Cumberland Farms convenience store locations in New England, the mid-Atlantic and Florida are adding nFinanSe $3 Visa and $3 Discover Reloadable Prepaid Debit Cards. “By offering it’s customers a $3 Visa or $3 Discover Reloadable Card, Cumberland Farms will now be able to compete with any retailer on the basis of price for a reloadable…
Swipe Fee Debate Builds
In a letter dated June 16, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and 130 other members of Congress outline their concerns with the Durbin Amendment that gives retailers and consumers relief from outrageous swipe fees, NACS reported. They cite the benefits that all users of electronic payments systems receive and the “lack of Congressional review” of…
Deadline Day is Here
A baker puts two muffins in an oven. The first muffin turns to the other and says, “Boy it’s hot in here.” The second muffin screams, “Yikes, a talking muffin.” Hopefully convenience store chains are not nearly this surprised when it comes to this month’s PCI deadlines. However, at the NACStech conference in April, several…
Securing the Store
C-store operators are increasingly turning to advanced electronics to help stem the time of theft both internally and externally, including “smart” surveillance cameras and Internet-based security systems that can prompt and warn cashiers and track and record every store transaction. Stuart Levine, CEO of The Zellman Group in Port Washington, N.Y., a nationwide retail and…
nFinanSe Announces Fee Reductions
nFinanSe Inc., a reloadable prepaid card provider, is reducing its fees to cardholders for ATM withdrawals and also for electronic bill pay transactions. The company believes that these reductions will encourage greater trial and usage of its Visa and Discover Reloadable Prepaid Cards and promote greater retention among cardholders. The company stated that it is…
Fighting Credit Card Costs
Is there relief ahead for exorbitant credit card fees? The answer is yes. But first, there’s a fight to be fought. According to NACS in Alexandria, Va., credit card payments have grown from 21% of transactions in 1995 to 49% today, with the trend expected to grow to more than 50% by next year. The…
Data Security Standards: Are You Prepared?
PCI compliance deadlines continue to barrel toward the convenience store industry, yet many operators are still not up to speed on precisely what they need to do, or how to do it. The Payment Card Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), developed by the PCI Security Standards Council and endorsed by American Express, Discover Financial Services,…
Prepaid Cards: The Sky’s the Limit
Prepaid cards have been used in the U.S. for about 20 years, and forward-thinking marketers continue finding new ways to use and promote them. This is a boon for convenience retailers, many of whom have been instrumental in growing the category. Prepaid cards were invented in Europe in the mid-70s when Italians found themselves short…
Keep Cash Flowing
Cash Solutions is offering a free equipment promotion to retailers opening a merchant account that could attract more customers by allowing them to accept Visa and MasterCards. The new VeriFone Omni 3740 is shipped to a retailer programmed and ready to use, with all the processing capabilities needed for a compact point-of-sale terminal with…