July 21, 2016 / by Jessica Velasco /
Responsiveness Via Social Media is Vital to eCommerce Sustainability Social media has a major impact on the way in which merchants conduct business. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and others allow merchants to interact with consumers directly, offering a level of connectivity between brands and shoppers unimaginable a few years ago. However, this creates a host […]
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What is a Chargeback Mitigation Plan?
July 25, 2019 / by Jessica Velasco /
Card schemes like Visa and Mastercard impose chargeback thresholds on merchants. These thresholds indicate the point at which a merchant can be designated as “high-risk.” In response, acquiring banks track merchants based on their chargeback-to-transaction ratio. If a merchant comes close to breaching the imposed threshold, their acquirer will typically take action, up to and […]
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What is a Billing Descriptor?
March 26, 2019 / by Jessica Velasco /
Whenever a cardholder makes a purchase, the transaction is recorded by the issuing bank on the cardholder’s statement. The billing descriptor, sometimes referred to as a merchant descriptor, is the name a cardholder sees on his or her billing statement to identify the merchant and transaction. The billing descriptor is typically between 20-25 characters in […]
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Understanding Pre-Arbitration Chargebacks
April 25, 2017 / by Jessica Velasco /
How Does Pre-Arbitration Differ from Other Steps in the Chargeback Life Cycle? Most eCommerce merchants have some level of familiarity with chargebacks. However, pre-arbitration chargebacks are a bit more obscure than the average dispute. Arbitration Versus Pre-Arbitration Arbitration is an option available to merchants, consumers, and banks to resolve a dispute. Any involved party can […]
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What is Address Verification Service (AVS)?
January 20, 2017 / by Jessica Velasco /
How AVS Helps Merchants Prevent Fraud and Chargebacks What if there were a simple, automated technology that could help merchants fight fraud, retain more revenue, and encourage long-term growth and positive customer interactions? What if this basic tool was already available and at every merchant’s disposal? What is Address Verification Service? Address Verification Service, or […]
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Success Stories: Blurring the Lines Between Brick-and-Mortar & Online
December 27, 2016 / by Jessica Velasco /
Omni-Channel Retail is Now the Norm The days in which retail could be cleanly divided into brick-and-mortar and online channels are now truly a thing of the past. Recent moves by several major retail brands around the world served to drive home a clear message: we are now living in a omni-channel world, and retailers […]
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2016 Global Trends: Online Payments Around the World
November 8, 2016 / by Jessica Velasco /
Examining Consumers’ Preferred Payment Methods by Region Credit and debit cards are ubiquitous in many global markets, but not all. The diversity of alternate payment methods is, in fact, quite extensive. Understanding regional consumer preferences and accepting popular payment options will help merchants increase sales and generate more revenue. Analyzing Regional Payment Preferences Earlier this […]
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How to Choose and Apply for a Merchant Account
September 30, 2016 / by David Lampe /
A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding the Right Merchant Acquirer Starting up a new venture can be a confusing process for first-time eCommerce entrepreneurs, but choosing the right service provider is not a question to take lightly. There are a number of matters to consider before making a final decision, all of which will impact the […]
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Acquirer vs. Issuer: Understanding Payment Processing Basics
September 23, 2016 / by David Lampe /
What are Acquiring and Issuing Banks? How Do They Impact Payment Processing? All eCommerce transactions involve two different banks—one representing the cardholder, known as the issuing bank, and one representing the merchant, called the acquiring bank. What roles and responsibilities to these two entities play over the course of a transaction? Processing Payments: From Cardholder […]
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Social Customer Service Now an eCommerce Standard
July 21, 2016 / by Jessica Velasco /
Responsiveness Via Social Media is Vital to eCommerce Sustainability Social media has a major impact on the way in which merchants conduct business. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and others allow merchants to interact with consumers directly, offering a level of connectivity between brands and shoppers unimaginable a few years ago. However, this creates a host […]
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Optimizing the Customer Journey to Drive eCommerce Growth
June 29, 2016 / by David Lampe /
Merchants Need a Multi-Dimensional Approach as Omni-Channel Becomes the Norm In the early days of ecommerce, merchants might have thought of sales as a one-dimensional process—the customer makes a purchase, then the interaction is over. However, such limited engagement is no longer an option in our modern sales environment. Salesforce released their annual State of […]
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