The new rules also allow merchants to offer discounts or other incentives for payment by cash, checks, debit cards or credit cards, provided that the incentives do not differentiate on the basis of card issuer.

At Avid, we’ve had key members of our team read, “The Checklist Manifesto,” by Atul Gawande. It’s the book version of an article that appeared in the New Yorker magazine back in 2007. You can read the article here. It focuses on the health care industry, where checklists are saving lives; the book, which is an excellent investment of $15, delves into quite a few other industries.

No doubt the checklist can be applied to any organization, and if it can save lives, it can increase sales, improve customer service and lead to greater profits and happier customers. It’s amazing how something so simple can have such a huge impact on the quality of what we do.

Countertop terminals that process via the Internet are now so common that one of the nation’s top payment processor, Chase Paymentech, recently announced that it will no longer sell traditional terminals that process via phone lines. It cited incompatibility between traditional terminals and the new digital phone lines offered by carriers such as Comcast and Vonage. The newer terminals, which use Ethernet connections, are faster and less costly to operate than traditional terminals.

Internet-connected smartphones and tablets equipped with inexpensive software, card-readers and printers can now replace traditional, expensive wireless terminals, making mobile, wireless processing affordable to more merchants. That’s good, because businesses that can swipe cards and authorize remotely qualify for lower processing rates. The reduced cost to enable such processing means quicker return on investment.

Internet payment “gateways,” originally devised to enable eCommerce, can now act as funnels for transactions from a variety of sources, including point-of-sale systems, mobile smartphones, accounting systems, recurring billing databases, payment URL’s and more. They can also store cardholder information securely, simplifying a merchant’s PCI Compliance requirements.

The new law also requires backup withholding of 28% when a merchant’s name and Tax ID number (TIN) on file with us do not match the information on file with the IRS. That’s where preparation counts. While ultimately it is a merchant’s responsibility to make sure correct information is on file, the IRS TIN Matching System enables us to verify our information. We are doing that, and making corrections accordingly.

Given the backup withholding requirement, Avid’s goal is 100% compliance. If you are contacted by an Avid representative, please cooperate in verifying or correcting the information on file with us. If you have any questions, or suspect that the information we have on file does not match what the IRS has, please contact us immediately.

For questions and customer service, we’ve incorporated online chat, so that you can now visit our home page and chat with us during regular business hours.

To keep you informed, we will be sending emails approximately twice monthly, publishing this blog, updating our page on on Facebook and participating in LinkedIn.

I know you are busy, so I promise to keep our emails and posts short and to the point. Write to me personally if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Clinton Baller
President