You can jump for joy!  The day has come where you can finally retire that clunky, awkward and outdated “knucklebuster”.

I know, I know, some of you may have become attached to that long time companion.  Perhaps you even convinced yourself that it was a boast worthy talent that you could swipe that bar across, while holding the carbon paper in place.  Maybe you even counted the repetitious nature of sliding it as your daily muscle building workout.

But I can promise you that you will come to love the new mobile processing devices more.  Not only does it keep your customers information secure, it makes you look much more professional, and it saves you money. Who doesn’t want that.

With the growing dominance of Smartphones and Tablets in the marketplace, ProPay wanted to make sure you could always have a way to be connected and process transactions.  So let me introduce the ProPay JAK.

With the ProPay JAK you can:

• Take advantage of available lower “swipe” rates on your Visa, MasterCard and Discover Card transactions.
• Process credit and debit cards in real time wherever you have data coverage.
• Store the card data securely (encrypted) for later processing if you don’t have data coverage.
• Put the card data securely “On File” with ProPay’s ProtectPay® for future processing.
• Capture the customer’s signature at the point of sale.
• Send an email receipt to the cardholder.
• View your account information.

The JAK fits securely into the audio jack port of your supported Apple or Android device.  You can then simply log into your ProPay account through an app, and process cards.  There is no need to write down sensitive credit card information since the device securely encrypts that information so it can’t be compromised.

Isn’t that a great relief?  No more carbon copy receipts lying around just asking to be read or stolen from your former knucklebuster days.  You also can get a lower rate and your customers will love signing for the transaction on your Smartphone or Tablet.

The ProPay JAK is just one way to process cards while mobile.  Check out our website for other cool devices and account features like the ProPay FLASH, ProPay LINK, Touch-tone phone processing, mobile internet, etc.  And for information on pricing, compatibility & requirements for the ProPay JAK, click here.

Sometimes it can be hard to keep track of everything you depend on to keep your business operating smoothly. One of those things to remember is that your ProPay account needs to be renewed each year. ProPay makes this renewal process as simple as possible. The ProPay team recognizes you may need a reminder that your expiration date is approaching, so we send you an email the month before your account expiration

The steps for renewing your ProPay account are simple. As soon as you are within one month of your expiration date, you will receive a notification as you log into your account that it’s time to renew. If you click on ‘Renewal Options’, you will then be prompted to choose the type of account you would like. Next you will be asked to verify that your contact information is correct, and finally you will be asked for the payment information for your renewal. If you have the available funds in your ProPay merchant account, you may be able to use those funds to pay your annual fee for the year.

For more information about how to renew your ProPay account, please visit the link below.

Renewing Your Account

We’ve written on here quite a bit about the dangers of social engineering, in which thieves talk people into giving up credentials to online accounts and resources.  No hacking necessary – the thieves can, figuratively, walk right in the front door.  IT professionals are fond of saying that “people are the weak link in data security.”  So imagine the surprise when Sabina Datcu, a researcher from Bitdefender presented the findings of her study in which 75% of her sample pool (all IT professionals and hackers) gave up their passwords and credentials to the wiles of a woman.

According to Datcu, the anonymity of the online environment provides a false sense of security, even to those who make their living on it. “No matter what ’side of the fence’ they are on, people will behave the same: as though the virtual environment creates a second life, entirely different from the real one — they are willing not only to accept unknown persons inside their group just based on a nice profile, but also to reveal sensitive information (about their company, themselves and other persons) after a short online conversation.”  Dactu created fake online profiles and inserted herself in online forums frequented by hackers.  In addition, she placed her profile on forums for IT professionals.  In both instances, she found there was little effort involved in convincing these individuals to turn over sensitive information.   So, if the hackers and security professionals can be duped, what can we do to protect ourselves?

The first and most important thing is to remain a little suspicious.  For most of us, if someone walked up to us on the street and asked us for our SSN and our online banking credentials, we’d be a tad skeptical ( I hope more than a tad skeptical).  Why should that change because the question is being asked online rather than face to face?  My suspicion is that many of the targets of this study felt that they “knew better,” and that they wouldn’t get taken because they recognized the signs of a scam.  They were overconfident in their experience and that may have been their downfall.

Consider skydiving as an example.  According “Skydiving Risk” there were an average of 33 skydiving fatalities in the US for each year between 1991-2000.  Most of these accidents involve experienced skydivers.  Why would that be?  In some instances, it may be an issue of complacency.  The jumper has so many jumps under his or her belt that preparation is taken for granted.  Or, as is identified in the article, the jumper may be “exceeding their own limits.”  In other words, they’ve become overconfident in their abilities and perform stunts that are beyond their capabilities.  The same might be said of the IT professionals in this study – they became complacent and overconfident in their abilities.

As for how we address social engineering, I suggest we take a page from the novice skydiver.  Now, I’m not about to go hurling myself from a perfectly good plane anytime soon, but you can bet that if I did, I would be checking, double-checking, researching and practicing to make sure that I was doing everything right.  I would ask questions of the instructor and not be embarrassed about it.   It’s my life on the line, after all.

The same philosophy holds true with social networking.  If someone asks you for information strike you as even a little odd, ask questions.  Probe their intentions.  Research the scam (there is almost always a Wikipedia entry on a similar scam).Maintain your vigilance.  Don’t let down your guard because you think you know this person.  Don’t be embarrassed about doing your homework.  It’s your identity on the line, after all.

Dr. Heather Mark, PhD; SVP Market Strategy

Another year has flown by and the busy season at ProPay is about to begin. We want our merchants to have a successful and stress free holiday season. This is the perfect time to make sure our merchants are up to date on the latest fraud schemes. A fraudulent buyer, chargeback or theft of data can put a damper on your end of year sales.  Here are just a few of the most prevalent fraud trends today.

Spam— Unsolicited email, possibly fraudulent from a company that you didn’t authorize to send you messages.

Phishing/Spoofing— Phishers will impersonate a legitimate company by sending fake emails or creating fake Web sites in order to acquire your personal information—like PINs, credit card or bank account numbers.

Spyware— Software that records your personal information without you realizing it. Several anti-spyware software programs are available to combat spyware.

E Commerce Fraud- Before you buy anything online, ask yourself if the site is legitimate. Look seal from trusted companies that have certified the site as safe and secure. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Get-out-of-debt fraud— Many online debt elimination resources are fraudulent. Be wary. Investigate them thoroughly. If they aren’t a legitimate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, then it’s likely that they’re trying to take advantage of your debt-related vulnerability.

International schemes— Don’t respond to emails that suggest you have won or inherited money from someone in a foreign country—Nigeria and Eastern European countries are where many of these emails originate. And any scheme that asks you to give advance money for a larger sum in return is too good to be true, and will always be fraudulent.

Evil twin— A fake Wi-Fi network set up near to and often using a similar name as a real public Wi-Fi network, like those in libraries, parks, and coffee shops. If you unknowingly join the evil twin network, the criminal behind it will have access to all of the information on your computer.

Take a few moments to review this list and to research other fraud trends that could impact you and your business. The small investment of time will be worth it in the long run. Here’s to a successful holiday season and a strong push to the finish line in 2011.

Yesterday the world learned the sad news of the passing of Steve Jobs.  The torrent of tributes and memorials that have poured out since then is a testament, not just to what Mr. Jobs was to the world of technology, but to the world in general.  Heralded as a visionary, Mr. Jobs serves as an inspiration to a generation of technophiles and business-types alike.  His clear vision for what his company could be and his ability to deliver on that vision in a way that was humane and dignified, while still competitive speaks to what we all would like to be.  His legacy can be seen across the business world and in the world of innovation – the drive to be a little better, a little more well-rounded.

When Mr. Jobs stepped down as Apple’s CEO , PYMNTS.com posted an article on his legacy within the payments industry.  As we all rush towards mobile payments, we should remember that much of what we conceive would not be possible without Mr. Jobs and his vision.  The tablet computer, the smartphone may have still come on the scene, but it would be a vastly different scene – and perhaps a much later one.   As the article above mentions, he also taught the payments industry about “how to ignite a platform… He has also done something else along the way: opened everyone’s eyes to the power of a platform – the apps store for driving commerce on IP-enabled devices.”

While it’s important to remember his business and technological accomplishments, I’d like to take a few minutes to share some of his quotes on life in general:

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” – Wikiquote, as quoted in The Wall Street Journal (Summer 1993).

“I want to put a ding in the universe.”

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.” – Fortune

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Address

Rest in Peace, Mr. Jobs. You will be missed.