March 27, 2018
Business today are operating under all new conditions. Long gone are the days of crank-operated cash registers and hand written receipts. Today, increasing demands from connected shoppers and mobile users have changed everything from the buying to the checkout experience. Stores that want to keep up and remain relevant must innovate.
Clover Station is a countertop POS system that helps businesses remain productive while gaining the insights they need to continue leading in their respective markets. Everything from accepting various payment forms, to tracking inventory, managing time sheets and even running reports is possible with Clover.
Now, a longtime wish of users is coming true as Clover Station 2.0 has now been rolled out for use.
This redesigned version includes some long due updates to the hardware side of things like the ability to take chip cards (EMV-ready), a faster processor, a larger screen, and new innovations such as a customer facing display on the printer, and a finger-print scanner.
A major re-design to the software will make Clover 2.0 even better for Full Service Restaurants and multi-location businesses. Full service restaurants will see major upgrades to the “Tables” and “Orders” apps with visual displays to significantly improve and streamline the table management and ordering process. Upgrades to the dashboard will also make it easy to view reports and manage multi-location businesses.
As merchants move into the next generation of shopping experiences they’ll need tools to help them along the way. Clover 2.0 is keeping security, convenience and insights at the forefront.
Bevel is an authorized, independent Clover sales distributor. As a full-service merchant solutions provider, we understand what it takes to win in today’s highly competitive market. If you’re ready to upgrade to a POS system with everything you need, we’re one phone call away!
March 25, 2018
Thinking of accepting payments online? Great idea. Online shopping is a booming industry across the globe, with U.S. small businesses earning approximately $313 million in revenue from online shopping in 2016. And in 2017, 38 percent of small business owners surveyed said they expect revenue to increase year over year supporting compelling reasons to get selling online!
To get started, you’ll need to select a payments gateway provider to integrate with your current payment system, build your online shopping cart and process your customers’ online payments similarly to how payments are processed in-store.
But with so many payments gateway providers to choose from, finding the one for your business can be overwhelming and confusing. Here are the top nine thing you should consider before making a selection.
February 11, 2018
Modern day payment processing has a new edge. North America’s fastest growing provider.
Progressive gateways: Credit card processing is your business’s most effective source of asset collections. Swipe is the new dollar and swipe forward™ is the new standard. At Bevel, the team analyzes business specs and system compatibility for a comprehensive approach to payment processing.
It’s no longer about an individualized service. Instead, Bevel has revolutionized the credit card community by integrating algorithms which assist with more than just a transaction. Complete software solutions are merged to provide QuickBooks integration, POS guidance and inventory tracking so that the entire sales structure is seamlessly set.
Retail stores, online merchants, hospitality and restaurant chains. All Bevel clients benefit from the comprehensive service structure which is the company’s reputable advantage.
Progress is being able to guide a client from start to finish, never really selling just one part of the corporate keg.
Liability of trust: Bevel’s price compatibility has been its backbone feature for years. For price that is remarkably noted, it’s their own UW capability and liability that marks the price dip which is transferred to every Bevel client.
Familiar with Bevel’s iconic “$500 cash reward”? It proves just how confident Bevel agents are in their price differentiator and you should too.
Part of the trust that Bevel has secured is its fraud protection and chargeback feature. Compliant with regulations, yet stringent with client protection, every transaction is a liable asset.
A personal form of growth: Ever since Bevel launched its initiative, the company has expanded to multiple departments and staff members. Clients still receive the boutique experience, coupled with a stellar reputation of financial prowess. It’s the trust factor that landed Bevel its iconic merchant status and it’s their commitment to keeping things personal that has since evolved its founding mission.
As department responsibilities increase, every client is assigned a rep or reps who are completely familiar with the coding, relationships, bank affiliations and account stats. In a comfortable, yet professional manner, agents and staff members communicate effectively.
With 24 hour customer care and a merchant oriented mission, it’s how Bevel is a cut above. Bevel has helped thousands of merchants reduce the cost of accepting credit cards. Typically, they’re program saves merchants 10% – 60% of the existing fees. Bevel was founded on the philosophy of offering merchants the most aggressive rates in the industry with a level of personalized service that is second to none. They do not offer the typical impersonal “call center” approach to merchant support. Instead, they have developed an agent-based model that offers a single point of contact for they’re merchants. Rather than doing business, Bevel knows their merchants on a first name basis.
Bevel is not just another credit card processing company they offer a wide range of other services like Online Fraud Protection Ecommerce Integration, PCI Compliance, POS Systems, Gift & Loyalty Programs, High Risk Merchants, Cash Advance, Payment Gateways and ATM Machines.
January 28, 2018
Bevel, a leading merchant service provider and retail software company that brings personalization and measurement to the offline world, today launched BevelPay Semi-Integrated Payments for Verifone and Ingenico devices, and BevelPay Hosted Gateway for First Data, Vantiv, Chase Paymentech and Worldpay. These new offerings provide retailers with turnkey solutions for EMV, point-to-point encryption (P2PE), processing flexibility and value-added services including customer analytics and personalized marketing.
BevelPay Semi-Integrated Payments routes payment data directly from the PIN pad to the processor, removing the POS from the critical path. Unlike traditional solutions that pass card data through the POS, BevelPay enables the POS to fully delegate payment to the PIN pad. With BevelPay, an IP-connected PIN pad collects tender, requests settlement, and returns a simple approval to the POS. BevelPay PIN pad software drives the in-store user experience, and BevelPay cloud services enable payment routing and a range of value-added services.
Key benefits of BevelPay Semi-Integrated Payments include:
The BevelPay Hosted Gateway provides a robust link from any POS environment to any payment processor. Unlike traditional solutions that require retailers to manage the technical and compliance burden of a direct processor integration or an on-premise server, BevelPay assumes that responsibility. In addition, the BevelPay Hosted Gateway supports a wide range of tender types including credit, debit, EMV, EBT, eWIC, Apple Pay and Android Pay, so retailers can easily accept new and diverse forms of payment.
Key benefits of the BevelPay Hosted Gateway include:
The combination of Bevel Semi-Integrated Payments and BevelPay Hosted Gateway provide retailers with tremendous flexibility, reliability and enhanced security for their in-store environments. With BevelPay, retailers not only future-proof their payment environment, but also have access to a wide range of value-added analytics, loyalty and personalization services to elevate customer relationships and improve revenue growth.
Bevel has uncovered important trends, from customer preferences and shopping frequency to store performance. This has been incredibly valuable as we expand our business to new locations, since our customers are always our top priority.
December 12, 2017
Since we launched Bevel, by far the most frequent piece of feedback we received was: Bevel is great, but you need to make it possible for people outside the US to accept payments.
Starting today, Bevel is publicly available for use by any individual or business based in Canada. It’s the exact same Bevel that we offer in the US: instant approval, all major card types accepted, the ability to accept payments from anyone in any country, and simple, honest pricing, without any hidden fees.
We’ve been testing our service in Canada over the summer. We’re grateful to have received extensive feedback and help from companies including Authorize.net, and Shopify, all of whom have now been using Bevel for a few months. To them and our other beta users: a huge thank you.
In many ways, launching in Canada is a big step for us, going from 1 to 2 is often harder than going from 2 to n—but it’s only a small piece of what we have in mind. At Bevel, our extensive industry knowledge has allowed us to revolutionize the payment processing system, making working with us a seamless experience. We have one goal in mind which is to provide high quality service in a manner that is simple to use for an affordable price.
And so, to those who are not in the US or Canada: we want Bevel to support businesses and individuals anywhere in the world, We’re already working on the next set of countries.
To our friends up north: we’re very excited to work with you.
October 15, 2017
As a business, each expense counts, including credit card processing costs. Credit card processing is a necessity to businesses today, but it comes at a price, is very complex, and complicated to understand. Furthermore, for online businesses and companies with recurring customers the threats of fraud and loss are very high. To improve your company’s profit margin and reduce risk, we discuss steps you can take to protect your sales and mitigate expenses, potentially saving thousands of dollars each year.
Chargebacks can be the death of a business, not only as a loss of revenue, sales and product, but with the potential loss of card processing services. The card brands have specific tolerances based on the ratio of sales to chargebacks and disputed transactions. Anything over a 1% ratio of chargebacks to sales, jeopardizes your ability to accept credit cards as a form of payment.
When shopping for payment processing services, processors look at each of the KPIs of your current processing to establish your risk profile. The more chargebacks that you have increases the processor’s risk of loss, as such your processing rates will be adversely affected. Bevel employs a team of certified payment professionals with the expertise and experience in helping businesses better manage their payment ecosystem. We can help you to not only win a chargeback dispute, but also identify and reduce chargebacks from occurring in the first place.
The primary cost element of your processing rate and fees is the card brand interchange, which is roughly 85% of your total card processing cost. The monies collected for interchange goes directly to the card issuing bank of the customer’s card used for purchase. There are over 900 different interchange rates and fees between Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express. These rates are set by the card brands and vary based on numerous factors, such as: card type (debit, credit, rewards, business, international, etc.), card present vs. card not present, when you settle your payment batch, the data included with the payment record, and the various combinations of these elements.
There are a few things that you can do to take back control of this process and optimize interchange fees. First, you must be aware of all the variables affecting processing costs to adopt better processing habits to lower your overall processing rate. It takes a keen understanding of how this ecosystem works to be able to optimize how each transaction qualifies for the card brand’s interchange. Just like going to a CPA to ensure you are getting the most out of your taxes, Bevel’s payment experts know how to extract the most value out of this ecosystem, to not only improve how your transactions qualify but to make sure that you are not over charged or suffering from poor processing procedures. Due to the complexity of the fees surrounding interchange, it is common for many processors to inflate pass-thru costs.
Inflated costs are enough to worry about; however, fraud is occurring at the highest rate in history. Since 2008, both first-party and third-party fraud have grown by nearly triple digits. This explosion has impacted everyone from consumers, merchants and the financial institutions. As the rate of fraud has increased so have the processing costs of higher risk transactions, most commonly those where a customer is not face-to-face at purchase. Regardless, the expenses associated with these fraud losses trickle down to your overall processing costs. There are best practices and certain tools that can be used to mitigate payment fraud that will protect your revenue and keep payment processing costs down. Utilizing Address Verification Services (AVS) offered by the card brands is an inexpensive and very telling fraud mitigation tool when used properly. Many businesses will get card billing information but do not rely on the AVS response with their decision to deliver goods. Here is a key tip, card brands will offer protection from fraud if product was shipped to the billing address of the credit card.
Although AVS is a good tool, it does not protect so much against trained fraudsters that know how to get around it, hence why it is critical to utilize multiple fraud tools to stop fraud before it causes significant damage to your business. Bevel has built proprietary technologies to help merchants further decrease fraud with Card Account Validation (CAV) and Fraud & Reputation Database. The combination of these services provides insight to any known fraud associated with any card information provided to you by a customer. Additionally, these tools further reduce risk by allowing you to validate a card prior to accepting it as a form of payment in the first place, providing you with much needed insight and protecting the relationship with your payment processor.
As more businesses move online the increase of chargebacks and fraud continues to rise at alarming rates. Minimizing the costs associated with these losses as well as optimizing interchange can be done with expert knowledge and the implementation of the latest technologies. Working with partners like Bevel, that have certified payment professionals and multiple options to support your payment goals, is a critical step to building a credit card processing ecosystem that will reduce costs and keep your business growing.
August 1, 2017
The Bevel Hosted Payment Page is more customizable than ever.
Earlier this year we announced the release of our latest Bevel Hosted Payment Page. This month, we’re happy to report that we’ve added even more value to the e-commerce solution we love so much. For businesses looking to sell online and need simple credit card acceptance functionality added to their pages, it’s the perfect fit.
Our favorite feature yet is the ability for our merchants to create a unique shopping experience for their customers by taking advantage of the complete control of the design and settings of their Bevel Hosted Payment Page account. Online shops can add their business logo, choose a color scheme, pick the accepted payment types, select and arrange data fields, build receipt templates and more. For a full list of features available with Bevel HPP, visit our Support Center. Bevel HPP provides a highly customizable experience that’s truly easy to navigate, so businesses can get up and running in no time. It’s also seamlessly integrated with the Bevel Payment Gateway, shielded by the protection of BevelSecure, our combination of PCI-validated point-to-pointe encryption (P2PE) and patented tokenization. What that means for our businesses is that their PCI audit scope is minimized and the cost and time put into managing compliance is reduced. Let’s also not forget that the Bevel HPP is completely complimentary to all of our Bevel users.
If you’ve already been using the Bevel HPP to process your online payments and want to see what’s new, we want to make sure you’re loaded with the right information, so you can get the most out of your account. Visit our Support Center for more details on the features of your Bevel HPP and you won’t miss a thing.
Our merchants processing with the Bevel Payment Gateway can log into their accounts and visit the Marketplace tab to get setup with a Bevel HPP account.
If you’re aren’t yet processing with us, to get signed up for your own Bevel HPP, visit www.bevelpayment.com/contact-us/.
Happy customizing.
June 22, 2017
Next to cash, credit cards and debit cards have become the most popular form of payment. According to the Federal Reserve Payment Study, the number of transactions for debit cards and credit cards is 47bn and 23.8bn, respectively; both will continue to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 6.5 percent.
If debit cards and credits cards are so popular, then why are businesses exploring other mediums for making and receiving payments?
The answer lies in the high processing cost associated with each transaction when carried out with a debit card or credit card. This is where an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer comes in.
Here are the 5 reasons that makes ACH, a smarter choice for businesses.
One of the biggest appeals to ACH is low processing fees, compared to checks or credit cards. In a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, Bank of America, stated that on average an individual spends $4 to $20 on writing a check (including printing, payment initiation, authorization, signing, mailing cost, and time spent). With an ACH, however, funds get transferred between the two bank accounts through a clearing house, keeping the transaction cost very low.
Let’s see how much you end up paying as a fee when you use a check, credit card, or ACH for a $100 transaction:
Check: $12 (Average of $4 and $20 based on the WSJ article)
Credit Card: Approximately $2.50
ACH: $0.25
Convincing enough to switch, right?
Settlement time for an ACH provides a happy medium between checks and credit cards. An ACH settlement can take three to four business days; a check can take five to six business days; a credit card can settle payments in two to three business days.
Furthermore, National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), the electronic payments association, has approved an operating rule that will make same day ACH transfer a reality. To facilitate same day ACH transfer, NACHA plans to create two windows:
A morning submission deadline at 10:30 AM ET, with settlement occurring at 1:00 PM.
An afternoon submission deadline at 3:00 PM ET, with settlement occurring at 5:00 PM.
Businesses can expect improved workflow efficiency, flexibility with payments, and quicker access to cash. However these improvements will take time to get rolling because NACHA plans to implement them in phases starting in next fall.
ACH allays some of the most common fears about checks. Unlike checks, which are vulnerable to both being misplaced and to signature forgery, ACH transfers are direct and eliminate intermediaries. Because your customer could be hesitant to provide his bank account details, some of ACH’s payment processors carry out two-way micro validation to confirm the authenticity of the two parties involved. The processors makes two micro deposits of $0.01 to $0.25 in the customer’s and the business owner’s account. The customer has to verify the exact amount in order to begin sending money. For the business owner, this verification ensures two things: the account information he entered is accurate and there are no transaction blocks to his account.
No more cutting checks! ACH is here to make money transfers simple. ACH gives you the best of both worlds: as a payer, you say good-bye to bulky check books, and, as a business owner, you give your customers the flexibility to make a one-time payment or set up recurring payments with ACH. Furthermore, since the transaction takes place between two bank accounts, ACH saves you the trouble of following up with customers on payment failure due to card expiry.
ACH is ideal for businesses that run on the subscription model because it allows them to accept payment in the most cost-effective way by saving them money on transaction fees. The more transactions these businesses make, the more transaction fees there are, and the more money they lose. Therefore, ACH is the best choice.
Make the switch.
Now that you know the advantages of ACH for your business, it’s time to stop cutting checks. ACH is easy to use. Plus, you save money and can apply these savings to other aspects of your business. So, switch to ACH, and carry out your financial transactions in a smarter way.
Bevel can set you up with an ACH account in less than 12 hours for only $0.25 per transaction with no set up fees. Get more info by emailing us at info@bevelpayment.com
May 2, 2017
Square reported earnings and one thing from the report really caught my eye. They reported that a higher percentage of revenue is coming from large merchants. Square offers a simple pricing structure of 2.75% per transaction (or 3.5% and $0.30 if Keyed In). This is a great deal for some merchants but a bad deal for others. At Bevel we actually refer people to Square if they process small transactions. When your average transaction is $5-$8 it makes sense to pay a flat 2.75% and we are happy to point you in that direction.
The part of their report that surprised me was that they reported growth with large merchants. They consider large merchants anyone who processes between $125,000 and $500,000+ annually. Square is a great option for small merchants, but they are usually not the best option for large ones. 2.75% flat with no other fees works great for small transactions, but not if you process large ones. If you are a large merchant, paying 2.75% is one of the most expensive ways to process credit cards.
Large Businesses are Not a Good Fit
Interchange rates are set and published by the card brands and they are the same for everyone. If you look at the long list of rates published by Visa and Mastercard, they range from .05% and $0.22 for a debit card, up to about 2.95% and $0.10 for some commercial cards. So with Square you are guaranteeing that you will pay close to the highest possible rates available.
All of the credit cards in your wallet have an interchange rate attached to them. Square is paying that rate, but they are charging you 2.75% whether the actual interchange rate is higher or lower. When I look in my own wallet I see 2 cards. My Bank of America debit card has a rate of .05% and $0.22 and my Amazon Rewards card is 1.65% and $0.10. If I purchase something with my Amazon card and the merchant is using Square, the merchant pays 2.75% and Square keeps the difference (just over 1%). Reading through Square’s earnings report, they said that their average profit per transaction was 1.01%, so the example above sounds about average.
This Member Switched to Bevel and saved $4,000/yr
Below is a snapshot from an actual merchant who was using Square before switching to Bevel. He processed $26,823 and paid a total of $398.34 in fees (1.48%) with Bevel. This same bill would have been $737.63 (2.75%). This is the type of merchant that Square is referring to in their earnings report. He will save over $4,000 this year by switching to Bevel to process credit cards.
Square is great for certain businesses and we refer people to them on a daily basis, but if you are a large merchant, Bevel with our true interchange rates will save you money. Give us a call and speak to one of our experts. We can analyze your business needs and if we are not the right fit, we would be happy to suggest an alternative.
April 19, 2017
Keeping payment card transactions secure is a shared responsibility. Merchants, credit card processors, card-issuing banks and the major card brands all have a role to play.
Visa provides the following suggestions for actions merchants can take to help make payments as secure as possible on their end.
Make the switch to EMV terminals.
EMV technology encrypts each transaction so the data cannot be stolen and duplicated on counterfeit cards, effectively reducing fraud at the point of sale. EMV terminals authenticate the card using the dynamic information contained in the embedded microchip. The cardholder validates that they are the owner of the card while the card is still in the EMV terminal, completing the dual verification process.
If you haven’t already made the switch to EMV at your business, you’re not doing everything you can to protect yourself and your customers from card fraud. Work with Bevel to identify which EMV terminals best suit your needs and budget. As an added bonus, many of these terminals are also NFC capable to accommodate your mobile wallet customers.
Merchants that choose a dual-interface terminal that handles both contact and contactless transactions can potentially qualify for Visa’s Technology Innovation Program (TIP) to reduce their annual PCI DSS validation requirements and associated costs.
Implement Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE).
P2PE technology eliminates account data from the merchant environment and encrypts sensitive cardholder data until it reaches an end point of secure decryption. Like EMV, this process makes the data useless to criminals.
Merchants should consult with their processors to determine the best solution for their business. Adopting a P2PE solution may also qualify them for TIP and provide a PCI DSS scope reduction.
Outsource the handling of e-Commerce cardholder data to a PCI DSS validated service provider.
Taking this step reduces risk exposure and costs associated with securing the merchant environment. It can also significantly reduce PCI DSS applicability for merchants who do not store, process or transmit cardholder data. Visa’s Global Registry of Service Providers provides a list of PCI DSS validated and registered service providers.
Bevel Payment Solutions consolidates a number of security solutions to help protect your business not only from fraud but from the crippling costs of a data breach. Protect your revenue, your customers and your reputation by taking a proactive stance to keep payment processing as safe as possible.