This text is especially for brick-and-mortar retailers, concerning the October 1, 2015 fraud-liability rule modifications and deceptive gross sales ways surrounding the modifications.
The brand new guidelines are inflicting a excessive share of retail retailers to alter their card processing tools to keep away from legal responsibility for sure fraudulent transactions. Learn my February and March 2015 articles — “EMV Credit score Playing cards, Half 2: Level-of-sale Gadgets, Options” and “Comply with-up: EMV Credit score Playing cards and AmEx OptBlue” — in case you are not aware of EMV chip playing cards and the fraud legal responsibility change on October 1, 2015.
The explanation for this text is to alert retailers that the usage of EMV playing cards has produced some deceptive gross sales ways that may hurt the retailers’ companies.
EMV bank cards.
Deceptive Gross sales Ways for EMV Gear
1. Don’t signal a brand new settlement. You shouldn’t must signal a brand new settlement along with your present supplier to improve your tools to course of EMV chip playing cards.
In case your present supplier tells you to signal a brand new settlement to course of EMV chip playing cards, one thing else is probably going taking place aside from merely upgrading your tools and it’s most likely not in your greatest curiosity.
Retailers have lately contacted me as a result of their present salespeople instructed them that they needed to signal a brand new settlement to be able to improve their tools to course of the brand new chip playing cards.
In a single particular case, the service provider didn’t perceive why he began receiving two statements every month after upgrading. One assertion had simply minimal month-to-month charges; the opposite had the complete processing element and prices.
What the retailers didn’t understand is that that they had unknowingly modified suppliers and within the course of modified their pricing and their phrases and situations. They had been receiving an announcement with minimal charges from the unique supplier as a result of their salesperson by no means knowledgeable the unique supplier of the change.
What the retailers didn’t understand is that that they had unknowingly modified suppliers and within the course of modified their pricing and their phrases and situations.
Needless to say unbiased sale brokers usually promote for multiple supplier. They do that for a number of causes, primarily to not depend on a single supplier for his or her earnings.
Sadly, some salespeople attempt to make the most of representing multiple supplier by switching an present service provider to a different supplier they characterize, to acquire bonuses or different earnings from the second supplier. I’m assured that’s what this gross sales agent did on this occasion.
2. Don’t swap suppliers. Most suppliers have very strict guidelines stopping gross sales brokers from switching retailers for private acquire.
Within the above instance, the gross sales agent didn’t inform the unique supplier as a result of, presumably, he violated his contract with the unique supplier. I do know a salesman that performed the supplier switching recreation final 12 months and misplaced $150,000 in annual residuals when the supplier found it.
In case your salesperson modifications your supplier with out you absolutely understanding it, the unique supplier would most likely wish to know so it will probably cope with the salesperson.
In case your salesperson modifications your supplier with out you absolutely understanding it, the unique supplier would most likely wish to know so it will probably cope with the salesperson.
The difficulty of being deceptive to retailers isn’t restricted to small suppliers or gross sales brokers that characterize a number of firms. A salesman from one of many largest banks within the nation lately had a service provider signal a brand new contract — supposedly to make use of EMV chip card tools.
The salesperson positioned the service provider on a brand new pricing plan with out absolutely speaking the change. As soon as once more, the service provider began receiving two statements; its month-to-month processing prices additionally elevated.
3. Look ahead to salespeople posing as card-company staff. Watch out for telemarketers and salespeople posing as somebody from one of many card firms.
I’ve had a variety of retailers inform me that they obtained cellphone calls from Visa telling them that their terminals are unlawful and so they should improve them. I’ve by no means heard of a Visa worker calling a service provider in that method. Furthermore, terminals that can’t course of EMV chip card knowledge usually are not unlawful. Actually retailers ought to perceive the fraud legal responsibility shift that takes place on October 1, 2015 and the enterprise determination they need to make, as I described in my February and March articles.
4. By no means lease tools. Many salespeople are making the most of retailers by leasing terminals and PIN pads for absurd quantities. I’ve spoken with retailers who’ve signed leases at $99 or extra per 30 days for as much as 4 years. These terminals and PIN pads value $200 to $300 to buy. If a salesman ever suggests leasing the tools, you’re talking to the flawed salesperson. Interval.
