American Bancard:
Awarded Best of Class in Merchant Services

   After scouring the country for the best merchant services provider, it was discovered that no company offers the support, knowledge, pricing, flexibility, and opportunity that American Bancard, LLC offers its clients and sales agents. What stands out is that American Bancard is a company that actually prefers to do business with small to mid-sized merchants. In addition, American Bancard offers the same pricing to smaller merchants that are offered to major chains and those with massive buying power. That fact is worth repeating. A small business is able to receive the same credit card processing rates and equipment costs available to the major retail chain operations. In a nutshell, that's what makes American Bancard the best in its class - providing the best to the people who need it the most.

Who They Are and What They Do
    American Bancard, LLC, with main offices located in Boca Raton, FL, is a registered ISO/MSP of Visa and MasterCard and is a merchant services provider for HSBC Bank USA, National Association, Buffalo, NY. HSBC, "the world's local bank" is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world with an international network of 10,000 offices in 76 countries.
   Although American Bancard serves many large businesses, they choose to specialize in small businesses because they feel this market is dramatically underserved. The company's primary focus is to make available credit and debit/check card processing services and processing equipment at competitive rates and costs to smaller merchants across the nation. Other financial services provided include gift and loyalty programs; EBT cards; check guarantee and conversion programs; and cash advance programs.
   Additionally, American Bancard has positioned itself as the small to mid-sized merchant's first choice for merchant services programs and equipment, with specific focus on retailing, restaurant operations, service providers, hotel and lodging businesses, Internet e-commerce marketers, mail order and phone order businesses, and the many business-to-business merchants who supply and support American industry.

Why They Can Do What They Do
   American Bancard offers group pricing to smaller businesses, which is something that has typically never been the focus of the other massive merchant services providers. Home grown, American-based, and neighbor focused American Bancard feels that there are more small businesses in a community such as yours than Fortune 500 companies like Wal-Mart, and that you and your neighbors deserve the high quality products, unending customer service, and low pricing, as much as (or more than) those who automatically expect it because of who they are.
   Another reason why American Bancard is experiencing rapid growth is because they have eliminated the middleman and become a primary resource. The best example of the middleman in your merchant life is your local bank. That may surprise you because you may think your neighbor bank is the central base for all financial related activities. When it comes to credit card processing, that's what they would like you to believe, but the truth is your local bank is a middleman and typically refers their clients to merchant services providers like American Bancard to accommodate processing services and obtain processing equipment that they lease or re-sell to you. Why would you go to a middleman and pay more when you can go directly to the primary source and save money?
   It's one thing to provide the lowest rates and costs available, but it's another thing to sustain low rates and guarantee customers they'll always get the best rates and service, no matter what. When asked how his company is able to compete with larger banks, company president and CEO Sam Zietz stated, "Our standard policy is to offer the lowest processing rates and equipment costs available. We are able to do that through our buying power and our close affiliation with HSBC bank. It is also a reinforcement of our primary mission, which is to ensure long term relationships with our customers by consistently helping them increase their profitability."
   Critical to the success of any merchant services provider is how they manage new technology. The more efficient use of new technology includes better customer service to merchants, such as the use of software that eliminates or greatly shortens "on hold" time or the number of rings a customer hears before the call is answered. It also allows for a more efficient management of a 24/7 customer service operation that is based here in the USA. American Bancard has used technology to improve its efficiency and thereby keep jobs in the USA, as compared to its larger competitors who refuse to invest in technology and instead choose to reduce costs by outsourcing jobs to other countries, such as India. The company adheres to a simple philosophy: If American appears in the corporate name, then corporate jobs stay in America.

Why Their Agent Program is the Best
   Hands down, American Bancard has the best agent program in the business. Many of their sales agents have been with them since the very beginning. That's very impressive, especially for an industry that is known for its "here today, there tomorrow" independent salesperson mentality. At the core of this loyalty is the fact that American Bancard has worked hard at developing a network of local agents that not only provide local service but also are locally accessible.
   What makes American Bancard's agent program better is the choice the company has made to more actively support its remote agents. Other organizations typically send their independent agents out on the street with a product list and a processing rate. American Bancard visibly supports its sales agents by offering initial intensive product and industry training and follow-up training as necessary before the agents face their first potential client. Being prepared results in being successful, therefore American Bancard also provides its independent agents with product and industry promotional materials and information that will help them reach success sooner.
   American businesses being serviced by knowledgeable neighbors identifies how important American business values are to American Bancard. A company that supports its agents with a guarantee of lower processing rates and equipment costs - and supports this guarantee to clients - generates long term agent and client loyalty. Combine a young and aggressive management team with dedication to the success of agents and employees, and you have the ingredients for a long and prosperous future for hard working individuals.

In Summary - Why American Bancard is a Top Ten Opportunity
American Bancard is a natural selection for the best merchant services provider. By reducing upfront costs to merchants and bringing processing costs in line with Fortune 500 merchants American Bancard has found the secret to success. And by offering great value to every merchant it serves, more merchants sign up, which further reduces costs and increases merchant profitability. The organization has progressive thinking management that knows the importance of focus. Paying critical attention to meeting the needs of the underserved market of smaller businesses and doing that with properly trained and service-oriented sales agents is a natural formula for success. Founder, president, and CEO Sam Zietz says, "There is a common goal at American Bancard that is well understood and reinforced by all employees. We go the extra mile for every client. Whether that means obtaining the right equipment for their applications, recommending value-added services to increase revenue, or simply providing the best service with excellent pricing. It's a simple concept that works."
   For American Bancard, it's a simple concept that has named them best in their class.

© Reprinted with permission from Opportunity World magazine, www.oppworld.com.

Truncation: Are You Prepared?
by
Steven Scop
Director of Marketing
AMERICAN BANCARD, LLC

In 2002, more than a million consumers called the Fraud Victim Assistance Department of a national consumer reporting agency and reported that their identities had been stolen. One of the easier ways for a thief to obtain access to a victim’s credit card number is through the printed credit card purchase receipt. This crime is dramatically reduced when merchants truncate (print only the last 4 or 5 numbers of the credit card) their receipts. Many states and the federal government have passed truncation laws.

In California, Civil Code Section 1747.9 states that effective January 1, 2004, “no . . . business shall print more than the last five digits of the credit card account number or the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder.”

In the Texas Legislature, Senate Bill 235 will require that all new POS terminals/ registers purchased after August 31, 2003 have the capability to truncate all but the last four digits and the expiration date.

At the federal level, Section 4 of the Identity Theft and Financial Privacy Protection Act of 2003, which was passed this last May, states, “. . . no person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or limited liability company that accepts credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of business shall print more than the last 4 digits of the credit card account number or the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder at the point of the sale or transaction . . . this section applies only to receipts that are electronically printed.”

Both VISA and MasterCard have notified retailers that they will require new equipment to truncate their credit card printed receipts. Effective July 1, 2003 for all new terminals VISA requires that all but the last four digits of the cardholder account number and the entire expiration date be suppressed on the cardholder copy of all transaction receipts generated from electronic terminals. Effective April 1, 2005 MasterCard will require that all cardholder receipts generated by newly installed, replaced, or relocated point of interaction (POI) terminals whether attended or unattended reflect only the last four digits of the account number and preceding digits must be pre-filled by “X”, “*”, or “#”.

In addition to the VISA/MasterCard mandates of July 1, 2003 and April 1, 2005, respectively, here are three facts that you need to know:

• Currently, eight states require all merchants in the field to be compliant by January 1, 2004.
• Conversion Plans need to be in place by June 20, 2003.
• Five additional states require all merchants in the field to be compliant prior to the MasterCard mandate of April 1, 2005.

Are you prepared? Start by visiting www.fdms.com for an update of your state’s current pending or passed legislation. Check deadline dates carefully. Next, if your current terminal prints only the last four digits of the cardholder number on the receipt and the expiration date is not displayed, you are prepared. If it doesn’t, you may currently be in violation of your state law and in violation of the VISA and MasterCard regulations, which then may subject you to penalties and fines.

The good news is that compliant terminals, such as the Omni 3200, can currently be obtained from AMERICAN BANCARD for less than $300. And AMERICAN BANCARD will even take your old, non-compliant equipment in on trade. For more information about the compliant terminal that best suits your needs, call Mike Kapel at 800-785-5954 or e-mail mkapel@americanbancard.com. Take care of business, today.

Your Terminal’s Just The Beginning
by
Steven Scop
Director of Marketing
AMERICAN BANCARD, LLC

Terminal means final, but there’s no end to what your credit card terminal can do. Yes, it’s the beginning of the purchase process, but it’s also the beginning of additional profit when you choose to make POS (point-of-sale) prepaid cards available to your customers. To implement a POS prepaid card program where - from start to finish - the process is handled electronically through your POS terminal, all you need to do is do it.

It costs nothing to offer a POS prepaid card program at your establishment. You need no new or updated point of sale equipment. Your current terminal will work, and the software download takes all of 3 minutes. The more products a POS terminal is able to sell, the higher its perceived value becomes to you and your customers, and thus the more important it becomes to the success of your business.

You need not pay for a new inventory of prepaid cards, either. In fact, phasing out your old pre-denominated prepaid cards that required you to pay for them upfront with the newer POS versions involves no new or added costs. It’s the way prepaid cards are supposed to be – your customer prepays, not you.

Plus, eliminate your old pre-denominated prepaid cards and replace with the new POS versions and you’ve just created more available display space. All you need to display is a sign informing your customers of their availability. POS prepaid cards have no cash value until sold, and each card is programmed for whatever amount your customer desires. No need to display cards; just keep them under the counter. The terminal will automatically do everything for you.

Who’s keeping track of all this? You are – electronically. When you access online reporting, you get up-to-the-minute sales reports for any or all stores. Plus, you receive an invoice for what you have sold after you have sold it. Not before, like the old pre-denominated cards.

Here’s a recap of the benefits a POS prepaid card program offers you:

• No credit risks
• No statement fees
• In-store activation and recharge capabilities for both phone and gift/loyalty cards
• Lower customer service costs
• Greatly reduced or eliminated risks of employee theft
• Card replenishment via the mail
• Daily payment settlements via direct ACH bank drafts
• Activation of pre-denominated cards
• Programmable promotional and bonus time that is automatically added to cards by the system rather than sales clerk.
• User-friendly systems that require little setup or training costs
• POS processing eliminates paying up front for inventory
• Cards have no value until swiped thus reducing their theft value
• Cards of different denominations unnecessary saving valuable counter space
• Activate cards for an amount ($3 or more) your customer wishes to obtain
• No payments made to card companies or reps
• All accounting and reporting is handled on-line
• Card inventory automatically replenished
• All is accomplished instantly through existing POS equipment

Research firm Killen & Associates estimates that stored value bank and phone card transactions will reach $43 billion by 2005. You might as well jump in and go with the flow, since it costs you nothing. Add POS prepaid cards to your lineup. Call 800-793-3250 and get your terminal started!