Are you ready for the new EMV cards? -- Confused about the EMV requirements merchants will face in 2015? We asked the experts for you. ... (See EMV cards)

Growing international? 3 ways your new customers can pay -- Expanding your business internationally? Before accepting your first order from out-of-country customers, you'll need to be able to accept foreign currencies ... (See International)

4 things to know about taking payments over the phone -- Accepting card payments by phone is necessary for catalogs and food order businesses. Yet there are some risks -- and costs -- phone order merchants take on ... (See Phone orders)

Is your business mobile friendly? -- Many small merchants are saying "not now" to mobile payment technology. But are they missing out on business? ... (See Mobile)

You got rejected for a merchant account. Now what? -- Have you been turned down by a merchant account processor? Here's how to improve your chances the next time around ... (See Merchant account rejection)

Requiring a minimum credit card charge: You can do it -- but should you? -- Want to hang a sign near your register asking that all credit card purchases adhere to a $10 minimum to save on card processing costs? Is that legal or not? ... (See Minimum purchase)

Can your business afford to go cash-only? -- Plastic is convenient for consumers, but often expensive for merchants. So some small businesses say "no" to plastic and "yes" to good old-fashioned cash ... (See Cash-only)

Merchant account guide for small ecommerce sellers -- Whether you're selling crafts, auctioning antiques or hawking your skills as a website designer, your needs as a small online business are different from those of brick-and-mortar ones ... (See Ecommerce)

Merchant account guide for churches and houses of worship -- If your house of worship is thinking about taking plastic, passing around the offering plate won't be enough. You'll need to set up a merchant account to process the payments. ... (See Church)

Online shoppers find mobile payments safer than credit cards -- Here's one more reason to start accepting mobile payments: New research shows that online shoppers find carrier-billed mobile payments safer than using a credit card ... (See Mobile payments)

V.me: A new payment option from Visa -- Visa plans to launch a new online service next spring that allows customers to pay for goods and services without entering their account information online ... (See Online payments)

Paying with credit influences customers' buying habits -- Paying with a credit card may influence how your customer perceives your products, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research ... (See Customer psychology)

7 reasons to accept smart cards -- Still weary of moving to chip-and-PIN? Here are seven reasons why installing new terminals and accepting smart cards will benefit your business ... (See Smart cards)

Square updates Card Case, reinvents retailing -- Imagine accepting a customer's payment simply by typing in their name on an iPad. With Square's latest update to Card Case, that's now a reality for some ... (See Card Case)

Interchange-plus savings could be undermined by excessive fees -- Just because you've opted for interchange-plus pricing, don't stop monitoring your merchant statements for excessive markups and fees, say experts ... (See Interchange-plus)

Small-dollar debit card transactions have become pricy to process -- If you process a large volume of small dollar debit card transactions, you may be in for sticker shock the next time you look at your books ... (See Transaction fees)

Study: Consumers affected by debit card fees will likely turn to credit -- Consumers affected by the new debit card usage fees imposed by some banks are likely to switch to credit instead, according to a recent study ... (See Debit card usage fees)

Affinity introduces a merchant-friendly daily deals program -- The loyalty program provider, Affinity Solutions, has teamed up with Sovereign Bank on a new type of daily deals program that allows merchants to track the effectiveness of discounts and target likely customers ... (See Daily deals)

Some merchants still reluctant to steer customers toward debit -- Debit card swipe fees are now capped at 21 cents. However, many merchants still don't plan to steer customers away from credit and toward debit ... (See POS steering)

MasterCard urges ATM owners to upgrade to EMV technology -- MasterCard is throwing its weight behind chip and PIN. The network is urging member bank ATM owners to upgrade their ATMs to accept chip cards by April 2013 ... (See EMV)

A new way to accept credit cards -- with a webcam -- Payment companies such as Jumio are introducing innovative new tools that securely read credit cards with a simple click of a webcam. ... (See Netswipe)

Study: Merchants report waning confidence in the economy -- The National Small Business Association (NSBA) 2011 Mid-Year Economic Report found that small business owners are losing confidence in the economy, struggling to get financing and sweating over their prospects for 2012 ... (See Report)

A guide to Visa's merchant incentives for chip-and-PIN compliance -- Visa announced earlier this month that it will begin pushing for a U.S. migration toward chip-and-PIN (EMV) credit cards. Here's what you need to know about Visa's plan to encourage merchants to upgrade their terminals and accept chip-and-PIN credit cards ... (See EMV)

A guide to merchant category codes -- A merchant category code is a four-digit number the credit card industry uses to classify your business, track and even prohibit some types of purchases. ... (See MCC)

Merchant-funded rewards programs: Worth your participation? -- Merchant-funded rewards programs may be a short cut to customers and more effective than media advertising campaigns, say some experts ... (See Rewards)

After the Durbin Amendment: A new era in debit card transactions -- Beginning Oct. 1, 2011, debit card interchange fees will be significantly cheaper for merchants. Here's what you can do to maximize the benefit to your bottom-line ... (See Fees)

How to make sure you get your debit card fee reduction -- Beginning in October, banks will be required to lower their debit card swipe fees. But merchant account providers won't be required to pass on those savings to merchants. Here's what you need to do to claim your fee break ... (See Debit)

Fed pivots on interchange fees -- The Federal Reserve recently surprised merchants by changing the recommended cap on interchange fees from 12 cents to 21 cents per transaction ... (See Debit)

Back to School, Part 1: The major players in a credit card transaction -- In part 1 of our "Back to School" series, we look at the five key players who move a credit card transaction from your customer's first swipe to your business's bank account ... (See Part 1)

Back to School, Part 2: Credit card processing, 4 key issues -- In Part 2 of our "Back to School" series, we look at four key issues that merchants should consider before choosing a credit card processing system ... (See Part 2)

Card Case, Register and Google Wallet: What You Need to Know -- Google and Square both announced last month new mobile wallets that they say can't be ignored. Here's what you need to know about the new systems ... (See Mobile)

Chargeback troubles? Fight back with these key steps -- Chargebacks are costly, time consuming and stressful. But they can often be prevented -- as long as you are vigilant with your business. Here are 5 ways that you can prevent a costly chargeback ... (See Chargebacks)

Study: Get ready for mobile wallets -- Mobile payments are poised to become a major player in credit card transactions. Here's how to take advantage of the new payment landscape ... (See Mobile wallets)

Consider all possible fees before picking a merchant account -- Once you've decided to get a merchant account to accept customer payments by credit and debit cards, our new columnist says you should begin your search by first considering all the basic fees. ... (See Merchant fees)