Credit Card Industry Information You Need to Know- from PayRight

October 2003

Join the Truncation Nation - Are You Prepared?
In 2002, more than a million consumers called the Fraud Victim Assistance Department of a national consumer reporting agency and reported that their identities had been stolen. One of the easier ways for a thief to obtain access to a victim's credit card number is through the printed credit card purchase receipt. This crime is dramatically reduced when merchants truncate (print only the last 4 or 5 numbers of the credit card) their receipts.

At the federal level, Section 4 of the Identity Theft and Financial Privacy Protection Act of 2003, which was passed this last May, states, ". . . no person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or limited liability company that accepts credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of business shall print more than the last 4 digits of the credit card account number or the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder at the point of the sale or transaction . . . this section applies only to receipts that are electronically printed."

Both VISA and MasterCard have notified retailers that they will require new equipment to truncate their credit card printed receipts. Effective July 1, 2003 for all new terminals VISA requires that all but the last four digits of the cardholder account number and the entire expiration date be suppressed on the cardholder copy of all transaction receipts generated from electronic terminals. Effective April 1, 2005 MasterCard will require that all cardholder receipts generated by newly installed, replaced, or relocated point of interaction (POI) terminals whether attended or unattended reflect only the last four digits of the account number and preceding digits must be pre-filled by "X", "*", or "#".

In addition to the VISA/MasterCard mandates of July 1, 2003 and April 1, 2005, respectively, here are three facts that you need to know:

Currently, eight states require all merchants in the field to be compliant by January 1, 2004.
Conversion Plans need to be in place by June 20, 2003. Five additional states require all merchants in the field to be compliant prior to the MasterCard mandate of April 1, 2005.

Are you prepared? Start by visiting www.fdms.com for an update of your state's current pending or passed legislation. Check deadline dates carefully. Next, if your current terminal prints only the last four digits of the cardholder number on the receipt and the expiration date is not displayed, you are prepared. If it doesn't, you may currently be in violation of your state law and in violation of the VISA and MasterCard regulations, which then may subject you to penalties and fines.

The good news is that compliant terminals, such as the Omni 3200, can currently be obtained from PayRight Merchant Services for less than $300. And PayRight will even take your old, non-compliant equipment in on trade. For more information about the compliant terminal that best suits your needs, call Howie Corbin toll free at 800-801-6242 or e-mail Howie at hcorbin@payright.com.

VeriFone and PayRight - Tight

Deerfield Beach FL - PayRight Merchant Services, LLC, the fastest growing merchant services provider in the country, has named VeriFone, Inc., the world's leader in secure electronic payment technology, as a "Partner of Choice." PayRight™ recommends VeriFone point-of-sale electronic terminals and purchase processing equipment as preferred products to all PayRight merchant services customers. In return, VeriFone has committed to providing PayRight with preferential pricing and support. PayRight is one of a select few Merchant Service Providers in the United States with a direct relationship with VeriFone.

As a result of the "Partner of Choice" program, merchants pay hundreds of dollars less for state-of-the-art credit card, debit card, and check verification point-of-sale equipment. Merchants pay less for all equipment, not just old, outdated, or overstocked equipment only. Merchants pay less for equipment that is easier to use, more efficient, easier to maintain, and meets all current and upcoming truncation law requirements. Whether brand new, equipment replacement, or upgrades, the merchant pays less.

How is this possible? No middle man. Almost every reseller of POS terminal equipment obtains their products from a distributor before they sell it to the merchant. Involving a distributor adds another markup to the product the merchant ultimately purchases.

But when the same product is purchased through PayRight, there is no distributor markup because there is no distributor. With preferential pricing from VeriFone, the distribution channel is not necessary and allows PayRight the ability to offer the highest quality products at the lowest prices to merchants throughout the country.