Credit Card Processing

NOTE to READER: At the time of the hack,  Sintel Systems was not involved. This week Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. published a security notice on its website announcing that it suffered a data breach when hackers broke in and planted malware on its payments processing system. 102 stores or about 15% of its restaurants in 20 states may have had data exposures...

Today Global Payments Inc. (GPN) and Total System Services Inc. (TSS) announced an all-stock merger of equals with an equity value of about $21.5 billion. Global Payments is fifth-largest merchant acquirer in the U.S., helping businesses handle their credit and debit card payments. Total System Services is the third-biggest payment processor in the credit card issuers' market. The consolidation between these two...

In the fall, MasterCard will begin testing biometrics to secure online payments. Customers will be required to hold up their phone and take a picture when completing an online purchase. Various methods of identification will be tested. Director of innovative solutions for combating fraud, Ajay Bhalla,  noted the ensuing generation "is into selfies,"  assuring they will adapt to new technology...

Franchising is booming, both here and across the pond. FRANdata says demand for franchise units in the U.S. is expected to increase more than 12 percent in 2014, the highest rate of increase in five years. The UK has over 900 franchise operations. "The diversity on offer is substantial," writes Paul Stafford, public relations manager at the British Franchise Association...

In a series of posts on his website, KrebsOnSecurity.com, famed cyber security professional Brian Krebs, has written about Bebe, the latest retailer to suffer from stolen credit and debit card data at the point of sale (POS). "The most common way that thieves steal this type of card data is by hacking into cash registers at retail locations and planting...

  It has been nearly one year since the infamous Target breach that took place at the height of the 2013 holiday shopping season, resulting in the digital theft of 70 million consumer credit cards. And what a year it has been for consumers. In 2014 the disturbing trend of point of sale (POS) breaches in major retailers, and smaller...

News about point of sale data breaches continues unabated but we also see convictions of those who would conspire to hack into point of sale (POS) systems. One such example is found in a post by Grant Gross on PCWorld.com's LEGAL business, security blog, "U.S. man sentenced for hacking POS systems at Subway." As the only full-service point of sale...

As consumers are poised at the advent of the holiday season, the recent security lapses at the retail point of sale continue to reverberate, and according to Wayne Rash writing for tech observer eWeek.com, it isn't looking great for brick-and-mortar retailers. Buyers continued to be worried about credit card security breaches to the point that Target revenue dropped dramatically after...

Changing budgets and tastes, the growth of online shopping and security at the point of sale all represent challenges, and opportunities, for retailers. In the last year, mobile point of sale (mPOS) has also continued to grow and evolve. Industry researchers point to the advent of tablets and powerful apps as driving the revolution in how organizations serve their customers...

Security lapses at the retail point of sale continue to make news. The latest involves CurrentC, one of Apple's competitors in the hotly contested mobile payment space. In a business news website CNBC.com post on the recent breach, technology reporter Cadie Thompson writes that CurrentC, a mobile payment system backed by the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), "sent out an email...

As news about retail point of sale (POS) breaches continues unabated, information about how to better protect customers, and reputations, becomes paramount. The information technology channel observer Business Solutions Magazine (BSMinfo.com) ran a recent guest column by Andrew Bagrin, Founder and CEO, My Digital Shield is on topic in this regard, but his focus is more on the users than...

As news about point of sale data breaches continues unabated, it is perhaps worthwhile to consider the issue from the criminal's point of view. One such example is a slideshow prepared by Russ Spitler, vice president of product management at the security management firm AlienVault, and part of a post on the website ITBusinessEdge.com, "From a Hacker's Perspective: How to Breach...

More information is coming available regarding Apple's new mobile payments system. According to a recent post on the website pymnts.com, the Apple payment system will use tokenization as well as contactless payment based on the new point of sale terminals used in the company's own stores. As the only full-service point of sale provider — from software development to franchise...

The payment card giant MasterCard is throwing its full weight behind near-field communications (NFC) payment systems, also known as contactless payment technology. NFC technology allows for contactless payments to be made using radio waves to transmit data between devices that support the technology, provided they are in close proximity at the point of sale. A recent post on Out-Law.com is...

The latest news suggests that Home Depot has been hacked in the same manner as Target, Neiman Marcus, Michaels, UPS Store and others. In a recent post on ComputerWorld.com, Jeremy Kirk of IDG News Service says that hackers may have the upper hand for years as the retail industry slowly upgrades its systems. As the only full-service point of sale...

The volatile issues of payments and payment security have consumers, financial institutions, retailers and security professionals all wondering how to make shopping more secure. Security professionals are admitting that today, when you make a purchase, the way you make that purchase — in person, over the phone, online — can determine just how secure your transaction will be. "One in...

S&H Green Stamps set the foundation for the customer loyalty programs we see today. Beginning in 1896, participating retailers purchased the stamps from S&H that were then passed along to customers in accord with the dollar amounts they spent in stores. Customers then redeemed their stamps once they had accumulated enough for the item or items they wanted. Those who...

FoxBusiness.com is reporting on how, in the response to the recent high-profile hacking incidents over the past year, technology is being developed to further security for credit card purchases. Expect to see a newly established global standard for credit cards called EMV, the acronym for Europay, MasterCard and Visa. The new EMV cards harbor computer chips and work with authentication...

Franchises can fail, but how and why? And how may failure be avoided? Franchising, licensing and intellectual property lawyer Tony Wilson shares some thoughts on the subject in an online report, "Why So Many Franchises Fail," at TheGlobeandMail.com. Just as we happily share our vast point of sale experience and expertise with startup owners in order to help them make...

News has arrived of the arrest being of one of the world's most prolific traffickers in stolen financial information. The U.S. Department for Homeland Security has announced that the Secret Service has arrested Roman Valerevich Seleznev. The Russian national known as "Track2" was originally indicted in the Western District of Washington in March, 2011 for allegedly carrying out breaches of...

In a recent Financial Times post, British columnist John Gapper claimed that the U.S. "lags behind badly in the basic infrastructure of retail banking" after receiving a "quaint" check for one dollar from a U.S. bank. The online payments and commerce gadflies pymnts.com rushed into the fray to defend against Gapper's charges in a fun-to-read post titled "Does the US...

Forbes.com is reporting on how, in the aftermath of the recent high-profile hacking incidents over the past year, technology is being developed to further security for credit card purchases. The hacks perpetrated against the likes of giant retailers such as Michaels, Neiman Marcus and Target have opened a view into the multi-million dollar business of credit card attacks designed to...

Most people imagine cybercrime as involving hackers from remote locations on the other side of the globe, breaking into servers to steal information and, as such, our involvement comes when the bank places a freeze on our credit cards. "Shockingly, this is not the case," reports ITPortal.com in their post, "How to Defend Against Physical Point of Sale Attacks." In...

USAToday.com has reported that P.F. Chang's China Bistro is investigating a possible data breach involving credit and debit card data that may have been stolen from its restaurant locations nationwide. The report in question comes from Brian Krebs' website KrebsOnSecurity.com, the same cybersecurity blogger who uncovered data breaches at Target earlier this year. As the only full-service point of sale...

As a provider of integrated merchant accounts or credit card processing services, Sintel Systems is always working to bring value to our customers. To that end, here is a summary of some recent thinking on merchant credit card fees. No Free Lunch Do you know why merchant account fees cannot be guaranteed? Or why merchant account fees seem to have...

Apple, renowned for tech that "just works," hit a rough patch recently when its point of sale systems repeatedly went down in stores around the country. In an article entitled "Apple Point of Sale Goes Down Again," TechCrunch.com gives an overview of Apple's point of sale (POS) woes based upon its sources and corroborated by tweets on Twitter. Here are...

British chef Robert Irvine, best known for his Food Network Show, Restaurant Impossible, recently spoke with Hospitality Technology to discuss how restaurants can make technology work for them. Irvine spoke about how he feels restaurateurs tend to underutilize Point of Sale Systems. “The systems have many different capabilities beyond just ordering food including helping to manage inventory and can issue...

Report from the front on the ever-changing landscape of retail payment habits. Bricks and mortar retailers, long aware of how their customers have been using their smartphones in stores, are turning the tables and bringing more of their stores into our phones. In the first of a new series, Digiday looks at how Sephora, Sears, Walmart, Target, Ikea, Home Depot and others "are fighting back against...

Entrepreneur has released their 2013 report on the fastest-growing franchises in North America, with Subway scoring at number one. Not surprisingly, numerous other Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) dominate the list (25 out of 106 listings). Notably, Chester's chicken, Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shops and Dunkin' Donuts made the top ten, while frozen yogurt continues it meteoric rise with Menchie's (no. 17), Orange Leaf (no. 20), and Red Mango (no. 38) the fastest-spreading. In a similar icy vein, Kona Ice shaved ice trucks...

Mobile point-of-sale (POS) systems are helping small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the retail/grocery/liquor segments build unique and satisfying customer experiences. A recent article titled "Mobile POS Technology Heightens Overall Customer Experience" in Point of Sale News looks at how retailers are using mobile POS systems to add value and get closer to customers, with examples including line-busting, convenience, fast and efficient...

Security-minded shoppers, when asked about their most popular future technology choice, would like to have biometric payments such as fingerprint, palm or iris scanners over emerging mobile phone options. Planet Biometrics is reporting on new research, which revealed that nearly one in two shoppers (49%) would like to have biometric payments, far exceeding the popularity of mobile technology options such as...

We don't know anyone who wouldn't like to increase sales, so we like the tips in this smart post from The Point of Sale News.       At a glance, the big news is all the new next-generation POS options intended to help operators increase sales rather than simply help reduce operating costs. Available features include: 1.    Integrated eCommerce...

Brand loyalty is extremely important for every restaurant and retail store big or small. Brand Keys recently released their 2013 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, which forecasts customer devotion across brands. To make such predictions there is a lot of math involved and highly secretive algorithms.  Brand Keys states they are “the only research consultancy in the world that specializes in...

A fraudulent chargeback is when a “successful customer dispute over a legitimate transaction. One in which he or she knowingly and purposely participated and for which the customer is fully responsible”, states the Credit Card Blog by UniBul. Fraudulent chargebacks stem from consumers trying to game the system that is at the same time trying to protect them from fraud...

Citing the recent release of the annual Chain Restaurant Industry Review from GE Franchise Finance (GEFF), Nation's Restaurant News reports on how restaurants are adapting to economic challenges. It's good news, as restaurants are adapting well to "consumer preferences and economic challenges" — as well as "whatever's thrown at them," said Kimberly Savilonis, Senior Vice President for GEFF and an author of...

Is PayPal's Mobile Payment System a Good Thing? Mobile Point of Sale Systems is all the rage. The newest company to join the race is PayPal. PayPal is already well known for their mobile payment solutions for Smartphones. At the beginning of this year, they launched a mobile payment version for the iPad. PayPal is targeting small businesses that do...

Crucial Considerations Before Purchasing a Cash Drawer Point of Sale News has a thorough primer on cash drawer considerations in which they explore all the major factors to help business owners choose the right drawers tailored to their needs: cost; space requirements; durability, reliability, and length of warranty; manual or electronic opening tied to traffic volume; compatibility with your POS...

Avoid the Risks of Outdated Credit Card Processing (Part 2) Continued from Part 1 The Merchant Bill of Rights includes: #7 The right to encrypted card numbers and secure transactions "Obviously, you would never want the credit, debit and PIN numbers of your customers stolen by hackers. Large payments processors prevent hundreds of thousands of attempted hacks every day with...

Avoid the Risks of Outdated Credit Card Processing (Part 1) Business owners may not be aware of the liabilities they face if their credit card processing is not up to date and secured against hackers. Credit card companies may argue that outdated processing technology in effect broadcasts information negligently, and insurance carriers may not cover this, highlighting the importance of both...

Are Mobile Devices the New Currency? The Point of Sale News asks, "How Close Are We to Cashless Commerce?" and answers with 2020 vision: the prediction that mobile payments may replace cash and credit cards by as soon as 2020 according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project on "The Future of Money." With the surge in POS...

5 Restaurant Trends to Watch This Spring The birds are chirping, kids are once again playing outside, and your allergies are acting up. This can only mean one thing: spring has finally sprung. Last month, Nation's Restaurant News published an article titled 5 Restaurant Trends to Watch This Spring. Mediterranean Look out for Mediterranean influences at many restaurants this season...

4 of The Best Gadgets for Business There are so many gadgets out there that sometimes it can feel a little overwhelming. Entrepreneur.com released their “pick for the best new business gadgets.”, which lists their favorites in four different categories along with some top alternatives. Tablet PCs: BlackBerry Playbook   (under $500), this seven inch tablet comes equipped with a 1GHz...

This past March, BestPizzaPOS.com, a division of Sintel Systems, was thrilled to once again be a part of the 2013 International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. There were over 500 vendors this year including delivery bag providers, topping suppliers and oven makers. There were also 11 different bacon providers.  If you love pizza and bacon this was the place to...

Does Your Restaurant Need A Mobile App? Mobile apps come in all shapes and sizes: games, maps, news, even your bank probably has a mobile app. They are created to make our lives easier and sometimes even a little more fun. It is rather shocking to learn, thanks to data recently released by Pew Research, that only 35% of Americans...

Moveable Feasts: Six Mobile Food Ideas Entrepreneur has some great ideas for getting rolling with a mobile food restaurant business. In brief: 1. Food Kiosks: Consider the temporary, quick-serve kiosk for its low overhead, flexibility and ease with which it can be opened and closed. These typically appear at indoor locations including malls, stadiums and movie theaters. 2. Food Carts and...

Chicago Pizza Tours Chicago and Pizza. Two words that is synonymous with each other.  There is not just one type of pizza. Chicago has deep dish, thin crust, pan pizza, oven-fired, artisanal, tavern style, Neapolitan and probably some chef somewhere is creating a new type of pizza as we speak. Just as there is no one type of pizza, there...

6 Tips from Pros About Owning A Restaurant Owning your own restaurant is no easy feat. Whether it’s the first restaurant you are opening or your fifth there is always something to be learned. Well known restaurateurs such as Rodger Berkowitz (Legal Sea Foods), Tom Coliccho (Top Chef, Craft Family Restaurants) and Barbara Lynch (No.9 Park) to name a few...

Industry Insiders Weigh in on Proposed Minimum Wage Hike as Restaurant Brands Stay Mum (Part II) Continued from Part I Zackfia's projections also take into account a $.50 increase in minimum wage for tipped service, which was not called for in Obama's proposal. NRN also reports that advocates have not begun to lobby against the hike because it's not reached...

Industry Insiders Weigh in on Proposed Minimum Wage Hike as Restaurant Brands Stay Mum (Part I)  Announced in Obama's State of the Union address in February, President Obama's proposed minimum wage hike from $7.25 to $9.00 per hour has caused rumblings in the world of chain restaurants. The increase would be the first since 2009, while the federal minimum wage for...

SXSWi: Timely Trends in Restaurant Tech A report from Food Fanatics relates the restaurant industry's hottest digital and mobile tech tools trending at the recent South By Southwest Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas. "Mobile technology has changed the way consumers experience your restaurant—from how they discover it to how they dine." They explore Rezhound and BellyCard, as well as the...

Tips on Starting an Organic Restaurant Inc.com recently shared an insightful list of 8 Tips for Starting an Organic Restaurant, for which we offer a quick digest: Expect higher costs: Project for 10-20% higher costs, and more if you plan on a premium water filtration system or compostable takeout packaging. Anticipate price fluctuations: Out-of-season and non-local organic ingredients can vary...

The ABC's of QSR (Quick Serve Restaurant) POS Systems Walk down any main street in any city in America and what will you see? A fast food restaurant. From hamburgers to tacos there is a Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) out there for every one’s taste buds. To the surprise of no one, McDonalds is ranked number 1 as America’s most...

The ABCs of Restaurant Franchising Fledgling restaurant franchisees would do well to learn the basic terminology of the industry, as detailed in Entrepreneur.com's 16 Common Franchise Terms: Explained. To get familiar with franchising trends and industries poised for growth, Entrepreneur.com also ranks America's top franchises annually, with the 2013 Franchise 500 representing the 34th year. The post says, "The results ... confirm...

The Takeaway From Groupon's Sacking Of CEO Andrew Mason (part 2) continued from our earlier post. So what's next? Retailwire shows some cautious optimism, saying "With the daily deals marketplace maturing, a shakeout could lead to a less-competitive playing field and more tailored offers from those that survive. It's unknown whether Groupon and LivingSocial will benefit from their first-mover advantage or...

The Takeaway From Groupon's Sacking Of CEO Andrew Mason (part 1) A long slide in the fortunes at deal-a-day pioneer Groupon, including a significant drop in fourth-quarter earnings and 24% reduction in the company's value, resulted in the ouster of CEO Andrew Mason late last week. In his already infamous exit memo, Mason, who allegedly turned down a $6 billion offer...

How To Keep Your Seasonal Business Going Year Round  In an earlier blog we gave you tips to help you franchise your pizzeria. But what if you own a seasonal franchise or restaurant? A seasonal business may sound great to the owner who wants to manage their own business, and only have to work a few months out of the...