Level 3 card processing, provided by VantageB2B, lowers card interchange expenses for commercial purchasing and government card payments.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) April 04, 2013

hybris, the world’s fastest-growing commerce platform provider ranked “leader” by principal global analyst firms, today announced that it has partnered with VantageB2B, Business Payment Solutions from Vantage Card Services, to enhance the commercial payment processing capabilities of its highly flexible and scalable hybris B2B Commerce solution. The partnership allows B2B organizations to take advantage of commercial payment best practices, lower their related processing expenses and make payment processing more secure.

“B2B eCommerce is being transformed by the use of commercial card products that are being used for corporate, business and GSA (government) purchasing,” said Ty Hardison, vice president strategy & development at Vantage Card Services. “To take advantage of these new payment methods, merchants must implement payment solutions that meet the more complex requirements of Level 3 which these card products leverage. In addition, to handle the specific processing requirements of these commercial p-cards securely, and at the lowest possible cost, requires a business payment processing platform that is uniquely different from that used by consumer payment solutions.”

Level 3 uses data that is additional information about a transaction which is commonly found on an invoice, such as product/service descriptions, quantities and other details. Level 3 processing refers to the process of passing the line item detail from the invoice when submitting the sale transaction for settlement. By providing its customers with Level 3 data for qualifying transactions, hybris will now enable B2B and B2G (business-to-government) organizations to lower their card interchange expenses for commercial purchasing and government card payments. Using VantageB2B’s tokenization system architecture eliminates the risk of exposing customers’ sensitive data while making it faster, easier and less expensive for them to meet quarterly and/or annual PCI compliance requirements.

“As a result of vendors increasing the functionality of their e-commerce platforms to handle more complex B2B product information, contract management and pricing rules, companies in B2B eCommerce are pushing the purchase finalization process online as well,” said Pat Finn, vice president of channels, Americas, at hybris. “Our partnership with VantageB2B perfectly marries their expertise, best practices and specialized tools to deliver Level 3 card payments with the industry’s most modern B2B commerce solution from hybris to help support this business requirement.”

hybris’ new Level 3 capability is available through its hybris Extend program and is ready for immediate use.

To learn more about hybris and Level 3 processing, or request information on the service, go to http://www.hybris.com/product/hybris-extend/vantage.

About hybris
hybris helps businesses on every continent sell more goods, services and digital content through every touchpoint, channel and device. hybris delivers "OmniCommerce™": state-of-the-art master data management and unified commerce processes that give a business a single view of its customers, products and orders, and its customers a single view of the business. hybris' omni-channel software is built on a single platform, based on open standards, that is agile to support limitless innovation, efficient to drive the best TCO, and scalable and extensible to be the last commerce platform companies will ever need. Both principal industry analyst firms rank hybris as a “leader” and list its commerce platform among the top two or three in the market. The same software is available on-premise, on-demand and managed hosted, giving merchants of all sizes maximum flexibility. Over 500 companies have chosen hybris, including global B2B sites W.W.Grainger, Rexel, General Electric, Thomson Reuters and 3M as well as consumer brands Toys“R”Us, Metro, Bridgestone, P&G, Levi's, Nikon, Galeries Lafayette, Migros, Nespresso and Lufthansa. hybris has operations in 15 countries around the globe. hybris is the future of commerce™. For more information, visit http://www.hybris.com.

About VantageB2B
VantageB2B provides Level 3 purchasing card and GSA payment processing; API integrations to ecommerce and ERP platforms; and tokenization data security solutions. Vantage supports B2B and B2G clients with guidance on payment acceptance policies, strategies and best practices to lower cost, increase productivity and enhanced security. For more information, visit http://www.VantageB2B.com or call Ty Hardison at 800-397-2380 x14.

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Update 3/3/2011: MasterCard is creating new small ticket Interchange charge types as discussed below but NOT introducing new rates. MasterCard is implementing these new buckets for small ticket likely so they can track the volume separately from other regulated debit transactions. We expect that companies like USA Tech will continue to opt out of accepting MasterCard debit until they lower the small ticket debit Interchange rate.

Vantage Card Services specializes in providing card payment processing services at direct and transparent Interchange pricing to merchants and businesses of all sizes.

For our B2B and B2G clients, VantageB2B.com is a resource focused on the payment acceptance policies, strategies and best practices to lower cost, increase productivity and enhance security. An integral part of our service is helping our clients manage Interchange qualifications when accepting commercial card payments. Given this B2B processing focus, we are particularly engaged with the recently announced Interchange modifications by Visa to become effective April 2012. We work with clients daily to establish and manage Level 3 merchant services. A significant number of Interchange modifications have been announced impacting Visa commercial card rates.

• Visa will make changes to their existing Corporate Card Level 3 and Corporate Electronic with Data Interchange programs.
• Visa will implement a new P-card product and associated Interchange Fee programs that will be available to commercial card issuers in the U.S.
• Visa is making changes to existing Interchange rates in their business, corporate, commercial and purchasing card categories as well with the most significant change coming for the Purchasing Card Large Ticket category that today requires a Visa registration fee.
• Visa will separate its non-regulated Business debit card from Business credit programs.

Another interesting and potentially significant change was announced from MasterCard. MasterCard will introduce new Regulated debit small ticket debit and credit Interchange programs in April 2012. While we don’t yet know the specific details, for companies like USA Technologies this is a welcome development.

Vantage is home to world-class payment solutions and features the best value package of price, terms, service, solutions and incentives available in the payments industry. For more information, follow Interchange developments as they happen here.

As we head into the start of a new year, now is a good time to review your card processing procedures. Many of the highest Interchange rates result from transactions that downgrade for preventable reasons. Please take a moment to review your card acceptance procedures and follow best practices as they are important in qualifying your transactions at the very lowest Interchange rates available.

Here are the most common issues:

• If you are accepting key entered transactions, the most common cause of downgrades is due to missing AVS (address verification service) which looks to match the cardholder’s zip code at the time of authorization. Best practice: always enter the zip code. Check with your staff and your system to make sure you are entering and passing the zip code with each non-swiped card transaction.
• Other reasons for transactions to downgrade to higher Interchange rates include a mismatch of Authorization and Settlement dollar amounts (except in certain industries where tips are allowed) and forced/offline transactions in which a previously obtained authorization code is key-entered to settle a transaction. Transactions also fail to qualify for the best Interchange rates when transactions are not settled in a timely manner (typically 1-3 days depending on your industry). Best practice: settle your batch every day and avoid obtaining pre-authorizations.
• Non travel and entertainment merchants accepting commercial cards (Business, Corporate, Purchasing cards) should upgrade to a Level 3 payment gateway or virtual terminal. Level 3 refers to passing line item detail of the invoice with the standard payment data. Best practice: don’t use a retail terminal to process commercial cards. Vantage specializes in B2B transaction processing. Please contact us with any questions and visit http://vantageb2b.com for more information.

For personal assistance, give us a call at 800-397-2380 for a free consultation.

In the news this week were several stories about small business lending. In “Bank loans to small business fall to 12-year low” an analysis of FDIC data showed that the number of small loans to business of $1 million or less have been shrinking consistently.

Small businesses rely almost exclusively on credit provided from banks. One reason small business lending is down was covered in another article, “Why Aren't Small Businesses Getting Loans From Big Banks?” which points to the big banks' new stringent credit policies. Bankers seem to be denying that lending standards are an issue, but small businesses report that borrowing has changed dramatically and has become an extreme process. The evidence seems to support the fact that there has been a fundamental change in how big banks view risk and that small businesses are perceived as risky customers to big banks.

Another big bank claim is that while they have enough money to lend, there aren't enough borrowers. Yet one community bank example said that their small-business loan applications doubled this year. In a third article, “Small business loan demand shows new economic gain”, analysis also showed that borrowing demand is up for new investment by small businesses. The bottom line was that small businesses are not the client of choice for big banks. Experts say that small businesses should go to small banks to get their lending needs met. Even then successful small businesses are finding it hard to get credit.

If you conduct business-to-business trade and are looking for a new source of support for growing your business or if you’ve not sought credit because of the challenging banking climate, you might want to consider an alternative to the slow and ultra-conservative bank funding approach, and the inflexibility and expensive traditional factoring companies.

VantageB2B can help your small and medium-sized businesses obtain the funding you need. We offer a proven, innovative solution--combining business lines of credit with account receivables management. With hundreds of millions in business loans on the books and receivables processed, plus a team of funding experts in place, we can provide individual attention, quick decisions and affordable small business funding.

In addition, VantageB2B payments solution, available nationwide in the United States, delivers payment processing, automated invoicing, recurring billing, customer management and reporting, in one integrated payment suite for small-to-medium business owners. Vantage understands the need for business owners to invoice and accept payments in a timely, efficient manner to optimize their cash flow and keep their businesses healthy.

For more information, please visit http://vantageb2b.com.

The B2B buying experience is being transformed by ecommerce technology to resemble that of a consumer online shopping experience. B2B sellers have traditionally used their web presence as a brochure site and to generate leads, taking advantage of buyers who have increasingly turned to the internet for all of their product research. However, as vendors have bulked up ecommerce platforms to handle the more complex B2B product, contract management and pricing rules, B2B ecommerce is pushing the final purchase online as well.

B2B ecommerce is being adopted as a new sales channel, augmenting traditional direct and channel sales strategies, delivering on the “do more with less” mantra of today’s business environment. And a new-generation of buyers, with expectations crafted from their consumer ecommerce experiences, are demanding the speed of an ecommerce channel to keep pace with their own on-demand needs.

Better B2B ecommerce technology is helping organizations leverage their existing web presence, turning it into a buyer-facing extension of the company’s CRM or ERP and delivering more intuitive online selling tools. And while today’s B2B ecommerce platforms include full-featured shopping carts with one-click checkout, unfortunately many of these platforms still rely on consumer-oriented payment gateways to process card payments.

The type of cards being used at checkout in business-to-business environments are more likely to be commercial card products like a corporate card, a business card, a purchasing card or GSA (government) purchasing card (or p-card). To properly accept these commercial card payments requires a Level 3 merchant account and a Level 3 payment gateway that can qualify these card transactions for the best Interchange rates available.

Interchange rates have made headlines of late with the passage and implementation of financial overall rules requiring the Fed to govern debit Interchange. Interchange is the single largest component of merchant discount rate pricing and is collected and paid to the card issuing bank. Level 3 processing refers to passing the line item detail from the invoice when submitting the sale transaction for settlement. Level 3 Data is additional information about a transaction which is commonly found on an invoice, such as product/service descriptions, quantities and other details. Visa and MasterCard apply higher Interchange rates for commercial card transactions if Level 3 Data is not included with the transaction. For example, a Level 3 qualified transaction can save up to $11.10 in Interchange fees per $1,000 in sales (or more on Large Ticket transactions). Get an instant Level 3 merchant rate quote now.

In addition to including functionality to accept commercial card payments that meet Level 3 data requirements, B2B ecommerce platforms should provide a secure, PCI certified, Level 3 payment processing technology. Our secure checkout API is a data tokenization solution that provides real-time payment processing without the merchant or the ecommerce platform collecting, transmitting, storing or even touching cardholder data for one-time, recurring and repeat buyers with cards on file for one click checkout.

One company specializing in helping GSA vendors integrate Level 3 processing into their B2B ecommerce solution is PriceReporter.com. Price Reporter empowers ecommerce sites for GSA vendors, including managing multiple pricing models for different user groups and creating special rules such as “don’t charge shipping fees and tax for government users”. Price Reporter synchronizes a client’s web catalog with the GSA Advantage price list, provides the ability to integrate with price-comparison and shopping sites (like Google Shopping, Amazon, Price Grabber, etc), and provides seamless integration with any accounting and/or order processing system.

Social networking is also finding its way to B2B, with customers rating products, submitting reviews, and even posting comments. And B2B sellers should keep an eye on emerging consumer ecommerce trends as social networks become marketplaces for consumers with features to allow buyers to connect and shop collaboratively in real-time. B2B sellers should also follow consumer trends in the use of QR codes and mobile commerce. As history has shown, they too will likely be adapted for B2B channels. But remember, regardless of how you sell, pay close attention to the method of payment and when accepting commercial cards, don’t overlook the savings associated with properly qualifying your transactions at the lowest possible Interchange category.

PayStream Advisors survey shows Increasing Adoption of Automated Workflows in Invoice Processing

Automating the invoice approval process is the next logical next step for companies that are already reaping the benefits of front-end electronic invoice systems. Organizations that have experienced successes through employing digital imaging are seeing visible improvements and are actively moving towards further AP automation.

Research conducted by PayStream Advisors confirms these trends and notes that automation to date has been operations driven, with quicker approval of invoices being the main cited benefit. Companies in the survey also experienced lower processing costs and increased productivity.

Automated workflow solutions in the accounts payable (AP) arena are maturing as the share of companies employing or deploying systems rapidly approaches 50 percent. Over and above operational improvements companies are enjoying broader benefits which include:

• improved visibility over liabilities
• better regulatory compliance and
• reduction in interest and late payment penalties.

Workflow Adoption

When three quarters of AP professionals surveyed say they’ve implemented an approval workflow solution or are at least considering it, it is an idea whose time has come, especially when you consider that the naysayers – those who didn’t have any plans to implement a workflow solution have dwindled from 36 percent, to 27 percent in just a year.

Glowing reports from early adopters, who report across-the-board workflow improvements, particularly quicker invoice approvals, increased employee productivity, and lower processing costs are one reason for the rapid decline in skeptics.

Benefits of Automated Workflow

Selling the idea of invoice automation to finance executives and convincing them of the return on investment in approval workflow solutions should take heart from PayStream’s 2011 invoice automation research results. Not only did 75 percent of all adopters report quicker invoice approval, but many were able to increase employee productivity and lower processing costs. In addition, 30 percent reported improved visibility of liabilities, 18 percent reported a reduction in late payments and penalties, and 15 percent reported better regulatory compliance. That should turn heads in the C-Suite.

The PayStream Advisors survey did not ignore the challenges associated with implementing automated workflow systems to support the paperless process. Barriers to success that have to be overcome included :

Internal Business Practices. Invoice automation heralds a tremendous change in the way buyers and suppliers conduct business. There will always be some resistance to change and it may be necessary to manage perceptions that current paper-based processes are working well, if not efficiently.

Technical Challenges. Most applications on the market today integrate easily with systems on both the buyer and supplier sides, resulting in secure and seamless data transfer and more efficient workflows but careful planning is advised.

Supplier Resistance. If getting internal buy-in is difficult, getting your suppliers to submit invoices electronically may need personal handholding to enable them to understand the benefits to them, like the attraction of being paid on time.

Impact of Company Size

Large companies, with their greater resources, not surprisingly lead the way. Mid-sized companies have automated apace with their larger peers, except when it comes to back-end imaging. Small companies, where AP personnel tend to wear a variety of hats, are showing a disproportionate fondness for and were quick to embrace automated workflow solutions.

Vantage has partnered with Bill.com to help small and mid-sized businesses efficiently manage their day-to-day bill payment and invoicing processes. Bill.com customers are saving 50-75% of the time and cost of managing their financials by going paperless.

• AP & AR in a single service platform
• Synced to your Accounting system
• Electronic document management
• Try Bill.com Risk Free for 30 Days

Classification by Company Size

PayStream Advisors’ research classified companies based on annual revenues to identify whether size had any effect on the functioning of the AP department as well as the organization’s adoption of technology. Organizations that had less than $500 million in revenues were classified as Small, those with revenues between $500 million and $2.5 billion were Medium and finally companies with revenues over $2.5 billion were categorized as Large.

Almost two thirds of survey participants (63 percent) were from Small companies, Medium companies comprised of 23 percent of the population, with Large companies forming the remaining 14 percent.

Invoice Processing Costs

Although it is hard to accurately calculate the average cost of processing an invoice the benchmark is around $15 per invoice for manual processing. Only about half of the companies in our survey were able to accurately answer this question. Of those that did, it was not surprising to find a considerable economy of scale between big and small companies. More surprising was the fact that big and medium-sized companies were statistically identical, this may be because they are at similar points in the invoice automation process. Small companies, which admittedly have the most room for improvement, showed the biggest year-over-year drop in average invoice processing cost, although averages dropped across the board.

Findings from PayStream Advisors most recent research on invoice automation and workflow. Download the full eReport. For more information on eInvoicing, download PayStream’s recently updated complimentary eResearch on the subject from our website HERE.

Vantage has launched a new web site at http://vantageb2b.com focused on addressing the specific payment needs of small and mid-sized (SMB) business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) enterprises. VantageB2B.com offers payment acceptance policies, strategies and best practices to lower cost, increase productivity and enhance security.

Today’s most successful SMB are using a mix of technology and best practices to effectively manage their accounts receivables to increase cash flow and working capital. Managing credit risks, using lockbox services to automate paper-based processes and following AR best practice invoice tracking and follow up are being viewed as smart strategic decisions, giving SMB a competitive advantage once reserved only for big business.

Likewise, companies are finding that not every buyer or every invoice is best suited for trade credit. Commercial credit cards are being used to replace inefficient and expensive paper purchase order processes by businesses, corporations and government agencies. Accepting Corporate, Business, Purchasing and GSA Purchasing cards are an important component of a company’s payment policies. Establishing a merchant account to accept commercial card payments is different that setting up a retail-style business to consumer (B2C) merchant account. This has resulted in SMB paying expensive non-qualified surcharges. VantageB2B.com helps SMB understand card payment best practices including the cost saving of moving to a Level 3 merchant services provider.

Marrying card payment and AR trade credit best practices, Vantage delivers a single source, comprehensive approach to B2B payments. To help meet client demand, we have openings for Commercial Payment Analyst with B2B consulting experience. We will be holding weekly training seminars every Tuesday at 2 pm EST. Please visit http://vantageb2b.com/now-hiring for more on this career opportunity.

Accepting Commercial Cards

Commercial credit cards are being used to replace inefficient and expensive paper purchase order processes by businesses, corporations and government agencies with payments estimated to reach $185 Billion by 2010. Accepting commercial credit cards like Corporate, Business, Purchasing and GSA cards are an important component of a company’s payment policies.  Optimize your commercial card acceptance with a Level 3 merchant account. 

Keys to a Level 3 Merchant Account

• Insist on an Interchange pricing structure
  Interchange is the largest cost component of delivering merchant services and for merchants accepting commercial cards, eliminating non-qualified surcharges are especially important. Direct Interchange pass through pricing is the most transparent method and positions you to qualify for all the incentives rates available such as Purchasing Large Ticket, GSA Purchasing and Visa B2B incentive rates for select industry categories.
• Use Level 3 Payment Technology
  To submit the data needed to get the best rates, Level 3 payment processing technology must be used. Standard credit card terminals and B2Consumer payment software are not capable of supporting Level 3.  We recommend the benefits of Software as a Service that can be accessed through a secure web application.  With evolving Level 3 requirements, virtual software is always the most updated version and multiple users can access the service on any computer with Internet access without the challenges of traditional software licensing, installation, networking, security and upgrade management issues.
• Secure Card Data
  Securely storing card holder data is critically important today. The best practice is to avoid having card data stored on local PCs or servers. For greater efficiency and customer service, companies often store card data on repeat customers. Securely storing card data offsite using a secure, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI) compliant Level 3 technology can greatly reduce the risk of a data compromise.
• Select an experienced Level 3 merchant services partner
  Providing Level 3 processing solutions means managing Interchange rates and qualification criteria for commercial MasterCard and Visa card payments. The reality is that most businesses accepting commercial cards from their buyers are NOT qualifying for the BEST available rates because their merchant account is not set up or registered properly.

Find out more at http://vantageB2B.com.

Vantage will be conducting an in-depth training seminar for its Payment Analysts in San Jose, CA on August 28th. The focus of this seminar will be to provide insight into business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) industries and payment methods including Level 3 merchant services and trade credit outsourcing. Targeted B2B payment solutions represent a relatively untapped market and presents opportunities for merchant level sales professionals to take the next step in their payment industry career by focusing on B2B transactions as a business payment consultant.

Level 3 Merchant Services topics will include:

• The commercial card market for business, corporate, purchasing and GSA p-cards
• What is a Level 3 Merchant Account and what are the requirements
• An in-depth look at MasterCard and Visa Commercial Card Interchange compliance
• Level 3 / Data Rate 3 Interchange requirements & Understanding the Next Best Rates
• Level 3 payment technology and successful implementations

The Trade Credit Outsourcing presentation will include:

• The benefits for commercial clients and community banks
• Managing accounts receivable (A/R) best practices
• Improving cash flow and financing options

Vantage provides comprehensive business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) payment solutions including Level 3 payment solutions and a trade credit payment platform.  Our payment analysts work with entrepreneurs and businesses to implement Level 3 purchasing card solutions and accounts receivable best practices to improve working capital.

As reported in a recent U.S. Banker article titled P-Cards Have Promise, approximately 16 percent of B2B suppliers accept commercial cards for U.S. B2B payments citing Interchange fees as a factor limiting p-card growth.  

We have found through our extensive work in the B2B payments space that many businesses who are accepting commercial card payments are not qualifying for the lowest Interchange rates available.  For those businesses who don't accept commercial cards, a misunderstanding of costs is often the reason. Two of the most common problems business face is not having the proper merchant account pricing structure and using the wrong payment processing technology. 

For many small businesses, they started accepting commercial cards because a large customer requested to use their card for payment.  Rushing to fill this payment acceptance need, businesses implemented stand alone terminals or B2C payment software, sold to them by merchant account and bank reps with no training in B2B services.  Working with reps primarily selling retail merchants in strip malls or small ecommerce accounts, businesses end up with payment technology geared for consumer transactions.  These businesses also found that the "rate as low as" pricing model, having been quoted lower consumer card rates, translated to very high "non-qualified" surcharges. With all of their commercial cards downgrading to the highest rates and a price structure incapable of qualifying for incentive Interchange rates on large ticket purchases, businesses found the costs of accepting p-cards to be very expensive. 

Understanding how to qualify for reduced Interchanged levels available from both MasterCard and Visa when accepting commercial cards can dramatically lower processing expenses.  Businesses must partner with knowledgeable merchant service providers who can help them manage Interchange qualifications to obtain Interchange categories like Level 3 p-card, GSA Purchase Large Ticket, Purchase Card Emerging Market Large Ticket, Level 2, Commercial B2B and Commercial Data Rate III.

Additional resources:

• For more information read this Google Knol on Level 3 Merchant Accounts for Business. 
• For an instant Level 3 merchant rate quote, visit http://merchantrates.com and select Business to Business in the industry drop down. 
• To compare your costs of accepting cards with other B2B sellers, use the http://myRealRate service and select the B2B industry tab.