CrossCheck Blog

CrossCheck Blog

Check Processing & Payments Information

3 Spring Beliefs Providing Rebirth, Renewal and Revenue

Posted by Brandon Weaver | Fri, Mar 20, 2015 @ 10:00 AM

Spring Easter Retail SalesSpring Equinox, Vernal Equinox – whichever you prefer to call it – this Friday marks the first day of spring. Along with the Fall Equinox, these two days are the only days on the calendar where the sun rises exactly due east and sets due west for everyone on Earth -- except for the North and South poles.

This year’s Spring Equinox will actually coincide with a total solar eclipse. But (sorry to burst your excitement bubble), this extraordinary event will not be visible from anywhere in the United States. Only those in the North Atlantic, parts of Greenland, Europe and Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Northwestern Asia will be fortunate to see this spectacle.

Spring also marks the beginning of “America’s pastime,” otherwise known as baseball. Spring training is already in full swing in both Arizona and Florida. For baseball fans, spring training anywhere represents a rebirth for their home team and, regardless of their record last season or their realistic prospects for this one, all true fans celebrate the Equinox believing that “this year we’ll win the World Series!”

The Easter Bunny

According to modern scholars bunnies and eggs have nothing to do with the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. The word “Easter” has nothing to do with Christianity, either – according to an 8th century English monk, “Easter” is the name of a nature goddess whose festival was held around the equinox. And the goddess brought the rabbit with her, since rabbits have a well-known ability to reproduce at a frenetic rate.

Decorating eggs isn’t Christian, either, as the oldest known decorated egg is that of an ostrich, engraved by someone in Africa 60,000 years ago. But giving something up for Lent certainly is Christian, as the faithful spend the forty days leading up to Easter in disciplined prayer and contemplation.

Apparently the first Easter egg hunt was held in the seventeenth century as a way of letting the kids know that Lent was over and that the Easter feast was about to happen.

Anyone who has ever smiled at a giant rabbit skipping along with his basket of eggs, or at all the well-dressed children searching for them, knows why we’ve been celebrating this way ever since.

Punxsutawney Phil

Every February, many U.S. cities host a public gathering to celebrate Groundhog Day, which comes with another set of expectations just as important as the ones about bunnies and eggs.

If the groundhog emerges from his burrow and sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter awaits. If he doesn’t see his shadow, spring will come sooner. Words to live by.

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania – and its groundhog, Phil – gets most of the attention. However, there are others, like Jimmy the Groundhog in Wisconsin. This year he was particularly aggressive, biting the Mayor’s ear!

Lest you think it silly that we expect a groundhog to predict the weather forecast,  keep in mind that some take it very seriously. The prosecuting attorney of Butler County, Ohio, for example, once sought the death penalty against innocent old Phil because the animal’s prediction that spring would come early was wrong on an epic scale.

Isis

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon refused to carry phones with GoogleWallet installed on them because they wanted to establish their own digital wallet.

So they formed a joint venture and decided to name their product after the Egyptian goddess of nature and children, Isis. ISIS Wallet would also allow users to make credit card payments on their mobile devices.

That was before the “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,” usually called “I.S.I.S.,” emerged as a violent militant group. As of September 3, 2014 ISIS Wallet officially changed its name to “Softcard.”

And as of March 31, Softcard will be officially replaced by Google Wallet in a continued effort to compete with Apple Pay for mobile purchases, because this may be the spring of mobile payments: “over the next five years, US mobile payments will grow from $52 billion to $142 billion.”

With forecasts like that, it’s easy to see why Google and Apple are fiercely competing to dominate this space.

Worth It

Here’s one belief we’re debunking: Many people believe debit, credit, and mobile payments rule the day and check payments are extinct.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Most businesses, including auto dealerships, building materials lots, home furnishing stores, medical clinics, veterinary clinics, boat dealers and many more see checks every day.

People write checks for larger purchases, and so it makes sense to have a guarantee that you’ll receive payment – even if the check is returned. Our check guarantee service does exactly that. Simply send the check to us and we worry about collecting payment from the check writer.

This spring and through every season, maximize your revenue with check guarantee.

Check Guarantee Insider's Guide

Written by Brandon Weaver