Recent news releases
PCI Compliance Update: Putting a Price Tag on Peace of Mind
Data security is a serious and growing concern for consumers and businesses alike. First Data is committed to securing the information it handles and to helping its diverse clients protect their businesses. The following article is the first in a series examining the significance of data security in the payments industry. In this installment, Sales First explores common causes of security breaches and the real costs of those attacks.
Small and medium-sized merchants who accept credit and debit cards became acutely aware of an added business expense last year. In October 2008, stringent requirements from the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council became mandatory for all entities that process, store or transmit cardholder data.
Complying with PCI regulations is a significant responsibility. According to the analyst firm Gartner, Inc., even small (Level 4) merchants can spend thousands of dollars on the security assessments and technology improvements needed to meet PCI requirements*. What’s more, maintaining PCI compliance requires constant vigilance. Merchants who fail to verify and maintain compliance may face severe penalties, including audits or fines. Some businesses lose the ability to accept payment cards altogether.
Still, the drive to protect sensitive cardholder data is vital. Security breaches, and the resulting financial losses, are on the rise. From 2002 through 2008, the Verizon Business RISK Team conducted more than 600 investigations of security breaches or suspected breaches across multiple industries. The group published its latest findings in the 2009 Data Breach Investigations Report**. Below are some key points.
- Payment card data breaches comprised 98% of all records compromised in 2008. Fraudulent use of stolen card data was confirmed in 83% of the cases studied, and 91% of all compromised records were linked to organized crime.
- Three-quarters of the breaches in 2008 occurred in just three industries: Retail, Financial Services, and Food and Beverage.
- Four out of five firms (81%) that suffered payment card breaches were not compliant with the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) or had never been audited.
- In 66% of the cases, the breach involved data that the organization didn’t even know was on the system.
- Data breaches often result from a combination of events rather than a single action. In most cases, the attacks were not complex and would likely have been prevented if basic security controls had been in place at the time of the attack.
- Three-quarters of the attacks weren’t discovered by the victimized company; often it was law enforcement agencies or individual victims who pointed out the problem. Breaches go undiscovered for weeks or months in 75% of cases.
When data breaches and fraud occur, merchants are often left holding the bag. Add to that financial loss the risk of fines, legal expenses, lost opportunities for future revenue and long-term damage to a company’s reputation, and the costs of a security breach can be devastating to a small business.
Even a suspected breach can have a financial impact on a company. In an April 2009 article titled, “The Real Cost of Data Breach,” Robert Halsey, president of Royal Services Group Ltd., notes that “once a merchant is even suspected of a breach, a team of PCI DSS-certified forensics security examiners swoops in to review and inspect its business practices. This examination can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the complexity of the systems involved.
“That means that for a minimum of several days, your business is brought to an absolute standstill while the examiners comb through your policies, records, computer and phone systems, and employees—and eat away at your productivity, sales and profits. And, as if that’s not enough, at the end you’ll have to pay the costs of the forensic examination, whether there was an actual breach or not: somewhere between $8,000 and $20,000 if you’re a Level 4 merchant.”
Fortunately, there are steps small and medium-sized companies can take to reduce risks. One of the top reasons businesses fail PCI audits—and a leading factor in data theft—is inability to adequately protect stored data. Next month, Sales First will explore some of the measures merchants can follow to stay PCI compliant while keeping down costs.
* "PCI Compliance Remains Challenging and Expensive," Gartner, Inc., May 2008
** "2009 Data Breach Investigations Report," Verizon Business RISK Team, March 2009
** "2009 Data Breach Investigations Report," Verizon Business RISK Team, March 2009
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The Importance of Accepting Credit Cards for Your Business
Today we live in an ever expanding technological world where people work from home on a computer, do their shopping from home, and even go to school from home. It is no mystery then that many individuals also use technology to spend money. Credit cards are growing in popularity and many consumers these days would rather carry a card around with them today than a wallet filled with cash. If you’re not one of those businesses that accepts credit cards you may find yourself losing more and more business as technology continues to grow and improve electronic transactions. Regardless of what type of business you are in there is a good chance that you have been asked if you accept credit cards, and if you answered no you may have lost out on a sale. And we all know that every sale counts when it comes to both new and existing businesses. Accepting credit cards also makes it easier for consumers to purchase your product and/or services from the comfort of their own home, opening up a whole new stream of revenue for you. As more and more consumers make the switch to electronic funds you want to be right there ready and willing to take their credit cards and increase your profits. In no time at all you will begin to see the difference in your bottom line just by simply accepting credit cards.Allstate Merchant Services, LLC Selects Dejavoo Systems As the Only Terminal to Use For Credit Card Processing!!
http://www.live-pr.com/en/www-allstatemerchants-com-r1048304715.htm
New York, NY 30.07.2009 00:24:25 Dejavoo Systems Develops Software for Linux Based Transaction Terminals
New York, NY (July 29, 2009) Allstate Merchants Services, LLC, a national provider for electronic payment solutions, credit and debit card processing, signed an agreement to purchase 15000 terminals from Dejavoo Systems.
(live-PR.com) - “Dejavoo is a new promise in the terminal space, their management team has decades of experience deploying successful terminal programs and related solutions,” said Allstate Merchants Services CEO Svetlana Shneydershteyn. “Dejavoo’s transaction solutions combined with advanced cutting edge technology intrigued AMS. Although Allstate Merchant Services currently has a vast distribution of terminals to merchant locations throughout the United States, including but not limited to e-commerce, retail stores , restaurants, lodging, business to business and mail/phone orders. AMS has found the new generation terminal to be a valuable tool for both the company and its customers. The solutions are cost effective ; developed rapidly on a Linux OS, they fit any retail scenario imaginable.”
Dejavoo’s President and C.E.O., Mony Zenou, says, “The integration of new peripherals applications, into our core offering is an exciting use of our multi-app ability and the ultimate usage of our software infrastructure. The range of our terminals and related applications goes far beyond regular terminals with an embedded ‘My-SQL’ database, large memory, multiple USB ports and quite frankly, the dare for non-traditional innovations and ‘out of the box’ thinking when it comes to merchant services.”
Dejavoo and Allstate Merchant Services now have the ability to connect terminals to the back office for real time reporting, new services, and terminal/SMS messages. A new Dejavoo interface was designed for this, which includes a compact design, icons, relevant shortcuts and animated graphics, providing AMS and its customers a user-friendly, ‘PDA’ style interface.
Zenou concludes, “Like consumers, merchants should expect to navigate between applications, connect to processors back office systems, and receive updates and promotions, after all, they are the consumers for Electronic Payment Processing.”
With numerous applications in testing and development, the agreement between Dejavoo and Allstate Merchant Services, LLC is a win-win situation for both companies and more importantly for the merchants.
Dejavoo’s President and C.E.O., Mony Zenou, says, “The integration of new peripherals applications, into our core offering is an exciting use of our multi-app ability and the ultimate usage of our software infrastructure. The range of our terminals and related applications goes far beyond regular terminals with an embedded ‘My-SQL’ database, large memory, multiple USB ports and quite frankly, the dare for non-traditional innovations and ‘out of the box’ thinking when it comes to merchant services.”
Dejavoo and Allstate Merchant Services now have the ability to connect terminals to the back office for real time reporting, new services, and terminal/SMS messages. A new Dejavoo interface was designed for this, which includes a compact design, icons, relevant shortcuts and animated graphics, providing AMS and its customers a user-friendly, ‘PDA’ style interface.
Zenou concludes, “Like consumers, merchants should expect to navigate between applications, connect to processors back office systems, and receive updates and promotions, after all, they are the consumers for Electronic Payment Processing.”
With numerous applications in testing and development, the agreement between Dejavoo and Allstate Merchant Services, LLC is a win-win situation for both companies and more importantly for the merchants.
2009-07-01 New York, NY
http://www.pr-inside.com/allstate-merchant-services-and-maxburst-inc-announced-today-the-formation-of-a-new-company-www-merchantcms-com-r1359031.htm
2009-06-16 12:55:53 NY,NY 2009-06-16 12:55:53 - Building careers and wealth, One merchant at a time debit and credit card processor Allstate Merchant Services, LLC www.allstatemerchnts.com receives compliments on value added web hosting and development services. "Our goal is to be a one stop shop" said Lana Shneydershteyn, President and CEO..
2009-05-25 11:49:45 NY, NY Credit and debit processor Allstate Merchant Services (www.allstatemerchants.com) has launched
2009-05-22 07:02:01 NY, NY Merchant Services L.L.C. Continues to seek innovative ways to help you grow your business. When you grow, we grow! in addition to electronic payment solutions Web hosting, development and marketing solutions now available. President and C.E.O. Svetlana Shneydershteyn.
Find out more about Allstate Merchant Services www.free-press-release.com
