8 new words for your business.

The New Language of Plastic

You don’t hear “Cash, check or charge.”  much anymore. The way we pay for things has evolved and as a business, there's a new selection words you might want to prepare for so you're not caught off guard when someone asks to pay in Bitcoin or a chip card. 

Chip cards: These are a security enhancement. Chip cards are not only more secure, they are also simple to use. Chip cards and terminals work together to protect in-store payments. A unique one-time code is generated behind-the-scenes that is needed for the transaction approval - a feature that is virtually impossible to replicate in a counterfeit card.

 CNP. A Card Not Present transaction are transactions made where the cardholder can not physically present the card for visual examination such as on line or mail-order transactions.CNP transactions are a major avenue for fraud because verification is difficult if not impossible.

Digital Currency. Digital currency can be defined as an internet based form of currency. It is digitally traded between users and can be purchased for, or exchanged into, U.S. dollars or other real or virtual currencies. There is no central point of control over the money supply so they are known as decentralized digital currencies.

EFTPS. The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System is a tax payment service provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. You must enroll first, then you can pay any tax due to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) using this system. There is no fee for using this service.

EMV.  The letters stand for  Europay, MasterCard and Visa, and is a global standard for integrated circuit cards or chip cards on point of sale (POS) terminals and automated teller machines (ATMs). It is used for authenticating credit and debit card transactions. The process is based on chip-and-pin, rather than magnetic strip, technology.

ePayment. This is one you are probably using, it refers to electronic payments, such as credit and debit card transactions processed electronically such as PayPal. You will need to be sure this form of payment is PCI Compliant. Standards will vary from business to business based on size and transactions.

Form 1099-K. The 1099-K is an IRS information return for reporting certain payment transactions to improve voluntary tax compliance. You should get a 1099-K  if, in the year you received payments from payment card transactions in settlement of third party payment networks above the minimum of  $20,000 total and more than 200 transactions.

PCI-DSS. The world's largest corporations and the smallest Internet store, must comply with the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). It is vital for all merchants who accept credit cards, online or offline. The size of your business will determine the specific compliance requirements that must be met. Note that enforcement of merchant compliance is managed by the individual payment brands and not by the Council – the same is true for non-compliance penalties.