Sister not present.
Card not present.
My, how times have changed.
You still remember the time nearly 40 years ago when you went out for lunch during the school day. Things were different then and an hour long lunch period meant that the elementary students who lived closest to the school often ran home for lunch. You lived too far though, so for the most part you were forced to eat the school’s version of a TV tray dinner. They tasted terrible, but your mom insisted that was the most affordable lunch plan.
Once a month, however, your mother splurged and gave you and your 9-year old younger sister money to go out for lunch. A small Mexican restaurant just two blocks from the school was accustomed to young diners dashing in and out of the restaurant every now and then.
On this particular occasion you had ordered something extra, a dessert taco that the two of you shared at the end of the meal. When you went to the register, however, to get and pay the bill you realized that the dessert had been a horrible idea. In your first real lesson in economics, you realized that you had over spent. The crumbled, and slightly damp, $5 bill that had been inside your shoe was not enough to cover the cost of your extra item.
In a panic, you sprang into action. Before anyone could offer to say you could bring the money tomorrow, you demanded your sister stay at the register. You sprinted out the door and ran to school, borrowing the extra coins from your friend’s mother who was the school librarian. When you returned, however, your frightened sister was in tears. She was afraid she had been left for good.
News of the economic event spread quickly through the school and before you made it home the librarian friend of the family had called your mother and told her of the noon time events. It was a rough arrival home, and your mom made it perfectly clear to you that there would never again be a “sister not present” transaction!
Card Not Present Transactions Are Managed by Secure Payment Solutions
The nation’s economy has progressed tot he point that card not present transactions are very common. Whether a customer is ordering items online and typing in credit card information through a laptop or whether a customer is ordering food over the phone and giving the payment card number over the phone for a fast in store pick up, card not present transactions provide both payment and convenience.
The latest research indicates that the global e-commerce sales generate $931,490 every 30 seconds through the use of desktop sales. Another $269,683 is generated through mobile devices. None of these card not present transactions would have been possible 40 years ago. For every benefit to these online payments, however, there is also the danger of some kind of fraud for both the customer and the retailer. As a result, an entire industry has been built to process, track, verify, and protect these purchases.
Companies looking for verification and authentication processes contract with companies the can remind, confirm and validate purchases for merchants across the country. These service providers also help manage consumer changes and modifications, as well as facilitate smooth transitions for service and product delivery. An evolving industry, secure payment systems offer both consumers and retail customers security.
Although online purchases are common, many consumers live in fear of credit card fraud. The predictions are that as many as 50% of the American digital buyers are expected to make mobile payments for purchases in the near future. And while this may be a boon for the economy. Statistically this could mean that as many as 50% of the American digital buyers expose themselves to fraud. Currently, U.S. card fraud costs more than $8 billion annually.
The merchant credit card processing system works continues to function, in spite of recent news stories of data breaches and fraud. Customers, however, must be assured that their purchases and their personal data are secure. the companies who can provide security and confidence tot heir customers will be the companies that continue to succeed in this digital payment age.