Clearent Blog for FIs

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When it comes to payment processing solutions, there’s no denying that the industry is keenly focused on mobile payments. Read any industry publication and that’s what you will see – how mobile is changing the face of credit card transaction processing.

Mobile was also a hot topic at the ETA Annual Meeting & Expo in Las Vegas last month. Because of all the hype over mobile payment processing solutions, I was excited about the show and the new technology I would encounter. However, when I got to the show I had a very different reaction. I was hoping to be “wowed” by the newest solutions, but to be honest with you, they all left me feeling a little flat.

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Recently in Las Vegas, the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) held it’s biggest show of the year – the 2012 Annual Meeting & Expo. Known as the most content rich show in the credit card processing business, keynote speaker Guy Kawasaki helped the event live up to its reputation.

As the former chief evangelist of Apple and author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions, Guy shared ten tips that can be used to boost the profitability of your financial institution’s merchant services program.

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Recently while at the Southeast Acquirers Association (SEAA) Annual Seminar in Dallas, I had the pleasure of listening to keynote speaker Pamela Joseph, who is the Vice Chairman of Payment Services for U.S. Bancorp.

She spoke in detail about the aftershock of Durbin, and the impact it has had on large banks. U.S. Bank, like so many others, is now keenly focused on finding ways to make up lost revenue from its issuing business.

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Our previous post discussed the challenges of pricing new merchant accounts, especially with the increased number of card association fees. Do you have the merchant pricing tools from your merchant services provider to help you cater to the different types of businesses in your market?

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Pricing new accounts for your financial institution’s merchant services program can be challenging, as I’m sure you know quite well. There are many variables that need to be taken into consideration, such as the size of the merchant and their average ticket.

Now add to that other complexities like the Durbin Amendment and the upcoming Visa changes that take effect in April, and the task of finding the right pricing plan for your credit card processing service becomes an interesting task.

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Have you heard the latest news about the 1099-K? Merchants everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief as the IRS recently eased its approach to the new Form 1099-K that details merchants’ credit card payment processing volume.

Now before I get into the details, please know that I’m not a tax expert or a tax accountant. That’s why it’s important that you speak with your tax advisor to better understand the impact of the 1099-K on your financial institution’s merchant services program. He or she will then be able to relate the changes to your specific situation.

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Next Day Funding

Next day funding is a hot topic in merchant services these days, and Carrie Notheis recently described how you can use it to grow your financial institution’s merchant services program. Despite the growing interest in next day funding, merchant account providers often ask us questions about how it works.

To appreciate the benefits of next day funding, it’s helpful to understand the normal funding cycle for credit card processing. I will walk through a simple example to illustrate the difference.

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In my last blog post about social media, I spoke to the importance of connecting with customers where they live, work and play – in social media channels. With the Nielsen Company reporting that 4 out of 5 active Internet users frequent social media sites and blogs and that nearly 40% of social media users access their favorite sites and content from their smart phones, it’s understandable why financial institutions should have a well thought out social media strategy.

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Undoubtedly, one of the hottest products in merchant services right now is next day funding. This product can make a significant difference in a merchant’s cash flow, as it delivers the funds from the prior day’s processing activity the very next morning.

Payment processors everywhere are using their programs to open doors, and are touting the benefits of their programs, which at first blush seem pretty similar. However, as you start to dig deeper, ask yourself these important questions so you can make sure you understand the critical differences and how they can impact the growth of your financial institution’s merchant services program.

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1099K

After much anticipation, the time has come for payment processors to distribute the new Form 1099-K to their merchant credit card processing customers. As I spoke to in an earlier blog post, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently implemented changes which require merchant acquiring entities, such as Clearent, to report merchants’ annual processing volume on the new Form 1099-K, Merchant Card and Third Party Network Payments.

Per instructions from the IRS, the 1099-K must be postmarked and in the mail to merchants by January 31 – at the very latest. At Clearent, we’re excited to report that we will meet this deadline as our 1099-K forms are in the process of being mailed to our merchant credit card processing customers.

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