Merchantcouncil.org provides four tips to help processing merchants avoid headaches with their merchant account provider.

PayPal's benefits and detriments are outline by Rich Brooks of flyte news media. The occasional horror stories one hears from merchants utilizing PayPal are, he concludes, going to happen with any big company.

Contactless News reports that a new kind of card is on the horizon - one that will allow consumers to conduct secure transactions with two-factor authentication with ease. The cards fuse something you know (your card number), with something you definitely have in your possession (your card).

The Merchant Council provides a succinct summary of the downside of leasing credit card processing terminals.

Heartland Payment Systems has announced The Merchant Bill of Rights, a major initiative to create an industry standard to inform and educate business owners about card processing costs and drive savings for small and mid-sized businesses.

Its purpose is to enable merchants who don't have the resources of large purchasing organizations to effectively manage their costs, determine which processor best meets their needs and realize significant savings.

Karen E. Klein writes in www.businessweek.com that "even if small businesses don't have an immediate need to pay on credit, it is a good idea for them to apply for and use a credit card. Using it and paying it on time builds up their good credit history, just like with a personal card.

Also, most small businesses have cash-flow challenges, and a credit card can help them bridge this gap if and when the need arises."

From Greg Cohen, at www.transactionworld.com: "Until recently, only the largest merchants have been able to obtain “Interchange-Plus” Pricing. Otherwise known as “interchange pass through” pricing, Interchange-Plus is the practice of pricing a merchant with a transaction fee and then passing the exact interchange and assessment costs from the Associations to the merchant.

...Over the long haul, by limiting the use of Interchange- Plus pricing you can simplify the sales and service cycle, increase your profits, and create greater long-term value in your portfolio."

Adam Levitan (Social Science Electronic Publishing) writes about The Merchant-Bank Struggle for Control of Payment Systems.

He argues that "the growth of national bank brands, technological developments, and innovative business models will independently result in a radical reshaping of the payments world that could ease merchant-bank tensions".