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Check Processing & Payments Information

Check Yourself: Who's Processing a Target on Your Back?

Posted by Heather Brautman | Thu, Dec 19, 2013 @ 10:38 AM

BusinessCheckProtectionToday, Target is in the cross hairs of the bulls eye, indeed. The massive retailer may use the target bulls eye symbol on all of its marketing materials, but it and its credit and debit card holders woke up to one of the largest security breaches the country has ever seen. According to a report just released today by the Federal Reserve, there were 31.1 million third-party fraudulent transactions in 2012, totaling $6.1 billion. Target’s breach will certainly add to the 2013 total and create a wasteland of wreckage to dig out from under. Can you afford this kind of “plastic disaster” in your business?

Just Swipe and Go…

Why customers want to pay with credit is up to them. It may be easy, less to keep track of, something they’re used to. Yet what they don’t realize is that the simple act of swiping opens them up to a world of problems. The Federal Reserve report notes: “In 2012, cards had significantly higher total unauthorized transactions by number and value than checks.” The organization also goes on to note that “Card fraud rates were also substantially higher.” Life's not so easy anymore when hackers destroy an identity, raid a bank account, and decimate one's credit.

No Signing on the Dotted Line

What does this mean for your business? Criminals may be targeting your pin pads at the point of sale without you knowing it. Skimming machines haven’t gone away. If you process payments online, all the website security in the world isn’t always enough to protect your customers’ important information. Hacks, viruses, leaks, back doors, and those worms you hear about can reroute details in a heartbeat.

Make the Choice

Protecting your customers isn’t your main goal – that’s to create revenue and keep your company afloat. The reality is, there will always be people who want to pay with credit. Despite security breaches, and identity theft, despite hefty APR and annual fees. So you have to accept this form of payment. But what you can choose to do is to protect customers – and yourself – by offering to accept check payments as an option. In fact, the Federal Reserve notes that what some people think of as a nostalgic relic in the payments industry actually “continues to persist as a significant portion of non-cash payments.” Don’t you want to be able to get your piece of the significant portion pie?

Get on the Paper Trail

Offering checks as payment options is a win-win scenario with protection on both sides. Your customers receive that security blanket against hackers trying to tap into their plastic portfolios. You get options such as check verification and guarantee, which can help you determine a buyer’s bankability. But there’s more. When you accept checks, you get the potential to actually make more money. The Federal Reserve survey shows that between 2003 and 2012, the payment totals when paid by check have skyrocketed from $1,103 to $1,420, a jump of 29%! Meanwhile, average credit card payments declined $11 per purchase during the same time. This means that you’re paying more money (don’t forget those interchange fees you pay for every swipe) but making less money on the products people buy.

Enlist your security staff today by downloading our free guide to check the guarantee and how it can protect you, your customers, and your revenue. Take a stand today to work towards avoiding disaster in the future.

Check Guarantee Insider's Guide

Written by Heather Brautman