Resources for Resellers in the Payment Channel

I just did a quick internet search for “resources for payment resellers.” Little surprise, you get pages of results of payment companies’ search-engine-optimized pages aimed at potential partners. Make no mistake, payment processors and payment gateway companies are excellent resources for their partners. But information from resources other than your payment vendor partner can give you a different perspective on the industry and fuel your ability to add greater value to the solutions you provide.

To maintain a broad perspective, bookmark these resources that offer a range of valuable insights for the payment channel:

The Federal Reserve has coordinated the FRPS every three years since 2001, providing data on payment volumes and payment fraud. Data available from the study includes the number and value of noncash payments, the number and value of electronic payments, and the distribution of checks. In years between publication of the full FRPS, the Federal Reserve issues supplements with updated information, such as the fact that, in 2018, cash was no longer the most common payment method in the US.

For insights into e-commerce, find the latest US Census Bureau e-commerce sales report, which will show you the growth in e-commerce and how it compares to total retail sales. In Q2 2019, for example, e-commerce sales were $146.2 billion, accounting for 10.7 percent of total sales.

PCI SSC, a global organization dedicated to payment account security, maintains the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which merchants need to comply with to accept payment cards. The PCI SSC website contains a wealth of resources, including lists of approved devices and point-to-point encryption (P2PE) solutions and 3-D Secure software development kits.

The website also includes details of PCI SSC’s Qualified Integrators & Resellers (QIR) program, which provides payment resellers with specialized security training and lists QIRs on the PCI SSC website.

EMVCo is the official source for EMV specifications, including those for contactless payment, mobile, tokenization, QR codes, secure remote commerce and 3-D Secure. EMVCo’s resource library also provides lists of approved products, service providers and registered IDs. EMVCo also provides statistics on EMV deployment and transaction volume — in fact, 59.23 percent of card-present transactions from July 2018 to June 2019 were EMV chip card transactions.

If you’re a reseller in the point of sale (POS) industry, the RSPA is ready to provide you with information on POS and payment trends, peer-to-peer interaction, networking opportunities, education and information on operating a successful business, and cost-savings member benefits. Members can also take advantage of RSPA Academy, which allows you and your staff to learn more about sales management and training, security, talent development, customer service and business operations.

Nacha is an organization comprised of stakeholders to develop standards for compatibility and integration of payments including ACH, EBT, and healthcare electronic funds transfer (EFT). Nacha News includes articles on new programs, vertical-specific information and payment security.

Credit card companies share volumes of data on their operations and roadmaps, research and consumer adoption of emerging payment technologies. Find press releases, blogs, and fact sheets on card brand websites:

o Visa

o Mastercard

o Discover

o American Express

Enterprises and organizations in the payments ecosystem research trends, emerging technologies, and consumer behaviors and publish their insights. For example, McKinsey & Company has built a resource of payments articles and reports, and PEW released results of a study on consumer adoption of mobile payments.

VARs and MSPs new to payments usually have a lot to learn — but once you’re familiar with the industry and providing payments solutions to your clients, remember that there’s still plenty to learn. The payments space, consumer behaviors, and the security landscape continually change. Use these resources and other information freely available to you to stay informed, offer the best advice to your clients and provide optimal payment solutions to meet their needs.