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Letter from

the editors

est practices are on the minds of today's
payment professionals, even when not spe-
cifically stated as such. Our lead article about
B the Target Corp. breach aftermath doesn't
use the phrase "best practices," but data security profes-
sionals have long endeavored to establish best practices
that will safeguard sensitive data.

One question the article explores is whether the industry
is focused on software security best practices at the
expense of more effective hardware solutions. What
would you do if you were charged with establishing
data security best practices today? We'd love to hear
from you regarding this very important subject.

Our contributing writers delve into best practices on
several fronts, as well: the implications and rationale
for MasterCard Worldwide's revised standards, which
require acquirers to more clearly disclose their fees and
fee changes; how merchant level salespeople apply best
practices during their daily selling rounds; essential
steps to take before recruiting and interviewing new
employees; and how to prepare for implementation of
the Marketplace Fairness Act, which passed the U.S.
Senate in 2013 and is expected to be approved by the
House of Representatives this year.

Two of our news articles pertain to government agency
actions and requests pertaining to our industry: the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau called on
financial institutions to publicly disclose the debit
and prepaid card program agreements they have
with colleges and universities; and the Federal Trade
Commission settled its action with TeleCheck and its
affiliate TRS Recovery Services, which were accused of
violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
In this issue, we also cover new developments in the
mobile payments sphere, including a solution that
combines near field communication and Bluetooth
technology; a new way to capture data from sales calls;
the National Retail Federation request that the U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., uphold
a ruling that the Federal Reserve set its cap on debit
card swipe fees far higher than intended by Congress in
passing the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act
of 2010; along with updates and triumphs aplenty from
payment companies we are proud to serve.

If you have questions, suggestions or concerns to voice,
please email us at greensheet@greensheet.com or phone us
at 800-757-4441. To post a press release, please email your
news to press@greensheet.com.

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