We’re excited to announce that Elavon Canada has recently launched a new interactive customer portal, Payments Insider! Replacing the previous portal, Merchant Connect, Payments Insider is a secure and mobile-friendly platform that was designed to improve efficiency and provide easy, 24/7 access to important information.

In addition to self-service account management, quick access to statements, and reports and dashboards, Payments Insider allows you to:

• Easily review deposits and batches
• View and download online statements
• Manage the users and locations

Payments Insider is available in both English and French, and is completely free of charge. Click here to get started with Payments Insider (you can sign up even if you’re currently using Merchant Connect).

Although 3D Secure technology has been around since 1999, it has struggled to pick up steam with card-not-present merchants, especially in the U.S. But with the launch last year of 3D Secure 2.0 and the merchant liability shift for this newer version set for April of 2019, this is all about to change. Not only does 3D Secure 2.0 take into account the latest payment platforms (like mobile apps) and reduce friction at checkout, it will also provide merchants with even more chargeback protection once the liability shift goes into effect. Keep reading to learn more about 3D Secure 2.0 and how it will be of benefit for merchants.

When trying to grow revenue, merchants frequently opt to invest in marketing campaigns. Yet while marketing efforts are likely to have a positive effect on sales volumes, they’re not guaranteed to change the amount that customers are actually spending per purchase. If your goal is to drive sales growth rapidly with minimal overhead costs, then implementing tactics to grow your average sale price is a great first step to take! Here’s how you can get started:

The Clover Flex is the perfect device for on-the-go payment processing, but that means it’s especially prone to wear-and-tear and losing battery power. To help merchants keep their Clover Flex payment terminals safe and ready for use, Clover has just released its Clover Flex Travel Kit, which we now carry in stock!

$17 billion was lost to fraud in the last year alone. But if you’re a business owner, you probably know that even small fraud costs like chargebacks can add up quickly! Read up on these top 7 fraud schemes so you can stay informed and prevent the next fraud attack on your website:

Clover’s line of smart terminals are a favorite with merchants in every industry- and for good reason. The secure, wireless devices accept a wide variety of payment types- including EMV chip-card, EBT, and mobile payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay- and they can be customized to function as full-service point-of-sale systems with features for email marketing, employee management, inventory tracking, and much more. Plus, with advanced P2PE-certified encryption technology, merchants can speed up the PCI compliance process.

With 22 years of industry experience, Fidelity has built up an extensive array of resources to offer its merchants. Whether its assistance with PCI compliance, setting up online payments, lowering processing rates, or improving the checkout experience with an innnovative POS system, there’s a lot of reasons why merchants choose Fidelity.

One of the most effective ways to get more online reviews is by asking your customers directly. While this may seem daunting, a recent study shows that 70% of consumers will leave a review when asked!  Here are a few ways you can start reaching out to customers for reviews. 

If you read our last blog post, you now have a better understanding of why online reviews are so important for your business. Now, we want to help you take the next step and start growing your online reviews!

Fortunately, managing online reviews doesn’t have to be so difficult- and our 2-part series will make it even easier. Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar retailer or e-commerce business, you’ll be sure to benefit from this series.

In Part 1, we’ll go over how you can get up-and-running on review sites and start driving traffic to them.

As a business owner, we’re sure you’ve heard how beneficial online reviews are for your business— they can boost your reputation, brand loyalty, and bottom-line! But, do you really understand why? Here are 4 reasons why you should start tapping into the power of online reviews today.

1. Online Reviews Are Heavily Utilized

Research shows that 90% of consumers read reviews before visiting a local business, and nearly 60% check reviews while they’re in-store. And, they’re becoming more popular every year! According to research, 78% of consumers read online reviews in 2012, while 93% read reviews in 2017.

2. Online Reviews Influence Buying Behavior

Customers rely on reviews to make informed buying decisions. 74% of shoppers say positive reviews make them trust a business more, and they also encourage shoppers to spend as much as 31% more on their purchase. And, for the majority of customers— 85%-— online reviews carry as much weight as personal recommendations from acquaintances.

On the contrary, 40% of consumers report that they won’t visit a local business upon reading negative reviews.

3. Online Reviews Can Improve Your SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is how visible your website and/or content is with online search results. A lot of factors go into how search engines rank results, and one of them is online reviews (according to a study, reviews were the #1 factor affecting results of local business searches in 2017).

When we say that online reviews affect how your business shows up in search results, there are several factors at play, such as: the number of reviews you have, the actual ratings, and what’s being said in the reviews (i.e. a popular word in your reviews can trigger results when people search for this word).

4. Online Reviews Provide Valuable Business Insights

Even the most attentive business owner can’t know with 100% certainty how all of their customers feel. Online reviews are a great way to measure what you’re doing right and what you could do better. Armed with this knowledge, you can take the steps you need to improve your customer service and products/services.

Ready to start growing your online reviews? Stay tuned for our next blog post!

While some businesses thrive in the summer- think ice cream shops or al fresco cafes- others may have a hard time getting customers out of the sunshine and into their doors. If your business is going through a summer slump (we hope not!) here are 5 ways you can bring the heat inside.