When it comes to credit card processing, the future really is mobile. According to a recent Juniper Research study, by 2023, mobile point of sale systems (mPOS) will account for close to a quarter of all POS transactions globally. That’s an estimated 87 BILLION transactions annually. It makes sense. From arts and crafts vendors and food services to mobile businesses that need to make payments on the go, mobile point of sale systems are the way to go. Even brick and mortar stores and traditional restaurants are adopting mPOS as a way to make their business run smoother and more efficiently. So, you’re a small business owner setting up shop and you want to accept payments on your phone and/or your tablet. Now what? Here are a few key points you need to know about mobile processing. You need to have internet availability. If your business is operating in a remote area where there’s no wifi or cellular reception (or even an indoor space where getting a signal is challenging), a mPOS isn’t going to be the best option for… Read more

“Cash only” is so three decades ago. If you’re going to be running a business in 2018, you need to provide your customers with the option to pay by credit or debit card -- no ifs, ands, or buts. If you’re an online business, you can probably get away with having PayPal as your sole option, but as your sales grow you’re going to need to upgrade to provide more payment options. With that said, not all businesses are treated equally. Businesses are treated differently based on the perceived level of risk they present for the credit card processor. While high-risk credit card processing comes with its share of challenges, it doesn’t have to mean the end of your business. Here are a few important things to keep in mind while navigating credit card processing as a high-risk merchant. The processor determines whether you’re high-risk. When you apply for a merchant account your processor will determine whether you fall into one of their high-risk business categories. Unfortunately, there’s no negotiating here. What qualifies as high-risk varies based on the processor.… Read more

American Express was founded all the way back in 1850. Since credit cards obviously weren't around yet, the company's roots were in express mail. In 1891, Amex expanded to traveler's cheques. This helped them create a global presence. After first discussing the possibility of a charge card in 1946, the company spent over a decade to launch their Diners Club Card in 1958. By that point, there was so much demand for this type of card that the company issued over two hundred thousand prior to their official launch date. Since then, the company has added their Green, Gold and Platinum cards, as well as a number of branded partnership cards. This had led to more than one hundred million Amex cards being in circulation, with about half of those belonging to consumers in the US. While this may sound like a clear success story, the company has hit some obstacles along the way. One issue that plagued American Express for a long time was their practice of charging higher fees than other card companies. This made many merchants reluctant… Read more

The past year has been anything but easy for Facebook. Not only have they been in the middle of the fight over online privacy, but their recent earnings report showed that fewer people are using the site. While it's easy for some pundits to point to the rise and fall of MySpace, the reality is that Facebook is in a much different position. Not only is the platform still far larger than any network that came before it, but the company also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, which are both thriving. So even though the Facebook brand is going through an identity crisis, the company itself still has an incredible amount of resources. Those resources aren't sitting idly. Instead, it appears that Facebook is aggressively exploring a number of different opportunities that could unlock their future growth. One of those opportunities is the blockchain. Although we've discussed how this technology can be used for a variety of applications, it appears that Facebook is specifically interested in payments. Facebook's Recent Blockchain Moves The first sign that Facebook has plans to roll out… Read more

With the exception of mortgages, debt is generally viewed as something negative for consumers. But for businesses, the issue is a little more complicated. While businesses can definitely take on bad debt, strategic debt in the form of a business loan can be very beneficial. In fact, a study conducted by researchers at several different universities found that a loan of just $11,000 can increase a small business's three-to-five-year survival rate by more than 50%. Given that very significant finding, it shouldn't come as a surprise that more than 10% of all small business entrepreneurs are expected to apply for a business loan during the course of 2018. If you're one of the entrepreneurs planning to go down this path, it's completely normal to feel at least a little overwhelmed. Not only does the application process itself require a lot of effort, but you may still have some reservations about the burden of taking on a loan. Because there is so much to manage during this process, we want to share several helpful insights about what to expect as you… Read more