What POS System is Best for MY Store??
Have you looked into buying a new POS System and thought to yourself “I wonder what system is best for my business”? If so, you are not alone. Nearly all of the business owners I talk 
to want to buy a system that is going to have the right features to support the business. Unfortunately tons of businesses either over-buy or under-buy when it comes to their POS Technology.
Before making a decision, talk to an expert – call me or email me for a free consultation/discussion about the Point of Sale market and the best solution for your business!
Don’t make a mistake and get a system that won’t work for you and your business.
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The Big Idea!
I hate meetings, I know they are necessary but I hate them. My time is stretched so thin, wife, business person, Mom, caregiver for my 87 year old Father, who needs another meeting? What I do love and make time for are Ted Talks, short, long whatever I have the time for I try to fit them in, there are thousands and I found this one today about meetings. Check it out, let me know what you think and let’s talk, not a meeting a conversation, an email or just make a comment. Tell me how you feel about a meeting! Click on the Link below and happy Tedding……
The big idea: Meetings, the ultimate time-suck, and how to fix them
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I ran across this article today about advertising and your small business. Check it out!
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Good-bye SunSet Software!
Sunsetting usually means that a product or software is no longer supported. Is the software you are using no longer getting updates with new features? If not, that usually means it is headed to the sunset!
Don’t keep buying software for your POS that is headed for retirement. Contact COCARD today and lets talk about how REVONU POS can give your point of sale new LIFE!
The First Year: Goals, Challenges, and Accomplishments with EMV
It has been little more than one year since the liability shift began on October 1st, 2015, where merchants would be liable for fraudulent activity in their stores, as opposed to credit card companies. And since then, small and large businesses alike have made the switch to EMV. Here is a look at some of what the transition has been able to accomplish, along with some of the challenges we continue to work through:
The Main Accomplishment: The main goal was to take a bite out of fraud, and so far, the switch to chip-enabled cards is doing just that. Mastercard, for example, in a press release last month, noted a 54% decrease in fraud between April 2015 and April 2016.
We do have a few areas where we continue to work on improving, and they include:
- During this transition, not all merchants use EMV-card processors. So sometimes you might be required to swipe, while other times you may need to insert the card chip-first. It can be confusing, but it is a necessary step to ease the transition.
- Speed of transactions. Some EMV payment processors are faster than others, and we want all of them to be quick, to get you in and out of a store swiftly. With different card brands having different speeds for payment processing, we would like to eventually develop a more streamlined, efficient payment speed that everyone works within.
- Bottlenecks. With many merchants deciding to upgrade to EMV-supported payment processors, certification can be a lengthy process, along with lead time needed to manufacture chip cards. Both can be a lengthy process, and Visa, for one, starting in July 2016, introduced initiatives to ease the certification process. And the card manufacturer, Oberthur, can manufacture cards in five days, cutting lead time significantly from the traditional weeks-long lead time.
Overall, we are making strides towards eliminating fraud in the United States, chiefly thanks to the merchants and consumers. We will continue to work on these items to ensure a better transition. To learn how COCARD can work with your company to ease the transition from stripe cards to chip-enabled cards, call us today at 1-800-317-1819.
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Google Bans Payday Lending Ads
MONEY!
In an interesting turn of events, Google announced on May 11 that it will no longer service online advertisements from Payday Lending companies starting July 13. This decision came due to increasing pressure (from civil liberties, consumer protection and consumer privacy groups) to make a change in advertising policy.
Many of these advocacy groups feel that Payday Lending services often target weaker consumers that are in poverty, forcing them to pay extremely high interest rates for short term money loans. Consumers frequently use these loans to cover expenses that they are unable to afford before their next paycheck comes. According to a report by Yahoo! Finance, a 2012 Pew study stated that “the average payday borrower is in debt for five months, spending $520 in fees and interest to repeatedly borrow $375.” Interest rates easily reach triple digit values, averaging around 391%. These high rates can generate billions of dollars in revenue for many of the larger Payday Lenders, which many feel is an unethical business practice.
Although many consumers are happy that Google is stepping in to combat these issues, a number of Payday Lending advocates, believe that this mandate is discriminatory, undermining the integrity of honest Payday Lending companies. In a statement recently obtained by the Washington Post, the Community Financial Services Association of America has stated “Facebook and others are making a blanket assessment about the payday lending industry rather than discerning the good actors from the bad actors. This is unfair toward those that are legal, licensed lenders.”
The Washington Post article also states that one of the more dangerous aspects of using the Google search to find a lender is the fact that extremely sensitive financial information can be gleaned by the search engine. Once a desperate consumer enters their personal information, consumers can be taken advantage of by ads designed to target their financial profile. The companies they find may not end up just being unethical — they are likely to be more expensive than using a brick and mortar lender due to online fees.
Despite Google blocking Payday Lender’s advertisements, consumers are still able to use the engine to search for lenders and investigate their websites. Although Google’s aggressive action will not completely mitigate the risks of using Payday Lenders, it will at least curtail the efforts of the less ethical ones.
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