to-B payments to merchants, Nebraska. E-commerce tech gets popular whereas commercial cards represent He says merchants are still calling With the rise of e-commerce, ISOs less than 10 percent, according to data him to upgrade their systems, especially have also been offering more products from First Annapolis Consulting in An- those who delayed implementation and that help customers transact in an online napolis, Maryland. changed their minds after getting hit world. For example, many merchants While paper checks have their down- with significant chargebacks.

34 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

ISO111216_EMVCOVER.indd 34 11/9/16 2:06 PM 035_ISO111216 35 11/8/2016 5:19:04 PM MERCHANTS SWIPE FEES

Merchants Warm to Surcharging Does the old stigma about charging for card use still apply? Some merchants are wondering if times have finally changed. AUTUMN CAFIERO GIUSTI

or years, merchants have merchants inquiring about how they can And just in the past year, more mer- had the freedom to charge go about imposing these fees, a process chants seem to be bringing up the topic their customers a premium otherwise known as surcharging. with their business advisers. for paying with a credit card. Merchants in most states have been The increased interest is noticeable to Yet the practice has never allowed to surcharge since 2013 as a payments attorney Stephen Aschettino Freally caught on. result of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit of the firm Foley & Lardner LLP, which That could be changing, as reports settlement, in which Visa and Master- counsels many of corporate America’s from payments attorneys and other card agreed to lift surcharging restric- major companies. industry players suggest an uptick in tions on credit cards but not debit cards. Several of the merchants Aschettino

36 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

036_ISO111216 36 11/7/2016 4:44:07 PM 037_ISO111216 37 11/8/2016 5:19:06 PM encounters are business-to-business people asking about it,” she says. “An ISO might say, ‘Let me show Mastercard changed their rules to allow suppliers, and some midsize manufactur- As managing partner of Processing you how to process your credit cards surcharging on the condition that mer- ers claim that they could save as much Solutions Inc., a r egistered ISO and for 0%,’” he says. chants follow certain stipulations, such as half a m illion dollars a year if they merchant services provider, Derrick Although surcharging has been as posting signage to inform customers could pass on their transaction costs Hess works with agents from around permitted since 2013, it appears that about the added fees. to customers. the country and has been fielding a many merchants are just now becoming The settlement left it up to each state “In general, merchants have become lot of questions from merchants about more aware of their options. to determine the legality of surcharging. more sensitized to the transaction cost whether they can surcharge and at “It can take years for court decisions After the settlement, 10 states passed of using credit cards,” he says. what rate. and class-action settlements to permeate legislation banning surcharges: Cali- Alison Burns, president and CEO “Absolutely they can,” Hess says. through the media and eventually gain fornia, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, of merchant brokerage firm Precision “The question is are your customers the attention of corporate executives,” Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New Payments Systems, estimates that the going to accept that, or are they going Aschettino says. York, Oklahoma and Texas. surcharging inquiries she gets from to find another company that doesn’t Company controllers a nd other Some recent developments are fur- merchants are up 50% to 60% just in the surcharge, especially when it’s a higher money managers are looking at the ther complicating the issue. In June, past eight or nine months. ticket?” line item for credit card processing fees a federal appeals court overturned Most of the requests come to her Hess has encountered other ISOs and giving it more scrutiny than they the 2012 settlement, claiming that the from merchants with lower on-average that use surcharging programs as a did in the past. lawyers in the suit represented retailers transactions. door opener to get more clients to do Merchants know they can lower with competing interests. “I definitely notice a bigger influx of business with them. their costs by switching processors, Despite the reversal, the rules al- negotiating better fees or exploring lowing surcharging remain in place, some of the alternative payment systems but their long-term fate is uncertain. on the market. “Because the settlement was thrown But the low-hanging fruit, Aschettino out, are Visa and Mastercard going PROCESSING says, is to impose surcharges and leave to go i n and change the rules back?” everything else alone. Targan asks. YEARS That scenario could be a lot less likely Fee issue ongoing in court because of yet another twist: The U.S. Payments attorney Holli Targan at- Supreme Court agreed in September to INTRODUCES tributes the rise in surcharging inquiries take up the surcharging issue. to the confusion surrounding that area The court will hear an appeal filed of the law. by a group of merchants in New York She says more ISOs and fintech com- that pursued legal action to strike down panies are seeking counsel on the state the state’s surcharging ban. of the law and how they can formulate The group filed lawsuits claiming Premier their merchants’ programs to comply that the surcharge prohibition violates with the applicable law. their Constitutional right to freedom “It’s taken a little while to percolate of speech. and to come into processors’ and mer- The merchants, who include CVS chants’ consciousness. But now that it Health Corp. and Safeway Inc., claim is, they’re trying to figure out how to the surcharging ban prohibits them • Our Secure EMV and MSR Bluetooth use it,” says Targan, who belongs to the from characterizing their pricing in a firm Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer & Weiss PC. truthful way because the law prohibits • Supports iOS and Android Surcharging has been a contentious them from adding a surcharge – which issue for the past decade, starting with they have to disclose to customers – eProcessingNetwork a class-action lawsuit that merchants but allows them to give discounts to .com 800-296-4810 filed in 2005 against Visa, Mastercard customers who agree to pay for their and several financial institutions over purchases with cash. alleged antitrust violations. “It’s so rare that the Supreme Court

eCommerce Bill Pay QuickBooks Texting Level 3 CDM Inventory As part of a multibillion-dollar settle- takes up a c ase that it’s really quite ment to that lawsuit in 2012, Visa and remarkable,” Targan says.

38 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 39

038_ISO111216 38 11/7/2016 4:44:09 PM “An ISO might say, ‘Let me show Mastercard changed their rules to allow you how to process your credit cards surcharging on the condition that mer- for 0%,’” he says. chants follow certain stipulations, such Although surcharging has been as posting signage to inform customers permitted since 2013, it appears that about the added fees. many merchants are just now becoming The settlement left it up to each state more aware of their options. to determine the legality of surcharging. “It can take years for court decisions After the settlement, 10 states passed and class-action settlements to permeate legislation banning surcharges: Cali- through the media and eventually gain fornia, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, the attention of corporate executives,” Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New Aschettino says. York, Oklahoma and Texas. Company controllers a nd other Some recent developments are fur- money managers are looking at the ther complicating the issue. In June, line item for credit card processing fees a federal appeals court overturned and giving it more scrutiny than they the 2012 settlement, claiming that the did in the past. lawyers in the suit represented retailers Merchants know they can lower with competing interests. their costs by switching processors, Despite the reversal, the rules al- negotiating better fees or exploring lowing surcharging remain in place, some of the alternative payment systems but their long-term fate is uncertain. An alternative to surcharging with credit cards, which would drive on the market. “Because the settlement was thrown Despite anecdotal reports from at- down sales for retailers. But the low-hanging fruit, Aschettino out, are Visa and Mastercard going torneys and ISOs, one major retail group “We don’t want them discouraging says, is to impose surcharges and leave to go i n and change the rules back?” contends that merchants are much more customers,” Burns says. “We want them everything else alone. Targan asks. concerned about lowering their swipe to understand how much more people That scenario could be a lot less likely fees than they are about surcharging. are spending if they are using a c ard Fee issue ongoing in court because of yet another twist: The U.S. “Surcharging was brought up by the and how it’s boosting revenues.” Payments attorney Holli Targan at- Supreme Court agreed in September to banking industry as an alternative to While it remains to be seen whether tributes the rise in surcharging inquiries take up the surcharging issue. reducing fees, and surcharging is the more merchants introduce surcharg- to the confusion surrounding that area The court will hear an appeal filed exact opposite of what most retailers ing fees, Targan advises that industry of the law. by a group of merchants in New York want,” says J. Craig Shearman, vice participants keep an eye out on develop- She says more ISOs and fintech com- that pursued legal action to strike down president of government affairs and ments in this area. panies are seeking counsel on the state the state’s surcharging ban. public relations for the National Retail “It’s quite an expenditure of time and of the law and how they can formulate The group filed lawsuits claiming Federation. money to put a surcharge plan in place, their merchants’ programs to comply that the surcharge prohibition violates Shearman said it’s possible that some so they would be well advised to make with the applicable law. their Constitutional right to freedom retailers might at least want the right to sure they’re doing it in compliance with “It’s taken a little while to percolate of speech. surcharge as a negotiation tool that they the law before rolling it out,” she says. and to come into processors’ and mer- The merchants, who include CVS can use to convince the card brands to Another option is to address swipe chants’ consciousness. But now that it Health Corp. and Safeway Inc., claim lower swipe fees, although that would fees within the design of a retailer- is, they’re trying to figure out how to the surcharging ban prohibits them be an exception and not the rule. branded mobile wallet. use it,” says Targan, who belongs to the from characterizing their pricing in a “Merchants are not interested in This was part of the original goal of firm Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer & Weiss PC. truthful way because the law prohibits surcharging, and have never been,” the Merchant Customer Exchange, a Surcharging has been a contentious them from adding a surcharge – which he says. multi-retailer venture that wanted to issue for the past decade, starting with they have to disclose to customers – Shearman says most merchants build a mobile wallet that could lower a class-action lawsuit that merchants but allows them to give discounts to don’t need surcharging because they merchant costs and keep control of filed in 2005 against Visa, Mastercard customers who agree to pay for their already accept swipe fees as a cost of customer data. and several financial institutions over purchases with cash. doing business, like their light bills This concept lives on somewhat in alleged antitrust violations. “It’s so rare that the Supreme Court and electricity. Chase Pay, which lowers merchant fees As part of a multibillion-dollar settle- takes up a c ase that it’s really quite He also contends that surcharging by handling Chase card payments on a ment to that lawsuit in 2012, Visa and remarkable,” Targan says. would only deter customers from paying closed-loop platform.

38 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 39

039_ISO111216 39 11/7/2016 4:44:10 PM TIME IS MONEY BUIBUILLTT FFOROR Immediate Payouts. Bigger Commissions. SUSUCCECCESSSS

Capital Stack answers the needs of strong SMBs 1Workforce is a cloud-based web platform that provides ISOs, merchants and funders with the terms and lower rat es. only solution they need to un derwrite, syndicate, fund and process pa yments.

Your Merchants ISOs & Agents

5 minute funding decision We pay the highest rates in the industry ACH Capital provides the alt ernative industry ACH Banking provides organizations with ACH Receive up to $500k same day Immediate payouts - Same day with a multitude of services designed to assist and eCheck related products and services to No minimum credit score required Collect recurring commissions our partners with t heir deals from concept make your processing profitable, simple Ocial Quickbooks App Real-time deal tracking to completion. and secure. Ocial Freshbooks App Dedicated sales support

ABOUT ePRODIGY A Trusting and Lasting Partnership

A FinTech holding company that has been serving the alt ernative finance industry We focus on funding deals so you can focus on what you do best - working with your clients. since 2010, eProdigy provides the products and services your compa ny needs We provide a unique service and can turn deals that would otherwise go through our cloud bas ed platforms and financial products. nowhere into cash for you and your merchants.

Find out more at e-prodigy.com/iso or call us at 866.903.7010 Find out more at e-prodigy.com/iso or call us at 866.903.7010

040_ISO111216 40 11/8/2016 5:19:37 PM TIME IS MONEY BUIBUILLTT FFOROR Immediate Payouts. Bigger Commissions. SUSUCCECCESSSS

Capital Stack answers the needs of strong SMBs 1Workforce is a cloud-based web platform that provides ISOs, merchants and funders with the terms and lower rat es. only solution they need to un derwrite, syndicate, fund and process pa yments.

Your Merchants ISOs & Agents

5 minute funding decision We pay the highest rates in the industry ACH Capital provides the alt ernative industry ACH Banking provides organizations with ACH Receive up to $500k same day Immediate payouts - Same day with a multitude of services designed to assist and eCheck related products and services to No minimum credit score required Collect recurring commissions our partners with t heir deals from concept make your processing profitable, simple Ocial Quickbooks App Real-time deal tracking to completion. and secure. Ocial Freshbooks App Dedicated sales support

ABOUT ePRODIGY A Trusting and Lasting Partnership

A FinTech holding company that has been serving the alt ernative finance industry We focus on funding deals so you can focus on what you do best - working with your clients. since 2010, eProdigy provides the products and services your compa ny needs We provide a unique service and can turn deals that would otherwise go through our cloud bas ed platforms and financial products. nowhere into cash for you and your merchants.

Find out more at e-prodigy.com/iso or call us at 866.903.7010 Find out more at e-prodigy.com/iso or call us at 866.903.7010

041_ISO111216 41 11/8/2016 5:19:42 PM 042_ISO111216 42 11/8/2016 6:25:04 PM EMV Visionaries and Q&A

ONE YEAR LATER: EMV ADOPTION FACES CRITICS Is EMV a disappointment-or does it just need time to fi nd its stride?

By Lisa Valentine ore than a year since the October 2015 EMV liability shift, M headlines about EMV adoption in the U.S. include words and phrases such as ‘disaster,’ ‘nightmare,’ and ‘the great EMV fake-out.’ But is EMV really a struggling initiative in the U.S. or are the critics simply too quick to declare the EMV rollout a failure?

After all, EMV (an acronym for Europe, MasterCard, and Visa) adoption throughout the rest of the world wasn’t instantaneous, with many countries taking fi ve years or more to signifi cantly wean themselves away from magstripe cards. (According to EMVCo, there are currently 4.8 billion EMV payment cards in global circulation.1)

CONTINUED ON PAGE A4

A SUPPLEMENT TO PRODUCED BY SOURCEMEDIA MARKETING SOLUTIONS GROUP

1https://www.emvco.com/media_center.aspx?id=48

d33134_EMV_ISO&AGENT_F.indd 1 11/7/16 5:36 PM EMV Visionaries and Q&A North American Bancard

The time is now to partner with North American Bancard and our family of brands. Our numerous products and services will allow you to profi t by selling traditional merchant accounts, tablet and mobile solutions, high-risk accounts, and even cash advances. The amount you make all depends on your motivation and drive. We are here to help your business thrive. Terri Harwood, Chief Operating O cer

What is EMV? since the false positive exposure can be high depends on the equipment they are processing EMV is technology that uses a small when using these tools alone. Merchants on and the merchant service provider they microprocessor “chip” embedded in a payment should instead consider strengthening the are partnered with. Merchants within certain card to provide an additional layer of security value of these tools by supporting additional industries have di erent needs and therefore a during transactions. The name EMV comes from technology to confi rm and mitigate di erent level of ease as far as getting up and the three companies that initially developed fraudulent activity. running for EMV acceptance – for instance not the technology: Europay, MasterCard, and Visa. many providers o er EMV-ready, pay-at-the- EMV cards are quickly becoming commonplace Why are EMV chip cards being promoted as a table solutions with Tip Adjust features so the because of the superior protection they o er payment standard in the US? restaurant industry has been slow to adopt to the consumer, the merchant, and the card EMV chip cards are being promoted as a the technology. issuers. With an EMV card, a cardholder will payment standard in the US because they have typically have to “dip” or insert their card into already demonstrated their e ectiveness in What was the actual mandate? the card reader device, as opposed to simply signifi cantly reducing fraud outside of the The mandate set by the major credit card swiping the card. US, particularly in Europe, which adopted the companies (Visa, MasterCard, American Express technology in the 1990s. and Discover) said that beginning in October of 2015, merchants would be required to utilize How will EMV change the payments industry Why did more US merchants move to the EMV-capable equipment or they would bear in aspects of payment security and the way EMV standard? the responsibility of chargebacks related to you pay at the Point-of-Sale? The increase in the number of merchants who counterfeit and fraudulent chargebacks. EMV technology makes it exceedingly di cult have embraced EMV technology is directly to conduct card-present fraud; the purpose related to the liability shift that took place What is the impact of an EMV transaction on behind the initiative is to minimize fraud losses in October of 2015 in regards to fi nancial a restaurant? associated with counterfeit cards. The only responsibility for fraud and counterfeit Given the restaurant industry’s need for a consumer-facing change is the dip vs. chargebacks. At that time, the liability for POS solution capable of performing EMV the swipe. card-present fraud losses shifted from issuing transactions that don’t result in awkward banks to merchants and acquirers (unless EMV- conversations with guests about tip amounts, How will EMV a ect e-commerce shopping certifi ed). and by extension, disputes when security? those guests see a di erent amount on As in-store gets harder, online gets easier … What makes EMV transactions secure? their statements than what they signed for, predictably, criminals are now more focused With EMV technology, the embedded chip restaurants were, at fi rst, slow to embrace on other less secure attack vectors, including on the card communicates with a specially EMV. That being said, our innovative Tip Adjust card-not-present transactions. For e-commerce equipped card reader to read encrypted feature allows customers to enter a tip amount merchants, it’s important to be aware of data that is generated by the chip. The data themselves during an EMV transaction so this and to implement countermeasures. As is unique for each transaction and cannot be we are seeing more and more restaurateurs fraudsters continue to get more sophisticated, used to forge subsequent card transactions. embrace the technology. the tools merchants have in place may no In contrast, magstripe-only cards that do not longer be advanced enough to protect them contain an EMV chip rely on the use of static Does my preferred equipment/POS have and their customers. Strategy is key and it’s data contained on the card’s magnetic stripe, EMV capability? imperative to take the extra measures to know data that can easily be stolen and duplicated. This, of course, depends on what equipment good customers and good customer behavior we are talking about. As it is now a year (beyond just AVS and CVV). It is recommended Which types of retail merchants are EMV- after the liability shift, there are numerous that merchants avoid the use of Address ready? options available covering all variety of Verifi cation and card validation values (security All retail merchants have the opportunity to solutions including standalone terminals, code) checks as their sole fraud detector be EMV-ready. Whether they are or not really semi-integrated solutions, and tablets, as well

A2 A3

d33134_EMV_ISO&AGENT_F.indd 2 11/7/16 5:35 PM EMV Visionaries and Q&A

as more advanced POS products. So long story else will. Our partners are doing very well Are there advantages to supporting Dual short, we can help – simply give us a call! taking advantage of our free placement Interface cards when I migrate my card solutions, cost-e ective purchase options, and program to EMV? How often should a merchant expect to see numerous semi-integrated POS solutions to The more acceptance methods merchants an EMV card? outfi t their existing and potential clients with can o er their customers, the better. While Most US banks started issuing EMV cards years the right tools to be successful, secure, EMV chip cards are gaining in acceptance in ago. As a result, merchants should expect and protected. the US, globally dual-interface EMV cards that to see a steady increase in the frequency also allow for contactless NFC payments (like with which they will need to perform EMV Interchange costs, are they staying Apple Pay and Samsung Pay) are gaining transactions in an e ort to protect themselves the same? in popularity. This is due to the increased from liability. So far we have not seen any increases or speed and convenience that NFC payments changes in costs for non-EMV processing o er merchants and consumers. Of course What are my merchants, and my potential related to interchange. However, if history tells merchants don’t need to accept Dual Interface merchants, hearing about EMV? Is it true? us anything, it’s that it’s certainly possible for cards to perform NFC transactions but as a Unlike historical payment industry items, increases to come and the best way to insulate business practice, convenience for customers EMV has been covered by mainstream media your clients from this is get them EMV-ready should always be a top priority. In any event, in great detail. So, generally speaking, most ASAP. Similar to chargeback exposure, a quick we expect the US to fully embrace Dual merchants will be aware of EMV and are upgrade now can save a ton of heartache and Interface cards in the future. looking for the right path to upgrade versus potential cost exposure down the road. hearing about the initiative for the fi rst time. How long will it take to issue EMV cards? U.S. fi nancial institutions want to support Can EMV prevent card data breaches? What are the costs associated with EMV? And EMV technology, but also have to consider While EMV cards provide enhanced security how do I pass them to the merchant? the additional cost of issuing new cards for when used at chip-enabled terminals (and When you look at it from an equipment all cardholders. Still, more and more chip may lower the risk of some types of fraud) they perspective, most of the cost is going to be cards are being introduced by U.S. fi nancial cannot prevent a data breach like the ones replacing a merchant’s existing equipment institutions each year. According to EMVCo we’ve seen recently at retailers like Target with an EMV-ready solution. Some merchants (which is owned by the major card brands) the and Best Buy. That being said, the good news will need an upgraded terminal, others may US fi nished 2015 with 394 million EMV cards is that EMV cards, if dipped into EMV-enabled need a more robust POS solution, likely with a on issue, compared to 101 million in 2014. machines instead of simply swiped, cannot be semi-integrated credit card terminal to accept According to a survey conducted by Creditcards. duplicated via a standard data breach. the EMV cards. Each merchant situation is com, as of April 2016 approximately 70% of US unique but depending on their needs, we may cardholders have already been issued an EMV place them with EMV-capable equipment at no Does EMV ensure PCI compliance? card. That being said, US EMV transaction rates additional cost, charge them to purchase new No, EMV is not connected to PCI compliance. in 2015 were just 1.98% compared to 97.3% in equipment, or in the case of a semi-integrated PCI deals with protecting cardholder data. parts of Europe, so there is still much work to EMV solution, the costs will vary based on Being EMV compliant does however help be done. how many stations and how advanced their protect the merchant from counterfeit card needs are. If you’re looking at “cost” from a fraud. Merchants should take every measure potential exposure standpoint, this is where available to protect themselves from credit things can get really expensive. Just a couple card fraud including encryption, tokenization, of chargebacks lost by the merchant for not and committing to being EMV compliant. When being EMV-capable can greatly outweigh the all of these measures are in place, their PCI small and inexpensive (in some cases free) Scope will be greatly reduced. conversion to an EMV-capable solution. What does it take to become EMV-ready? Will I need to change the terminals that I am It is extremely easy for countertop merchants; selling today with terminals that have smart most providers o er several EMV-ready card readers? terminals that can replace the terminals the Absolutely. If you are not o ering an EMV merchants are using today. Merchants with POS solution your competition certainly is. If you Systems will also be pleasantly surprised at the don’t get merchants EMV-capable someone simplifi ed integrations available.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW MORE, PLEASE CONTACT US: North American Bancard | 250 Stephenson Hwy., , MI 48083 call: (888) 229-5229 Visit: www.gonab.com

A2 A3

d33134_EMV_ISO&AGENT_F.indd 3 11/7/16 5:36 PM EMV Visionaries and Q&A

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Merchants are feeling the pressure. In in validating the chip readers as well as white paper Optimizing Transaction Speed at survey by National Retail Federation, 76% of supply delays in terminals, the reader is not the POS to provide a better consumer payment retailers said EMV was their top challenge, activated. The reader looks broken to the experience by speeding the chip transaction followed by chargeback issues often related consumer. process at the point of sale. to EMV. However, retailers are muddling through, with 86% saying they expect to For now, it seems the only indication that In the spring, Visa (Quick Chip for EMV) and implement an EMV chip card system by the consumers have of whether to swipe or insert MasterCard (M/Chip Fast) announced their own end of 2016. 2 are handwritten notes taped over the card approaches to decrease the amount of time it reader with some version of ‘do not insert’ or takes a chip card to process at the point of sale. ‘no chip reader.’ In some schemes, the cardholder only needs to That may be optimistic based on current put the card in the reader for a few seconds. implementation rates. The Strawhecker Part of the solution is non-technology Group (TSG) says that approximately a third related: According to the U.S. Payments Forum EMV Struggles Good for Mobile Wallets? of U.S. merchants are enabled to accept chip (formerly the EMV Migration Forum), well- Mobile payments, although talked about for cards, and about three quarters of consumers trained sales associates can alleviate much of years, have not really taken o . Part of the have at least one chip card in their wallet. the customer frustration. reason was that it is just as easy for consumers 3 TSG’s January survey estimated that more to pull out a credit or as it is to use than 50% of retailers would have an EMV 2. A Distressing Sound the phone. However, with the confusion over terminal by the one-year anniversary of the The fi rst time a consumer uses a chip-enabled whether to insert or swipe, the distressing liability shift. The pace of implementation is terminal, they are typically distressed by the sound that prompts the consumer to remove slower than what was anticipated. sound the terminal emits when the purchase the EMV chip card from the reader, and the is approved. For many, the tone sounds like length of time it takes to complete an EMV But there are wins for EMV. Since a rejection rather than an approval, causing transaction, consumer frustration could create EMV transactions transmit encrypted confusion and embarrassment. a perfect storm to give mobile payments the account information based on dynamic boost it needs. authentication, there’s no doubt that EMV 3. Why Does It Take So Long? protects against counterfeit cards. According Those in the payments industry understand In addition, most chip reader terminals are to Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG), why the speed for an EMV transaction is slower already equipped to accept contactless fi nancial losses due to counterfeit cards fell than for a traditional credit or debit card payments such as Apple Pay or Android 18% in the fi rst quarter of 2016, the lowest transaction, but consumers are an inpatient Pay. In August, EMVCo announced it will 4 lot, particularly when there is a line of other provide formal industry approval to confi rm level since early 2013. inpatient consumers in line behind them. And that contactless mobile payment-enabled the speed is inconsistent: A chip transaction devices can operate seamlessly with EMV However, one-year post liability shift, might take a few seconds at one merchant but Level 1 payment terminals. And since most implementation challenges remain. The more than 20 seconds at another. 5 EMV terminals are built with near-fi eld following are three of biggest issues communication (NFC) used by many mobile impacting a smooth EMV adoption. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Joanna payment systems, the transition will be easier. Stern detailed her unscientifi c timing of more 1. Swipe or Insert? than 50 transactions at a variety of retailers According to the National Retail Federation, Consumers are confused when making and confi rmed that an EMV chip transaction 72% of retailers expect to be equipped for NFC 7 payments. They swipe when they should takes twice as long as a card swipe or mobile by the end of 2017. 6 insert, and insert when they should swipe. payment. According to Stern’s calculation, a The uncertainty is understandable since the consumer who made two purchases per day Consumer irritation with EMV and retailers’ card industry has done very little in the way for a year would spend an extra 85 minutes— ability to leverage the investment they’ve of educating consumers and adoption of EMV one hour and 25 minutes—at the point of sale. already made in EMV terminals may prove to by merchants has been piecemeal. be the shot mobile payments needs to gain Hardware manufacturers and credit card traction. It’s ironic that a technology that seeks Even more confusing for consumers is companies are focused on reducing approval to make cards more secure at the point of that there is often a chip reader, but due times but the upgrades will be slow to hit the sale may actually wind up contributing to its to a backlog of the payment processers market. The U.S. Payments Forum has issued a demise.

2 https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/nr orrester-survey-says--pushing-aside-other-payment-initiatives 3 home/20160920005178/en/EMV-Merchant-Adoption-Remains-Sluggish-Year 4 http://www.acg.net/counterfeit-credit-card-fraud-reaches-lowest-level-since-2013-other-fraud-types-increase-says-auriemma-consulting-group/ 5 US Payments Forum, Optimizing Transaction Speed at the POS, September 2016 6 http://www.wsj.com/articles/chip-card-nightmares-help-is-on-the-way-1470163865 7 https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/nr orrester-survey-says-emv-pushing-aside-other-payment-initiatives A4 A5

d33134_EMV_ISO&AGENT_F.indd 4 11/7/16 5:37 PM EMV Visionaries and Q&A TranSend

Established in 2003, TranSend provides infrastructure software and services to the payments industry. Its expertise includes EMV-NFC, transaction switching, terminal management, and point-of-sale (POS) optimization. The company’s latest innovation is RevChip, the most comprehensive and highly featured EMV-NFC software built for the U.S. market. It connects to any processor and runs on terminals models from major manufacturers, including and . Using RevChip, merchants eliminate card data from their POS systems and remove themselves from the burden of PCI PA-DSS. RevChip’s SDK provides software developers with a quick, secure integration between a POS system and a . Amit Chhabra, CTO, TranSend

We are approaching the one year anniversary with the expectations of U.S. cardholders EMV Store-and-Forward and makes it easy for of EMV, yet so many merchants are still who have become accustomed to a quick POS developers to deploy it. swiping and not EMV enabled. Why? “swipe-and-go”. Recognizing the market What is the impact of an EMV transaction on a Most large retailers in the U.S. have need, the major card networks have recently restaurant? implemented EMV, while many small and released specifi cations for a faster EMV process, Despite what one might hear, U.S. restaurants medium sized businesses (“SMBs”) have commonly known as “Quick Chip”. When Quick don’t need to change their workfl ows for not. Large retailers reacted early in the U.S. Chip is implemented into good EMV software, EMV. Pay-at-the-Table is not a mandate and migration to update their systems, but the like RevChip, the time savings for merchants traditional Tip Adjustment can be used for SMB market only moved when chargebacks and their patrons can be dramatic. years to come. Other features like Gift Card, from the liability shift started hitting. But How does Quick Chip work and is it secure? Loyalty, Bar Tab and Partial Authorization there’s an even bigger cause for the lag: Quick Chip truncates certain processing steps are important to restaurants, too. To make good EMV software. Traditionally, ISOs and which apply in other global markets, but all of these possible, the merchant’s POS their SMB merchants have depended on are not necessary in the United States. This is system must connect to fully featured EMV free software from their processors. Most of possible, in large part, because the U.S. is an software, like RevChip. Restaurants are key the time this “freeware” was handcrafted “online” market where authorization steps to any ISO portfolio, so it’s important to select to work with only one processor or one ISO. are easily handled “in the cloud” such that the right EMV partners that can protect them That model worked for simple mag stripe the chip card can perform fewer operations from chargebacks and keep their operations programming, but falls apart in EMV. EMV-NFC and be removed quickly. Transactions remain running smoothly. programming is highly complex and is meant equally secure and carry the customary EMV to be regularly updated to defend against Does EMV ensure PCI compliance? cryptogram required by card issuers. RevChip new security threats. There is simply no way While EMV does not absolve merchants of PCI was the fi rst EMV software to certify Quick Chip to write hundreds of variations of an EMV compliance, there is an important connection with major US processors. software and keep them all updated. That’s between EMV and PCI that every payment precisely why we built RevChip. RevChip is Is Store and Forward available with EMV? professional should know. It has to do with cost-e ective EMV software that connects to For many years, “Store-and-Forward” has POS systems, which have quickly become any processor and runs on terminal models been the solution that enables merchants to the prime target for hackers. Today, in most from major manufacturers, like Ingenico and conduct business during a network outage. cases, card data fl ows through POS systems. Verifone. What’s even better is that RevChip is Unfortunately, this widely-used method With the change to EMV, POS developers are automatically updated in the fi eld and can be has become clouded by some who believe also taking the opportunity to shift to a “semi- quickly customized to the needs of merchants Store-and-Forward doesn’t work with EMV. integrated confi guration”, also known as a “PCI and ISOs. The reality is Store-and-Forward works just out-of-scope solution”. In a semi-integrated fi ne under EMV and has long been a part of confi guration card data stays within the secure My merchants complain that EMV the EMV standard. Making Store-and-Forward terminal and never gets exposed to the POS transactions are slow; can anything be done work as an elegant EMV experience requires system. At TranSend, we are very proud of our to make them faster? good software running inside the terminal that semi-integrated confi guration of RevChip. Yes. It is true that many U.S. EMV can expertly juggle threshold limits, network The RevChip SDK has been a HUGE win for implementations have resulted in slow polling, transaction sequencing, voice auth everybody involved. Everybody except for the transactions times at the POS. This is often a codes, reversals, re-presentments and other hackers, that is! result of poor EMV software compounding exception handling. RevChip fully supports

IF YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW MORE, PLEASE CONTACT US: TranSend | 455 Larchmont Blvd., Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054 call: (800) 560-0415 email: [email protected] visit: www.revchip.com

A4 A5

d33134_EMV_ISO&AGENT_F.indd 5 11/8/16 11:49 AM EMV Visionaries and Q&A

ONE YEAR LATER: EMV ADOPTION FACES CRITICS Is EMV a disappointment-or does it just need time to find its stride?

By Lisa Valentine ore than a year since the October 2015 EMV liability shift, M headlines about EMV adoption in the U.S. include words and phrases such as ‘disaster,’ ‘nightmare,’ and ‘the great EMV fake-out.’ But is EMV really a struggling initiative in the U.S. or are the critics simply too quick to declare the EMV rollout a failure?

After all, EMV (an acronym for Europe, MasterCard, and Visa) adoption throughout the rest of the world wasn’t instantaneous, with many countries taking five years or more to significantly wean themselves away from magstripe cards. (According to EMVCo, there are currently 4.8 billion EMV payment cards in global circulation.1)

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

A SUPPLEMENT TO PRODUCED BY SOURCEMEDIA MARKETING SOLUTIONS GROUP

1https://www.emvco.com/media_center.aspx?id=48 2 https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/nrfforrester-survey-says-emv-pushing-aside-other-payment-initiatives

MARKETING SOLUTIONS GROUP

RESEARCH d33134_EMV_ISO&AGENT_F.indd 6 11/7/16 5:37 PM EMV HARDWARE

EMV Has a Global Problem EMV was supposed to be a driver of hardware sales. But the buying craze ended far sooner than terminal makers anticipated. BY KATE FITZGERALD

he one thing payment ter- minal hardware makers should have been sure of this year was relatively strong demand from mer- Tchants finally upgrading to EMV-com- patible equipment after the slow start last year to the U.S. chip-card migration. But that’s not how it’s turning out, as Verifone and Ingenico revised sales forecasts downward for the year, - ning the blame in large part on the card networks’ moves this summer to ease chargeback policies on some fraudulent transactions. Verifone on Sept. 1 cut its earnings and revenue forecast for the year, cit- ing as a key reason Visa and American Express’ pushing back the date for the merchant liability shift for counterfeit card fraud on transactions under $25 until April 2018 from its original date of Oct. 1, 2015. Political turmoil in Turkey the rest of the year will grow only 7% that are waiting to implement EMV when and Brazil also dented sales this year, instead of 10% as previously expected, they can add more functionality, like Verifone said. noting that the U.S. accounts for about mobile payments and loyalty,” Miles said. “Looking at our sales this year, we 10% of the company’s overall sales. “Quite a few companies fit this model, saw the biggest downward effect from Ingenico added that “macroeconomic and they tell us they’ll be upgrading to Visa’s liability-shift rollback, which we conditions in Brazil” also are depress- EMV in the next year or so.” think lessened demand and urgency ing sales. While many factors usually affect from merchants to upgrade payment Despite its recent revised outlook terminal demand, the card networks’ terminals to EMV,” said Jennifer Miles, for near-term payment terminal sales, elimination of a key incentive could Verifone’s president for North America. Verifone said in the long term the com- be a c ause for slower sales, said Rick Ingenico put forth a similar narrative. pany expects to see steady demand. Oglesby, a consultant with Double Dia- “This market decline has been caused “There’s a s ubset of smaller mer- mond Group. by a relaxation in the (U.S.) EMV rules,” chants that tend to have lower charge- “By reducing the incentives, the card the Paris-based company said in a Sept. backs—medical offices, spas, salons and networks reduced demand,” Oglesby 6 press releaseannouncing that sales for companies providing repeat services— said.

isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 49

049_ISO111216 49 11/7/2016 4:37:36 PM CASH ADVANCE ECONOMIC TRENDS

to be ready for the day when they’re asked to provide proof of fair APRs and full disclosure,” he said. Many MCA participants are pric- ing loans to small businesses within MCA’s Allure Hides Major Risks a reasonable range, but Masters said The Merchant Cash Advance market is a very active area, but it is also fiercely competitive all operators must avoid straying into with a lot of turnover. BY KATE FITZGERALD territory that could be considered usuri- ous, declining to specify what interest rate range potential regulations might prohibit. “There are always some lenders pricing things in a r ange that could he recession that began in be considered predatory, and it’s only 2008 left a mark on many a matter of time before those come industries, but one effect for under the regulatory knife, so beware,” payments was the growth Masters said. of merchant cash advance Lately the credit quality among mer- T(MCA), which became an ongoing source of alternative financing for retail- ers when the downturn caused banks to sharply curtail lending to small busi- nesses. The economy has largely rebound- ed, but banks have not rushed back into small-business lending because of today’s steeper organizational and Who Doesn’t Like Hearing regulatory requirements. Thus, MCA remains a very active the Word “Yes”? area, serving an increasingly diverse range of merchants hungry for imme- With RapidAdvance, say “yes” to your merchants more often. diate capital. MCA also has become fiercely com- From fast and flexible cash advance programs to more traditional loans, petitive and a bit more risky these days, we’ll tailor a solution for any customer. Find out why RapidAdvance is one as small businesses face more volatility, of the nation’s most respected and innovative sources of direct funding. experts say. “MCA is a very tough business, and there’s been an excess of supply lately,” $ 1 said Rick Oglesby, president of A Z companies active in the MCA space, Certa Group, which originates loans to 18 Payments, noting that competition is according to experts connected to the a broad range of borrowers, including Financing Terms up Funds in as fast more intense than ever among MCA industry. some involved in MCA. up to $1,000,000 to 18 months as one day lenders seeking merchants with solid “Various state, federal and local regu- Though specific new regulations credit quality, who can deliver a good lators are looking closely at alternative for MCA aren’t immediately looming, profit stream with relatively low risk. financing to make sure it’s not subject Masters said it’s not too early for indus- Contact Jim Fink at 240-233-4092 or email [email protected] Authorities in several states, includ- to unfair practices, and at some point try participants to begin preparing for today and we’ll help you do great things. ing California, this year announced plans in the not-too-distant future, I e xpect some potential changes. to look at business-to-business lending there will be new guidelines for MCA, “MCA players should begin at least We will be exhibiting at the NEAA 17’, Boston, MA Feb 1st-3rd. as other federal and local regulatory too, around the pricing and disclosure,” thinking about making sure their pricing agencies have stepped up their scrutiny said Ryan Masters, head of strategy and is fair and they have a clear process for of practices, which could possibly affect business development at New York-based disclosing their policies and practices,

50 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 51

050_ISO111216 50 11/7/2016 4:41:31 PM to be ready for the day when they’re chants seeking MCA loans also shows specialized way of using card payment asked to provide proof of fair APRs and signs of some deterioration, Masters volume to secure business-to-business full disclosure,” he said. warned. loans for merchants needing anywhere Many MCA participants are pric- “Business owners seeking MCA loans from several hundred to several thou- ing loans to small businesses within seem to be facing a higher level of risk sand dollars. MCA’s Allure Hides Major Risks a reasonable range, but Masters said than in past years, with bankruptcy and Initially MCA appealed mostly res- The Merchant Cash Advance market is a very active area, but it is also fiercely competitive all operators must avoid straying into other unexpected disruptions becom- taurants and inventory-heavy retailers, with a lot of turnover. BY KATE FITZGERALD territory that could be considered usuri- ing more common, and all of this calls but observers say all types of merchants ous, declining to specify what interest for more caution when extending MCA now are potential targets for this cat- rate range potential regulations might funds,” Masters said. egory of product. prohibit. Despite the obvious risks, MCA MCA lenders can look at a merchant’s “There are always some lenders continues to generate plenty of activ- credit card volume and history and get pricing things in a r ange that could ity, because of its somewhat unique a quick snapshot of that company’s cash be considered predatory, and it’s only approach. flow, enabling them to advance funds a matter of time before those come As credit and debit card payments based on the borrower’s anticipated under the regulatory knife, so beware,” began to account for a larger share of credit card receipts. Masters said. merchants’ overall sales, MCA lenders The competitive advantage MCA Lately the credit quality among mer- over the last decade or so devised a lenders offer over other channels is

Who Doesn’t Like Hearing the Word “Yes”?

With RapidAdvance, say “yes” to your merchants more often. From fast and flexible cash advance programs to more traditional loans, we’ll tailor a solution for any customer. Find out why RapidAdvance is one of the nation’s most respected and innovative sources of direct funding.

$ 1 Certa Group, which originates loans to 18 a broad range of borrowers, including Financing Terms up Funds in as fast some involved in MCA. up to $1,000,000 to 18 months as one day Though specific new regulations for MCA aren’t immediately looming, Masters said it’s not too early for indus- Contact Jim Fink at 240-233-4092 or email [email protected] try participants to begin preparing for today and we’ll help you do great things. some potential changes. “MCA players should begin at least We will be exhibiting at the NEAA 17’, Boston, MA Feb 1st-3rd. thinking about making sure their pricing is fair and they have a clear process for disclosing their policies and practices,

50 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 51

051_ISO111216 51 11/7/2016 4:41:32 PM CASH ADVANCE ECONOMIC TRENDS

speed—most can provide businesses Recently he’s seen a surge in the cessor, but from daily payouts from a with the needed funds within a d ay number of ISOs that are funding their bank account via ACH. WHY SQUARE'S FINANCING BUSINESS HIT A WALL or two—and the merchant repays the own loans directly, or white-labeling Paying back loans via ACH may not loan from a set percentage that comes MCA loans that they obtained from fall exactly under the heading of mer- Square Inc. is seeking balance as it transitions to a more out of the merchant’s daily, weekly or wholesalers. chant “cash advance,” which generally holistic provider of services including small-business pay- monthly credit card receipts. “Many ISOs are comfortable doing involves a processor routing the funds ments and financing. Most major card processors have MCA deals if they know the merchant instead of a b ank, but Fink said both One thing making investors nervous was slow growth evolved a relatively turnkey system for well and they’re confident of their credit approaches are becoming more com- for Square Capital, the business-financing arm that was routing a p ercentage of a merchant’s rating,” Fink said. mon in MCA. introduced over two years ago as a rival to conventional card volume to the lender until the loan Anyone extending an MCA loan to an “For us it’s irrelevant whether mer- merchant cash advance (MCA) offerings. This year Square is repaid, minimizing hassles around unknown business is taking on higher chants agree to pay back loans through began a transition away from MCA toward traditional loans. collections, experts say. risks, Fink noted. the processor or ACH, and it may depend Square extended $153 million on cash advances and loans Rates vary, based on variables such Rapid Advance has built a complex, on what’s most appropriate for the mer- to small businesses during the first quarter of 2016, up 4% as the value of the loan and borrower’s proprietary system to evaluate prospec- chant,” Fink said, noting that all major from the fourth quarter, and the company blamed the slow risk level. tive MCA borrowers drawing on infor- processors continue to provide a broad growth on “challenging credit market conditions.” For merchants, MCA is appealing mation available from credit bureaus, supporting role for MCA. Competition could be a problem. Square’s practice of because it enables business operators bank statements, data from merchants’ What may be somewhat surprising is using its merchant transaction data for risk analysis may to get a bundle of money quickly to credit card processors, social media and that high-profile online lending services, buy inventory or make opportunistic strategic analysis of business sectors, and national small-business lenders investments, with minimal paperwork according to Fink. like Intuit (which offers loans through and without providing the extensive “We’ve developed technology to a handful of banks to its QuickBooks credit checks and verification banks very quickly assess whether we think a customers) and Square (which targets typically require. merchant can support the debt they’re its mobile point of sale customers with And lenders get an investment that’s proposing to take on, and we make a its Square Capital offering), don’t seem relatively lower-risk than other types judgment based on what we think is to be cutting directly into MCA provid- of deals, because of the guaranteed reasonable, because it doesn’t do anyone ers’ business, Fink said. revenue-split. any good if we deploy too much cash One reason may be that online lend- The ease of entry into MCA also for their case,” Fink said. ers go after startups more often than means it’s constantly attracting new- Rapid Advance gets most of its busi- other companies, and business soft- comers who think the business looks ness from partnerships it’s built with ware companies tend to have a captive fairly easy, say participants. ISOs, partnerships and even banks audience of their existing customers, “There seem to be more players than that are starting to refer business to observers say. ever in the MCA space, but there’s a lot the company, Fink said. “There’s a lot “We just not seeing a lot of direct of turnover because it turns out it’s a of opportunity to work with banks who competition from the likes of Intuit, lot harder than it looks, so it’s not like want to refer clients to MCA, because maybe because they’re lending to busi- it’s growing as a whole,” said Jim Fink, in many cases, they’d rather give their nesses that never went looking for funds director of strategic partnerships for customer a lead than say ‘no.’” elsewhere,” Fink said. Rapid Advance, a l arge MCA lender Along with a seeming revolving-door Online lending may pose a general based in Bethesda, Md., which entered of newcomers entering MCA, Rapid competitive threat, but Fink said there the niche in 2005. Advance in recent years has seen more is still plenty of opportunity for MCA We’re separating ourselves from the pack. Rapid Advance lends directly to competition coming from independent operators willing to market their ser- merchants and it also receives a lot of operators who are offering merchants vices and perform due diligence on 3 NO CREDIT CHECKS 3 NO BACKDOORING DEALS 3 EXCLUSIVITY ON ALL SUBMISSIONS referrals from ISOs that don’t fund loans loans where the funds are repaid not prospects for deals that make sense to on their own, Fink said. through credit card receipts via a pro- both sides of the equation. “MCA stays alive because we oper- “There seem to be more players than ever in the ate in an area banks aren’t looking at anymore, and we have a business elevate | funding elevatefunding.biz MCA space, but there’s a lot of turnover.” model that works for a certain type of A Direct Funder That Cares 888.382.3945 | [email protected] ‑Jim Fink, director of strategic partnerships, Rapid Advance enterprise, if you measure your risks appropriately,” Fink said.

52 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 53

052_ISO111216 52 11/7/2016 4:41:33 PM cessor, but from daily payouts from a bank account via ACH. WHY SQUARE'S FINANCING BUSINESS HIT A WALL Paying back loans via ACH may not fall exactly under the heading of mer- Square Inc. is seeking balance as it transitions to a more seem innovative, but other agile specialists—including chant “cash advance,” which generally holistic provider of services including small-business pay- Intuit—are finding ways to use new data streams to limit involves a processor routing the funds ments and financing. risk and deliver funds to borrowers. instead of a b ank, but Fink said both One thing making investors nervous was slow growth Square in March announced plans to move away from approaches are becoming more com- for Square Capital, the business-financing arm that was MCA toward business loans originated by Celtic Bank, mon in MCA. introduced over two years ago as a rival to conventional based in Salt Lake City, Utah. “For us it’s irrelevant whether mer- merchant cash advance (MCA) offerings. This year Square The new signup process for Square Capital is similar to chants agree to pay back loans through began a transition away from MCA toward traditional loans. its previous approach, where borrowers get cash upfront the processor or ACH, and it may depend Square extended $153 million on cash advances and loans in exchange for a fixed percentage of daily card sales. The on what’s most appropriate for the mer- to small businesses during the first quarter of 2016, up 4% amount owed never changes, but with the shift to loans, chant,” Fink said, noting that all major from the fourth quarter, and the company blamed the slow Square introduced an early repayment option that carries processors continue to provide a broad growth on “challenging credit market conditions.” a higher interest rate. supporting role for MCA. Competition could be a problem. Square’s practice of Other MCA alternatives include PayPal Working Capital What may be somewhat surprising is using its merchant transaction data for risk analysis may and Intuit’s QuickBooks Financing. that high-profile online lending services, and national small-business lenders like Intuit (which offers loans through a handful of banks to its QuickBooks customers) and Square (which targets its mobile point of sale customers with its Square Capital offering), don’t seem to be cutting directly into MCA provid- ers’ business, Fink said. One reason may be that online lend- ers go after startups more often than other companies, and business soft- ware companies tend to have a captive audience of their existing customers, observers say. “We just not seeing a lot of direct competition from the likes of Intuit, maybe because they’re lending to busi- nesses that never went looking for funds elsewhere,” Fink said. Online lending may pose a general competitive threat, but Fink said there is still plenty of opportunity for MCA We’re separating ourselves from the pack. operators willing to market their ser- vices and perform due diligence on 3 NO CREDIT CHECKS 3 NO BACKDOORING DEALS 3 EXCLUSIVITY ON ALL SUBMISSIONS prospects for deals that make sense to both sides of the equation. “MCA stays alive because we oper- ate in an area banks aren’t looking at anymore, and we have a business elevate | funding elevatefunding.biz model that works for a certain type of A Direct Funder That Cares 888.382.3945 | [email protected] enterprise, if you measure your risks appropriately,” Fink said.

52 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 53

053_ISO111216 53 11/7/2016 4:41:33 PM Education – Hear the latest tips, trends and information from the best and brightest in the industry, plus see the latest ATM technologies up close and personal

Advocacy – Learn about the most pressing issues affecting the ATM industry, as well as how ATMIA is helping drive ATM agenda in the US

Connections – Meet key decision-makers, network with industry experts, deepen customer relationships and prospect for new business

Register today! Visit the conference website at www.atmiaconferences.com to learn more about the event. Take advantage of early registration pricing by emailing Brita Price at [email protected].

054_ISO111216 54 11/8/2016 5:21:22 PM ACH PAYMENTS Visionaries and Q&A

The Move to Faster Payments Same-day ACH makes progress while MCX stumbles BY LISA VALENTINE Since 1974, the automated clearinghouse (ACH) online payments, which increased much faster than electronic n etwork h as p rocessed l arge, b atch the overall number of ACH payments, according to volumes of credit and debit transactions. the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. According t o N ACHA, A CH v olumes i ncreased Obviously ACH, now more t han 4 0 years old, i s 5.6% in the second quarter of 2016 compared to one still g oing s trong. I t’s a n i nexpensive p ayments year ago. During the second quarter, approximately rail a nd d ue t o i ts m ore c omplex n ature, A CH 5.05 b illion t ransactions m oving a pproximately transactions a re m ore c hallenging f or f raudsters $10.9 trillion were conducted. to hack. According to the Association for Financial Driving m uch o f t he i ncrease i n A CH v olumes Professionals, f raudsters n eed t o a ccess c ustomer are business payments to consumers and consumer credentials and generate ACH files in the originator’s CONTINUES ON PAGE 4

A SUPPLEMENT TO

B 55 B 55 PRODUCED BY SOURCEMEDIA MARKETING SOLUTIONS GROUP

055_ISO111216 55 11/2/16 1:51 PM ACH Payments Visionaries and Q&A Your tech-savvy bank partner …you’ve already got card solutions, linked2pay now you can add ACH (including Same Day) linked2pay® is a technology leader in the secure delivery of award winning ACH, credit and RDC under your own branding in minutes card and check payments automation. As the originator of Bank Centric Payments the company provides seamlessly integrated payment processing solutions for merchants (SMB & enterprise), along with white label options for banks, ISOs and channel partners. The ISO managed pricing tools, paperless registration and merchant onboarding, automated underwriting linked2pay platform is PCI DDS compliant, and operates in accordance with NACHA guidelines. with auto approvals (ACH and RDC), and more… You bring the sales performance; we provide the technology and integrated bank partners. Set up and manage your merchants with one or all of these payment solutions in minutes: Why have ACH payments been an upgrade their systems to deliver a level What are examples of current applications afterthought for most ISOs? of automation that will position them as for same day ACH payments? When it comes to payment acceptance, technologically savvy institutions. The best When it comes to same day ACH payments, • Online forms most ISOs only promote credit cards for a way to achieve this is to have an automated current applications are a bit limited in this • Mobile few basic, ingrained reasons. Firstly, credit registration and underwriting process that phase- one stage, but no less valuable. All cards are usually the most convenient will allow their clients to register and be same day ACH payments submitted before • Email billing and popular form of payment and only underwritten in real-time, AND in a simple the (two) set cut-o times will be deposited take a few moments to accept. Secondly, and e cient manner that is connected to that same day. In 2016, the uses for same • Virtual terminal with card reader option a credit card can be declined at the point onboarding and ongoing solution delivery. day ACH will mostly be limited to payroll • 800# by phone (IVR) of sale - meaning there is no chance the These ACH payment options need to be payments, bill pay and as a viable option payment will bounce later in the process. blended with credit card into one cohesive to wire transfers. Come 2017, various • Shopping cart checkout, with emulation In addition to convenience, accepting card platform. This platform should then deliver debit options will open up even more • Works with the #1 CRM and #1 Accounting Software payments can help broaden the audience Omni Payment options for a merchant base opportunities for clients to leverage the cost for a business and improve general cash that could benefi t from these blended e ectiveness and convenience of rapid ACH fl ow. Rapid and simple set-up of online payment methods and acceptance payments. This will also increase the value payments is one example. But the focus solutions, including: virtual terminal, email of ACH as a side by side option with credit on credit card only is also a risk when invoicing, online forms, and the like. cards. o ering services to the types of businesses BANK CENTRIC PAYMENTS that need to extend more payment What tools do banks (ODFI) use to approve What determines the speed of funding for acceptance options to their customers. or decline ACH applications? ACH payments? Recent developments that streamline the Ideally, an ODFI (the bank that assumes the Receiving payment for services rendered Solutions supported by a full API library and ideal adoption of ACH payments can give the risk and presents the transactions to the is always of paramount importance to all ISO the best of all worlds. They can now - Automated Clearing House) should have its merchants. The speed of funding is typically for enterprise or SMB merchants. for the fi rst time - include credit card and personalized risk management practices, determined during the underwriting ACH as seamlessly combined options from underwriting and onboarding imbedded process, which decides the amount of the outset, within one secured digital into all ACH services registrations. This risk a merchant poses to the bank serving solution. They no longer have to rely on would facilitate an immediate approval or as the ODFI on the account. The better the cumbersome merchant enrollment and disapproval for every merchant application. the underwriting tools and ongoing It’s simple, take a demo today. delivery of the non-integrated solutions A series of verifi cations would need to take automation of monitoring - the greater that were loosely pieced together in the place during the registration process that the willingness to expedite the settlement past. would mitigate risk and allow underwriting process. Additionally, a system that provides to be automated - or routed for further merchant-facing tools that enable a direct How can banks more seamlessly deliver evaluation based on the parameters set request for faster funding to the ODFI fosters Contact Us: ACH payments? by the ODFI. By having a unifi ed platform, a better relationship for banks, resellers Richard McShirley As a case in point, it’s never been more the bank becomes an invaluable partner in and merchants. It does this by leveraging a important for banks to deliver ACH payment payments for ISOs, which invariably results technology platform that make it easier to [email protected] acceptance in a quick and painless way. In in higher profi t margins and improved access and attain optimal funding speeds. (805) 886-0687 order to do this, banks need to invest and merchant retention.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW MORE, PLEASE CONTACT US: Visit yourisosite.com linked2pay 500 Esplanade Drive, Suite 700, Oxnard, CA 93036 call: (805) 886-0687 fax: (866) 788-8218 twitter: @linked2pay visit: linked2pay.com

B 56 B 57

056_ISO111216 56 11/2/16 1:51 PM Your tech-savvy bank partner …you’ve already got card solutions, linked2pay now you can add ACH (including Same Day) linked2pay® is a technology leader in the secure delivery of award winning ACH, credit and RDC under your own branding in minutes card and check payments automation. As the originator of Bank Centric Payments the company provides seamlessly integrated payment processing solutions for merchants (SMB & enterprise), along with white label options for banks, ISOs and channel partners. The ISO managed pricing tools, paperless registration and merchant onboarding, automated underwriting linked2pay platform is PCI DDS compliant, and operates in accordance with NACHA guidelines. with auto approvals (ACH and RDC), and more… You bring the sales performance; we provide the technology and integrated bank partners. Set up and manage your merchants with one or all of these payment solutions in minutes: What are examples of current applications for same day ACH payments? When it comes to same day ACH payments, • Online forms current applications are a bit limited in this • Mobile phase- one stage, but no less valuable. All same day ACH payments submitted before • Email billing the (two) set cut-o times will be deposited that same day. In 2016, the uses for same • Virtual terminal with card reader option day ACH will mostly be limited to payroll • 800# by phone (IVR) payments, bill pay and as a viable option to wire transfers. Come 2017, various • Shopping cart checkout, with emulation debit options will open up even more • Works with the #1 CRM and #1 Accounting Software opportunities for clients to leverage the cost e ectiveness and convenience of rapid ACH payments. This will also increase the value of ACH as a side by side option with credit cards. BANK CENTRIC PAYMENTS What determines the speed of funding for ACH payments? Receiving payment for services rendered Solutions supported by a full API library and ideal is always of paramount importance to all merchants. The speed of funding is typically for enterprise or SMB merchants. determined during the underwriting process, which decides the amount of risk a merchant poses to the bank serving as the ODFI on the account. The better the underwriting tools and ongoing It’s simple, take a demo today. automation of monitoring - the greater the willingness to expedite the settlement process. Additionally, a system that provides merchant-facing tools that enable a direct request for faster funding to the ODFI fosters Contact Us: a better relationship for banks, resellers Richard McShirley and merchants. It does this by leveraging a technology platform that make it easier to [email protected] access and attain optimal funding speeds. (805) 886-0687

Visit yourisosite.com

B 56 B 57

057_ISO111216 57 11/2/16 1:51 PM ACH Payments Visionaries and Q&A

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

name or build a fake customer proÿ le. In 2014, one in four organizations MCX: Not So Smooth Sailing were subject to ACH debit fraud and 10% to ACH credit fraud in 2014. ° e Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), created in August 2012 by some ° e most likely reasons why organizations are v ictims of ACH fraud of the largest retailers in the U.S. including 7-Eleven, Best Buy, CVS Health, are issues that can be addressed, including non-timely ACH returns, lack Darden Restaurants, H MSHost, Hy-Vee, Lowe’s, M ichaels, P ublix, Sears, of ACH debit blocks of ÿ lters, and not using ACH positive pay. Shell O il P roducts, Sunoco, Target, a nd Walmart, seeks t o u se t he ACH network rather than card payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard for payments. Addressing the Shortcomings MCX’s business model is not to collect revenue on the payment Cost and security aside, ACH has several shortcomings. Possibly the transaction, but to save money on merchant swipe fees by leveraging the most g laring is that ACH transactions can take days to clear. ° e other extremely i nexpensive n ature of ACH. ° e s avings c ould b e signiÿ cant. shortcoming is that ACH payments require that both the sender and the MCX m erchants p rocess m ore t han $ 1 t rillion i n a nnual c ard-based receiver have bank accounts. payment volume at a presumed fee of 1.5%, equating to well over $1 billion At least one of those shortcomings is being addressed with NACHA— in savings in payment processing costs. ° e Electronic Payment Network’s Same-Day A CH. ° e ÿ rst of three While the business case seems compelling, the MCX consortium has implementation p hases t ook e ˛ ect o n S eptember 2 3, 2 016 f or c redits su˛ ered false starts, bad press, and a less than robust consumer response making funds available at the end of the receiving ÿ nancial institution’s to i ts b eta r ollout. A CH d oes n ot h ave t he s ame l evel o f p rotection f or (RDFI) processing d ay. P hase t wo, with a n i mplementation date o f consumers as the card networks and MCX was taken to task for a customer September 1 5, 2 017, w ill i nclude b oth c redits a nd d ebits w ith f unds data breach of its mobile payment solution CurrentC in late 2014. availability a t t he e nd o f t he R DFI’s p rocessing d ay. ° e l ast p hase, ° e other challenge is the competition. CurrentC has to vie for payment scheduled f or i mplementation o n M arch 1 6, 2 018, a lso i ncludes b oth transactions against the more established Apple Pay and Google Wallet. and debits but makes funds available by the RDFI at 5:00 p.m. local In addition to much better brand recognition than CurrentC, Apple and time. Google have the advantage of being potentially available to any merchant In m id-October, N ACHA i ssued a s tatement t hat S ame-Day A CH or retailer. implementation “ has gone s moothly, w ith r obust s ame-day t ransaction Another s ore p oint f or MC X c ritics: U nlike A pple a nd G oogle t hat volume during the ÿ rst week of operations.” use near-ÿ eld communications (NFC) at the point of sale, MCX relies on Same-Day A CH j oins a v ariety o f s ame-day o r r eal-time p ayments Bluetooth and QR technology that is less secure than NFC. across t he g lobe i ncluding Ja pan’s Z engin S ystem i mplemented i n 1973 As a r esult o f i nternal a nd e xternal c hallenges, MC X a nnounced i n even b efore t he b irth o f A CH, S outh K orea’s H OFINET i mplemented i n May t hat it would delay t he national rollout of C urrentC a nd would lay 2001, South Africa’s Real Time Clearing (RTC) implemented in 2004, the o˛ 30 employees as it shifted its focus from working w ith consumers to U.K.’s F aster P ayments S cheme ( FPS) i mplemented i n 2 008, a nd m ore working with ÿ nancial institutions. It’s future is unclear. recently, D enmark’s R ealTime24/7 a nd S ingapore’s F ast a nd S ecure Critics have maintained that rather than adopt an ACH-only strategy, Transfers (FAST), both implemented in 2014. MCX would have had better consumer adoption if it instead had initially Since t he U .S. l ags b ehind o ther d eveloped n ations i n s ame-day o r agreed t o w ork w ith t he c ard p ayment networks a nd t hen t ransitioned real-time payments, the Federal Reserve is encouraging various industry consumers to ACH once consumers became comfortable w ith t he MC X players—including N ACHA--to d evelop s olutions t o t he r eal-time brand. payments c hallenge b y i ssuing i ts r ecently p ublished F aster P ayments E˛ ectiveness Criteria. But t here i s a d ark s ide t o s peed. S ame-Day A CH, w hile d ecreasing The Future of ACH time for transactions to clear, also gives ÿ nancial institutions less time to ° e ACH n etwork c ontinues t o p rovide a c ost-e˛ ective w ay t o t ransact review the validity of ACH transactions, potentially providing criminals payments. W ith S ame-Day ACH, t he n etwork h as p roven t hat i t i s a ble with opportunity. For example, the UK experienced a £29.9 million surge to evolve with b usinesses’ and c onsumers’ increased appetite for faster in online banking fraud after initiating FPS in 2008. Financial institutions payments. With or without MCX using it as a payments network, the ACH in the U.S. w ill need to be i ncreasingly wary of account t akeover f raud, network doesn’t appear to be in danger of becoming irrelevant, at least in increase m onitoring o f o utbound c redits, a nd c onsider s uspending t he the near term. payment until the customer authorizes the ACH transaction.

ACH PAYMENTS Visionaries And Q&A

A SUPPLEMENT TO

PRODUCED BY SOURCEMEDIA MARKETING SOLUTIONS GROUP

B 58

058_ISO111216 58 11/2/16 1:51 PM TECHNOLOGY MOBILE WALLETS

Mobile Tips of Walmart, Dunkin Two nationwide retailers had very different experiences in mobile payments. Their lessons could prove valuable for a wide range of merchants. BY KATE FITZGERALD

almart and Dunkin’ Donuts have poured millions of dollars into t heir p ropri- etary mobile pay- mentW apps, and their most interesting lessons are the ones they didn’t expect to learn. For example, sometimes the apps have proven to be unexpectedly popular for certain audience segments and oc- casions without specifically targeting them, and their popularity reveals how shoppers prefer a self-service purchas- ing process, the two retail giants shared at Money20/20 in Las Vegas. Walmart expected younger males would be among the quickest adopt- ers of Walmart Pay when it introduced the payments app early last summer, but to the company’s surprise, its lat- est data suggests women—including older, Baby Boomer age women—are among the app’s heaviest users, said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of Walmart Services. Another surprise for Walmart: People who regularly use Walmart Pay may be more interested in saving time than in ables them to quickly identify available shopping journey in Walmart Pay,” saving money, arguably the strongest items and their location within the store, Eckert said, adding that since its launch of Walmart’s brand associations, Eck- Eckert said. The app also enables users the company continues to add features ert said. to build shopping lists and easily find based on customer feedback. “Saving time is the new currency receipts from past shopping trips, and Eckert didn’t say whether Walmart for people who are extremely busy, and get quick access to cash-back savings plans develop a new mobile loyalty Walmart Pay helps people do that,” Eck- captured and stored from Walmart Pay’s or rewards features, nor did he hint ert said in a keynote address on Oct. 25. Savings Catcher feature. whether Walmart may eventually adopt Walmart Pay users say the app en- “Payments are just one piece of the contactless payments.

isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 59

059_ISO111216 59 11/7/2016 4:56:12 PM TECHNOLOGY MOBILE WALLETS

“We’re focused on keeping mobile payments (as a c entral part) of con- sumer’s digital experience, which is really a blended retail and shopping experience,” he said. Dunkin’ Donuts’ popular QR code- based app, which it’s developed and refined over the last several years, also continues to generate surprises and bust internal myths and assumptions, Scott Hudler, Head of Digital, Media & Loyalty for Dunkin’ Brands, said in a different presentation later that day. Though Dunkin’ Donuts’ mobile app is often compared with the popular Starbucks mobile payments app, the companies have different audiences, Hudler said. “Our guests don’t come to sit, chat and write their screenplay; their primary motivation for coming in is to get their food and drinks and get going on their way,” he said, noting that customers place a very high value on speed and efficiency. When Dunkin’ introduced its mobile ordering feature last year, the company saw a s urge of popularity and usage because it further sped up customers’ visits. Another key difference between Dunkin’ Donuts and many other retail- ers’ mobile payment apps is the fact that the company is composed entirely of franchised locations, which makes app development and implementation tricky at times. “We have constant turnover of em- ployees, with a workforce that doesn’t last longer than a football season,” he said, so training new employees to use the mobile app has to be very simple. Dunkin’ Donuts didn’t expect to see the growth of new products mobile pay- ments inspired, including a huge surge in gift cards sold through the app. “When Mother’s Day comes around, “We see the big [mobile gift card] One more unexpected discovery is we see a huge surge of mobile gift card sales surge only on Father’s Day— the way Dunkin’ Donuts app users feel sales in the weeks leading up t o the people don’t put so much thought into it about their mothers versus their fathers day itself,” Hudler said. Father’s Day, during the days and weeks beforehand,” when buying gift cards, he added. however, is different. Hudler said.

60 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

060_ISO111216 60 11/7/2016 4:56:15 PM ISOS PARTNERSHIPS

ISOs Seek Allies for Survival To stay ahead in a rapidly changing payments industry, independent sales organizations must consider partnering up with other businesses. BY DAVID HEUN

cquirers a nd i ndepen- Oxnard, Calif.-based technology through one technology platform. dent sales organizations provider linked2pay has positioned itself “We built our bank-centric payments have long heard a s imi- as a partner that can help guide ISOs platform over a long time frame to pro- lar refrain: Adjust to the and agents through the confutechnol- vide a s ingle point login for financial fast pace of technology ogy maze, hook them up to a banking institutions, ISOs, and merchants so orA perish. partner and funnel needed services all parties might access a technology It was a blunt way of saying the days of simply pulling point of sale hardware of out a box, plugging it in and moving on to the next customer, are over. But some acquirers and ISOs have found a way to prosper by collaborating with partners to help clients navigate the confusing and rapidly changing world of payments technology. “If we are going to be successful as a typical ISO in this space, we have to partner, whether it is with a point of sale company or a bank,” said Phil Acree, principal at Veritas Payment Advisors. The day-to-day business owner is “done with our business [model] for the most part,” Acree said. “They are tired of hearing we are going to save them money, and they are tired of feeling confused about where they fit in the space and why they pay all these fees, and what is what with new technology,” he said. An ISO has to approach a potential client with a partnership that showcases “a trusted advisor,” whether that is a bank, a CPA or a technology company, Acree said. “If you don’t come in with that, it is really hard work to just come in as a local ISO or agent and make that work.”

isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 61

061_ISO111216 61 11/7/2016 4:45:13 PM ISOS PARTNERSHIPS

environment that was, first of all, neutral and secondly, highly secured,” said Richard McShirley, linked2Pay’s chief marketing officer. McShirley sees opportunity in large processor mergers that left some ISOs unsure of their place in the payments ecosystem, such as Global Payments’ purchase of Heartland Payment Systems Inc. late last year and Vantiv’s acquisition of Mercury Payments in 2014. These deals tightened the market for ISO sales talent, McShirley said, adding bank/ISO partnerships have consolidated credit card, Automated Clearing House and remote deposit capture, which had previously been delivered as separate solutions. ISOs have already had to adapt to the disruption brought on by mobile Marc Beauchamp, president of War- in my opinion.” point of sale providers. saw, Ind.-based Payment Processing Such a s cenario means “human Some of these companies — such as Technologies, LLC. beings have to sit out there with the Square and Groupon — sought to cut “You can’t just say ‘let me look at business owner and explain how these ISOs out of the sales process entirely your processing statement and see products can help their businesses in an by working directly with retailers or how much I can save you,’” Beauchamp effective manner,” Beauchamp added. repurposing their internal sales staff. said of interaction with business or The consensus within the industry is But other vendors saw ISOs as a valu- merchant clients. that ISOs and acquirers have to spend able partner to bring their products “You have to turn into a s olution more time getting well-versed about to market. sales person and have many different payments technology, security compli- The same can be said for banks. products available,” Beauchamp said. ance and card network rules to better “Simplifying the adoption of pay- Payment Processing Technologies serve their merchant accounts, so any ments as a service is critical for financial adopted a bank-centric platform mainly collaboration on payments technology institutions to remain competitive in because of the library of application that can streamline these efforts is the future,” said Rayleen M. Pirnie, interfaces it offers, allowing the ISO to helpful. owner of RP Payments Risk Consulting delve into other services like payroll, In making that partnership with a Services, LLC. consumer finance and data analytics, bank, the benefits can have the look A bank-centric approach solves the Beauchamp said. of a two-way street. problems and complexity of putting the “What the ISOs and the feet on the “Even though banks have lost a little systems in place for all parties in the street are looking for is something that credibility over the last 10 years, they payment process to access the tools can draw distinction between them and still have a lot of it and hold a lot of and solutions they need in a s calable the competition,” he added. “It has to be positive influence over their clients,” manner, Pirnie said. “A single, fully something that serves their customers Veritas Payment’s Acree said. “They integrated platform can replace what and that they can make income on. If are in strong partnerships with their would normally require three vendors it has those three things, you’ll have a clients and help them build buildings and an integrations project in order to successful product.” and capital expenditures.” launch.” From an ISO or agent’s perspec- But banks “haven’t done anything on ISOs are always looking for some- tive, merchant services and payments the payments side” to provide a service thing “hot and new” and finding out remains a “relationship business,” Beau- that works for these customers, and that they can’t just be a “one-trick pony” champ said. “The more complex the opens the door for ISOs to connect,” in today’s payments ecosystem, said industry gets, the better it is for ISOs, Acree added.

62 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

062_ISO111216 62 11/7/2016 4:45:15 PM TECHNOLOGY BEYOND CARD PAYMENTS

Card Networks Team with Techies Visa and Mastercard want to do more than just handle card payments; they want to be in- volved in the Internet of Things. This desire has led them to partner with global technology brands like Intel and Facebook. BY JOHN ADAMS

astercard a nd V isa and one between Visa and Intel—have party wallets. On Monday, Google an- are reaching out to the a particularly good chance to simplify nounced strategic partnerships with technology’s indus- and extend the reach of secure digital both Visa and Mastercard to support try’s largest players to commerce. payments at merchants that accept Visa smooth out the bumps Mastercard is integrating its Mas- Checkout or Masterpass. Min how payments operate today. terpass digital wallet with Samsung “We want to make it easier for con- Two new partnerships—a collabora- Pay. Mastercard is also expected to sumers to use their wallet of choice,” tion between Mastercard and Samsung announce similar deals with other third said Kiki Del Valle, senior vice president

isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 63

063_ISO111216 63 11/7/2016 4:46:23 PM TECHNOLOGY BEYOND CARD PAYMENTS

and group head for social networks and lifestyle, and these activities have to operating systems at Mastercard, saying be seamless,” Del Valle said. the integration will impact hundreds of Facebook Messenger is a conducive thousands of merchants. platform for payments in part because The integration also continues recent of the talent behind it — t he unit is work Mastercard has done to break run by David Marcus, a former PayPal down the barriers to using Masterpass, president. which is now available at about 300,000 Similar apps such as Apple’s Mes- merchants.”Merchants can reach mil- sages and Google’s Allo are working lions of customers using Samsung Pay to embed commerce into consumer without having to do any more develop- conversations. ment work,” Del Valle said. Much of the networks’ activity ad- A relative lack of interoperability dresses ‘connected payments,’ either among mobile payment methods has making transactions easier or protect- left an impression that consumers and ing them. retailers have to make choices about The growth of connected commerce which to support. For example, early will change the context of payments, after Apple Pay’s release, companies according to Thad Peterson, a s enior like CVS and Rite Aid shut off their NFC readers to favor the CurrentC wallet (which never left pilot). payments from consumers. tion is originating from,” Nelsen said. By contrast, Mastercard CEO Ajay “As more payment devices come “If there is more data we can increase Banga said at an earnings call after from connected devices, securing those sales and reduce fraud and friction at Apple Pay’s release that the app wasn’t devices becomes more important,” the same time.” © SMART © a competitor to Mastercard but actually Nelsen said. Mastercard is also making other TECHNOLOGY an opportunity. As part of its pro- moves to further bring tokenization Visa’s big collaboration with Intel gram, Visa is additionally working on and connected payments technology TO MEET THE The Most Modern & will place encryption on any device a roadmap for the next version of 3D to new consumer use cases. The Proven and Innovative NEEDS OF YOUR way to Simplify & Manage Innovative System Available that uses Intel technology. “Everybody Secure, which is expected to begin Mastercard is partnering with Fit Pay for Managing ATM Routes is moving fast and security is often deployment in early 2017. to bring contactless payment capabili- your Amusement Routes COLLECTION an afterthought,” said Mark Nelsen, 3D Secure was initially developed to ties to connected devices and Fit Pay’s ✓ Get your Money ✓ Manage your Cash senior vice president of risk products provide extra authentication for digital broader “Internet of Things” platform. ✓ Keep your Money ROUTES ✓ Recapture Surplus Cash and business intelligence at Visa. transactions, but merchants found it too Fit Pay’s technology includes a Near Intel develops the guts behind data cumbersome. It’s being redeveloped to Field Communication band that attaches ✓ Retain your Locations ✓ Process Commisions centers, connected device deployments, be more streamlined, and to be easier to Web connected devices such as smart- ✓ Provide Premier Support ✓ Provide Premier Support PCs and other computing devices. It’s to bypass traditional authentication watches. The Mastercard collaboration and more! and more! behind a lot of payments hardware, steps while not sacrificing security will add access to the network’s Mas- including EMV and NFC-equipped for contactless payments and other tercard Digital Enablement Service, tablets, and collaborates with hardware m-commerce transactions. which distributes tokenization to secure makers such as Panasonic. Visa’s roadmap will rely on feedback contactless payments. The Visa encryption partnership from merchants as the protocol evolves. Mastercard is additionally debuting is aimed at protecting the variety of “In general we want to do more trans- a bot platform that makes it easier for devices that the card network believes actions with fewer ‘turn downs,’ so we businesses to enable payments and other will be used in the near future to collect need more data on where the transac- merchant communications in chat bots ATM-Smart.com and to reach consumers via platforms AmusementSmart.com “If there is more data we can increase sales and such as Facebook Messenger. Six of the top 10 apps are messaging apps, reduce fraud and friction at the same time.” De Valle said, and are used by more -Mark Nelsen, SVP of risk products and business intelligence, Visa than 1.5 billion people. Call 844.762.7802 today to setup a demo! Access, Service & Support from ANY Device! “Consumers are leading a d igital

64 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 65

064_ISO111216 64 11/7/2016 4:46:25 PM lifestyle, and these activities have to analyst at Aite Group. with FIS to integrate the Visa Direct be seamless,” Del Valle said. The change will potentially make the person-to-person payment service into Facebook Messenger is a conducive payment less apparent to the end user. FIS’ banking and platform for payments in part because “Instead of a c onscious act where technology. of the talent behind it — t he unit is the consumer needs to ‘do something The collaboration can drive other use run by David Marcus, a former PayPal with their device’ to make the transac- cases beyond P-to-P, such as insurance president. tion happen, things will happen in their claims and health care reimbursements, Similar apps such as Apple’s Mes- lives that require a p ayment and the considered a major benefit of the P-to-P sages and Google’s Allo are working payment will take place in support of model—P-to-P ventures such as Early to embed commerce into consumer that activity,” Peterson said. Warning’s clearXchange have also made conversations. “One of the potential consequences of health care and insurance part of their Much of the networks’ activity ad- the intelligent enablement of the physical business strategy. dresses ‘connected payments,’ either world will be more, faster, and smaller “This will bring faster payments to making transactions easier or protect- payments, with little conscious effort insurance claims and health care ben- ing them. on the part of the user,” Peterson said. efits,” said Vish Shastry, vice president The growth of connected commerce “The smartphone won’t be the payment of digital solutions for Visa. “They’ll be will change the context of payments, enabler, it will instead be a data source.” able to deliver funds to cards according to Thad Peterson, a s enior Visa is also announcing a partnership in minutes.” tion is originating from,” Nelsen said. “If there is more data we can increase sales and reduce fraud and friction at the same time.” © SMART © Mastercard is also making other TECHNOLOGY moves to further bring tokenization and connected payments technology TO MEET THE The Most Modern & to new consumer use cases. The Proven and Innovative NEEDS OF YOUR way to Simplify & Manage Innovative System Available Mastercard is partnering with Fit Pay for Managing ATM Routes to bring contactless payment capabili- your Amusement Routes COLLECTION ties to connected devices and Fit Pay’s ✓ Get your Money ✓ Manage your Cash broader “Internet of Things” platform. ✓ Keep your Money ROUTES ✓ Recapture Surplus Cash Fit Pay’s technology includes a Near Field Communication band that attaches ✓ Retain your Locations ✓ Process Commisions to Web connected devices such as smart- ✓ Provide Premier Support ✓ Provide Premier Support watches. The Mastercard collaboration and more! and more! will add access to the network’s Mas- tercard Digital Enablement Service, which distributes tokenization to secure contactless payments. Mastercard is additionally debuting a bot platform that makes it easier for businesses to enable payments and other merchant communications in chat bots ATM-Smart.com and to reach consumers via platforms AmusementSmart.com such as Facebook Messenger. Six of the top 10 apps are messaging apps, De Valle said, and are used by more than 1.5 billion people. Call 844.762.7802 today to setup a demo! Access, Service & Support from ANY Device! “Consumers are leading a d igital

64 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 65

065_ISO111216 65 11/7/2016 4:46:27 PM TECHNOLOGY ANDROID PAY

payments as much as they go straight to the heart of what drives consumers’ payment habits—rewards,” she said. By structuring Android Pay rewards programs around recurring payments A Hard Lesson in Mobile Wallets for everyday purchases, Google is laying Loyalty and offers are often considered key tools to get consumers to adopt new mobile wal- groundwork for expanding its financial lets. But sometimes that approach can be a little too effective. BY KATE FITZGERALD services relationship with consumers, Hewitt suggests. Promotions alone won’t be enough to get consumers to broadly adopt mobile payments, which continue to generate only a paltry amount of overall payments. t would have to take something Plenty have already tried rewards big for consumers to f lock to a for mobile payments without much suc- mobile wallet en masse. Whether cess. Promotions have been a big part it meant to or not, California-based of the rollout strategy for Samsung Pay, RadPad found out what consum- and Apple routinely gives discounts on Iers wanted, but it wasn’t prepared for first-time purchases with Apple Pay. the aftermath. But Hewitt said the long game for Six days after the apartment-rental mobile payments will be when conve- app RadPad launched a promotion waiv- nience and rewards combine to the point ing its usual 2.99% credit card payment where consumers see a good reason for fee for customers switching to Android making the for routine payments, Pay, the company’s proportion of An- droid Pay users soared to 70% from a mere 5%, forcing RadPad to cut off the promotion Aug. 31, three months SAMSUNG PAY'S STRATEGY ADAPTS TO THE U.S. MARKET ahead of plan. Samsung Pay is getting a new look in the U.S. as part of “Thousands of renters sign up in the a long-term goal to move beyond payments technology to last two weeks to pay their rent using broader commerce platform. ªWe will start to add new functions that, traditionally, Android Pay, equating to $5 million you had to carry in your wallet,º Thomas Ko, global general in rent,” said RadPad’s CEO Jonathan manager of Samsung Pay, said in an interview. Eppers, who launched the company in payments, and “within only a few weeks But Hewitt said RadPad’s Android Pay ªAll of those things we'll actually put into Samsung Pay and you'll be able to replace the wallet. Some of 2014, in an Aug. 24 blog post to its users. we’ve surpassed the budget for the entire experience is another clue to Google’s those functions are being offered already,º like loyalty One of the takeaways appears to be year that was allocated to subsidize the long-term strategy for mobile payments. memberships and gift cards, ªbut we'll keep doing more and that consumers are perfectly willing to credit card fee,” Eppers wrote. “RadPad’s promotion hooked a lot launch additional services,º Ko said. The mobile payments service announced a slew of new change a long-established habit instan- Since RadPad is in the business of of people into making a recurring pay- features at October's Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas: taneously—including adopting mobile facilitating rent payments, there really ment for a commodity purchase, which location-based deals at nearby retailers, in-app payments payments—given the right incentive. is no middle ground here. Since all is what Google’s ultimate goal is with and Masterpass payments. It also announced international expansion to three new markets. In this case, analysts say it’s clear that rent payments are hundreds — i f not Android Pay,” Hewitt said. The upgrade comes just over a year after the mobile the relatively rare opportunity to earn thousands — of dollars, there was no The difference is that Google typi- payments service launched in the U.S.expands upon the credit card rewards on a big-ticket, option to limit the promotion per user cally focuses on lower-cost items, limit- original functionality, which allowed users to load debit and credit cards and gift cards into their mobile wallets as forms recurring purchase like was rent was or limit transaction size. ing its exposure during promotions. of payment as well as rewards program memberships. the spark driving thousands of renters “What we see here is that some con- “Google has come up w ith a l ot of A new deals feature within the Samsung Pay app will to immediately switch to Android Pay. sumers want their rewards, and savvy Android Pay promotions through mer- give U.S. users access to discounts and coupons at nearby retailers that are instantly redeemable. Consumers in the But consumers aren’t the only ones consumers saw a great opportunity to chants giving discounts and rewards for U.S. will also be able to checkout with Samsung Pay when swayed by costs and rewards. The down- do that here,” said Patricia Hewitt, CEO people using the service to buy coffee shopping within select merchant apps. side is that RadPad was still on the hook of PG Research & Advisory Services in and groceries, and these offers don’t Samsung Pay also announced its forthcoming global for the transaction costs for these rent Savannah, Ga. emphasize the sexy technology of mobile

66 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 67

066_ISO111216 66 11/7/2016 4:56:46 PM payments as much as they go straight and going mobile with rent is a big step payment to landlords by mailing them to the heart of what drives consumers’ in that direction. a check; landlords also may accept payment habits—rewards,” she said. “Apple and Google are battling it out payments from RadPad via ACH. In By structuring Android Pay rewards to win over consumers, and it’s becoming either case, landlords are freed from programs around recurring payments easier to see that Google wants to be collecting renter’s checks or payment A Hard Lesson in Mobile Wallets for everyday purchases, Google is laying the one controlling not just consumers’ details, and RadPad also enables apart- Loyalty and offers are often considered key tools to get consumers to adopt new mobile wal- groundwork for expanding its financial online lives, but their financial lives as ment dwellers to split the rent and sends lets. But sometimes that approach can be a little too effective. BY KATE FITZGERALD services relationship with consumers, well, and the way it’s using incentives them reminders. Hewitt suggests. to get consumers to trust their payment RadPad accepts all card payments Promotions alone won’t be enough to credentials to Android Pay is just one and added Apple Pay before it introduced get consumers to broadly adopt mobile more piece of evidence of their goals,” Android Pay. payments, which continue to generate Hewitt said. Even without a promotion to waive only a paltry amount of overall payments. RadPad, which earns fees for listing credit card fees, Apple Pay accounted Plenty have already tried rewards available apartments in Los Angeles and for 8% of all RadPad payments before for mobile payments without much suc- Chicago, has made mobile payments the Android Pay promotion began, a cess. Promotions have been a big part a central feature by a cting as a pay- RadPad spokesperson said. of the rollout strategy for Samsung Pay, ments gateway. Many of its customers When announcing the premature and Apple routinely gives discounts on are young adults who prefer making end of its promotion, RadPad started first-time purchases with Apple Pay. electronic and card payments, while encouraging Android Pay users looking But Hewitt said the long game for many landlords still require renters to to avoid a fee to switch to using ACH mobile payments will be when conve- pay by check. payments. nience and rewards combine to the point To streamline processes for all par- Users also may their debit card to where consumers see a good reason for ticipants, RadPad accepts payments the app for rental payments, which car- making the switch for routine payments, from renters through its app and delivers ries a flat fee of $4.95 per payment.

SAMSUNG PAY'S STRATEGY ADAPTS TO THE U.S. MARKET Samsung Pay is getting a new look in the U.S. as part of expansion into Malaysia, Thailand and Russia. Ko said it a long-term goal to move beyond payments technology to has been running tests there for three or four weeks and broader commerce platform. expects to roll out the service by the end of the year, bringing ªWe will start to add new functions that, traditionally, its presence to 10 countries since its initial launch in South you had to carry in your wallet,º Thomas Ko, global general Korea in August 2015. He also hinted at plans for further manager of Samsung Pay, said in an interview. expansion announcements in 2017. But Hewitt said RadPad’s Android Pay ªAll of those things we'll actually put into Samsung Mastercard has integrated Samsung Pay, as well as Pay and you'll be able to replace the wallet. Some of Android Pay and Microsoft Wallet, into Masterpass, a experience is another clue to Google’s those functions are being offered already,º like loyalty digital wallet that supports mobile payments at the point of long-term strategy for mobile payments. memberships and gift cards, ªbut we'll keep doing more and sale and online payments without the need to type a card “RadPad’s promotion hooked a lot launch additional services,º Ko said. number each time a customer checks out of the store. The mobile payments service announced a slew of new Samsung has had a tricky time spreading the use of its of people into making a recurring pay- features at October's Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas: mobile wallet. Because Samsung Pay operates only on ment for a commodity purchase, which location-based deals at nearby retailers, in-app payments Samsung handsets, it is available only to consumers who is what Google’s ultimate goal is with and Masterpass payments. It also announced international are willing to pay the cost of its high-end hardware as well as expansion to three new markets. overlook the brand damage of the company's widespread Android Pay,” Hewitt said. The upgrade comes just over a year after the mobile recall of its flagship Note 7 phones. The difference is that Google typi- payments service launched in the U.S.expands upon the That said, Samsung has fared better in merchant adoption cally focuses on lower-cost items, limit- original functionality, which allowed users to load debit and by incorporating a technology that allows its mobile wallets credit cards and gift cards into their mobile wallets as forms to simulate a magstripe card; this means that unlike rival ing its exposure during promotions. of payment as well as rewards program memberships. wallets such as Apple Pay and Android Pay, Samsung Pay “Google has come up w ith a l ot of A new deals feature within the Samsung Pay app will does not require a merchant to have an NFC terminal to Android Pay promotions through mer- give U.S. users access to discounts and coupons at nearby accept mobile payments. retailers that are instantly redeemable. Consumers in the But even this advantage may be short-lived, as it chants giving discounts and rewards for U.S. will also be able to checkout with Samsung Pay when is rumored that rival smartphone maker LG will be people using the service to buy coffee shopping within select merchant apps. incorporating a similar technology in the design of its own and groceries, and these offers don’t Samsung Pay also announced its forthcoming global devices. emphasize the sexy technology of mobile

66 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 67

067_ISO111216 67 11/7/2016 4:56:47 PM TECHNOLOGY CLOUD PAYMENTS

different,” Bentson said. “You have antivirals and controlled substances that have an expiration date, as well as the possibility that you may run out. You have to keep an on the supply Health Care Gets Aid from Cloud and expiration date to optimize your Health care payments are usually far more complicated than traditional business payments. inventory.” So why do hospitals still rely on outdated payment mechanisms? BY JOHN ADAMS There are also changes in the technol- ogy that powers purchase-to-pay that make it easier to access on handheld mobile devices, and as such potentially more usable for medical staff, Bentson said. he refrain is familiar by The cloud-hosted technology enables now—health care payments mobile access for inventory tracking, are more complicated than ordering and payments. Nurses and consumer payments and clinic workers are not in front of a com- require special technology puter, Bentson said, so they often order Tand products. But there’s another dif- supplies “on the fly.” ference between health care providers Access to a mobile device allows and the rest of the world, one that’s just as vexing and equally attractive to technology vendors. Health care businesses often order INVESTORS SEE CLOUD TECH AS VITAL TO PAYMENTS and pay for supplies in a manner that Omnichannel commerce demands multiple layers of can be relatively decentralized, disor- technology, and each layer adds a risk of latency and friction ganized and surprisingly inefficient. at time when payment companies can least afford it. Cloud structures can smooth these workflows, and The current structure can result investors are seeing the potential of cloud vendors to serve in “different physicians at a medical as the connective tissue between ambitious startups and practice making a bunch of different complex legacy systems. ªThe whole payments space is evolving pretty fast,º orders for latex gloves or swabs, all said Omar Khan, managing director of First Quay Capital. from different vendors that all charge ªConsumers are demanding change, simplicity and flexibility. different amounts and ship differently,” Traditional networks are having to make way for new players, especially technology players. Given all of this, companies said Tommy Bentson, vice president of will increasingly need to have a cross platform offer.º customer success at Basware, an Espoo, First Quay, an Australian private equity firm, recently Finland-based company that offers made an investment in Alpha Payments Cloud, a Dublin- based company offering a hub that communicates with purchase-to-pay, electronic invoicing business systems and supports multiple technology types and other financing services. and programming languages. This allows it to deploy While companies like Splitit, Sim- numerous vendor permutations that work together to improve productivity and reduce glitches. plee and other third parties focus on Alpha has offered merchant automation in an ªapp storeº managing the complex and expensive model for some time, and is bracing for what it sees as more consumer direct health care payments which connects procurement and in- For health care, that difference is demand for technology that can manage other technology. As merchants and financial institutions embrace multi- market, Basware resides on the busi- voicing with business f low, can help the decentralized purchases—doctors channel shopping and payments, or simply rely more on ness invoicing side. It has updated its health care companies streamline supply at a p ractice usually order supplies mobile payments or apps, they're using more innovation technology to enable cloud delivery and chains. Purchase-to-pay is not a new themselves or through nurses, creat- from third parties, or from the diverse toolkits that are increasingly part of IT sourcing. mobile commerce, which the company supply chain model, but it is uncommon ing a m ismatch of need and supply. The complexities are still prevalent for banks and says is more affordable and more ger- in health care, mostly because provid- They also pay differently, with a m ix merchants in optimizing their digital, mobile and point of mane to the needs of health care B-to-B ers cling to paper-based transactions of check, card or wires depending on sale payments, risk and commerce strategies, said Oliver Rajic, CEO of Alpha Payments Cloud. ªBoth locally and payments. and manual processing, according to the specific order. Bentson argues purchase-to-pay, Bentson. “Also, the supplies themselves are

68 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 69

068_ISO111216 68 11/7/2016 4:38:51 PM different,” Bentson said. “You have staff to view a digital catalogue that has counting program that didn’t provide antivirals and controlled substances approved supplies from preferred ven- much oversight into purchases. that have an expiration date, as well dors—shopping, ordering, payment and “[The upgrade] will have a true ap- as the possibility that you may run shipment can all happen from the same proval process in place that will allow our out. You have to keep an on the supply app, similar to any other e-commerce administrators to approve orders prior Health Care Gets Aid from Cloud and expiration date to optimize your site but with features customized for to being placed, rather than approving Health care payments are usually far more complicated than traditional business payments. inventory.” health care offices. invoices after the fact,” McGrath said. So why do hospitals still rely on outdated payment mechanisms? BY JOHN ADAMS There are also changes in the technol- Trilogy Health Services, a Louisville, For a billing automation technology ogy that powers purchase-to-pay that Ky.-based senior health care and hospi- company like Basware, the opportunity make it easier to access on handheld tality provider, hopes to gain leverage is to expand on the value of digitizing mobile devices, and as such potentially with vendors via the addition of the invoices, said Nancy Atkinson, a senior more usable for medical staff, Bentson payment and supply technology. analyst at Aite. said. “The [technology] will also provide “Any company with multiple purchas- The cloud-hosted technology enables a faster turnaround for processing in- ers is likely to encounter sub-optimal mobile access for inventory tracking, voices, enabling us to capture fast pay purchasing and inventory management,” ordering and payments. Nurses and discounts and negotiate them in the Atkinson said. clinic workers are not in front of a com- future,” said Mike McGrath, director of “Basware can provide insight into puter, Bentson said, so they often order purchasing at Trilogy, who said Trilogy these purchasing practices and en- supplies “on the fly.” used a manual budget and purchase able companies to control these key Access to a mobile device allows order system tied to a b ack office ac- processes.”

INVESTORS SEE CLOUD TECH AS VITAL TO PAYMENTS Omnichannel commerce demands multiple layers of globally, requirements change depending on different technology, and each layer adds a risk of latency and friction buyers, products and varying ticket sizes,º Rajic said. ªThe at time when payment companies can least afford it. bank can limit themselves to a small number of vendors Cloud structures can smooth these workflows, and for every merchant or can use our platform and access investors are seeing the potential of cloud vendors to serve hundreds of vendors and create custom solutions based on as the connective tissue between ambitious startups and the merchant's needs.º complex legacy systems. Alpha has the potential to be an alternative to the large ªThe whole payments space is evolving pretty fast,º financial technology vendors that sell a `best of breed' said Omar Khan, managing director of First Quay Capital. approach to automation as an alternative to multiple ªConsumers are demanding change, simplicity and flexibility. technology relationships, which can be more expensive Traditional networks are having to make way for new players, and difficult to manage, especially for smaller financial especially technology players. Given all of this, companies institutions or merchants. will increasingly need to have a cross platform offer.º ªAlpha is the middle man for all of the middle men,º said First Quay, an Australian private equity firm, recently Bernard Golden, a cloud computing consultant, adding these made an investment in Alpha Payments Cloud, a Dublin- third parties can lead to more than a half dozen points of based company offering a hub that communicates with contact depending on the relationshipsÐ and the goal of the business systems and supports multiple technology types new hosted technology is to benefit from these relationships and programming languages. This allows it to deploy will having a technology workflow that behaves as if these numerous vendor permutations that work together to relationships have been eliminated. improve productivity and reduce glitches. Alpha's new investment will boost the company's current Alpha has offered merchant automation in an ªapp storeº initiatives, which include a partnership with payments model for some time, and is bracing for what it sees as more processor RS2 to provide banks in Thailand with access to For health care, that difference is demand for technology that can manage other technology. multiple financial and non-financial services through a single As merchants and financial institutions embrace multi- integration. Alpha additionally announced a new partnership the decentralized purchases—doctors channel shopping and payments, or simply rely more on with Australia's Havantec to become the preferred at a p ractice usually order supplies mobile payments or apps, they're using more innovation integration provider for its identity authentication service. themselves or through nurses, creat- from third parties, or from the diverse toolkits that are The role of open development, which allows companies increasingly part of IT sourcing. to build interfaces for e-commerce or mobile transactions, ing a m ismatch of need and supply. The complexities are still prevalent for banks and adds to this challenge, since the number of functions They also pay differently, with a m ix merchants in optimizing their digital, mobile and point of powered by application programming interfaces and of check, card or wires depending on sale payments, risk and commerce strategies, said Oliver software development kits is expected to expand rapidly in Rajic, CEO of Alpha Payments Cloud. ªBoth locally and the specific order. coming years. “Also, the supplies themselves are

68 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 69

069_ISO111216 69 11/7/2016 4:38:52 PM SECURITY EMV AND BIOMETRICS

The larger the purchase amount, the more interested consumers become in using more security to protect that transaction. But that argument can be a misguided Security Fears Still Rampant concept, said Jaclyn Holmes, the senior EMV was designed to tighten security at the point of sale, and biometric authentication helps manager at Auriemma who directed defend online and mobile commerce. So why are merchants getting more scared about the study. fraud? BY DAVID HEUN Consumers mostly enjoy saving that time online by using one-click pay- ment checkout methods, with 1-Click and PayPal’s One Touch being the most popular, the report said. But ecause of zero liability rules, almost two-thirds of respondents feel consumers rarely share the that process makes online shopping extent of the concerns banks more vulnerable to fraud. have over account security. “Many cardholders are uneasy with But their fears might be the idea of being permanently logged Bgrowing. on,” Holmes said in a release. “Consum- Despite the introduction of advanced ers appreciate the convenience of being security technology in the form of EMV able to breeze through online check- chips, biometrics and tokenization, more out with a single click, but it may be than half of U.S. consumers feel card leading some to wonder whether that fraud has increased in the past year. same convenience could make them a And 42% say they have experienced tempting target for fraud.” fraud, with half of those saying it has Some consumers are beginning to occurred multiple times, according to equate better security with taking more new research from Auriemma Consult- time, as they experience the EMV chip ing Group. card process at the point of sale, the The survey of 500 debit cardholders report said. also revealed that nearly half of consum- Forty-two percent of respondents ers believe they will be victimized again chose chip cards as the method they in the next five years. considered most secure for payments, Part of the issue is consumers’ stub- or more than three times the number born refusal to use a complex, unique that chose mobile. Even though early password for each account. Also, more adopters of mobile understand the added than two-thirds save passwords on security of tokenization, or the replace- their devices for at least some of their ment of card numbers with a random accounts, most commonly e-mail and sequence of unrelated characters, most social media, Auriemma reports. consumers do not. The payments industry has long “In the general population, mobile’s acknowledged that passwords are a speed and convenience equate to be- weak and outdated security option, but ing less safe,” said Marianne Berry, one that will remain in place until other managing director of payment insights authentication methods reach scale. at Auriemma. “ To convert non-users, As online activity increases, 30% of marketing messages should highlight those who shop weekly say they save how mobile pay transactions mask the the password for nearly all of their payment card information.” accounts, which is double that of less The major card brands have been frequent shoppers. trying to deliver that message in ad-

70 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 71

070_ISO111216 70 11/7/2016 4:35:07 PM The larger the purchase amount, the more interested consumers become in using more security to protect that transaction. But that argument can be a misguided Security Fears Still Rampant concept, said Jaclyn Holmes, the senior EMV was designed to tighten security at the point of sale, and biometric authentication helps manager at Auriemma who directed defend online and mobile commerce. So why are merchants getting more scared about the study. fraud? BY DAVID HEUN Consumers mostly enjoy saving that time online by using one-click pay- ment checkout methods, with Amazon 1-Click and PayPal’s One Touch being the most popular, the report said. But almost two-thirds of respondents feel that process makes online shopping more vulnerable to fraud. “Many cardholders are uneasy with the idea of being permanently logged on,” Holmes said in a release. “Consum- ers appreciate the convenience of being vancing digital payments, but the fact reduce transaction times from 10 to 2 able to breeze through online check- that consumers are looking at EMV seconds, and MasterCard and Discover out with a single click, but it may be chip cards as the most secure method quickly introduced similar technology. leading some to wonder whether that is also helpful to the brands as they The first Quick Chip deployment took same convenience could make them a continue to push the U.S. away from place earlier this month at a g rocery tempting target for fraud.” mag-stripe cards. chain in the San Francisco region. Some consumers are beginning to More than 345 million Visa chip Around the same time, Javelin Strat- equate better security with taking more cards have been issued in the U.S., a egy & R esearch issued a report on time, as they experience the EMV chip 173% increase from a year ago, or just the growing consumer confidence in card process at the point of sale, the a few months before the October 2015 biometrics as an authentication method report said. liability shift for EMV cards, according and fraud prevention tool. Forty-two percent of respondents to Visa’s end of July figures. Nearly half of U.S. consumers believe chose chip cards as the method they About 30% of all U.S. merchant lo- fingerprint biometric is an effective considered most secure for payments, cations, or 1.4 million storefronts, are form of security, and 65% said they are or more than three times the number accepting chip cards, Visa said, and willing to use it, the Javelin report said. that chose mobile. Even though early more than a half a billion Visa chip The payments industry has to em- adopters of mobile understand the added transactions took place in July, or 16 brace the use of biometrics for card- security of tokenization, or the replace- times more than a year ago. holder verification for physical card ment of card numbers with a random That represents a key chip-on-chip transactions because PIN and signature sequence of unrelated characters, most transaction statistic for Visa because transactions will continue to frustrate consumers do not. the 554 million transactions in July are consumers without slowing down fraud- “In the general population, mobile’s 26% more than the 440 million reported sters, Javelin’s report said. speed and convenience equate to be- in May. Some merchants are beginning to ing less safe,” said Marianne Berry, Still, Visa and other card brands have test biometric readers at the physical managing director of payment insights made the move to bring the security point of sale, especially in settings like at Auriemma. “ To convert non-users, of EMV chip cards, which addresses exercise facilities where patrons are less marketing messages should highlight counterfeit card fraud at the point of likely to carry a full wallet. how mobile pay transactions mask the sale, together with the mag-stripe trans- “PIN and signature are solutions payment card information.” action speed that consumers were ac- for another past life,” said Al Pascual, The major card brands have been customed to. research director and head of fraud and trying to deliver that message in ad- Visa introduced Visa Quick Chip to security at Javelin.

70 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 71

071_ISO111216 71 11/7/2016 4:35:09 PM MOBILE STRATEGY

where a customer could open a private label credit card account in the privacy of their own home through the app.” Kohl’s in particular is demonstrat- ing the wisdom of building a m obile Ignore Starbucks’ Mobile Model app to suit its own needs. With Kohl’s Starbucks has had amazing success with its mobile payment app, but retailers would be Pay introducing the option for users to wrong to try to duplicate its work exactly. BY DAVID HEUN redeem various Kohl’s rewards at the time of transaction, through a simple QR code scan, the process “is so easy it is as close to Uber as a retailer can get,” Crone said. Many retailers didn’t make the move in the past to push their private label cards more aggressively or establish them as the brand in a m obile wallet because their back-end providers didn’t support mobile, Crone said. When the Merchant Customer Ex- change initiative to create the CurrentC mobile wallet fell apart, the major re- tailers who were MCX members had learned enough to venture out on their own with branded wallet apps and hook up with providers also on board with mobile, Crone added. Private label cards are already a sound economic move for retailers. Depending on how their contracts are set up with private label issuers and processors, the retailers promot- ing private label cards for transaction volume make money on each of those transactions, as opposed to paying interchange for sales on open-loop network cards. Essentially, the private label provid- ers pay the retailers, instead of vice versa. “I don’t know if it is interchange as we know it,” said Brian Riley, director or years, retailers have looked gift card, and the app streamlines the majority of their sales on their private of credit advisory services for Mercator upon Starbucks’ mobile pay- processes of reloading and checking label card,” said Richard Crone, chief Advisory Group. “The average interest ment app — which is used for balances. executive of San Carlos, Calif.-based rate on those transactions is pretty high, a quarter of its U.S. in-store However, many retail stores prefer payments consulting firm Crone Con- so if it is not really interchange, I would payments — with envy. But to drive spending to private-label credit sulting LLC. call it more of a rebate or a participa- Flately, stores are realizing that they don’t cards, which get different benefits from “Now they are starting to wake up and tion benefit.” want to duplicate Starbucks’ success. a mobile app. are seeing they can provide a whole suite Major retailers did not respond to At the core of Starbucks’ mobile pay- “Everyone says Starbucks is differ- of services around this mobile wallet,” inquiries about their current transac- ment app is the Starbucks reloadable ent, but every retailer strives to have the Crone said. “They can eventually get to tion contracts, but one did confirm a

72 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 73

072_ISO111216 72 11/7/2016 4:42:28 PM where a customer could open a private provider generally pays the retailer chief marketing officer. label credit card account in the privacy low to mid-single digit percentages on “This is a clear overlap of a retailer’s of their own home through the app.” a transaction, while the retailer also is most loyal customer base in those that Kohl’s in particular is demonstrat- not paying a 1% to 2.5% have downloaded the native app and also ing the wisdom of building a m obile to a card network. That math adds up those that have a retailer branded credit Ignore Starbucks’ Mobile Model app to suit its own needs. With Kohl’s well for retailers. card,” Goodrich said. Those cards could Starbucks has had amazing success with its mobile payment app, but retailers would be Pay introducing the option for users to The major private label providers be a private label card or Synchrony’s wrong to try to duplicate its work exactly. BY DAVID HEUN redeem various Kohl’s rewards at the striking these deals and offering incen- Dual Card, used as a private label card time of transaction, through a simple tives include , Alli- that can also be used for transactions QR code scan, the process “is so easy ance Data, Private Label, outside of the store. it is as close to Uber as a retailer can Citi Retail Services, Retail As more private label cards become get,” Crone said. Services, and others. available and retailers catch on to the Many retailers didn’t make the move Those providers make their money off incentive programs offered through in the past to push their private label the receivables from the card accounts, providers, bank-branded wallets may cards more aggressively or establish as most retailers don’t hold onto their also find their spot right alongside the them as the brand in a m obile wallet own receivables. Kohl’s and Walmart Pays of the world, because their back-end providers didn’t “It’s a new era and, quite frankly, a Mercator’s Riley said. support mobile, Crone said. healthy one if you are a bigger retailer,” This is especially true of Chase Pay, When the Merchant Customer Ex- said Steve Mott, principal of Better- which is expected to be available late this change initiative to create the CurrentC BuyDesign, a S tamford, Conn.-based year or early next year, and already has mobile wallet fell apart, the major re- consulting firm. “If you are a smaller various retailers signed on to support tailers who were MCX members had retailer, interchange keeps going up, the mobile payment platform. learned enough to venture out on their but that’s the name of the game in a For consumers, Chase Pay will oper- own with branded wallet apps and hook free-market, capitalist system.” ate nearly identical to Kohl’s, Walmart, up with providers also on board with Co-branded credit cards represent Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway wallets mobile, Crone added. about 30% of total card payments, while through their use of QR-code technology. Private label cards are already a private label cards hover around 10% of The third-party wallet providers like sound economic move for retailers. the payments card business, Mott said. Apple, Android and Samsung operate Depending on how their contracts “The big incentive on private label on Near Field Communication technol- are set up with private label issuers cards used in a store is that processing ogy, calling for retailers add those NFC and processors, the retailers promot- costs are less than a nickel a transac- readers to their terminals. ing private label cards for transaction tion,” Mott added. “A private label card With their own mobile wallet venture volume make money on each of those is rarely used outside of the store, but out of the picture, most MCX members transactions, as opposed to paying it does happen.” are turning to their own apps and have interchange for sales on open-loop One of the deficiencies of Apple Pay also cozied up to Chase Pay, considering network cards. when it first came into the market was the low fees it had offered the retailers Essentially, the private label provid- its inability to support a p rivate label to support the technology. ers pay the retailers, instead of vice card, Mott said. If a r etailer can obtain the private versa. “A retailer who has a private label label benefits of avoiding interchange “I don’t know if it is interchange as card is getting more than 50% of its through its branded wallet, plus accept we know it,” said Brian Riley, director business on that card, so it is kind of Chase Pay with its promise of lower majority of their sales on their private of credit advisory services for Mercator silly to participate in Apple Pay if you fees, their transaction costs will become label card,” said Richard Crone, chief Advisory Group. “The average interest can’t get it to most of your customers,” substantially lower. executive of San Carlos, Calif.-based rate on those transactions is pretty high, he added. “A real sweet spot for Chase Pay will payments consulting firm Crone Con- so if it is not really interchange, I would Synchrony Financial has partnered be when a Chase customer is going into sulting LLC. call it more of a rebate or a participa- with retailers to integrate into their Walmart,” Riley said. “That’s a pretty “Now they are starting to wake up and tion benefit.” native apps, in the same manner it did good combination for the retailer to get, are seeing they can provide a whole suite Major retailers did not respond to with e-commerce and mobile web, said and the advantage for Chase Pay is that of services around this mobile wallet,” inquiries about their current transac- Whit Goodrich, Synchrony Financial it would have a much wider footprint Crone said. “They can eventually get to tion contracts, but one did confirm a senior vice president and retail card over the others.”

72 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 73

073_ISO111216 73 11/7/2016 4:42:29 PM PAYTHINK SECURITY TRENDS

Hackers Threaten POS and Mobile More hackers are going after platforms, not people. Such tactics can be devastating for mer- chants and consumers alike. BY THORSTEN HELD

n the past, hackers have most often gone after specific merchants when seeking cardholder infor- mation. Recent attacks on point- of-sale (POS) vendors, however, Imay signal a drastic shift in how these cybercriminals operate, and certainly signal a need for application security for mobile payments. More than ten POS vendors, includ- ing MICROS, have been compromised within a few weeks. Some of these at- tacks may be linked to two specific forms of malware: Carbanak and MalumPOS. However, no definitive link between the hackers behind these programs and the recent attacks is certain. The damage that these attacks can cause are best exemplified with the story of the HEI Hotels & Resorts company. It targeting multiple points of vulnerability devices to perform the same transac- recently reported a POS-related breach at once – including mobile payments. tions but instead storing credentials of security at 20 of the properties it It is not enough to focus on protecting somewhere other than the SE – such as manages (which includes major hotel merchants—security must now be in the cloud. With all the benefits that chains such as Marriott and Sheraton). applied to the entire infrastructure HCE provides, there are associated Card numbers, cardholder names, ex- supporting merchants, POS systems security risks such as , piration dates, and verification codes and mobile devices. fraud and privacy. If these risks aren’t used between March 2015 and June Near Field Communication (NFC) addressed, cybercriminals can reverse 2016 may all have been exposed. technology has been gaining traction engineer sensitive code that transmits As these breaches indicate, past cy- with many device manufacturers as or processes encryption keys within the berattacks have mostly been directed at they introduce their own payment so- mobile device. merchants. Mobile devices, however, are lutions. However, NFC-based applica- Merchants need to take security now advanced to the point where using tions use a s ecure element (SE) on for HCE to the next level by providing your device at the POS is more frequent. the mobile device to store credentials application hardening to protect apps Mobile payments are just another way whereas Host Card Emulation (HCE) is and devices with: Integrity protection, that hackers are seeking to gain control an easy-to-deploy alternative that does code (application) obfuscation, white- of sensitive data. Hackers are not simply not require a physical secure element box cryptography, jailbreak detection, changing to new specific targets; they’re on mobile devices and enables NFC and anti-debug protection.

74 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

074_ISO111216 74 11/7/2016 4:38:13 PM PEOPLE VISA’S NEW BOSS

Visa’s New CEO Takes the Reins Visa's choice for its next CEO brings in someone who knows the company well. But he won't be a carbon copy of his predecessor. BY KATE FITZGERALD

isa Inc. caught investors off guard with the news that CEO Charlie Scharf is quitting after four years for personal reasons, to be replacedV by longtime Amex exec Alfred F. Kelly Jr. — putting the new boss on the hot seat at a time when much is at stake for Visa. Today, Visa is re-integrating itself with Visa Europe and making peace with longtime rivals like PayPal, while also facing merchant dissatisfaction with the EMV transition and looming legal showdowns. Experts say it’s a tough time to sud- denly bring in a new leader, no matter how qualified he is. “Visa is in a transitional period as it looks to not only expand its position on Alfred F. Kelly Jr., a longtime Amex exec, is taking over the CEO role at Visa. the value chain, but open up what has traditionally been a c losed network,” tions and the collapse this year of the many eyebrows in the C-suites of large said Jordan McKee, a s enior analyst merchants’ long-running interchange issuers,” McKee said. with 451 Research, adding: “A leader- lawsuit. Kelly’s background at Amex—which ship change during this company-wide Kelly does not plan to make drastic operates on both the consumer and mer- evolution is not ideal.” changes on day one, but “the reality is chant side—could help in confronting Kelly has his work cut out for him, that I’m certainly not Charlie [Scharf] these challenges, said Aaron McPher- and he acknowledged in a conference and over time I’ll figure out how to put son, an independent payments analyst. call that he will be constantly in motion, my own stamp on the organization,” “I think the balance of power is shift- with plans to spend a significant amount Kelly said in a conference call. ing toward the merchants, and that Visa of time in Europe and China, as well as Some changes may be overdue. Many needs to continue to pivot its focus to both U.S. coasts, all in service of Visa’s large banks are skeptical of certain Visa become more merchant-centric,” he business interests. policies, McKee said. said, noting that it will be a d ifficult He also faces plenty of challenges “Visa’s attempt to ‘own’ tokenization balancing act. from the merchant side, including out- and its release of services such as the Scharf already has laid out a battle standing litigation with Walmart on Visa Digital Commerce Application and plan and this year he oversaw several routing issues around PIN debit transac- Visa Commerce Network have raised strategic moves that might bring the

isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 75

075_ISO111216 75 11/7/2016 4:40:24 PM PEOPLE VISA’S NEW BOSS

various factions that drive Visa’s busi- ness into better harmony. Costco Confronts the Pitfalls of Deep Integration Visa for the first time opened its net- BY DAVID HEUN work to third-party developers, inviting collaboration with financial institutions, f there is a takeaway from Citi- merchants and technology companies group’s not-quite-stellar rollout of through the use of APIs. the Costco Anywhere Visa card, it In July, Visa negotiated a cease-fire is this: Even in modern times, the with PayPal after tensions between the transition of large card portfolios two companies had escalated to the Ifrom one issuer to another can prove point Scharf in June warned PayPal disastrously complex. of the perils of becoming “frenemies” After major complaints occurred in because of PayPal’s relentless efforts June from Costco members who were urging consumers to pay via ACH in- having trouble activating their new cards stead of payment cards. when Citi and Visa began the transition Under that new arrangement, PayPal to replace American Express cards, it promised to give Visa issuers equal was revealed that Citigroup had sent a visibility as funding options, and Visa batch of e-mails to the wrong account vowed to provide economic incentives holders, saying those card memberships and invited PayPal to join the Visa Digital at Costco had lapsed. Enablement Program, which could pave Outgoing CEO Charles Scharf is leaving Visa to spend more time with family. The only problem was they hadn’t, PayPal’s path to acceptance in stores. its decision to name Kelly as chief was of MetLife since 2009 and currently and Citi was left scrambling to appease (Mastercardannounced a similar ar- unanimous, based on Kelly’s deep pay- serves on the board of apparel retailer irate customers again. rangement in September.) ments experience from 23 years spent J.Jill, according to Visa. The problem stems from the complex- Visa’s PayPal deal signals a new at Amex in diverse roles, including Kelly also has been a trustee for ity of the portfolio’s integration with approach to working with nonbanks as the rival card company’s president charitable organizations. Amex, said Gil Luria, analyst with Los and merchants in a r apidly changing until 2011. “Mr. Kelly’s deep industry knowledge Angeles-based Wedbush Securities. marketplace that spans the globe. At the time of Kelly’s departure from and familiarity with Visa are reassur- “This deal is u nprecedented i n “Visa has traditionally played of- Amex, some suggested one reason ing,” said Morgan Stanley analysts in scope,” Luria said of the transition of fense in the payments market, but the was that he wanted to be chairman, an Oct. 18 investor note. 11 million member cards. “American Ex- market dynamics today require more and after some months he resumed “While it will likely still take time press’ reliance on Costco, and Costco’s defense,” said Patricia Hewitt, CEO of leadership roles elsewhere, venturing to become more familiar with Visa’s integration of American Express was PG Research & Advisory Services. “Visa far away from payments into sports and operational inner workings, we think this broad and deep, so it is very hard to needs to recreate for itself a digital im- community efforts. is probably a good time for leadership just change that overnight and we are perative to process global transactions Kelly from 2011 to 2014 was CEO of change ... as the priorities and challenges seeing that transition pain now.” and ... this will increasingly be dependent the Super Bowl Host Committee for the facing Visa over the next few years are The industry has shown on more upon partnerships in conjunction with 2014 Super Bowl in New Meadowlands, likely to be different than the last few than one occasion that any changes digitally enabling network services to N.J., and early this year he was named years, given the Visa Europe integration in issuing, acquiring or payment pro- scale.” chairman and CEO of Intersection Co., and resurfacing of the legal battle with cessing for a retailer’s card brand can Scharf told the board of directors which is working to convert New York the merchants,” Morgan Stanley said. result in challenges, stemming from of his plan to resign on Oct. 17, though City’s former pay phone booths into Because Kelly has been away from increased customer inquiries to a more he’d signaled to them last month he was public WiFi nodes. the payments industry in a day-to-day nightmarish scenario when cards don’t having trouble straddling his job in San At Amex, Kelly handled a broad range sense for several years, analysts say work when consumers present them at Francisco and responsibilities of being of duties from leading the consumer card he will need to move quickly to provide the point of sale. a husband, father and son to family group to overseeing small-business and the same results Scharf did in his years With far fewer accounts, at about 2 members on the East Coast, said Bob merchant services, travel services and as CEO. million, prepaid card provider Green Matschullat, Visa’s chairman, during prepaid card operations. “These are big shoes for Al Kelly Dot had considerable woes in moving a conference call later that day. Visa’s board is only one of those to fill,” said Tim Sloane, head of pay- payment processing from T SYS to Visa’s board had already been ex- Kelly has served on in recent years. ments innovation at Mercator Advisory Mastercard. It resulted in a p eriod of ploring its options for a successor and Kelly has also held a seat on the board Group. time four months ago in which nearly

76 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 77

076_ISO111216 76 11/7/2016 4:40:26 PM Costco Confronts the Pitfalls of Deep Integration BY DAVID HEUN 59,000 Walmart-branded prepaid cards In the early days of the launch, Costco simply did not work. customers experienced longer wait f there is a takeaway from Citi- As far back as 2010, JPMorgan Chase times, but Citi has responded to the group’s not-quite-stellar rollout of and Starbucks proved that major brand demand for new cards and the aver- the Costco Anywhere Visa card, it names are not immune to card portfolio age call waits were as low as just a few is this: Even in modern times, the problems. seconds the past weekend, she added. transition of large card portfolios They did not have rollout issues years “It is important to note that despite Ifrom one issuer to another can prove earlier with what became the popular some of the reports in the media and disastrously complex. Duetto card, but did put an end to this elsewhere, the vast majority of call After major complaints occurred in credit card romance by terminating volume was related to a number of top- June from Costco members who were Duetto’s use and illustrating some of ics, including card activation, payment having trouble activating their new cards the pressures a card portfolio can face queries, online setup and things of that when Citi and Visa began the transition from the economy, costs and ongoing nature,” Bombardier said. “They were to replace American Express cards, it expectations. not complaints.” was revealed that Citigroup had sent a No matter which bank or card brand In addition to being such a large port- batch of e-mails to the wrong account is involved, the key aspect of dealing folio transition, the Citi/Visa takeover holders, saying those card memberships with card portfolios is predictability, from American Express at Costco has at Costco had lapsed. said Brian Riley, an independent pay- garnered much attention from investors, Outgoing CEO Charles Scharf is leaving Visa to spend more time with family. The only problem was they hadn’t, ments consultant with past experience particularly those who questioned the of MetLife since 2009 and currently and Citi was left scrambling to appease at Citigroup. economics of the move for Visa. serves on the board of apparel retailer irate customers again. “For it to be 100 basis points better Four months ago, Visa CEO Charlie J.Jill, according to Visa. The problem stems from the complex- is just as bad as being 100 basis points Scharf was defending his company’s Kelly also has been a trustee for ity of the portfolio’s integration with worse at the end of the day because position in obtaining the Costco pact, charitable organizations. Amex, said Gil Luria, analyst with Los you are trying to give your investors which some investors felt was too steep “Mr. Kelly’s deep industry knowledge Angeles-based Wedbush Securities. guidance,” Riley said. “A good surprise considering the store’s cost to accept and familiarity with Visa are reassur- “This deal is u nprecedented i n can have a bad effect if it turns out to Visa transactions was reportedly near ing,” said Morgan Stanley analysts in scope,” Luria said of the transition of be something you are not expecting.” zero, while the expense of loyalty and an Oct. 18 investor note. 11 million member cards. “American Ex- A couple factors worked against Citi rewards programs have been on the rise. “While it will likely still take time press’ reliance on Costco, and Costco’s in that regard. The bank could not ad- Scharf essentially said his company to become more familiar with Visa’s integration of American Express was dress Costco customer questions until could withstand the lower transaction operational inner workings, we think this broad and deep, so it is very hard to Visa had completed its acquisition of fees because the warehouse shopping is probably a good time for leadership just change that overnight and we are the portfolio from American Express. business model is sure to bring many change ... as the priorities and challenges seeing that transition pain now.” It resulted in “eight months of pent up new customers into the Visa fold. facing Visa over the next few years are The industry has shown on more demand during which time we couldn’t Visa did not respond to inquiries likely to be different than the last few than one occasion that any changes address questions on the new product or about Citi’s rollout problems by deadline. years, given the Visa Europe integration in issuing, acquiring or payment pro- existing accounts as the portfolio was Citi is confident that its most recent and resurfacing of the legal battle with cessing for a retailer’s card brand can with a different issuer,” said Jennifer measures of proactively communicating the merchants,” Morgan Stanley said. result in challenges, stemming from Bombardier, senior vice president of with customers about activation options; Because Kelly has been away from increased customer inquiries to a more public affairs for Citi global cards and updating its FAQ section online; and the payments industry in a day-to-day nightmarish scenario when cards don’t consumer services. “The call volume increasing staffing at call centers (in sense for several years, analysts say work when consumers present them at was groundbreaking as of June 20 [of- addition to Costco adding up to 20 new he will need to move quickly to provide the point of sale. ficial launch date].” employees to enroll new card members the same results Scharf did in his years With far fewer accounts, at about 2 Calling the transition “one of the and answer questions); will greatly as CEO. million, prepaid card provider Green single largest portfolio conversions in smooth over the transition. “These are big shoes for Al Kelly Dot had considerable woes in moving history,” and with a brand as popular Bombardier said Citi has added “a to fill,” said Tim Sloane, head of pay- payment processing from T SYS to as Costco, the consumer interest and few thousand” people over the past year ments innovation at Mercator Advisory Mastercard. It resulted in a p eriod of questions were unprecedented, Bom- for customer service support during the Group. time four months ago in which nearly bardier said. transition.

76 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016 isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 77

077_ISO111216 77 11/7/2016 4:40:27 PM PROCESSING MOBILE POINT OF SALE

First Data Straddles Two Worlds The shift to EMV, NFC and other modern payment types is creating a split in the market based on which technology each merchant chooses to adopt. To adapt, must find a way to serve multiple audiences. BY JOHN ADAMS

he EMV and mobile wal- let movements have split the retail industry, leaving payment companies in the delicate position of having Tto support clients with very different technological profiles. This split is also happening on the consumer side, leaving some merchants with multiple payment acceptance de- vices to accommodate different needs at the point of sale. First Data’s goal is to consolidate these products into its Clover Go mobile point of sale device, which has support for EMV, NFC and card swipes. There is a lot of point of sale technol- ogy already in the market that powers all three major payment methods, including other products in the Clover line. But The new Clover Go is a small piece of nology advisory service at Mercator . the more complex offerings are typically hardware that pairs with a merchant’s “Based on that I’d expect it will slowly based on tablets or other hardware that smartphone or tablet, and can attach disappear, but likely very slowly.” is not meant to leave the store. Even the phone physically or wirelessly (a But regarding Clover and other so- Square — the pioneer of “dongle” pay- design choice that makes it compatible lutions, Bluetooth is a fine solution for ments — divides its catalog into NFC with the newest iPhones, which lack a payments as long as the security has and non-NFC payments. headphone jack). been carefully applied, Sloane said. What’s different with this new re- “We’re in this transition phase, where “The encryption should of course be lease of Clover Go is it enables remote you have a whole lot of swiping going implemented in the magnetic head or the smartphone-based in-the-field payments on and most folks are getting used to chip reader and the Bluetooth software for all three payment types. dipping their cards and mobile payments on the reader should make sure it can “Small merchants don’t always work are more prevalent,” Hack said. be paired with only the right device and in a store, and they don’t always have It’s likely that more phone makers no others.” Sloane said. a terminal with them,” said Jeff Hack, will ditch the audio jack as they strive The introduction of EMV has also executive vice president of global busi- to make handsets resistant to water and forced changes on the mobile point of ness solutions for First Data, primar- dust contamination, said Tim Sloane, sale industry, since their new hardware ily overseeing small to medium sized vice president of payments innovation is more complicated and can’t be offered businesses. and the director of the emerging tech- economically for free.

78 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

078_ISO111216 78 11/7/2016 4:35:30 PM Advertising Index

ATM Smart ...... 65 ExaDigm ...... 33 Processing Point ...... 5 844.762.7802 949.486.0320 866.492.4828 www.AmusementSmart.com www.exadigm.com www.uaccept.com/iso

ATMIA ...... 54 First Data ...... C4 Provident Payments ...... 11 www.atmiaconferences.com 888.265.281 800.710.1134 www.IgnitePayments.com www.ProvidentPayments.com Benchmark Merchant Solutions .....27 1.844.SPLASH.U(775.2748) Harbortouch ...... 35 RAPIDADVANCE ...... 51 www.SplashPay.com 800.201.0461 240.233.4092 ...... www.isoprogram.com BRIDGEWAY PAYMENT SYSTEMS ..23 SGC ...... 10 866.746.2376 iPayment ...... 15 802.558.4209 www.bridgewaypayments.com 866.287.1025 www.ipaymentinc.com Sterling Payment Technologies ...... 21 CASTLES TECHNOLOGY ...... 13 www.sterling.cc/green (470) 273.6350 KIC Team ...... 9 www.castlestech.com 800.818.1932 T1 Payments ...... 37 www.kicteam.com 866.518.2216 Central Payment ...... 25 www.t1payments.com 888.881.3818 linked2pay ...... 56 www.cpaypartners.com (805) 886.0687 TranSEND IT ...... 47 www.linked2pay.com (800) 560.0415 Electronic Merchant Systems ...... 3 www.revchip.com 1.866.845.6026 National Merchants Association .... C2 www.emsagent.com 866.985.0591 TSYS ...... 19 www.nmaportfolios.com www.TransFirstSales.com ELEVATE FUNDING ...... 53 888.382.3945 NEAA ...... 42 UPSERVE ...... 7 www.elevatefunding.biz www.northeastacquirers.com (888) 701.5480 www.upserve.com/partners Electronic Payment Exchange ...... 45 Opportunity Fund ...... 1 (888) 229.5229 408.516.4602 USAePay...... 61 www.gonab.com www.opportunityfundloan.org/partners 866.490.0042 www.usaepay.com eProcessing Network ...... 38 PAX Technology ...... 29 800.296.4810 877.859.0099 VeriFone ...... C3 www.eProcessingNetwork.com www.pax.us www.verifone.com

ePRODIGY ...... 40-41 PAY.ON ...... 28 866.903.7010 www.aciworldwide.com/ecommerce www.e-prodigy.com/iso

isoandagent.com November/December 2016 ISO&AGENT 79

079_ISO111216 79 11/9/2016 12:50:42 PM EMV SEASONAL TRENDS

Merchants in for Bad Holidays Retailers don't like to change their hardware during the holiday shopping season. This year, that means many stores will have to halt their EMV plans Ð and fraudsters are ready to pounce. BY KATE FITZGERALD

here’s no way to gift-wrap the EMV woes for issuers and retailers around the upcoming holiday sales season. TFewer than half of all U.S. merchant locations have embraced chip cards, and in a few months as crowds of shoppers descend on stores beginning on Black Friday, the partially complete EMV landscape could magnify retailers’ risks. The chaotic holiday sales period is prime time for thieves, and payments ex- perts say criminals are likely to pounce on opportunities to rip off retailers who still haven’t yet upgraded terminals to accept more secure chip cards follow- ing the Oct. 1, 2015 liability shift for counterfeit card fraud. “From what we saw in other markets around the world, there’s a concerted realize the upcoming holiday season chip-card transition will be of “minor effort by fraudsters to pull as much likely will be the last hurrah for card- significance” to the majority of retail- fraud from the payments system as counterfeiters, and they should take that ers during the holidays, but there are possible before things fully migrate into consideration as we approach the some areas of concern, particularly for to EMV,” said Troy Bernard, director, busiest shopping period of the year,” smaller merchants. strategic marketing and products at Bernard said. In contrast to Mastercard’s latest card manufacturer CPI Card Group. But merchants who rush to finish data suggesting only 30% of all U.S. Issuers have converted about 65% of their EMV upgrades right before the merchants have completed the chip-card all credit cards and more than 30% of holidays may find clerks fumbling to migration, Morgan Stanley said 57% of debit cards to EMV, according to CPI’s understand the new system. larger, national chains it analyzes have latest research. In 2017 things will look To assess retailers’ risk around EMV finished their EMV upgrades. much different, with most credit and this holiday season, Morgan Stanley Nearly a quarter of those surveyed, debit cards sporting more-secure EMV recently conducted a survey of 35 larger or 26%, said they plan to complete their chips, greatly reducing opportunities merchants and specialty retailers about EMV upgrades before the end of the for counterfeit card fraud at the point their chip-card upgrade status and year. The remaining 27% likely won’t of sale, according to Bernard. concerns, and found a mixed bag. finish their chip-card upgrades this “Sophisticated merchants and issuers Overall, Morgan Stanley said the year.

80 ISO&AGENT November/December 2016

080_ISO111216 80 11/7/2016 4:39:27 PM CONNECTIVITY IN PAYMENT DRIVES TOMORROW’S COMMERCE, TODAY.

Bring tomorrow’s innovations to merchants today with tablet and point-of-sale solutions from the leader in secure payments. Verifone Carbon and Engage make it easy for merchants to implement exciting, new technologies throughout payment systems. From dual-display countertops to sleek PIN pads, this broad range of devices is built on a single-source platform, offering endless opportunities for merchants to interact with consumers.

verifone.com © 2016 Verifone, Inc.

VN16_058VFEngage_ISO-A_7-875x10-5.indd003_ISO111216 3 1 11/8/20169/22/16 5:25:36 8:44 AMPM Let’s be direct …

Experience first-hand the power of partnering with First Data’s ISO, Ignite Payments. By doing so, you will have direct access to the entire suite of First Data products and services paired with industry-leading training, marketing and back office support.

What else does partnering with Ignite Payments get your business? No Buy rate Up to 80% rev- share Earn up to $750 upfront bonus per approved account – no cap The comfort of a direct relationship without the financial and operational burdens of an ISO Portfolio capitalization opportunity

Let’s talk about taking your business to the next level. 888-265-2814 www.IgnitePayments.com

© 2016 First Data Corporation. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners. Ignite Payments, LLC is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Walnut Creek, CA and Deutsche Bank, USA, New York, NY.

004_ISO111216 4 11/8/2016 5:25:40 PM