Posts Tagged ‘American Express Card’

Credit Card Identification Features

February 26th, 2011



The ability to clearly identify a credit card account in a card-not-present transaction, using the account information provided by the cardholder, and to verify its validity is crucial for eCommerce merchants. Credit and debit cards bear several identification features that make them unique and help merchants and cardholders prevent their fraudulent use. These features are used during the transaction authorization process as well. ECommerce merchants should implement the following best practices to ensure that transactions are processed in a safe and secure manner:

Request that customers provide both the account number and the card type and ensure that they match. Consider applying the following procedures:

Request that customers select their payment card’s type (Visa, American Express, MasterCard, Discover, etc.) before they enter the card’s account number. Verify the validity of the provided account information by comparing the selected card type and the first digit of the provided card number. The credit card companies use different account numbering systems. For example, only Visa card account numbers begin with a 4, only MasterCard account numbers begin with a 5, only Discover card account numbers begin with a 6, only American Express card account numbers begin with a 3, etc. Display an error message if there is a mismatch between the selected card type and the provided account number and request that the customer re-enters the data. Allow customers to enter card account numbers with or without hyphens, with or without spaces between digits, or clearly identify your preferred format. Request that customers provide their payment card’s expiration date. You can either provide a blank field to be filled in by the customer or a pull-down menu from which the customer to make a selection. If you choose the latter option, make sure that you do not provide a default month and year of the expiration date to prevent the customer from erroneously select it. The default date will most likely be different from the actual one and the transaction will be declined.

Orchard Credit Card – Take Advantage of the Benefits

September 2nd, 2010



It’s not surprising that Orchard credit cards from HSBC finance have become one of the fastest growing credit cards in the United States. With policies to make the consumer swoon, they have taken their rightful place among the country’s credit card elite. If you are a consumer thinking about adding a card to your credit repertoire, you could do a lot worse than HSBC finance and their line of Orchard credit cards. Here’s a few reasons why Orchard credit cards are leading the way into the new millennium.

Free Online Bill Pay

In today’s internet driven world, more and more companies and people are turning away from snail mail and paper checks as a way of doing business. That way of paying bills is outdated, outmoded, and frankly far too slow. It wastes money, time, stamps, and checks. The much preferred way is to pay your bills online, but not every company offers this option. Orchard credit cards do, and this is just another reason why they refuse to be left behind in the race for credit card supremacy.

Protection Against Theft And Loss

Orchard credit cards have a strict policy that protects their customers should they lose their credit card or have it stolen. Lost and stolen credit cards can cause a world of difficulty for the credit card owner. Fraudulent charges can appear, and without a solid policy in place, you may find yourself jumping through hoops so as not to be responsible for the charges. Thankfully, Orchard Bank understands that this is no way to run a business in the 21st century. For this reason, there is a zero liability policy in place, which should comfort the worried consumer thoughtful on matters of identity theft, card theft, and lost cards.

Mastercard Accepted Around The World

With an Orchard Bank Mastercard, you can be assured of rarely running into the problem of having your card declined because the business doesn’t accept the card. If you have an American Express card or a Discover card, you may have found this isn’t the case. Nearly every company that accepts credit cards to begin with, accepts Mastercard. This can assure you that whether you find yourself in Topeka, London, or Rome, you won’t be left out in the cold with only your billfold to pay for purchases.

Worldwide Cash Access

If you are in a place where Mastercard is accepted, you will also have access to cash advances through the Orchard credit card. This can come in very handy if you are faced with an activity or purchase that must be paid for in cash. Orchard credit card rates for cash advances are reasonable (though cash advances are never the best idea if you can avoid them), and it is for this reason among the others listed above that the Orchard credit card has taken the country by storm.