Great Job Team Lufthansa & Merchant Hub at the 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup

2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup, Lufthansa Team
Thomas Kato-Merchant Hub CEO & Team Patron, Jamie Morrison-Top UK Player, & Luis Escobar-Top US Polo Player pose with Lufthansa Directors

Merchant Hub Spotlights Polo Player Luis Escobar

Luis Escobar enjoys living and playing polo in Wellington and wants to share his passion with the world.

Escobar and Kazi enjoying the win at the 2011 Miami Beach World Polo Cup

Escobar first came to Wellington with his parents in 1978 when he was 7 and was hooked. He finished high school in Costa Rica, then moved to Wellington in 1989 and attended Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, graduating with a marketing degree. Escobar played polo when he could, basing his operation out of Santa Clara Polo Club, which his father purchased in 1984. “My father named it after my mom’s third name, Clara,” said Escobar. “Santa stands for Saint. He realized she had to be a Saint if she was married to him, hence the name Santa Clara.”

As a 7 goal player, Escobar just finished the season playing for Coca-Cola in the US Open and this week will play for the 4th year in a row at the 2012 Maserati Miami Beach World Polo Cup for the Lufthansa Private Jet team alongside National Team Captain for the UK team, Jamie Morrison and Merchant Hub CEO and team patron, Thomas Kato.

The Miami Beach World Polo Cup takes place on the sands of South Beach April 26th-29th.  Escobar had this to say about the tournament, “I think it’s fantastic.  I think it’s one of the best events for polo.  The people who come here really get into it.  The horses love it, the players are good.  The quality of players they are bringing is getting better and better every year.  So it’s getting very, very competitive, it’s going to get harder and harder every year”.

Luis Escobar

“Luis has an incredible reputation in the world of polo and has won countless tournaments over the last 30 years, I’m honored to play in my first professional polo match alongside him”, said teammate and team patron, Thomas Kato.

Lufthansa is sponsoring both men’s and women’s matches at the 2012 Miami Beach World Polo Cup after winning the 2011 Chicago Beach Polo.

Merchant Hub Announces Team Sponsorship for 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup

Merchant Hub returns as a supporting team sponsor for the 8^th annual 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup, the world’s largest and most prestigious Beach Polo competition, taking place from April 26^th to April 29^th between 20^th and 22^nd streets on the sands of South Beach, Florida.  Merchant Hub CEO, Thomas Kato – Patron of the team, has acquired 2 of the top professional players and polo favorites, Jamie Morrison and Luis Escobar.

"The Sport of Kings"

“This year’s Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup is expected to be our most distinguished tournament to-date,” said Bruce Orosz, President and Co-Founder of The Polo Life, LLC.  “Merchant Hub is thrilled to be apart of such an esteemed event that attracts the top polo players from all over the world,” said Thomas Kato, CEO of Merchant Hub & Merchant Hub Polo Team Patron.  Kato will also be making his debut into the polo world as a player in his first professional polo match.

General admission to competitions and adjacent Retail Village is free, and concessions will be available to purchase. A limited number of VIP tickets are available for purchase. VIP tickets allow entrance to the shaded Grand stand, where free food and drinks are served.  A percentage of all ticket sales will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami, the tournament’s official charity partner.

For more information on the tournament and the events or to purchase VIP tickets, visit http://www.miamipolo.com or call 305-538-3809.

About Merchant Hub

Merchant Hub, a multinational credit and debit card processing company, provides service to the world’s largest financial services providers, to the merchant around the corner, and to businesses and governments of all sizes in between. Our services ensure that your money moves accurately and securely anytime, anywhere.  Merchant Hub has established offices throughout the USA, Latin America, the United Kingdom and Europe.

For more information, please visit www.MerchantHub.com.

Credit Card Processing – Quick Tips for the Holiday Season

Many businesses start to see a spike in their sales during the Holiday season so we thought it would be instructive to provide 7 Quick, Useful Credit Card Processing Tips:

1. It’s always important to exercise caution when accepting credit cards, but use even more due diligence when you receive an order that is well above your average ticket or especially above your highest ticket.  If an order seems almost too good to be true, it may be a worthwhile expenditure of time to reach out to the customer before delivering the item.  Some merchants even request the customer to offer proof of address and/or a driver’s license, for example, when facilitating a high volume purchase.  Obviously, you need to be respectful of your customer’s time and privacy but you always have to be on alert for potential fraud as well.
2. Online merchants should strongly consider using AVS and CVV fraud preventative options — particularly during the Holiday shopping season when incidents of fraud tend to escalate.  Some businesses will only ship out merchandise to the card holder’s address, confirmed with an AVS match.  The customer should also be able to provide the exact CVV2 code found on the back of a credit card, proving that he/she has the card in hand.  Once you decide to ship out product, you should receive signature on delivery.
3. Review your specified processing amounts (monthly volume, average ticket, and highest ticket) which you may have indicated on your merchant account application (assuming the processor has agreed to cover such limits).  In order to minimize any problems with your processor’s risk department, touch base with them as soon as possible if you exceed the aforementioned limits.  You don’t want your funds to be held, if at all possible — particularly at a hectic time when cash flow is crucial.
4. Retail merchants should strongly consider the use of a manual imprinter when keying in transactions.  In the event that a customer’s magnetic strip cannot be read, you want to have proof that the customer authorized the transaction.  If you don’t have an imprint of the customer’s card, and that customer decides to charge back the amount, you can very well lose the chargeback dispute.  (Manual imprinters are cheap and your processor should be able to provide a complimentary encryption plate.)
5. Spend time ensuring that your credit card processing equipment, if applicable, is functioning well.  You don’t want to experience any downtime and lose potential sales.  Too many retail merchants also forget to perform a quick inventory and assessment of their terminal paper, ink, and ribbons.  Remember, if you receive a retrieval request or chargeback notification, you have to provide a clear, legible copy of the sales draft.
6. Before batching at the end of the day (whether or not you use automatic batching), it’s vital to review your sales as you or your staff may have committed  administrative glitches along the way.  You don’t want to pay a discount percentage and transaction fee on an amount that was incorrectly inputted.  Moreover, you don’t want your customer to become disgruntled over an erroneous charge and even risk a chargeback.  If you find any errors, address them before batching: void the transactions and reprocess.
7. You have to avoid any data breach, at all costs, as you can be subject to fines and penalties, legal fees, reimbursement costs, etc.  Contact your provider to make certain that you’re PCI compliant or outsource all aspects of payment card processing to PCI compliant vendors.  You have to consistently ensure that you’re compliant and this necessity is underscored during the Holidays when fraudsters target small merchants with even greater gusto.

By following the aforementioned tips, your Holiday business season will be a safer, more profitable, and happier one.

Welcome to the Official Merchant Hub Blog!

We hope to provide interesting and relevant articles on our blog to help keep you up to date on the latest news and trends in business, finance, payment solutions, banking, and much more.

Merchant Hub is a company like no other.  You probably do business with Merchant Hub every day without even realizing it. In fact, each time you use your debit or credit card, visit an ATM, buy a gift card or write a check, there’s a good chance we’re behind the scenes, making it possible.

We provide payment processing services to the world’s largest financial services providers, to the merchant around the corner, and to businesses and governments of all sizes in between. We will continue to leverage our global reach and scope of services to deliver real client value through a strong belief in and a solid commitment to our vision and our mission.

Merchant Hub teams up with or has relationships with National Merchants, Financial Institutions, Agents and Independent Sales Organizations to support the sales of product solutions and provide new opportunities to increase your bottom line. Whether it’s purchasing products, sharing revenues or selling our solutions, we offer you the ability to grow and expand your business through a strategic alliance with us. Now you can expand your payment processing capabilities with our guidance, innovation and experience, and profit from a long-term relationship with Merchant Hub.

We make it fast, secure and reliable for individuals and business arround the world to buy goods and services using virtually any form of payment.