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Letter from the editors

e have been closely watching the California
senate, whose members are in the process
of advancing SB 1351, a bill that, among
W other things, would require retailers and
bankcard issuers to adopt Europay/MasterCard/Visa
(EMV) chip card technology by April 1, 2016. As of press
time, the full senate had not yet voted on the bill.

The Electronic Transactions Association is urging
payment professionals to contact their respective
legislators to help educate them about the negative
impact such a bill could have. Should this bill pass in
California, and should other states follow suit, the
payments community could be restricted by law to a
one-size-fits all solution – with a patchwork of associated
regulations – that could ultimately limit our ability to
effectively secure transaction data. We posted a story
about this on our website and will follow up as new
developments occur.

The lead article in this issue is the second of a two-part
series devoted to merchant acquiring outside of the
United States. It explores rewards and challenges of doing
business in the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and
China. Several payment veterans who have experience
doing business in these nations shared their insights
about what works when approaching these markets.

In keeping with our educational mission, our
contributing writers have provided insights and advice
on the distinctions between independent contractors
and employees and how steep the penalties can be if
you incorrectly qualify a worker's status, what drives
marathon runners to succeed and how merchant level
salespeople can emulate them, the causes of price wars
that lead to rate marginalization and how to combat the
phenomenon, and questions about the EMV rollout's
timing and ultimate effectiveness.

Also included are the second portion of interviews
conducted with payment executives at Transact 14;
news stories on the Vantiv Inc.'s acquisition of Mercury
Payment Systems LLC, Trustwave's latest global security
report, and gamification's potential use by ISO sales
teams. Within these pages you'll also find updates
on payment company achievements, partnerships,
acquisitions, appointments and industry research;
new product stories; company profiles; spotlights
on upcoming events; and inspiring thoughts on the
importance of creativity in business.

We hope you'll find valuable information you can apply
to your business in this issue. Please send your questions,
comments and ideas to greensheet@greensheet.com or
800-757-4441. And send your press releases to press@
greensheet.com. We look forward to your feedback.

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