What you need to know about Merchant category codes (MCC)

Accepting credit and debit cards as a payment option can be a highly profitable choice for most merchants, as it offers customers the convenience of one of the most commonly and easily used forms of payment, thereby making it simpler for them to patronize the merchant’s business and potentially spend more than they otherwise might. However, as any merchant who has applied for a payment card processing account is aware, not all merchant accounts are the same. When a business first applies to a processing institution for an account, it is assigned a merchant category code (MCC) based on the primary kind of business it offers. This four-digit code was originally implemented in 2004 as a means of simplifying tax reporting, but has since expanded to have a number of other applications.

Merchant category codes allow payment card processors to describe succinctly the type of market segment a given business occupies based on the primary form of goods or services it offers. A restaurant, a gas station, and a computer software store will each have a different MCC number that indicates the sort of merchant it is. The original purpose for these codes was to make 1099 reporting simpler for commercial customers, who needed to report payments made for the purchase of services, but not for goods, on their tax forms. Rather than having to review each individual transaction, they could simply refer to the merchant’s MCC number to indicate whether the business was listed as a seller of goods or a service provider.

Since then, merchant category codes have been put to other uses, some of which have more immediate relevance for the merchant itself. Credit card processing companies charge an interchange fee for each transaction they process. The interchange fee is separate from the markup these companies apply for their own profit, and reflects the expected risk of chargebacks and refunds for transactions of a given type. Interchange fees vary based on a combination of factors, including the type of payment card being used, whether the transaction is keyed, swiped, or online, and what kind of business is receiving the payment. This is where your merchant category code comes into play. Certain types of businesses carry a lower risk for payment processors, and thus have lower interchange fees for the merchant. By ensuring that your merchant category code is accurate, you may discover that you qualify for a different interchange rate, which could be lower than the typical rates.

Another usage of merchant category codes is most relevant to your customers, but a savvy merchant may be able to exploit it to make their business a more appealing place to spend money. Many credit cards offer rewards, such as cash back or airline miles, to cardholders who use their card for transactions at certain types of businesses. Some will offer double or triple points when the card is used to buy groceries, gas, prescriptions, or similar everyday needs. Whether these bonuses apply is determined by the MCC number of the terminal where the transaction takes place. Which code a given merchant has been assigned isn’t always obvious – often, different store locations within the same franchise will have different merchant category codes. For instance, one Target store might be categorized as a grocery store, but the Target in the next town may have the MCC of a discount store. Some stores have separate MCC numbers for their pharmacy terminals. Ensuring that your MCC number is accurate and reflects a business type that offers maximal rewards to your customers can make your business a more attractive place to shop.

We have a team of experts to answer any additional questions you may have regarding MCC Codes or merchant accounts in general. Contact us at below:

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Bigger big banks

The world’s top banks are changing their strips

A DECADE ago, Europe counted five banks among the world’s top ten. Today there is only one, HSBC. During that time Chinese banks not only made the list, but vaulted into the top two places, according to annual rankings by The Banker released on June 30th. Last year China Construction Bank shoved aside America’s JPMorgan Chase to become second largest in terms of tier-one capital. ICBC (formerly known as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) kept the top spot; with more than $200 billion, it is also the world’s most profitable bank. Though Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is close to leaving the list altogether, until 2007 its $117 billion heft would have made it the world’s biggest bank. Despite regulations designed to keep banks’ ambitions modest so that none are too big to fail, today’s groups are larger than ever. Global banking profits are at a record high of $920 billion—a third from Chinese banks alone. SOURCE

Paymundo has a broad global network which runs via our processing banks to merchant accounts with an effective credit card processing service.  Since our strength grow on servicing merchants , we have close relationship with over 29 banks globally and still growing !

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Introducing Our New Merchant Application and Management System

Our new Merchant Application and Management System is ready to go and we have new solutions for merchants ranging from new/low volumes to high volume/higher risk with proven history. So you can now earn profit from even the smallest merchant

As an ISO, you are well aware of the lengthy process of applying for new merchant processing and how this affects your business and the Merchant. You also know how important it is to ensure application security, evaluate the future success and risk of your applicants, and how long it can take to approve or deny accounts.

Our new system, (built as part of our PCI Level 1 secure system) dramatically streamlines the Merchant Application process and shortens the approval time for both Agents and banks.

This new system allows you to input all your merchant data, follow the procedures and see the results. The system has integrated forms with multiple international banks and IPSPs so that each application that fits the banks criteria is electronically sent to the bank along with the backup documents and notes in the required format.

Now you can use this system that takes care of all your merchant application management issues and includes many features that help you provide the best service for your merchants.

Some interesting features in the new CRM Sales and Merchant Application System

So email us today at agents@paymundo.com

• You receive your own login to the system
• You can upload backup documents in the system
• You can include all your merchants data into the system
• You see the progress of the application with the bank
• You can review actual traffic statistics and commissions
• You have the option to add data input forms onto your site with our special link, so merchants can input their own data to start the process
• You get dozens of research materials, reports and useful memos on cardprocessing and solutions

We have solutions for all types of international processing. We want to chat with you and show how this system will improve your timelines, and increase your profitability.We have also completed our Bank Matrix, which provides you with a summary of our banking solutions, rates and types of business that you and your merchants can benefit from.

 

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Visa Europe: 17 million UK workers frustrated by cash payments

17 million UK workers are frustrated by the inconvenience of cash payments according to the Working Day Spend Report, released by Visa Europe. With 23% being regularly caught out by not having enough cash on them to make a particular payment and 30% having to ask a taxi to deviate from its journey in order to stop at a cash machine, workers regularly find paying with cash a nuisance.

Although cash usage has dropped overall in the last five years and cards are widely accepted, Brits still rely on cash for smaller payments. That’s despite nearly half (46%) admitting they are quick to spend the cash they have in their wallet, leading to two thirds (66%) withdrawing cash at least once a week. The report also reviewed what UK workers spend their money on, how much they spend and what payment methods they use. Brits spend an average of £10.59 on small and regular purchases throughout the day, the equivalent of £2,541.60 every year. One third of respondents admitted that they do not budget for this everyday expenditure.

“I think a lot of people still use cash for certain purchases out of habit, even though they find it annoying,”says Sandra Alzetta, Executive Director at Visa Europe. “Paying with a contactless card is faster and safer than fiddling around with coins and carrying a wad of cash, and it makes it much easier to manage your money. Every transaction appears on your statement, so you can stop asking yourself where that last twenty pounds went – the answer’s right there.”

The research also found that the way workers spend varies across the UK. London workers use cash the least with just over half (55%) using it to buy lunch, showing that faster payment methods are being embraced more quickly in the capital. In contrast 81% of Glasgow workers use cash to buy lunch, leading to over half (55%) often getting frustrated by having to wait to pay in store. Manchester workers struggled worst with cash machines with 40% noting it was a challenge to find a cash machine nearby and nearly a third (32%) finding having to queue for a cash machine a frustration.

“There’s no need for people to be frustrated by cash,” adds Alzetta. “You can already make contactless payments at more than 300,000 places in the UK – not just in retailers but also on London buses and taxis. That means workers don’t have to worry about being caught out without cash any longer.” SOURCE

Visit us to know more about options for branded payment and reward cards for your business here

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Raptor Racing Knockhill Race (27-29 June 2014) Report

The Knockhill circuit in Fife Scotland was the next venue for the Raptor racing Paymundo sponsored sidecar racing team of driver Tony Brown and passenger Ashley Hawes. Making the long trip, over the weekend of the 27^th to 29^th June 2014, it proved to be an eventful weekend for them in the third round of the Eastern Airways British Formula one sidecar championship. With a large crowd expected, more track time and two 15 lap early afternoon races, the Sunday race being televised live along side the British Superbike championship, the pair were really looking forward to the event. Tony has never seen the circuit let alone raced there and it was some time since Ash had raced there, so it would be a learning curve for them both. Taking it steady in Friday’s practice the pair were to shock themselves and the other team by taking position for Saturday’ first race. Completing 16 laps they were trading places with Lovelock/Alto and championship leaders Hegarty/ Neave when they took pole on lap 15 by 0.043 of a second averaging 87 mph. The top nine sidecars were only separated by one second. Back in the paddock the pair looked shocked by what they had achieved and speaking to Tony he just couldn’t believe it. Perhaps the 10 hours sleep they had the night before had helped.

Saturday’s first race was a fast affair with the expected battle between Hegarty/Neave and Lovelock/Alto taking place the Raptor boys keeping in third place trying to close the gap, but not being helped by back markers over the fast 1.2 mile circuit. At the flag the team took a well deserved third place. Tony was disappointed with his start which put him back several places and was aiming not to make the same mistake in race two.

Sunday’s race was held in glorious conditions straight after the first Superbike race. Again from the start Tony and Ash went about the business of chasing down Hegarty/Neave and Lovelock/Alto, especially with the good start they made. Settling into a safe third place and catching the leading pair disaster struck on lap five when the mudguard on the sidecar came lose and they had to retire.

The frustration was clear for all to see especially with the cameras following them as they stopped. The result keeps them in sixth place in the championship. A clearly disappointed Tony knows that they need to be more consistence to keep moving up the championship positions. Since the race Tony has now found an engine fault with metal small metal parts in the engine which means the Yamaha engine needs a rebuild before the next round at Brands Hatch in three weeks time.

The team would like to thank the following for their support:

www.paymundo.com

Wallace interior solutions

Pagid

Keith Whiting

Ian Hamilton at Express Tyres

Herne Bay Motorcycles

Infinity Pro

Jennifer Shone at Knox

John Mcqueen at LS2

Ros and Lawrence Tumber

Surlingham Solutions

Wurth

AMR Exhausts

Sam Christie

Sam Ryder

Steve English

And of course all our family and friends supporting us, fingers crossed our luck picks up from now on 🙂

(Words and pictures by John Mushet)

 

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Official Media release from RKB-F1Motorsport & Eastern Airways British Sidecar Championship

 

 

Double Eastern Airways Scotch, for Hegarty and Neave at Knockhill 27-29^th June

With the promise of live TV on Sunday, and a mid-afternoon slot Saturday, combined with the tight nature of the Knockhill circuit, round three was always going to be spectacular. Whilst on paper, another double victory for the Felixtowe based Sean Hegarty might look a yawn, nothing could be further from the truth.

Race One – Pre-race rain gave many crews a dilemma with tyres. As it happened, a wet tyre choice wasthe wrong one, and several teams paid the price. From his first-ever Eastern Airways pole position, Tony Brown/Ashley Hawes slotted into third behind Hegarty and Roger Lovelock/Aki Alto. It then became a two-horse race at the front with several passing moves from each. The run down to the hairpin had the crowd on its toes, each and every lap, with Sean Hegarty hanging on for the tightest of victories at the flag. There was frantic action all down the field, and a great scrap between Craig Chaplow/Patrick Farrance and the Ben Bygrave/Justin Sharpe combination. Andy Peach, despite a back-row start and problems mid-race, recovered the L&W BMW eighth ahead of Grabmuller. Ben Holland/Lee Watson (Finning Cat Kawasaki) fell victim to a wrong tyre choice but claimed a few points behind Ricky Stevens/Ryan Charlwood (AOS Kawasaki).

Race Two – Hegarty was fired up, and starting from pole, was in determined mood for this one. After early laps pressure, he was never headed, and made it a comfortable win by eleven seconds. Lovelock again showed his class and consistency with another podium in second, and Tony Brown retired on lap six when his front mudguard came adrift. The story of the race however, and thrilling for the live TV audience, was the charge of Andy Peach through the field from eighth on the grid. What looked like a certain podium for Ben Bygrave, was snatched from under his nose by a whisker at the flag, just ahead of Craig Chaplow. Again, this was an action packed affair, and met with complete appreciation of hugely enthusiastic Scottish sidecar fans. Ben Holland salvaged some points from the back of the grid and the Austrian Grabmuller again recorded a solid result to maintain his consistency in the standings.

Race One Result -1/Hegarty/Neave (Hegarty Suzuki) 2/Lovelock/Alto (Driverwolf Laxton BMW)3/Brown/Hawes (Paymundo.com Yamaha) 4/Bygrave/Sharpe (Blue Machinery Suzuki) 5/Chaplow/Farrance (E-Aide Motorsport Kawasaki) 6/BarryJames/Sam Christie (James Racing) 7/Mark Edwards/Lee Barrett (AOS Kawasaki) 8/ Peach Richardson (L&W BMW)

Race Two Result – 1/ Hegarty/Neave 2/ Lovelock Alto 3/ Peach/Richardson 4/ Bygrave/Sharpe 5/ChaplowFarrance 6/James/Christie 7/Edwards/Barrett 8/Holland/Watson 9/ Kershaw/Wilson 10/Grabmuller/Lawson

Standings – Hegarty 170, Lovelock 132, Peach 95, Edwards 81, Chaplow 76, Brown 56, Holland 52Grabmuller 49, Bygrave 46, Stevens 45, Kershaw 36, Holden 29, James 26.

Round Four comes from Brands Hatch 18-20^th July

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2014 Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecars with Paymundo

 Paymundo – official sponsor for Raptor Racers (Tony Brown & Ashley Hawes).

Interview with Paymundo’s director-Dominic starting from 10.20 covered by

Barry Nutley from Eastern Airways British F1 at Snetterton !

 Full coverage here

Catch us at round three at Knockhill, Scotland 27-28th June

 

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New Role for Credit Card Payments in Credit Scores

Up until now, it’s not been hard for those with credit cards to understand how to avoid their plastic having a negative effect on their credit scores. All they had to remember was:

1. Make every payment (at least the minimum due) every month on time.
2. Keep balances below 30% of the cards’ credit limits. The lower that percentage the better, but the difference 10 and 20% make to your score compared with 30% is minimal.
3. Apply for new credit cards only when you need them. Having lots of recently opened accounts of any sort may be harmful.

Observe those three rules, and you’d have every reason to expect your cards to help rather than hinder your achievement of a good or great credit score.

Credit Cards and Scores: New Factor

But now a new factor might soon affect your score, according to a recent report from The New York Times. It suggested that at least one of the Big Three credit bureaus was already using the amount by which you pay down your cards each month to help calculate your score. Other bureaus and scoring companies may well follow suit.

The purpose of this is to differentiate between “transactors,” who pay down their balances in full each month, and “revolvers,” who routinely carry forward (“revolve”) balances from one month to the next. The theory is that transactors are likely to be more creditworthy, and so deserving of higher scores, though a FICO spokesperson told the Times that it was still studying the data, and was yet to change its systems. FICO is the company whose credit-scoring technologies are used in over 90% of lending decisions in this country.

If FICO and others in the credit-reference industry do in future begin to differentiate between transactors and revolvers, it could see the latter’s scores being downgraded even if they always make minimum or higher credit card payments on time every month. And that could see a significant change in how people view their plastic.

Credit Card Companies Likely Want Status Quo

This could be bad news for credit card companies because it could result in fewer revolvers. After all, would you use your credit cards to borrow if you knew that was likely to make your home, auto and other loans more expensive?

And the interest those who roll forward balances pay represents an important revenue stream for these purveyors of plastic. Indeed, within the card industry, transactors are known, unflattering, as “deadbeats,” because those who never borrow generate little profit.

Credit Scores Like Ketchup and Ice Cream

People talk about “your credit score,” but in fact pretty much everyone who has one has many. There may not be quite as many varieties of these as Heinz has, nor flavors as Baskin-Robbins, but it’s perfectly normal for an individual to have a couple dozen.

There are three main reasons for that:

1. Some lenders prefer to use older versions of FICO and other scoring applications, sparing themselves the expense of upgrading their systems. So they may use scores calculated slightly differently.
2. Scores are often often customized so that they’re especially good indicators for particular types of borrowing. So the score auto loan lenders see for a particular consumer may be different from the ones supplied to credit card companies, which may be different again from the ones viewed by mortgage lenders.
3. There are three main consumer credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), and, although they all use FICO and probably VantageScore technology, they each tweak calculations to provide their own proprietary versions of your score.

Of course, the factors that create a good or great credit score remain the same, and whichever of your score or scores a lender views, it’s likely to reflect your past behavior. But it is worth being aware that, when you access your own score, the one you see may be different from the one used to decide whether to lend to you — and, if so, at what interest rate.

More to Come?

Using your status as a transactor or revolver to help calculate your score may be just the beginning. Although the companies behind scoring systems are likely to be conservative about change, so as to maintain the credibility and predictability of their products, they are also constantly looking out for ways to better satisfy the credit card companies and other lenders who pay them.

Already, FICO is working on so-called big data concepts, though these are currently intended to help clients with marketing rather than credit scoring. But, over the medium and long term, we might see all sorts of new factors affecting our perceived creditworthiness. SOURCE

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Raptor racing Snetterton BSB report

The Raptor Paymundo team of driver Tony Brown and passenger Ashley Hawes returned to action after a break of two months in the Eastern Airways Formula one British sidecar championship at the 2.9 mile Snetterton 300 circuit in Norfolk.

This is a very technical circuit,with the two sidecar races running along side the British Superbike championship over the weekend of the 13th to 15th June 2014.

Practice took place on Friday 13th. In sunny conditions they covered 10 laps finishing in fourth place. Tony’s plan for the Saturday’s qualifying was to take it steady for a few laps to run everything in. It seemed to work as they managed six good laps averaging just under 90 mph and qualifying in fourth place behind Peach/Richardson, Hegarty/Neave and a superb third place from James/Christie.

Afterwards the boys were happy with their position on the grid. Since the front suspension was rebuilt the team haven’t altered anything and they both felt it could be handling better. A word with the suspension guru Patrick Farrance gave them ideas for a better set up on their 1000cc Yamaha powered outfit, which also had a new 2008 specification engine.

Saturday’s afternoon eight lap race one was a difficult affair. Settling into a good pace and running near the front the race was stopped on lap three with oil on the track.

The restart was a six lap sprint late on Saturday afternoon. A fast and furious start by the leaders saw the Paymundo sponsored team battling with several other outfits. Getting tied up with the JH Racing team of Holland/Watson saw them lose ground on the leaders but they still finished in a great fourth place.

Afterwards Tony said he would have liked first but with a brake issue developing they were pleased with the result.

 

Sunday

With the head of Paymundo at the circuit the crews eagerly awaited their prime-time slot mid afternoon, Sunday race accompanied by live Eurosport TV coverage, a further incident by an earlier Superstock solo race, again dictated that the three-wheelers be re-scheduled at the end of proceedings.

From the start Tony and Ashley were up amongst the leaders, coming out of Aggos left hand bend they had a big moment and nearly lost the outfit but recovered brilliantly. However starting lap two the engine developed a sensor problem which caused them to retire.

Naturally disappointed the pair are now looking forward to the next round at Knockhill in Scotland in just over a week’s time.

 

Huge thanks to all our sponsors, we couldn’t do it without your help and support 

www.paymundo.com

Wallace interior solutions

Keith Whiting

Ian Hamilton at Express Tyres

Herne Bay Motorcycles

Infinity Pro

Jennifer Shone at Knox

John Mcqueen at LS2

Ros and Lawrence Tumber

Surlingham Solutions

AMR Exhausts

Sam Christie

Sam Ryder

Steve English

And of course all our family and friends supporting us, fingers crossed our luck picks up from now on 🙂

SOURCE

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Procesa tus Tarjetas de Crédito de forma Segura y Eficiente en el mundo del comercio electrónico

Paymundo ayuda a los comerciantes a que acepten tarjetas de crédito en línea con soluciones y portales de pago electrónico seguros y servicios que logran que la aceptación de pagos electrónicos sea de forma fácil, rápida y segura.

Incremente sus ventas en línea al aceptar tarjetas de crédito, débito, y pagos ACH a través de tu sitio web.

Por otro lado, simplifique el proceso de compra mediante la integración con los principales métodos de compra y proporcione a sus clientes la posibilidad de tener transacciones rápidas y seguras.

Además, Paymundo cumple con las normas PCI DSS para proteger sus datos en línea.

Paymundo es tu fuente de solución para todas tus necesidades en línea de procesamiento de tarjetas de crédito y comercio electrónico.

 

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