Visa Suspends Heartland: A Little Revisionist History?

Visa struck back at Heartland on Thursday (March 12), suspending the data breach victim and removing it from Visa’s online list of PCI DSS compliant providers. Visa’s chief enterprise risk officer, Ellen Richey, told banks the news in an E-mail Thursday.

Richey described Heartland’s status as being “in a probationary period,” during which it can still accept payments, assuming it meets various new requirements. Heartland “is now in a probationary period, during which it is subject to a number of risk conditions including more stringent security assessments, monitoring and reporting. Subject to these conditions, Heartland will continue to serve as a processor in the Visa system.” more...

Ten New Great Ecommerce Ideas

Practical eCommerce recently asked 50 industry insiders to share a great, innovative idea that could help an ecommerce firm. Here’s what ten of them had to say.

Check Your Impression Share

“Take a long, hard look at the Impression Share of your paid search campaigns. It’s possible that your ads are not running as often as you think, which is deadly if the campaign is profitable.”
Alex CohenMarketing ManagerClickEquations, Inc.
Widgets Can Expand Your Reach

"Push your marketing to the edge by using a widget to display your products for purchase on other websites. Whether implemented on social networks or through your affiliate programs, widgets can create natural link popularity and help expand your reach without having to drive users directly to your website." more...

PCI Council gives helping hand to merchants

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has released a new resource designed to help merchants struggling to attain compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard.

The global payment industry body launched the Prioritized Approach framework to help merchants that are not yet fully compliant. It will identify highest risk targets, create a common language around PCI DSS implementation efforts, and demonstrate progress on the compliance process to key stakeholders. more...

Twitter Can Help Your Online Business

Most people shop online for convenience rather than customer service. And while inroads have been made into providing better customer service online, the personal aspect is often still missing.
Enter Twitter, a social networking and micro-blogging tool that allows you to send 140 character updates to whoever is following your profile and to the public Twitter stream. Although 140 characters may not seem like enough for meaningful information, you’d be surprised by how much you can fit into such little space. But, it’s the ability to have conversations with customers that makes Twitter extremely valuable to any ecommerce site. more...