MasterCard 2 BIN or Not 2 BIN - What You Need to Know

I've posted a couple of times since late 2016 about the MasterCard Mandate for 2 BIN (new number series on MasterCard credit and debit cards). Non-compliance fines has been mentioned in the past and now it appears that MasterCard is getting very series per this communication from MasterCard:

"As of June 30, 2017, compliance will be enforced for all merchant and ATM locations identified as not properly accepting a 2 series BIN card.  In the event of an acceptance failure, customers will be notified and granted an opportunity to remediate the identified issue.  Noncompliance assessments may be applied if the acceptance issue is not successfully resolved.".

Please ensure that you have done the following:

1. Confirm that your payment terminals have been updated to accept the 2 BIN cards (Card Defender users need not worry as Card Defender is updated to accommodate new payment industry security requirements and mandates).
2. If you have a point of sale system, confirm with your point of sale provider that the software can handle the 2 BIN cards.
3. Review any letters or emails from your merchant services company that may contain additional requirements or possible fines for non-compliance.
4. If you are orphaned or need help, contact myself or your merchant services company for assistance. I'm not familiar with every POS system or stand alone payment terminal but can usually direct you to the correct resources if myself or our tech team is not able to help you.
5. For some of you, this may be enough of an issue that you may want to consider the replacement of an outdated point of sale system and/or outdated payment processing hardware.

Some additional information can be found via this 2 BIN webpage: https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/issuers/get-support/2-series-bin-expansion.html

Final Thought: the payment industry is introducing new mandates and security requirements on a regular basis (8 digit BIN's are being discussed as a next standard).  Please ensure that you are investing in something (hardware and software) that can be updated to meet or exceed future mandates and security requirements.

MasterCard May 1st 2017 Mandate for New Numbers - Will RMS Process the New Cards?

As retailers report receiving more letters and emails from WorldPay, Heartland and other merchant services companies related to the MasterCard 2 Series Bank Identification Number (BIN) Mandate, the biggest question is "will I be able to accept and process the new cards if I am using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software?"

A quick reminder that this mandate goes in to effect on May 1st, 2017. Not being able to accept and process the new number sequence on these MasterCard credit cards means fines of up to $20,000 per the letters and emails that have been shared with us.

As for the question, the short answer is "yes, but...". We've done some testing and RMS appears to handle the new card numbers. However, there are quite a few variables at play related to the version of RMS being used and any add-ons being used with RMS.

There is also the reality that new payment processing requirements are being introduced on a fairly regular basis and RMS is not being updated to accommodate these requirements. A better solution is looking at Card Defender which integrates with RMS but assumes all the payment processing liability using the latest in payment processing terminals as well as being updatable to meet or exceed present as well as future payment processing requirements.

Because of the variables involved, as well as future payment processing requirements, the best answer to the question is "Yes, but please contact RITE at 888-267-7483 or sales@rite.us in order to discuss your specific situation and look at the best course of action".

EMV and What it Means to Folks With Cash Registers and Point of Sale Systems

I've been fielding multiple calls and emails from businesses with cash registers or mobile/computer-based point of sale systems asking what to do related to the upcoming US EMV liability shift date. This video covers some of the questions and answers related to EMV and chip cards and contains information for businesses in the US that accept credit and debit cards as payment in person.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

POS and EMV - Questions You Should be Asking Now

EMV compliance is less that one year away so I've been keeping tabs on which companies and which point of sale solutions have announced how they plan to upgrade their point of sale systems to work with EMV compatible hardware.  So far, only Bindo Point of Sale (www.bindopos.com) is offering EMV compatible hardware.

Square, which is popular with very small businesses (under $60,000/year in gross sales), does have a sign up form for those using Square as well as some general information on EMV. No word yet on whether the new EMV hardware will be free or will have to be purchased.  Here is a link to the the Square sign up form to be notified when EMV hardware for Square will become available: https://squareup.com/emv

As a side note, anyone thinking about purchasing a point of sale system should be asking about EMV. It makes no sense to purchase a point of sale system now and then have to spend more money in 2015 for EMV hardware.  If the place that you are working with doesn't have a solid answer then that is a major warning sign that their solution may not be the best solution for you and your business or organization.

All point of sale companies should be able to tell you the following regarding their point of sale systems and EMV:

• Will a software/app update be required and will there be any costs?
• When will any EMV software/app updates be available?
• Which EMV products (ie. readers or terminals by name and model number) will the software/app work with?
• When will the hardware be available?
• What will be the hardware costs?
• Are there any other costs (ie. labor to help with the upgrade or changing my merchant account information)?
• Will I still be able to use my existing merchant account?

Again, if you can't get a definitive answer for the above questions, then you may want to talk to a point of sale company that can provide you with the answers.

Please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

Response from IRRA on Proposed Swipe Fee Lawsuit Settlement

A few months ago I posted some details on the proposed settlement for the MasterCard/Visa lawsuit.  As you know the deadline to receive a part of the proposed settlement expired on May 28th, 2013.

The IRRA (International Running Retailer Association) send me an email that they have asked their members (mostly retail running stores) to "opt out" of the proposed settlement. The IRRA feels that the settlement does nothing to make permanent changes to merchant services fees.

By opting out, it is hoped that this sends a message to the courts that the proposed settlement is unfair.

New Fraud Prevention Requirement

Another credit card fraud prevention requirement is in the works specific to MasterCard.  The requirement states that your point of sale system must be able to send a unique identifier where credit card transactions take place.  It is hoped that this unique identifier will allow for a quicker understanding of whether problems might be specific to one merchant or more of a wide spread issue.

There is no deadline set yet related to when this will be an actual requirement but most experts feel that the end of 2014 is a likely deadline.

You can contact me or visit http://www.counterpointpos.com/news/news-counterpoint.htm?do=news&id=862 for more detailed information.

This again stresses the need to stay current on your software maintenance each year - otherwise you no longer qualify for important software updates and could fines or other problems.

Are you in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice? I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.

MasterCard/Visa Lawsuit Settlement

Like many of you, I just received a very long notice explaining my rights related to the U.S. District Court settlement related to merchants who accepted MasterCard and Visa since 2004.

Since this is a 27 page document outlining our rights to obtain part of the $6 + billion (US) dollar settlement, I thought that it would easier to post resource information in case you have accepted MasterCard/Visa in the January 1st, 2004 to November 28th, 2012 time frame and have not received settlement information.

The toll free number for the case is 800-625-6440.

Email: info@paymentcardsettlement.com

Address: Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement, PO Box # 2530, Portland OR 97208-2530

The official website is www.paymentcardsettlement.com

The proposed settlement equals one-tenth of 1% of your MasterCard/Visa transaction volume during an 8 month period starting July 29th, 2013.

Note that if you do nothing, you will get nothing. Be sure to call or check out the website to see if you qualify for part of the settlement.

Are you in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice? I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.