AmEx upgrades new changes with Hyperledger Blockchain for Rewards Program

American Express has deployed Hyperledger’s blockchain technology to make its Membership Rewards program in partnership with digital retailer Boxed. More versatile, marking the first application of blockchain technology to a major U.S. financial services loyalty program.

Under the revamped program, merchants will be able to create Membership Rewards offers on their own platforms to engage customers and at the same time offer card members more opportunities to earn points.

Product Selection Rewards

American Express is partnering with Boxed, an online wholesale retailer, on a pilot promotion for Membership Rewards enrolled members. Members can earn 5X Membership Rewards points for select products and brands.

The company announced Wednesday that it is leveraging Hyperledger to let merchants create custom Membership Rewards programs for American Express cardholders. Its initial trial with Boxed will allow members to earn five times the normal number of points on certain products, according to information shared with Coin Desk.

American Express will initially provide rewards points to Boxed customers for Cheerios cereal, Planters nuts, Dove soap and a few other items, according to the Associated Press. American Express plans to make the program available to nearly all merchant partners in the coming months.

How to Works

A private channel on the company’s blockchain will allow merchants to send and receive information securely. The merchant will have control over the offers they wish to market, and they will be able to create custom Membership Rewards offers and designate SKU level bonuses.

American Express will have full visibility of the offers on the blockchain and will ensure the promotions conform to its brand values and merchant agreements.

Once the offers are available to customers, the smart contract will automatically send the anonymized transaction to American Express on the private blockchain. American Express will identify the card member and issue them their rewards points.

American Express will work with merchants to create the smart contracts for the offers.

The credit card giant is a premiere Hyperledger member, along with Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, IBM, Intel, Baidu, and Accenture.

Notably - This is not the first foray by American Express into blockchain rewards, as the company filed a patent last year outlining a possible rewards program that would be stored on a blockchain. 

AmEx Card related more information visit here - American Express

Merchant Account For Cruises An Incredibly Easy Method That Works For Merchants

Cruise Merchant accounts are considered high-risk businesses by MasterCard and Visa Card. Integrating online payment gateway on a cruise website requires unique features & merchants have to follow strict rules to get authorization. These websites are closely monitored by payment processors to ensure they follow industry regulations. Merchant Stronghold can provide your business website a payment gateway allowing you to run your business without worrying about external matters.

Cruise line businesses require a special merchant account to process payments. This business is considered as high-risk by local and international banks because of various reasons. There are a number of reasons and most of them are because the customer is not happy and wants a refund. Most cruises have a strict no cancellation policy that is why bank and payment processors don’t want to give them access to credit card processing.

Start accepting credit cards at low rates

Cruise lines offer one of a kind experience across oceans, continents, and seas. By traveling via a cruise ship people experience and appreciate the immensity of the oceans, as explorers did in old times. If you are offering such great services then you deserve access to an easy payment gateway. With our dedicated merchant account, we will be able to help you accept credit and debit cards as soon as your application is approved. We not only offer lowest rates, but our support service is unparalleled.

Apply for the merchant account

It is a straightforward and easy process. Keep in consideration that if you have a good credit score then you are likely to get approved. But if you have a poor credit score, we can still help you get approved but it may require you to submit additional documentation. If you already have a merchant account then we will ask for 3 to 5 months of the statement from your current provider. We may ask business statement to ensure you are able to handle chargebacks. If you want to apply, just call us and fill out the application and we’ll make sure that you get your fully functional merchant account as soon as possible.

Cruise line businesses can get merchant accounts if they provide all the right documents. Your payment processor may need these documents in order to offer better services. Most of the time you provide ID, previous payment processing information, signed the application, and bank information with license information to ensure your business is authentic. Banks and payment processors will ask for this information before approval and account setup.

High-Risk Merchant Account for your Small Business

Credit Card Acceptance: Accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover

These days only a few people carry cash, rests rely on credit cards. There are only four major card brands through, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. For a small business, credit card processing is incredibly important. According to a report by the market watch, 60 percent of the points of sale transactions rely on debit or credit cards. Many studies have pointed that business owners who offer multiple payment methods are likely to succeed. By providing multiple payment methods, a company is likely to attract a large number of customers from around the globe. Credit card payment makes purchase process secure and easy for customers, and it also helps business to keep the record of sales.

Small Business Needs A Merchant Account 

The easiest way for small businesses to accept credit card is via merchant accounts. A merchant who wants to expand a business to reach wide audience requires a payment gateway. Merchant accounts have tools that can accept any type of card via a virtual terminal. Any business can integrate more than one payment methods on their online e-commerce site. When a merchant provider is done setting up the account, accepting credit cards becomes easier for business owners.

MERCHANT STRONGHOLD IS THE RIGHT CHOICE

Many merchants think that it is expensive to accept cards, but this is not always the case. Some merchant account providers such as Merchant Stronghold, A leading Payment Gateway Provider which provides competitive rates so that small businesses can succeed by offering multiple payment options to their customers.

Merchant Stronghold speaks with every small business owner to explain them everything, we also guide them to handle their merchant account. There is a variety of choices offered to merchants to make it simple and secure for their customers. Merchants can access their account via mobile and other platforms. Merchants also get 24/7 customer support to keep the business running smoothly. We use the latest technology to ensure merchants are happy and their business is safe from frauds. You can contact us and we will help drive your business to new heights. Merchant Stronghold is the right way for your Small Business. 

While Accepting Credit Card Important Things Must Know The Merchant

A Study to know

According to studies, business accepting credit card payment is likely to generate more revenue as compared to others. The main purpose of you being in the industry is to earn profit and credit card is a great mode of payment. So, it is better to get a reliable credit card processing before starting off.

There are many third-party service providers with payment solutions for credit card processing like PayPal, but it comes with shortcomings. But special measures must be taken to provide a secure environment to conduct transactions. Else customers will either drift away or will not come back for another sale, and this will increase abandonment rate and funds paid by check or direct deposit will take days to get transferred. Payment solutions like PayPal are good if merchant needs to handle low-volume sales. But if you are looking for growth, the merchant has to look for alternatives.

What do Business Owners need?

If you want to accept payments through credit card, the first thing that is must is Merchant Account. To carry out online transactions and validate credit card acceptance, a merchant account is mandatory. A merchant account is like any other bank account with a slight difference; it enables merchant/business to accept payment through various means like credit and debit cards. If the merchant has an online merchant account, so this will eliminate the need for credit card processing machine or terminals to accept payments.

Parties involved in merchant account set up process are:

• The Retailer
• Payment Processor
• Merchant Bank

Three things that every merchant should be aware of when accepting credit card with an online merchant account are discussed below in detail:

ONLINE PAYMENT GATEWAY

A payment gateway is a merchant service provided by e-commerce provider responsible for carrying out transactions or direct payment processing for e-business or retailers. E-commerce transactions (online transactions) are authorized by this e-commerce service (payment gateway). E-commerce service provider can be:

• Bank
• Specialized financial service provider.

A payment gateway transfers the information between a payment portal and acquiring the bank, where payment portal can be any of the following:

Website

Mobile phone

IVR machine (Interactive Voice Response)

You can more information about go to the site – www.merchantstronghold.com

Some Possible Reasons for Declination of your Credit Card Processing Application

Why Credit Card Applications are Denied

Age

Your age is another factor for the denial of your request. If you are under 18, the issuer will not accept your request, as it is not the legal age. Your age is another factor for the denial of your request. If you are under 18, the issuer will not accept your request, as it is not the legal age.

Incomplete Application Form

If you don’t complete the application form completely or correctly, it can lead to denial. So it is better to apply for credit card processing online as it will not submit your request until and unless all the fields are full.

Loan Balance

If you want to apply for credit card processing, make sure that you pay your loan balance regularly if any. When you apply for credit card processing, your credit history is checked and if it is negative, the bank or the processor will hesitate to accept your request to avoid risk.

Healthy Credit Balance

It is good practice to keep your credit balance healthy. In other words, you should only use a portion of the credit available instead of using it to the fullest. Healthier the credit card score more are the chances of approval.

Inquiries on Credit Report

It is advisable not to apply for many credit cards or credit cards processing, especially in short span of time; this may lead to declining of application. Lesser is your credit inquiries; better are the chances of getting your next approval when you would apply.

Low Income

The very common factor of declination of application is income of the applicant. Minimum income for application varies by Banks and Processor. And if the applicant fails to match the minimum income requirement, his/her application can get a rejection. So before applying for credit card processing, get an idea about minimum income.

Negative Processing History

Another reason for credit card application denies can be the number of credit cards processing account utilization by the applicant with negative Statement. If there are accounts shut due to high Chargeback it can be an issue in getting approval for a credit card processing.

TMF or Matchlist

If you are on Match list or get as a TMF merchant it would be a big reason for not getting approval for your Credit Card Processing Account. Get more information visit website – www.merchantstronghold.com

Merchant Category Code 7230 for Beauty, Barber Businesses

A BENEFIT OF POS FОR SALON

Aѕ a ѕаlоn owner, уоu wаnt tо mаkе ѕurе you kеер your сliеntѕ соming bасk for nеw ѕеrviсеѕ. Whilе repeat customers аrе what you look fоr, you also wаnt tо rеtаin nеw сliеntѕ with a ѕаlоn experience thаt’ѕ truthfullу out of thе оrdinаrу. A ѕаlоn POS system helps уоu do еxасtlу thаt. Thеrе аrе оvеr 92,214 salons еѕtаbliѕhеd in the U.S аlоnе. In 2013, thе nail ѕаlоn induѕtrу grеw tо $7.47 billion, which is a phenomenal numbеr. Thе salon industry has undеrgоnе ѕubѕtаntiаl grоwth in thе lаѕt dесаdе аnd as a ѕаlоn owner уоu wаnt to dо your part tо stand оut аmоng уоur соmреtitоrѕ. Hеrе аrе ѕоmе gооd rеаѕоnѕ whу уоur salon needs to hаvе a reliable POS ѕуѕtеm with the latest technology.

SAVING TIMЕ

Having thе latest POS tесhnоlоgу for your ѕаlоn will hеlр mаnаgе уоur timе and inсrеаѕе thе еffiсiеnсу оf simple tаѕkѕ ѕuсh аѕ аdjuѕting appointments or mаnаging customers. You nееd tо ensure that уоu have fаѕt, salon-specific аutоmаtеd tools to аllоw уоu to handle tаѕkѕ only knоwn tо ѕаlоn owners. Apart frоm purchasing juѕt a роint of ѕаlе ѕоlutiоn that оnlу аllоwѕ you tо accept payments more еаѕilу, a trulу innоvаtivе ѕаlоn POS ѕуѕtеm will аlѕо help you tо bооk appointments еаѕiеr, trасk thеm along thе way аnd virtuаllу hаndlе еvеrу аѕресt оf уоur buѕinеѕѕ.

Furthеrmоrе, to imрrоvе time mаnаgеmеnt аnd inсrеаѕе рrоduсtivitу, you nееd a system thаt’ѕ easy tо lеаrn and intuitive bу nаturе. The nеwеѕt salon POS ѕуѕtеmѕ рrоvidе just thаt; рluѕ, this will аllоw уоu to easily trаin new ѕtаff mеmbеrѕ.

BEING ORGANIZED

Cuѕtоmеrѕ does nоt wаnt tо walk into an unоrgаnizеd ѕрасе оr fееl аѕ if аn оwnеr dоеѕn’t саrе аbоut their fасilitу оr сliеntѕ. Yоu needs tо hаvе a bright, mоdеrn, clean salon аnd аn аdvаnсеd ѕаlоn POS ѕуѕtеm with thе lаtеѕt management tools аt уоur disposal. Aѕ a оwnеr уоu need bе аblе tо hаndlе еvеrуthing frоm bооking аn appointment, managing ѕtаff, inventory соntrоl, to analyzing whаt ѕеrviсеѕ аrе the mоѕt рrоfitаblе аnd running rероrtѕ thаt keep уоu оn top of your buѕinеѕѕ.
Get more information visit website  - www.merchantstronghold.com

Offshore Merchant Accounts is Crucial to your Business

Offshore Account - The term ‘offshore’ is basically used to describe banks from countries other than home country or foreign lands. An offshore account is like any other merchant account opened in any country other than merchant’s home country. The main benefits of an offshore account are the security and the option of accepting major currencies. It also helps the merchant in increasing revenue due to tax relaxation, provides greater privacy to merchants and helps in gaining more customers (major currency acceptance).

Why is it Popular Among Merchants?

E-commerce and offshore accounts are highly linked as merchants, irrespective of their industry types. It aims at attracting a majority of customers and look for maximizing sale to earn good profit. To achieve this, the merchant needs to have a merchant account that accepts the majority of credit cards. But it is not that easy to open a merchant account, as it includes many requirements and lengthy procedures, which is not the case with an offshore merchant account. Most of the businesses like to maintain an offshore account as it provides many financial and legal advantages to its client.

Why Offshore Merchant Account?

Most of the merchants choose offshore accounts over merchant accounts for various reasons. Few of them are below:

• Hassle free procedure
• Low taxes/ tax relaxation
• Low initial costs
• International Reach
• Different currencies
• Major credit card acceptance

Offshore Accounts so Popular?

No matter how small or big business you own, any merchant can get an offshore account. Especially, merchants who are planning to set up an online business, irrespective of their size, prefer offshore account over merchant account due to low initial cost.

Every merchant running an online business wants to hit the international market at a certain point of growth. Offshore merchant account makes the acceptance of various currencies as well as credit cards much easier. Although, merchants who are dealing with local customers with the prime objective of capturing domestic market don’t get enough benefits from offshore merchant account as compared to the merchant targeting the global market. Get more information visit website- www.merchantstronghold.com