Posted by David Sharp
Co-authored by Mike Lebow, Business Development Manager for PaySimple

Last week we had the pleasure of exhibiting and speaking at the National Association of Church Business Administrations’ (NACBA) 52nd National Conference in Nashville, TN. This was PaySimple’s second year participating in the organization’s largest annual event, where we were privileged to lead one of the educational workshops focused on Electronic Giving. For us, the event was more than just an opportunity to meet and educate potential customers; it served as a platform to show that PaySimple has the ability, the experience, and the dedication to meet the specific needs of nonprofit and religious organizations.

During our workshop “Giving Made Simple - Online and Electronic Giving for the Modern Church,” we reviewed the fundamental capabilities of an online payment processing solution and how church administrators could utilize these features to facilitate the donation collection process for their members. For example:

• PaySimple’s recurring payment platform can be utilized to collect recurring donations on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.
• The online payment webforms can be linked to the churches’ websites to collect general donations, or even to allow members to sign up and pay for certain classes or mission events.
• The email invoicing capability can function as an email campaign module for church administrators and leaders to spread the word about specific campaigns or missions, and easily enable members to make their donation by clicking a customized “Make a Donation” button embedded in the email.

We also discussed the many benefits a church, its members and the administrators would experience from implementing an Electronic Giving Program, such as: increased donations, time savings for the administrators and volunteers, as well as more predictable cash flow and efficient reporting for the church. Finally, we spoke about the most effective way to market and implement this type of program to ensure the highest adoption from the members. Suggestions included pastoral announcements, fliers, and bulletin inserts to create awareness. That awareness, combined with the distribution of recurring giving authorization forms and customized online webforms enables easy participation for members.

With more and more nonprofits and religious organizations discovering the benefits of utilizing electronic payment solutions, PaySimple strives to better serve these altruistic organizations by presenting at instructional workshops and offering discounts on our own platform to help them get started. This year’s NACBA conference was an exciting step for PaySimple, as we become a respected provider for the organization’s members and the broader church community. We were able to show how our solution can be customized to serve the specific needs of this niche market to the over 75 administrators, pastors, and even a few fellow vendors who attended the workshop. As active participants in our own community, it’s great to have the ability to play a part in nonprofits’ successes.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Posted by Lisa Hephner

The bad news is that payment fraud is growing, and it seems that criminals are coming up with ever more ingenious ways to perpetrate it. Small businesses may think they are too small to attract attention of criminals, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. A recent report from the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) showed that 72% of all participants reported that their companies had been the victims of attempted or actual payment fraud.

The good news is, that Small Businesses can take steps to defend themselves, and that doing so is now easier and less costly than ever before.

When combating fraud, a business has two concerns—prevent its systems from being used as part of a fraud scheme, and protecting its customers’ information from falling into the wrong hands. This may seem like a daunting task, but there is help for the small business.

Many electronic payment processing systems, like the PaySimple Solution 2.0, automate key fraud prevention techniques and tactics to help the small business guard against its systems being used as part of a fraudulent scheme. For example, most systems offer AVS validation of credit cards (which checks that the billing address matches the address on file for the card), and CVV2 validation for credit cards (which helps ensure that the person authorizing the transaction has the card in hand). Another helpful feature is check verification, which enables a merchant to check whether funds exist to cover an echeck or ACH payment, and to determine if the account owner is on a list of known bad check writers. More robust systems enable the merchant to block transactions based on IP, country or email address, and provide functions such as multiple credit card blocking which prevents a criminal from using one of the businesses’ web payment forms to test large volumes of stolen credit card numbers in order to find one that still works.

The most important thing a small business can do to protect its customers’ data is to use only payment processing systems from PCI compliant companies. The PCI standard was developed by Visa/MasterCard to protect its cardholders, and certified compliance with its very stringent standards is a strong indication that a payment processing company will fully protect a business and its customers. Such a system ensures that all bank account and credit card numbers are stored encrypted and cannot be decrypted by anyone, and that they are routinely purged when not in use. There are many ways that customer information can be compromised, both from thieves inside or outside an organization. But, if all customer data is directly entered into a PCI Compliant system, such as PaySimple Solution 2.0, a business can be assured it has done all it can to protect its customers.

Common sense comes into play too—educating customers to beware of phishing schemes attempting to steal their account numbers and passwords, educating employees to avoid viruses that capture keystrokes, and educating everyone about not leaving statements and account numbers in open view, can only help. But beyond that, using a PCI compliant payment processing solution that includes automated build-in fraud detection and robust data security features at no additional cost, can provide a small business with the protection it needs at a very reasonable cost.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Posted by David Sharp

My topic today is geared towards our channel partner community. I want to share some thoughts on creating value for all parties involved. At PaySimple, we create platforms that help stars shine— as our CEO recently shared with you. While our primary focus is to create value for the small business, we are equally committed to value creation for our channel partners. In order to create value for all parties, we believe the key lies in offering a truly differentiated payment solution.

Many of our reseller partners are Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), which are organizations focused on selling payment solutions. Many ISOs are enticed to follow the lead of the mega-ISOs that have achieved great success and scale over the years. However, in a maturing market where traditional payment processing has become commoditized, competing against those with scale can be a losing battle where price typically drives the decision. The PaySimple platform augments many ISOs’ strategies driving them into new vertical markets with ease by offering a solution that simplifies and empowers small business.

Sure, all businesses are looking to process their electronic payments in a cost-efficient manner. However, to truly create sustained value for all parties, consider providing a payment solution that simplifies the way businesses accept their payments and empowers them with a technology that can grow their customer base and profits. Superior to price, small businesses are looking for ways to attract and retain customers to achieve extraordinary returns for their business.

Our ISOs are experiencing tremendous success by leading with benefits, such as the ability to leverage the customer data retained in PaySimple’s on-demand solution to create loyalty programs to reward repeat customers, penetrate untapped geographic markets, and proactively invite one-time customers back for more! In today’s economic environment, offering businesses the ability to provide their customers with online payment services—that the business owner doesn’t need technical resources to install—is imperative to meet customers’ demand for convenience. Or, the ability to offer expanded payment plans with recurring billing on a flexible installment basis can be just the fix to gain a financially-challenged sale.

By focusing on true value-creation concepts such as these, together we truly enhance the lives of small business owners and earn a profitable customer for life. All parties win in the end when we channel our efforts towards creating business-enhancing value through a platform that, oh by the way, can process payments, too.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Posted by Sarah Jordan

Last weekend, six of our own PaySimplers joined an estimated 3,000 cyclists in the 23rd Annual Great-West Life Bike MS, Colorado’s Ride 2008. Each rider is pledged to raise at least $300.00 for the cause, but most go above and beyond that amount. Team PaySimple, comprised of a total of almost 50 friends and family members, together raised over $35,000!

The ride encompassed 150 miles over two days. Starting June 28, Cyclists rode 75 miles from Front Range Community College in Westminster, CO to Ft. Collins, CO and returned to the college the following day. I asked our participants to share their thoughts about the experience or any inspiring moments they had during the 2-day race…

Elissa Beckman, Empowerment Director–“With almost 50 riders on our team, people tended to notice us and comment on our jerseys. It made for a great conversation topic when people would ask, “What is PaySimple?”. I must say, I never thought I’d be conversing with strangers about electronic payment processing while climbing through the mountains of Colorado.”

“Unique experience? Well, I might be the only person in the race who made it the entire 150 miles without a spill, only to eat it as I reached for my medal crossing the finish line. But I am still so happy that I participated!”

Wesley Cropp (on right), Account Executive –- “Admiration was a constant feeling over the course of the two-day race; I was in awe at the physical ability of the experienced riders and headstrong nature of those that struggled with the course. The last quarter-mile was lined with supporters and family members, waving flags and holding out medals. With that kind of support, where I once felt tired I then felt like I could make it 20 more miles. That’s what it’s all about.”

Chris Kampfe (on left), Marketing Analyst – “The experience of riding with the team was brilliant. Each turn was a new experience, a constantly changing landscape. And when you came up on a hill, it’s inspiring to have a strong, supportive team to climb it with. It really didn’t hurt that everyone looked fantastic in their spandex either. Just sayin’…”

Jeremy Segale, VP of Operations — “The energy this weekend was amazing, over 3,000 riders uniting together to pedal against MS. I was proud to ride for Team PaySimple, the 7th largest team. It is great to be part of an organization that supports involvement in such a worthy cause.”

Jeff Gardner, President — “This is my fourth year doing this event and I am continually amazed at the support provided by the volunteers of this event, many of which are fighting MS. It is a huge undertaking to support riders of all abilities over such a long distance and the MS Society does an amazing job.”

“My most inspiring moment came from a brief speech at dinner on Saturday night by one of our team members who has three family members with MS. It was an emotional moment for Jamey and his passion to find a cure is very personal and contagious.”

With 82 cents of every dollar raised going to the cause, BikeMS raised an estimated $2.6 million this year. And while the tour is a fun and team-oriented way to raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, it also creates awareness for the cause and gives hope to the 400,000 Americans living with MS every day.

So recruit some fellow employees, friends, and family members, and get your team together! There are WalkMS and BikeMS events in your area, and an endless number of worthy causes that your small business can get involved in—and you can take it from our own participants, that being involved is much more rewarding than just sending in a check.

Popularity: 24% [?]