Page 37 - GS181202

Education

the merchant for having made a bad cardholders. ISOs should support merchants at these critical times with infor-
choice of gateway. mation and references to expert assistance – such as data breach audit services
and guidance from the acquirer.
Under the merchant agreement,
the merchant’s liability for security In publishing The Green Sheet, neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal,
breaches on its own system is usual-
ly unlimited. This topic gets interest- accounting or other professional services. If you require legal advice or other expert assistance,
ing when we read contracts between seek the services of a competent professional. For further information on this article, email Adam
merchants and gateways: we often Atlas, Attorney at Law, at atlas@adamatlas.com or call him at 514-842-0886.
find the gateway limiting its liability
to a few months of fees, which is a
relatively small amount compared to
the liability that the merchant carries Are you tired of the Churn and Burn techniques Processor’s use?
versus the acquirer.

In short, the merchant promises the
acquirer that it will keep cardholder
data secure, and the merchant more
or less has unlimited liability under
that promise. Then the merchant
turns to a gateway to store its data;
the gateway very often limits its
own liability to a few months worth
of fees, even if all of the data of the
merchant is compromised. This glar-
ing gap is likely to be the subject of
litigation because the parties that
hold the data (gateways) limit their
liability for breaches, while parties
that do not usually store data (mer-
chants) carry unlimited liability for
data breaches.

ISOs are caught in the middle, be- Tired of Feeing Like Another Number?
cause they are often reselling both Let’s be realistic. We’re tired of hearing impossible promises, because in
the processing services (that impose
high liability on merchants for data the end, they will just throw you into the fire.
breach) and gateway services (that We make careers!
limit their own liability while pro-
viding the necessary secure data The Merchant Store Promise:
storage). • 60 - 80% commission
• Transaction fees: 4 cents!
Act fast on breaches • $5.00 service fee
• Up-front bonus ( does not effect split )
If a breach does occur, waste no time. • True revenue sharing!
Identify the source of the breach • Wholesale equipment pricing!
promptly. Stop the harm. • Free Terminal and POS placement options!
• And, one-on-one support, when and how you need it!
Once the technical aspect of the
emergency is under control, or while Real partner solutions for Career minded agents!
it is being brought under control, the
merchant and other parties respon-
sible should consider who has to be To setup your custom agent program,
notified of the breach. TheMerchantStore Contact us at: 844.898.2884
Minding your business or Visit our website: MerchantCoOp.com
Merchants are often required to no-
tify their processor, and state law LIFETIME RESIDUALS :: UP-FRONT CASH :: WHOLESALE EQUIPMENT
may require notices of the breach to

37