Plain-English breakdowns of fees, pricing models, and industry practices so you can make smarter decisions for your business.
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Risk & Fraud Prevention The Question Priya Asked “My processor mentioned 3D Secure. What is it actually doing for me?” Priya Vasanth runs Northbridge Telehealth, a small virtual mental-health platform out of Minneapolis. Eight licensed therapists. Two psychiatrists handling medication management. About 1,400 active patients across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Every transaction is card-not-present […]
Read Article →AVS RESPONSE GRID What the Code Means and What to Do ZIP MATCHES ZIP DOES NOT MATCH ADDR MATCHES ADDR DOES NOT MATCH Y Full Match Strongest signal. Lowest fraud risk. → Proceed with confidence A Address Only Often a zip typo. Confirm on large tickets. → Verify, then proceed Z Zip Only Old address […]
Read Article →Source: Visa VAMP fact sheet (2025) · Mastercard ECP program guide Risk & Fraud Prevention A 1% chargeback ratio sounds small until you realize what crossing the chargeback ratio threshold actually triggers. The networks don’t issue warnings. They issue fees, then reserves, then termination — and the rules changed substantially in 2025, then tightened again […]
Read Article →Risk & Fraud Prevention The hardest chargeback to lose is the one filed by a customer who actually made the purchase. They got the product. They used the service. And then they called their bank. Lauren runs a small online boutique out of a Miami townhouse. Three years in, mostly returning customers, careful packaging, prompt […]
Read Article →Legal & Compliance PCI DSS 4.0’s “future-dated” requirements stopped being future on March 31, 2025. Small merchants who treated PCI DSS 4.0 as a 2025 problem are now facing 2026 assessments under PCI DSS v4.0.1 — and many will discover their processor’s PCI questionnaire just got significantly harder. This is what actually changed, what it […]
Read Article →Pricing Models Pass-through pricing has no fixed industry definition. Some processors use it as a synonym for interchange-plus. Others use it to mean a more granular itemization with network fees broken out separately. Here’s what the term actually means when a processor quotes you “pass-through pricing” — and the three things to verify on the […]
Read Article →Industry Insights If your processing statement looks different this month — new logo, new color scheme, new name at the top — there is a reasonable chance you have just lived through a payment processor rebrand. Three of the larger names in U.S. merchant services have changed brand identities in the past 18 months. North […]
Read Article →Visa-Mastercard 2026 Settlement: 21 Years of Litigation From 2005 filing to 2026 settlement decision 2005 Litigation begins 2013 $7.25B damages settlement 2016 First injunctive deal rejected 2024 Second deal rejected Nov 2025 New proposal unveiled 2026 Hearings pending If Approved — What Changes for Merchants RATE TRIM 0.10% Posted credit interchange, 5 years RATE CAP […]
Read Article →For Bookkeepers Most bookkeepers code merchant statement line items the same way every month: total fees go to “Processing Fees” or “Bank Charges” or “Merchant Services,” and the line items themselves never get scrutinized. That same scrutiny pays off on the recurring billing your own firm runs — see bookkeeping payment processing. There is a […]
Read Article →Industry Insights Most merchants who want to switch payment processors do not. They have looked at the math, they know they are overpaying, and they still do not move. The reason is almost always the same: they cannot risk losing a day of sales. That fear is reasonable. A processor transition done badly can mean […]
Read Article →For Tax Advisors Diane Karaoulis runs a solo CPA practice out of Tampa. Forty-seven small-business clients on annual review, mostly tax-side work with compilation and review engagements for the retainer accounts. Eighteen years in practice. Daughter graduating from FSU in May. The work is steady, the relationships are long, and the value she delivers most […]
Read Article →Industry Insights Naomi Brooks runs a six-person residential architecture practice on the Westside of Atlanta. She works out of a converted warehouse studio — concrete floors, white walls, a drafting table she still uses by hand for early concept work. The practice is three years old. The clients are mostly homeowners building or renovating in […]
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