R E V E R B E R A T I O N S R E V E R B E R AT I O N S
December 2007
Vol. XII No. 12
AdvanceMe Provides Working Capital for ECHO Merchants
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Seneca, Roman Philosopher
To help meet the working capital needs of our merchants, ECHO is now partnering with AdvanceMe, Inc, the
national leader in Merchant Cash Advances, providing over $800 million to more than 15,000 businesses in all 50 states
since 1998.
Credit Card Volume Counts!
AdvanceMe may be able to fund your business even if you have been turned down for a traditional loan. Your ability
to generate credit card sales, a factor most banks don't consider, is given considerable weight. And AdvanceMe's
collection methodology is a revolutionary, business-friendly alternative to conventional bank loans that allows ECHO
to automatically send your payment for you. So there are no checks to write, no possible late fees. Plus, the amount
collected is a fixed percentage of your credit card sales. AdvanceMe gets paid as you get paid ­ without any personal
collateral required. The application process is easy, and existing ECHO merchants usually receive funding within two
to five days via automatic credit to their business checking accounts.
When opportunity knocks, AdvanceMe can help you open the door. Contact us today at 1-800-262-3246, ext. 5, to
apply for up to $150,000 per location in working capital for your business.
ECHO Assisting Online Merchants with Traffic Building
Receive a Valuable Link from ECHO
In an effort to promote our online merchants, ECHO is creating an online resource page, which will include a link
to your website, allowing our Internet traffic to click through. If your business has a website, and you would like to
participate, please visit www.echo-inc.com/link.html for easy instructions. In return, we would like you to link to us.
It's a low-impact way to provide your endorsement of our services.
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www.echo-inc.com
1-805-419-8700
Camarillo, California 93010
730 Paseo Camarillo
Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
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When we Say Payment Card Industry (PCI),
We Mean (Your) Business!
By now, you probably know that "PCI" is no longer just a buzz word
peculiar to the payment card industry. The news media have caught on
and use it when they refer to data breaches - every merchant's worst
nightmare. The well known loss of customer data by the TJX Companies,
Inc., discount retailer of apparel and home fashions, including TJMaxx,
Marshalls, Winners, HomeGoods, TKMaxx, AJWright, and HomeSense, has
driven home to consumers and merchants the critical need to safeguard data. PCI's
Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) offer standards for ensuring security for your customer's
data and they protect your business. (You wouldn't want to be in TJX's publicity and liability nightmare
now, would you )
PCI DSS was originally created by the card associations as a means to thwart data theft and misuse. Each association
had its own rules, which made compliance nearly impossible. That's when the payment card industry got it together
and established the single standard now known as PCI DSS.
How You Fit In
All merchants and service providers that store, process, or transmit cardholder data are required to comply with PCI
DSS. Compliance is not optional. Even the smallest businesses are required to complete an annual self-assessment
form, implementing the 12 basic PCI requirements that will be the subject of the next 12 issues of Reverberations.
Your Merchant Agreement has a clause stating that you must be PCI compliant to process credit cards. Those
who don't comply can be assessed large fines by the card associations - as high as $500,000 per incident, plus bank
expenses. But rather than focus on the "stick" of compliance, remember the "carrot" too: With the increase in identity
theft and security breaches, these standards give you a workable means to ensure the protection of your customer's
personal information and retain their trust.
In case you have not already found this on our site, ECHO has set up a PCI page on its corporate website. Please
visit www.echo-inc.com/PCI/ for further information and links to useful industry resources. For further information
on PCI, we invite you to call our corporate security department at 1-800-262-3246, ext. 7.
An Important Year for PCI
PCI has definitely been in the news, both in the general press and in Reverberations. Here are the articles
published this year. You can find them on our web site at www.echo-inc.com/reverberations_2007.html
· PCI Getting Implemented ASAP ­ February 2007
· PCI Audits ­ March 2007
· What is the PCI Self-Assessment Questionnaire and How Do I Use it
- May 2007
· PCI Myths Busted ­ July 2007
· Consumer Trust Looms Large on the Future of eCommerce ­ August 2007
· Where Can I Learn About PCI ­ November 2007
· Next month: Requirement 1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data.
ECHO merchants process on the Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO) network. ECHO is a publicly owned company trading on NASDAQ under
the symbol "ECHO". ECHO provides thousands of merchants with reliable processing of bank cards and checks. Merchants are sponsored by FIRST
REGIONAL BANK, Agoura Hills, CA (800-777-0929). Member FDIC.