The Credit Card Tornado

Take steps to protect your customers and your business

There's a tornado on your counter top. It's the kind of tornado processing the majority of your clinic revenue. The kind of tornado you don't want to hit your business.

I'm talking (writing actually) about your credit card processing terminal. And please forgive me if I seem paranoid or dramatic or both. McAllister Payment Solutions - the integrated credit card processing solution for AVImark - has just completed its industry mandated PCI DSS security audit and auditors like to make the audited paranoid. It's what we pay them to do, and our, Coalfire or Buffalo, NY, did a marvelous job.

The good news is we passed with flying colors (approval letter) thanks to great work from our product development team. Many other credit card processors have been grandfathered in under older standards, but MPS is now on the cutting edge of credit card point-of-sales security.

This protects you if you receive an industry audit from Visa or MasterCard, which can revoke your license to process credit cards if you are out of compliance. It can also be a potential life line in a security breach.

The bad news is most veterinary clinics are not PCI DSS compliant. MPS can, of course, help with this, as well as offer a host of other benefits (MPS benefits). Our team leader is LeeAnn Weyand, who's done just about every job at MSS, and she would love to answer any questions you have about credit card security, email her at leeannw@avimark.net

So, what are your changes of getting an industry audit and losing your right to process credit cards? Probably about the same as getting hit by a tornado - very slim, until it happens.

By Dan Holland

Dan Holland is the Director of Marketing and Sales Development. He can be reached by the paranoid and dramatic at danh@avimark.net