Check out this video from a Merchant Warehouse partner, Xgensoft, who integrated the PA-DSS certified MerchantWARE TransPort payment processing application with their Rental Manager software for seamless and secure card transaction processing:

http://www.xgensoft.com/Videos/RentalManagerAndTransportVideo.html

Newest mobile payment applications to be showcased at Booth 1663

BOSTON, MA — March 1, 2010 — Merchant Warehouse, a premier provider of merchant accounts and credit card processing solutions, today announced the company will be demonstrating its MerchantWARE Mobile™ applications integrated with MagTek’s encrypted Bluetooth card reader, perfect for the on-the-go workforce, at the 26th Annual International Pizza Show 2010 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 2-4. Additionally, Merchant Warehouse will be showcasing the MerchantWARE product suite of PA-DSS compliant solutions including MerchantWARE Transport & MerchantWARE Secure Encrypted Card Reader, two PA-DSS compliance solutions for developers.

The International Pizza Show is the ideal venue for demonstrating MerchantWARE Mobile applications as they’re the ideal mobile payment solution for pizza delivery drivers. With MagTek’s Bluetooth card reader, all credit card data is encrypted at the point of swipe before it is accessed by the mobile device, and the data is then securely transmitted and stored at the Merchant Warehouse gateway and data vault. Sensitive information is never stored on the mobile device itself, so merchants and customers have peace of mind knowing their card data information is safe.

MerchantWARE® is a complete suite of certified payment processing solutions designed especially for Developers and VARs. This suite provides end-to-end encryption and tokenization and enables developers to create superior POS systems that deliver a variety of payment processing solutions for their customers. MerchantWARE is PA-DSS certified.

MerchantWARE® TransPort™ allows point-of-sale developers to remove the card processing function entirely from their software while retaining full functionality through a “transaction portal.” The PA-DSS audit scope may be reduced or eliminated by delegating all of the sensitive portions of payment processing to MerchantWARE TransPort. Once integrated into a point-of-sale system, MerchantWARE TransPort assumes all of the duties of handling sensitive payment data so that the POS system never comes in contact with it. When a card is swiped, cardholder data is collected, prepared, and transmitted via SSL to MerchantWARE’s secure payment gateway, where it is processed and an authorization token is automatically sent back to the POS system.

Both MerchantWARE solutions will be on display at Booth 1663.

What: 26th Annual International Pizza Show

When: March 2-4, 2010

Where: Las Vegas Convention Center,

Las Vegas, Nev.

WHO: Merchant Warehouse enables merchants to process all forms of electronic payments including credit, debit, EBT, rewards and gift cards, and checks using any payment processing device.

About Merchant Warehouse

Since 1998, Merchant Warehouse has set the standard for credit card processing by guaranteeing competitive pricing in merchant accounts, software, equipment, and providing dedicated, high quality customer service. Over 80,000 merchants later, the company continues to lead the industry with groundbreaking technology initiatives: MerchantWARE®; BINsmart™; and MerchantWARE Mobile. Merchant Warehouse has been named the ETA 2009 ISO of the Year, Business Solutions’ Best Channel Vendor for 2009 & 2010 and is a two-time recipient of the Boston Business Journal Pacesetter Award. Merchant Warehouse co-CEO, Henry Helgeson, was also named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 for New England. The company is committed to community and charitable involvement. For more information, please visit http://merchantwarehouse.com or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MWarehouse.

About Xsilva

Xsilva Systems makes a comprehensive suite of retail tools under the LightSpeed brand that are tailored to the Mac platform and intended to help individual retailers and small retail chains grow and manage their businesses more effectively. LightSpeed makes managing a retail business as easy as click, drag and drop, and features a powerful front-counter point of sale solution. It also features extensive quoting, ordering and invoicing capabilities, label and barcode printing, reporting, inventory management, customer profiling and tracking, credit-card processing, gift cards, multi-store lookups and stock transfers. Add-on module LightSpeed Web Store allows retailers to generate and maintain a customizable PHP- and CSS-based e-commerce site from their LightSpeed database.

Contacts:

Marianne Rocco, Marketing Director

Merchant Warehouse

800.941.6557 x2051

mrocco@merchantwarehouse.com

Meghan Welborn / Michael Sullivan

PAN Communications

978.474.1900

merchant@pancomm.com

Mobile Applications join the growing list of payment options offered by Merchant Warehouse

BOSTON, MA — March 2, 2010 — Merchant Warehouse, a premier provider of merchant accounts and credit card processing solutions, today announced two new mobile payment processing applications for MerchantWARE® Mobile™, a user-friendly, virtual payment processing application that provides small and large businesses with simple and secure card processing capabilities. The new applications are now available for the Google Android and Windows Mobile platforms – joining the already available iPhone/iPod touch and Blackberry.

2010 has unofficially been dubbed, “The Year Smartphones Become Mobile Credit Card Terminals,” with MerchantWARE Mobile answering the call for mobile payment processing that is as safe and secure as paying at a non-mobile terminal–like a cash register. By combining simplicity with advanced functionality and security­, the free applications boast an easy setup process and only require a Merchant Warehouse merchant account.

The new applications are part of Merchant Warehouse’s on-going mobile strategy which is to understand the needs of the growing micro-business segment, provide superior customer support and deliver secure, scalable and the lowest cost mobile payment solutions for all devices. Businesses today save time and money with free applications, immediate payment approvals as well as the convenience of automatic email receipts. MerchantWARE® MobileTM applications are an ideal payment solution for any ‘on-the-go’ business that needs to accept credit card payments in real-time.

“We recognize that the mobile micro-business is growing and will be a driving force in our economy,” said Henry Helgeson, co-CEO of Merchant Warehouse. “Our goal is to be ready with affordable, secure mobile payment applications for all devices. The addition of the Android and Windows Mobile applications brings us closer to that goal. Because Merchant Warehouse is self-reliant and does not depend on third parties for our gateway or support services, we are able to readily address the needs of the business customer and deliver better support and innovative solutions with the most flexibility. Delivering scalable, affordable and secure mobile applications for all businesses just makes sense for Merchant Warehouse.”

As the technology emerges, evolves and gains traction in the market, MerchantWARE Mobile stays ahead of the pack, including secure compliant credit card processing applications and portable card readers used with the iPhone/iTouch, Blackberry, and now the Android and Windows Mobile to accommodate card swipes that allow merchants to avoid high-cost “card-not-present” fees. All credit card data (swiped or keyed) is securely transmitted and stored at Merchant Warehouse’s secure data vault, not the mobile device so merchants and customers have peace of mind knowing their card data is safe. For a list of additional MerchantWARE® MobileTM features, please visit: http://merchantwarehouse.com/merchantware_mobile

The free applications require a Merchant Warehouse merchant account and all mobile applications, except the iPhone/iTouch, use a Bluetooth enabled card reader while the iPhone/iTouch use an easy to manage cradled card reader. With the addition of Windows Mobile and Android to the offerings, merchants can take part in the growing trend toward mobile payment processing with the ease and peace of mind that comes from partnering with a recognized industry leader and innovator such as Merchant Warehouse.

About Merchant Warehouse

Since 1998, Merchant Warehouse has set the standard for credit card processing by guaranteeing competitive pricing in merchant accounts, software, equipment, and providing dedicated, high quality customer service. Over 80,000 merchants later, the company continues to lead the industry with groundbreaking technology initiatives: MerchantWARE®; BINsmart™; and MerchantWARE Mobile. Merchant Warehouse has been named the ETA 2009 ISO of the Year, Business Solutions’ Best Channel Vendor for 2009 & 2010 and is a two-time recipient of the Boston Business Journal Pacesetter Award. Merchant Warehouse co-CEO, Henry Helgeson, was also named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 for New England. The company is committed to community and charitable involvement. For more information, please visit http://merchantwarehouse.com or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MWarehouse.

About Xsilva

Xsilva Systems makes a comprehensive suite of retail tools under the LightSpeed brand that are tailored to the Mac platform and intended to help individual retailers and small retail chains grow and manage their businesses more effectively. LightSpeed makes managing a retail business as easy as click, drag and drop, and features a powerful front-counter point of sale solution. It also features extensive quoting, ordering and invoicing capabilities, label and barcode printing, reporting, inventory management, customer profiling and tracking, credit-card processing, gift cards, multi-store lookups and stock transfers. Add-on module LightSpeed Web Store allows retailers to generate and maintain a customizable PHP- and CSS-based e-commerce site from their LightSpeed database.

Contacts:

Marianne Rocco, Marketing Director

Merchant Warehouse

800.941.6557 x2051

mrocco@merchantwarehouse.com

Meghan Welborn / Michael Sullivan

PAN Communications

978.474.1900

merchant@pancomm.com

July 1, 2010. That’s the the date when all payment processing applications are required to be PA-DSS validated.  Who should care? Well, if you sell point-of-sale (POS) systems with payment processing functions or, if you accept credit, PIN-debit and other electronic card payments, then you should. You can visit the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) website to learn about the requirements and certification process, but here are a few reasons why it’s important to your business. 

First, if your payment processing system is not PA-DSS validated/PCI compliant, you can no longer process card payments. Yes, that’s correct. According to the PCI SSC guidelines, you are prohibited from using payment processing systems that are not PA-DSS certified, and if you continue to use a non-validated payment application, your business could be shut down. Is there a compliance policeman knocking down your door on July 1^st? Probably not, but that doesn’t preclude you from being audited.

Second, if your network is breached and cardholder data is stolen, you could be held liable for the occurrence. This could cost you thousands of dollars, not to mention an impact on your brand/business and customer loyalty.

Third, you may find yourself on a waiting list if you delay your compliance audit. This could impact your business. If you’re a Level 4 merchant, you’ll need to complete the PCI SSC’s self-assessment questionnaire and quarterly scans by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA). If your solution is already PCI compliant, that questionnaire may be considerably shorter. If you’re a POS developer, your payment applications require you to complete a more robust audit process that could cost several thousand dollars, in addition to making software updates/changes that may be necessary to achieve compliance. 

So start planning your compliance strategy today. If you’re a Level 4 merchant, check with your POS provider or VAR to be sure your existing solution is PCI Compliant and ask for recommendations for a QSA. If you are a POS developer or VAR, discuss PA-DSS options with your payment processing vendor. You can minimize the costs and headaches associated with PA-DSS compliance if you integrate or use a PA-DSS certified solution.  Merchant Warehouse offers a complete suite of PA-DSS validated solutions that minimize compliance. Check the PCI SCC website for a list of PA-DSS certified solutions and certified QSAs. 

Every small- to medium-sized business needs either a basic method of accepting credit, PIN-debit and check payments or a feature-rich, integrated POS system.  In these economically uncertain times, be sure your payment processing solution addresses the following SMB concerns:  benefits, productivity, revenue, security and innovation before you make that call. 

Benefits - Merchants need to fully understand why your processing solution is better and what they receive by using it. Do they have the most competitive pricing on merchant accounts; is there a special technology that improves their bottom line? 

Productivity - All things being equal, how quickly and easily does a merchant see an increase in productivity or efficiency using your solution? Do your back-office management and reporting tools readily address this issue?

Revenue - Every business has money on their mind.  How does your payment solution help develop and grow revenues? If you offer innovative technology or valuable add-on options, be sure your customer understands how it grows the bottom line. Gift and loyalty cards come to mind as an easy way to increase revenue per transactions and grow customer loyalty.

Security - With PCI Compliance requirements just around the corner, does a new payment processing system help minimize the compliance headaches and ensure card data security? How does end-to-end data encryption technology make a difference?   

Innovation - New technology is great if it improves the current business’ situation, but if it adds little value and has a low ROI, it’s a hard sell. Before asking your customer to invest in new technology or upgrade their processing systems, be sure you understand their pain points and how new technology addresses them. Will lowering processing costs make a big difference for a customer or will accepting payments in real-time save money?  

All businesses need cost-effective payment processing solutions. When pitching yours, make sure your solution answers these five critical business concerns.

During its review of the current PCI compliance regulations, the PCI Security Standards Council will begin considering new card data security technologies that help merchants protect sensitive cardholder information. Although no revisions to PCI DSS are expected in 2010, Mark Lobel, principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers, suggests there will be a strong push for end-to-end data encryption, tokenization, magnetic-stripe imaging and virtual terminals (payment gateways).

Fortunately, Merchant Warehouse combines all of these features in its MerchantWARE® SECR^™ (Secure Encrypted Card Reader) solution to help its merchants achieve PCI compliance and better protect consumer card data. If MerchantWARE SECR’s features are deemed adequate for securing payment data, wouldn’t it be worth it for every business to use this solution in their store?

Over the past 10 years, the credit card processing industry has seen a steady increase in Interchange fees – as much as 300% since 2001 –  and it’s merchants who are left paying the hefty tab.

While the U.S. government is still debating its role to intervene and regulate these non-negotiable, industry-controlled business expenses, and organizations in support of an Interchange fee reform are still collecting petition signatures, frustrated merchants are making the effort to manage these costs on their own. According to the Boston Globe, some businesses are beginning to offer their customers discounts for purchases made with cash to deter card usage and offset the high costs of card fees, while others have gone so far as to forfeit their ability to accept credit cards at the risk of losing a sale and/or customer.

With all of this commotion surrounding Interchange fees, it seems paradoxical that Merchant Warehouse’s patent-pending BINsmart™ solution is not more widely adopted by retail merchants and point-of-sale vendors. With BINsmart, merchants can accept credit and debit card payments while relying on the customized BIN-recognition with PIN-steering technology to assess each transaction and uncover potential savings on card processing fees. Would you use BINsmart to help your business save on Interchange rates? Let us know by commenting below.

Next generation POS system exclusively for the Mac now comes with end-to-end encryption solution for added securityBOSTON, MA — January 11, 2010 — Merchant Warehouse, a premier provider of merchant accounts and credit card processing solutions, and Xsilva Systems Inc., maker of LightSpeed®, a comprehensive suite of easy-to-use tools for retailers, today announced they will be demonstrating LightSpeed’s integration with MerchantWARE® Payment Gateway™ at the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Big Show, taking place at New York City’s Javits Convention Center on January 11-12th, 2010.

The partnership with Merchant Warehouse enables Xsilva to offer secure encrypted credit card processing in addition to its ground-breaking, innovative POS system. With the MerchantWARE gateway and encrypted card reader, merchants never actually transmit or store non-encrypted sensitive credit card information, giving merchants and Xsilva added peace of mind.

LightSpeed combines a powerful POS for front-counter retail with back-office functions such as inventory management, purchasing, order processing and reporting and encrypted credit card processing.

“MerchantWARE helps optimize our LightSpeed solution by providing secure credit card processing. Transactions are encrypted and secure using the payment gateway, so our customers can feel safe and secure,” said Ian Haugh, Director of Sales. “MerchantWARE provides additional assurance for us and our customers.”

LightSpeed POS is an ideal solution for single-stores, small-to-medium-sized retail chains and online retailers across a broad spectrum of verticals in the retail sector. MerchantWARE certified payment processing applications are designed to help developers and VARs create certified payment processing POS systems on the market. With LightSpeed and Merchant Warehouse MerchantWARE, Xsilva offers one of the most secure, comprehensive and intuitive retail POS systems available today. Come see a LightSpeed demo at NRF, Booth 2047, Jan. 11-12, 2010.

What: National Retail Federation’s 99th Annual Convention & EXPO

When: January 11-12, 2010

Where: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center,

New York, NY

WHO: Merchant Warehouse enables merchants to process all forms of electronic payments including credit, debit, EBT, rewards and gift cards, and checks using any payment processing device. The MerchantWARE product suite enables independent software vendors (ISVs) and point-of-sale (POS) developers to enhance the value of their offerings by integrating certified, secure and easy-to-use payment processing solutions with POS systems.

Xsilva, maker of LightSpeed, a comprehensive suite of retail tools tailored for the Mac, will be located at Booth No. 2047 and will be demonstrating its LightSpeed POS, now integrated with MerchantWARE.

About Merchant Warehouse

Since 1998, Merchant Warehouse has set the standard for credit card processing by guaranteeing competitive pricing in merchant accounts, software, equipment, and providing dedicated, high quality customer service. Over 80,000 merchants later, the company continues to lead the industry with groundbreaking technology initiatives: MerchantWARE®; BINsmart™; and MerchantWARE Mobile. Merchant Warehouse has been named the ETA 2009 ISO of the Year, Business Solutions’ Best Channel Vendor for 2009 & 2010 and is a two-time recipient of the Boston Business Journal Pacesetter Award. Merchant Warehouse co-CEO, Henry Helgeson, was also named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 for New England. The company is committed to community and charitable involvement. For more information, please visit http://merchantwarehouse.com or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MWarehouse.

About Xsilva

Xsilva Systems makes a comprehensive suite of retail tools under the LightSpeed brand that are tailored to the Mac platform and intended to help individual retailers and small retail chains grow and manage their businesses more effectively. LightSpeed makes managing a retail business as easy as click, drag and drop, and features a powerful front-counter point of sale solution. It also features extensive quoting, ordering and invoicing capabilities, label and barcode printing, reporting, inventory management, customer profiling and tracking, credit-card processing, gift cards, multi-store lookups and stock transfers. Add-on module LightSpeed Web Store allows retailers to generate and maintain a customizable PHP- and CSS-based e-commerce site from their LightSpeed database.

Contacts:

Marianne Rocco, Marketing Director

Merchant Warehouse

800.941.6557 x2051

mrocco@merchantwarehouse.com

Meghan Welborn / Michael Sullivan

PAN Communications

978.474.1900

merchant@pancomm.com

The new MerchanWARE Mobile application continues to impress the BlackBerry community, and we are very exited about the glowing review the application received on CrackBerry.com yesterday. CrackBerry.com is one of the leading and most trusted sites for BlackBerry users, and they could not have been more pleased with the new application and the compatible wireless Bluetooth card reader.

“I am a huge fan of this whole system as it is extremely easy to use and offers amazing features. How cool is it to know you can just carry the card reader in your pocket with your device, and you can accept credit cards anywhere?”

Adam Zeis – CrackBerry.com

Read the whole review on CrackBerry.com

BlackBerry Sites, a leading information source for BlackBerry users, took a closer look at our new MerchantWARE Mobile application for BlackBerry devices yesterday. BlackBerry Sites liked what they saw, really appreciated the flexibility and ease of use, and had the following to say:

“Do not be surprised if you see MerchantWARE Mobile being a “Must Have” application in the Business environment soon.”

BlackBerrySites.com

Read the whole review on BlackBerrySites.com