Business & Consumer Trends Post Covid 19

 Six Business Changing Outcomes Post Covid-19 for Business & Consumers! 

Adapting to contactless payments 

Business Changes: 

• Anywhere Operations demanded - business have to offer their products for the convenience of their customers regardless of whether they shop in-person or online or smart phones!
• Adopting Cloud-based Software and Operations allows for a smoother run business
• Developing a "remote" workforce in all retail industries allows remote sales and customer service to be handled outside of the brick and mortar!
• Buy Now Pay Later continues its rapid growth in 2021 with consumers tapping traditional credit lines such as store installments, credit cards and long-term financing with Zero to low interest rates!
• E-Commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Shopify, Pinterest and others will continue to grow enhancing the retail sales industry.
• Business must adapt and offer contactless payments to ensure customers and employees feel safe and adopt digital wallets in your payment processing system, for both in-person and online purchases.

Delivery with pre-payment has increased 30% in 2020

Customer Changes: 

• Cash usage has decreased by 40% in payment acceptance
• Contactless enabled device usage up 63% 
• Consumers using digital wallet payment methods increased by 29% 
• Big shift to curbside pickup and order delivery in the retail industry
• Purchasing via Smart Phone Mobile Apps for specific stores, restaurants, etc
• Offering online appointment scheduling software on your Mobile App or Website

Prepaid pick-up has increased by 50.7% by April 2021

If you are looking to grow your business in 2021 and beyond to the safety conscious consumers in the market, you need to read and implement these changes to your business! Need help, Merchant Processing Solutions can help you get the tools needed to create an Anywhere Operational Business that understands the concerns of your customer and offers them the ability to purchase from you as they want! 

Call Merchant Processing Solutions 
945-938-2420 

B2B Merchants can save 25% and more on their credit card processing!

B2B MERCHANTS PAY LESS!                     

Let Merchant Processing Solutions help your B2B business get set up properly with a B2B Optimized Merchant Account. This means that Business, Corporate and Government credit cards will be lower than if you processed these through a traditional merchant account. With the B2B Interchange Optimizer App, you can be confident that your merchants qualify for the best possible rates for all purchasing and corporate cards. Our proprietary technology identifies the proper data fields necessary to meet the preferred Interchange categories for all major card brands with no additional prompts or data for your merchants to enter.

Business to Business Sales can cost you less! 

DID YOU KNOW? Purchasing and Corporate cards are eligible for significant savings when processed with optional enhanced Level II and Level III data.

• LEVEL II & LEVEL III - When the B2B Interchange Optimizer App is enabled, our proprietary solution verifies that the additional Level II and Level III transaction data needed for those payments is provided during the authorization, so that your merchants receive the best possible rate.

         

Lower your merchants’ effective rate, while increasing revenue makes Merchant Processing Solutions the perfect merchant services company! The B2B Interchange Optimizer App is available exclusively in the MX™ Merchant Marketplace App Store. 

Contact us today to see how this will work for you and how much your business can save! 

Merchant Processing Solutions Inc!
954-938-2420

How many layers of fees do you pay for Merchant Services?

Acquirers/merchant banks have many layers of fees!  

Acquirers: Acquirers, also known as the acquiring or merchant banks, are financial institutions that maintains where the merchant's account is set up in order for the merchant to accept credit cards. The acquirer settles card transactions into the merchant's account. Sometimes the payment processor and the acquirer are one and the same. 

Fiserv

• First Data
• Wells Fargo Merchant Services 
• Bank of America Merchant Services 
• Citi Merchant Services 
• PNC Merchant Services
• SunTrust Merchant Services
• Intuit – Quickbooks 
• BB&T Merchant Services
• Santander Merchant Services
• M&T Bank
• BBVA Compass
• TD Bank 
• KeyBank
• Citizens Bank
• Deluxe Merchant Services
 

FIS - Fidelity National Information Services 

• WorldPay
• Vantiv

Global Payments

• TSYS
• Heartland
• Cayan
• International Bancard

US Bancorp 

• Elavon
• Sage

These large ACQUIRERS list above own national banks and some of the largest merchant processors in the market today! But as you can see, they have multiple layers to fees with each layer of company! 

Direct Processors work directly with VISA/MasterCard/Discover/American Express
to give merchant fewer fees! 

Direct Processor: The term “direct processor,” refers to any payment processing company that has direct access to Visa and MasterCard's credit networks. There is no middle-man raising costs! 

• Priority Payment Systems > Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.
• ChasePayment Tech
• Merrick Bank
• Paya
• Shift4 Payments
• Clearent
• Gravity Payments
• Redwood Merchant Services
• Integrity Payment Systems
• Newtek Merchant Solutions
• First Hawaiian Bank
• First Citizens Bank
• United Merchant Services
• Commercial Bank of California
• Complete Merchant Solutions
• Paragon Payment Solutions
• North American Payment Solutions

These companies Direct Processors work directly with the Brands (Visa/MasterCard/Discover/American Express) therefore giving you almost no layers of fees! 

Which type of company would YOU like to work with? If you want a DIRECT PROCESSOR that will be transparent, honest and service oriented, call us TODAY!

MERCHANT PROCESSING SOLUTIONS INC.

954-938-2420

Visa implements a FALLBACK ASSESSMENT FEE, WHY?

Use the EMV Chip Reader on your terminals, NOT the Swipe Strip! 

Fallback transaction

Beginning April 1, 2021, Visa will introduced a new High Fallback Transaction Fee if you have fallback transactions greater than 10% of your chip card-eligible processing volume.

What are EMV fallback transactions? EMV fallback transactions occur when an EMV-enabled credit card is used in a chip card reader, but the payment cannot be completed using EMV chip reader. In these instances, the merchant may decide to “fall back” and process the payment by swiping the card through magnetic stripe.

Although we have seen an overall decline in chip fallback transactions, fraud associated with fallback transactions is on the rise. Fraudsters are devising ways to force fallback transactions, usually associated with counterfeit cards. The fraudsters’ methods target the card or the card insertion process with the terminal which are impacted to bypass a chip read and force a magnetic stripe read on a chip capable card at a chip capable terminal. 

Fraudsters' methods to steal purchases from merchant include:

• Card containing a blank chip – No chip read possible

• Card containing a chip with no matching AID (Application Identifier) for the terminal to process – No chip read possible

• Card contains clear tape or coating over the chip – No chip read possible

• Card inserted upside down or backwards into the terminal – No chip read possible

BEST PRACTICE

Monitor Terminal Performance

• Train staff to look for potential fraud issues on the terminal. 
• If your terminal malfunctions and "fallback" to SWIPE or KEY-ENTER transactions, please contact your processor as soon as possible.

BEST PRACTICE

To avoid unnecessary fallback transactions (@ $.10 each), configure the terminal to allow two or three chip read attempts prior to reverting to a magnetic stripe read transaction. This should help address erroneous insertions and partial chip reads to possibly reduce the number fallback transactions originating from your place of business. Call your processor to learn how to set this fallback attempts! 

PROCESSING AN EMV CHIPPED CARD

If you have a cardholder facing terminal/key pad and the cashier notices what appears to be multiple unsuccessful chip reads, instruct the cashier to ask the cardholder for the card and perform the transaction for them. Prior to inserting the card into the terminal, the cashier must review the security features of the card. 

Reviewing the card’s security features include:

• Does the chip appear/feel undamaged and uncovered (no tape or clear coating over it)?
• Are the first four digits of the card number printed under the account number on the card?
• Does the hologram function/display correctly?
• Is there a valid Expiration/Good Thru Date embossed on the card appearing below the account number?

If the card passes the security features review, the cashier should insert the card and attempt a final chip read. If the chip read is unsuccessful, the cashier should follow the prompts on the terminal and conduct a fallback magnetic stripe read transaction (@ $.10 EACH TRANSACTION). If the card does not pass the security features review, for the cashier should request a different form of payment from the cardholder.

If you need better equipment and a company that cares, call us Today! 

Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.
954-938-2420

What makes Merchant Processing Solutions different?

 Service, Products, & People! 

Service: Merchant Processing Solutions has been servicing the merchants of South Florida and around the United States since 2006. We keep more than 80% of all our customers! That's because we are about the PEOPLE and not the TRANSACTIONS! What do we mean?

How should I accept payment for credit card sales? 

• Our Merchants are our lifeline. We make sure they are properly set up the first time and check in with them regularly to discuss any changes or issues with their merchant processing. Once an opportunity to change things for the better immerges, we quickly work with our merchant to give them the best available rates, products and advise.

• Timely communications: We deal directly with our merchants. They rarely have to call the 800# on their monthly statements. We take their calls, texts or emails and response in a timely manner. Most merchant processing companies demand that the merchant call the 800# and will not allow their own reps to intervene on the merchant's behalf! Not our company, we want to resolve your issues immediately because that is what we want to stand for.... Prompt effective service! 
  

We can offer a multitude of options to fit our merchant's needs! 

Products: Most merchant processing companies promote their own proprietary products and nothing else! Many banks have signed exclusive relationships with one processor who only carries one line of products and services! NOT MERCHANT PROCESSING SOLUTIONS!! We have made the decision to accommodate our merchants and not what pays us the most! Therefore, we can offer our merchants a large variety of products and services across multiple "Platforms" to accommodate your needs.

• Restaurant, Bar & Fast Food (including Food Trucks) Point of Sale Devices
• Retail Devices with or without Inventory/Clerk/Accounting 
• Mobile Devices with or without Printing capabilities
• eCommerce Payment Acceptance for Emails/Website/Text
• Call Center Payment Acceptance with or without Invoicing and Recurring Billing

People: Meet our most important asset; OUR  TEAM!

                             

OUR TEAM: Yamilet, Camilo, Claudia & Stephanie

• Yamilet Strauss: She is our CEO and a pillar of the business community in South Florida. She has been active in the South Florida area since 2001. Yamilet is a consummate network and astute business woman. She also share's her sister’s passion for helping underprivileged children in the United States and Latin America. Her success has been making the merchant's needs come first! Partnering with our merchants to see them success makes us succeed!

• Claudia Mosley: Is co-founder and CFO of Merchant Processing Solutions Inc. She has more than 18 years of experience in accounting, where she gained valuable experience in creating and implementing systems, policies and procedures to improve the bottom line of a merchant processing company. She is the heart of our company, always looking to find meaningful ways to impact communities with charitable activities. Her passion is to give to children as they are our future!

• Stephanie Cates: Joined Merchant Processing Solutions in 2016. She has 15 years in the industry. She is also the VP of Marketing and Sales. She helps our company communicate our desired mission and vision of consultants and win-win relationships with our merchants and vendor partners.  Our Mission Statement: Building Relationships Not Just Transactions! 

• Camilo Guzman: Joined the company in 2019 as our In-House Point of Sale Technician. Most local companies rely on 800# technicians to help with their installation and technical issues, NOT Merchant Processing Solutions. Make of our issues can be taken care of with just a simple call, text or email! But if an in-person visit is required, our technician is available to make that happen! 

If your current merchant processing company does not offer you 
SERVICE, PRODUCTS & PEOPLE, 
give us a call today! 

Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.
954-938-2420

Cash Discount Programs: Are they fair? Are they legal?

Imagine you go to the shoe store and after trying on several pairs, you decide on the perfect ones! You go the register to pay for those shoes that cost $129.00. Hand your credit card to the clerk who says nothing and the price scabs in as $132.87! What happened? The list price was $129! Your were surcharged or penalized for using your credit card! And that BEFORE TAXES!

Credit card processing companies and agents are popping up offering merchant to sign up with them using a “cash discount” program to eliminate your credit card processing fees; but are they legal? Are they permitted by the "Brands", Visa/MasterCard/Discover or American Express? Are they permitted in your state?

The answer: NO!

There’s a lot of confusion between “cash discounts” and “surcharges" programs. Many processing companies are actually labeling "surcharge programs" as "cash discount programs" misleading merchants into thinking that they are on the right side of laws and card brand regulations...and they are NOT! 

Cash Discount vs. Surcharge

A cash discount is when you list credit card prices and offer a discount on that price for customers who pay with cash. A cash paying customer pays less than the listed price. A credit card paying customer pays the list price.

A surcharge is when you list cash prices and charge an additional fee on top of that price for customers who pay with a credit card. A cash paying customer pays the listed price. A credit card paying customer pays more than the list price. 

The second example penalizes customer that uses a credit card in their purchases. All "Brand" agreements (that merchants have signed to get their merchant account) have regulations that prohibit the surcharging or penalizing of customers who choose to pay using their credit cards. So, if you charge more at the register than the listed price, it is a surcharge, regardless of what ANY processors want to call it. Even if the processor tells you that you’re simply adding a “service fee” or a “non-cash adjustment” it is still a surcharge.

I know, it's just a small technicality! It may sound like a minor difference, it’s actually very important in terms of legality and compliance with the "brand" rules merchants agreed to. Getting it wrong means risking fines or having your merchant account shut down permanently! For violations of the card brand rules, businesses can be fined $1,000 per occurrence, increasing to $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000 per occurrence for repeated violations. The merchant may be also be added to the Terminated Merchant File (“TMF,” or MATCH list) which makes it difficult to secure a merchant account from any processor in the future. 

Today's customers are very savvy and know that they should not be paying surcharges on listed prices without being advised that they are looking at CASH PRICING and a surcharge of X% with be added at the register. Visa and Mastercard have forms on their websites that allow cardholders/customer to easily report being surcharged a fee for using their credit card! Those merchants will be immediately investigated and fines levied. 

This is how a true Cash Discount is shown & explained in stores! 

Why does it matter? Two important reasons...

#1 - Real Cash Discount Programs, in their true form (see above), are allowed in all 50 states, however several states have laws against ANY surcharge programs. If you surcharge in a state with a law against it, you’re breaking the laws of that state besides breaking your merchant agreement with the "Brands".

As of 2018, surcharging is prohibited by law in Colorado, Connecticut,
Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma.

#2 Surcharges on Debit Cards are strictly prohibited! Even if debit cards are “run as credit” and even in states where credit surcharges are legal. The BRANDS clearly spells out that surcharges cannot be applied to debit...PERIOD! 

To summarize, you cannot apply a fee above the publically listed price to a credit or debit card, no matter what your processor calls the fee (a “surcharge”, “non-cash adjustment”, “service fee”, or anything else) even if your business falls within the states that allow surcharging as it goes against the regulations the merchant agreed to upon opening the merchant account. 

For the sake of your merchant account and your business be sure you’re on the right side of laws and card brand regulations before surcharging or signing up for ANY cash discount program. If you would like to know more about legal Cash Discount Programs, call us! 

Merchant Processing Solutions! 

954-938-2420

Invoice. Track. Collect. Easy.

MX Merchant's Invoicing 

Invoicing your customers is now integrated and effortless with MX Merchant BackOffice. Simply customize your invoice framework with a logo, header message and return policy then select a customer, enter the line item detail and click send.

SEND & RECEIVE

Sending invoices and receiving payments have never been easier. The option to accept credit card payments on a sent invoice makes collecting funds fast and hassle-free. Simply create your invoice and hit send. Your customers will receive an email and a text (optional) with a link to view their invoice where they can immediately pay with their credit card. The payment is then automatically collected, and your customer receives an email receipt at the time of payment.

HISTORY

Track the history on each invoice and any outstanding balances, and as payments are received the status of the invoice adjusts automatically.

RECURRING

You now have access to recurring functionality and can set up new recurring profiles to make collecting payments from your customers super easy.

REPORTS

View estimated and actual collected receivables from your recurring plans to help with forecasting cash flow.

 Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.
954-938-2420

Merchant Processing Solutions helps Healing Hands of Hope

Merchant Processing Solutions Inc is a sponsor and promoter for Healing Hand of Hope. Sandra Eicher is a Colombian-German Actress and Influencer joins Healing Hands of Hope to help tell the incredible stories of people seeking to improve the quality of life for others in need in Venezuela, Haiti, Costa Rica, Colombia and Jamaica without regard to the nationality, race, gender, ability to pay, political or religious affiliation.

The Hands Of Hope was founded in 1999 by Derwin Westerburger and Zabdy Westerburger M.D. and is a non-profit charity, headquartered in Sunrise, Florida and has been undertaking missionary trips since 2000 to bring hope to a hurting world. We are a faith-based charity consisting of a pool of dedicated volunteers. As Jesus taught his disciples the lessons of service, sacrifice, and love, we strive to meet the needs of others and provide opportunities to individuals wanting to meet those needs. People all over the world are suffering and “The Healing Hands of Hope” exists to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults. We treat the sick, feed the hungry, house the homeless, comfort the discouraged and educate the poor. Our work is a result of our faith, prompted by love and inspired by hope. We follow high ethical standards in order to provide the furthermost benefit to those in need of assistance. We are committed to honor Jesus Christ in all that we do. One of our objectives is to increase the awareness among the United States public regarding the needs of people in distress around the world and to expand the scope of volunteers and donations for this purpose. We commit to use money only for the purpose for which it was raised.

To find out how you and your company can support this great non-profit.

Call Merchant Processing Solutions today @ 954-938-2420

Our Hardware Solutions Meet YOUR Needs, Not Ours!

 

Grow Your Business with Top-Notch Hardware from Merchant Processing Solutions! 

Merchant Processing Solutions offers a diverse range of countertop terminal and Point-of-Sale solutions that will help keep your business running smoothly. We offer multiple hardware choices to work for your  business needs. Whether you’re a restaurant, retail, medical or professional service business, we’ve got a diverse set of hardware solutions that are easy-to-use and will help streamline day-to-day sales. 

Merchant Processing Solutions NEVER pushes any one product on their merchants. We listen, consult and propose based on the merchants industry, needs and budget. How many times do you hear that a merchant service provider offers ONLY CLOVER, ONLY FIRST DATA or ONLY their own devices and POS Systems? We have relationships with many of the top software and hardware companies that will allow us to consult and guide merchants to the perfect fit for their business! 

Want to know more? 

Call Merchant Processing Solutions today

 954-938-2420

Testimonials mean Everything to US!

Claudia Mosley
CFO & Sales

Yamilet Strauss
President & Sales

Stephanie Cates
VP Sales & Marketing

Camilo Guzman
Technician

Merchant Processing Solutions prides itself on excellent customer service! We are a small local merchant processing company that competes well on pricing against our competitors. But more than that, we are on top of our customer's issues and needs! The do not need to call an 800# for customer service, installation and other support, we are here to help! 

Here are some of our extraordinary testimonials! 

•  Marty Elberg
  Local Guide·22 reviews·4 photos

  a month ago

  Yami and the team at Merchant Processing Solutions have been so easy to work with. My processing has been so seamless, I don't ever need to think about it. I get notices when a client pays and when the payment clears. When I do have a question or need to hook up another website or app to receive payment, Yami is happy to help. Coming from using Stripe and Paypal in the past, I can't even express how happy I am with having actual customer service. Thank you Yami and Claudia. You are the best!

• Esthefany F

  8 reviews

  a month ago

  Yamilet and her team are experts at what they do. They are excellent professionals and also really care about their clients.
  
  The customer service is very good, they are well known in the area and have excellent rates.
  
  I 100% recommend this company.

We truly appreciate our merchants and their trust in us! If you don't have this type of experience with your merchant processing company, call us!

Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.

954-938-2420

Are you in Real Estate? We can help you collect funds!

Real Estate Offices around the country are now relying on merchant services to collect payment for a variety of services! Whether you’re working with clients, tenants, or prospective buyers, you’re dealing with a substantial amount of information and payments. Merchant Processing Solutions can help you  streamline invoices, process payments, and securely handle all aspects of your sale. 

Real Estate Broker/Owners can now set up their office agents to pay desk fees and other incurring charges via a monthly payment on their personal credit cards. Don't wait until their sale closes to collect payment get paid monthly allowing you to manage your office bills more effective and efficiently. 

Want to learn more, call Merchant Processing Solutions today @ 954-938-2420

Building Relationships Not Just Transactions!

Women's History Month Recognition

 

Yamilet Strauss and Claudia Mosley started Merchant Processing Solutions in 2006 after having worked many years as employees with other companies. They realized that they did not like the company culture, attitude toward their customers and lack of community involvement. They began developing a strategy that would cultivate customer relationships through good will, positive involvement within the South Florida business community and giving back to the local and international non-profits. Both Yamilet and Claudia belong to multiple business groups in South Florida and sit on the board of several non-profits. For both ladies, its not about the money, its about the relationships they build and how those relationships come full circle and help the community. 

See the full video recognizing many other extraordinary Women of Broward County! 

Latino Caucus of Broward Celebrates our Latina Women during the Women History Month - Celebrando a estas super Latinas!

Mary Molina-Macfie

Yvette Colbourne - Commissioner, City of Miramar

Claudia Marcela Mosley

Yami Strauss

Maribel Feliciano

Josie Bacallao

Hispanic Unity

Patricia Good

Broward County Public Schools

Tarlika Navarro

Jacqueline Guzman-Scott

Barbie Mendez

Solimar Rodriguez Saez

Elaine Cruz-Abril DC

Monica Figueroa King

Ana Maria Pichardo Valladares

Brown County United Way

Children's Services Council of Broward County Florida

Broward County Government

Dr. Laura Millena Ganci

To speak with either Yamilet or Claudia please reach out of them at 954-938-2420

We win 87% of our merchant's chargebacks! So can you!

 Chargebacks Can Ruin Your Business!

There are several ways to AVOID getting CHARGEBACKS:

1.  In-Person: 
• Make sure that the person using the card is the owner of the card! Never worry that they will be upset for ID Verification as you can explain that your credit card processor makes it important to protect our clients/customers from FRAUDULENT TRANSACTIONS! 
• Make sure you fill-in ALL the Fields requested on the terminal or POS System. By skipping any field and forcing the transaction, you will be unable to Dispute the Chargeback! 
• If the card is DECLINED - do not keep trying to reaccept - its DECLINED! Each time you rerun that card you could be charged a transaction or Authorization Fee!
• ALWAYS use the EMV CHIP SLOT IN YOUR TERMINAL! The EMV CHIP are not embedded in every credit card issued. These chips generated a new credit card transaction number for every single transaction. They make counterfeiting a credit card almost impossible which protects our merchants against Fraud and Chargebacks! NEVER swipe a card as by swiping you will not be able to FIGHT A CHARGEBACK DISPUTE!
• Make sure your merchant processor puts your Return Policy at the bottom of the Merchant's Printed Receipt! 
• EDUCATE YOUR EMPLOYEES to spot potential Fraud and make sure they ask for ID from anyone that purchases something you want to get paid for!!!! Remember, by not following these guidelines, you may not get paid for the merchandise "purchased" fraudulently by a customer! 


2. Online: 

• Follow online gateway protocols for securing your website or POS System. Call the software or gateway company and have them walk you through the most secure settings to avoid Fraudulent Transactions and Chargeback Disputes! 
• Make sure you fully disclose and make visible your RETURN POLICY! Many customers do not check out the Return Policy and therefore don't know how to make a return. By clearly making visible the Return Policy not only on your Website but also printed on the receipts with an phone number will help mitigate potential Chargebacks!
• WOW YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH SUPERIOR SERVICE! It's the best way to keep customers coming back and it helps cut down on Chargeback Disputes! 

Regardless of whether you process In-Person or Online, knowing there is a Chargeback Dispute is the most important way to win that dispute. Find out whether your merchant processor sends a letter or an email. Make sure you get those letters or open those emails! There is a time limit for you to respond to those Chargeback Dispute, usually 14 days. Many merchants lose these disputes because they just don't respond, mostly because they open the letter after the allotted time! 

How does Merchant Processing Solutions help their merchants with Chargeback Disputes?

1. We help our merchants choose the best system to meet their needs for credit card acceptance. Then we make sure they are set up with the proper security verification modes to mitigate fraud and disputes.
2. We work with merchants to understand their Warrantee, Guarantee and Return Policies offering advise to make sure customers clearly understand their options, prior to purchasing. 
3. If one of our customers gets a Chargeback Dispute, we get a digital notification at the same time as the merchant. We immediately call or email the merchant on what documents are required to fight this dispute. We then review the documents to make sure that is all that is required and submit the paperwork to the Chargebacks Dept. 
4. We are getting these resolved in less than 3 days in most cases and win about 87% of all true disputes, not including those involving Fraud. 

If you want someone who works for you like Merchant Processing Solutions does, call us today to see how you can not only save money on your processing but also KEEP YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY FROM CHARGEBACKS! 

CALL MERCHANT PROCESSING SOLUTIONS INC

954-938-2420