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Small Business Credit Cards

So what do you look for when applying for a credit card for your small business? One thing is for sure, wasting money isn’t an option because it can make or break your business. Things to look for are low interest rates and good customer service.

Ask around for companies with good customer friendly service. Some will let you off late payments time after time while others will come down like a ton of bricks. You need them to be flexible as you never know when you may run into problems.

Make sure you don’t go with one because of a low introductory offer. You want a long term one as you may not have time every six months to be jumping from one to another. Before signing up for one read the small print, remember it could save your business.

Look out for special bonuses companies offer. Some times companies such as Visa or American Express join with other companies to save you money on anything from shipping or office supplies

Here are two small business credit card options but look around for more and weigh up the benefits for each one

American Express Business Gold Card

No annual fee for the first year,
No pre-set spending limit
Save at known brands, such as Staples, FedEx and Hertz
When you enroll in the Membership Rewards program, you earn points virtually every time you use your eligible, enrolled Business Card.
Online Account Management
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance

CitiBusiness® Platinum Select® Card

The CitiBusiness® Platinum Select® Card is the card built for small businesses and includes:
A generous credit line
Low rate on purchases
Additional cards for employees
Free quarterly and annual account summaries
Free ‘Ask the Experts’ service
Free 24/7 Concierge Service

MasterCard opens ‘contactless’ payments

2005/7/13
By Carmen Russell The China Post

MasterCard International yesterday held the first day of a two-day seminar to introduce their new OneSMART card, a multi-functional card.

The OneSMART card employs a computer chip to offer an integration of payment, ATM and electronic wallet services.

Attendees were also versed in the technology and opportunities regarding MasterCard’s Paypass contactless payment system and the state of chip migration in Taiwan.

Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang addressed the seminar and said that by the end of March, chip migration in Taiwan already reached 78 percent. Shi said that the people of Taiwan have welcomed the chip migration because the new technology lets them feel more comfortable about using their credit cards.

Mastercard literature has identified Taiwan as a leader in changing credit cards over from the traditional magnetic strip used for decades to a the relatively new EMV standard which employs a computer chip to hold account information. EMV stands for Eurocard, MasterCard and Visa, the three major card issuers which cooperatively use the platform.

Following Shi’s address, the seminar went on to discuss the new payment system with seminars declaring it more secure and efficient. Seminars helped participants better understand the technological advancements behind the EMV standard.

“Moving from the Magstripe to the chip platform enables us to provide secure payment solutions,” said Richard Fletcher, MasterCard International, Mobile/Wireless Center of Excellence.

Representatives from financial institutions in 40 countries around the world including the Asia Pacific, Middle East, South Africa, Europe and North America attended the discussions.

In addition, MasterCard officials introduced the PayPass “contactless” payment system in which users holding the cards can simply wave it in front of a card reader for payment, making transactions smoother and more efficient than the traditional credit card with a magnetic strip.

MasterCard officials noted that they have licensed PayPass technology to competitors such as Visa in order to create a more side-ranging system.

“Sometimes with a tear in our eye, we have licensed our technology to competitors so that our members can use it system-wide,” noted Toni Merschen of MasterCard’s Chip Center of Excellence. “From MasterCard’s perspective, that competitors come to us to use our technology to build a common platform is a testament to our leadership, but we do also want to over unique competitive products.”

MasterCard was chosen by the Kaohsiung City Government to create a payment solution for southern Taiwan’s transportation system. The company yesterday introduced the world’s first MasterCard OneSMART PayPass combination card which southern Taiwan will implement into their payment system for pubic transportation services.

Residents of southern Taiwan will be able to easily pay for transportation usage on intercity coaches, local buses, trains, harbor ferries, and public car parks. Officials have said that upon completion, Taiwan’s High Speed Railway, the KCG Rapid Transit system and other transportation application systems will also be integrated.

According to materials issued by MasterCard, the MasterCard OneSMART PayPass Chip Card will be powered by the MasterCard M/Chip 4 payment application, as well as by MasterCard PayPass, the company’s contactless payment solution. M/Chip 4 is at the core of the MasterCard global smart card program and represents the latest generation of EMV payment applications.

The PayPass technology utilizes a small antenna built into the plastic which transmits data when within range of a card reader.

While PayPass has been undergoing trials in other markets, MasterCard officials note the leadership of Taiwan in employing non-proprietary payment system and says that they are looking to expand the availability.

“It’s clear this is a global product,” said Merschen. “We have the global reach to turn what we’re launching in Taiwan into a global product.”

However, they also note that different markets have tended to adopt the technology in different ways.

“We’re not selling technology, we’re using it to meet business needs,” says Merschen. We attach technology to our cards and our members make business decisions where the technology makes the most business sense.”

However, the company noted that general merchandise is the overall goal.

Prepaid Mastercard Tickles Nigerians

July 17, 2005
Posted to the web July 18, 2005

Managing Director of Naston Engineering UK Limited, Mr. Kole Funsho, has welcomed the introduction of the revolutionary electronic payment system, the prepaid MasterCard and Visa cards.

Mr. Funsho, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom said that the e-purse is very essential for business travellers offering them the convenience and flexibility.

Prepaid MasterCard and Visa cards present very effective way of carrying cash with a lower risk. The cards were introduced by Bocal United Kingdom, a major representative of MasterCard, the world’s leading payment solutions company.

The prepaid MasterCard and Visa cards are designed for everyone in mind and users can load with as little as $10 (N1,350) and above and can be used to pay for almost everything from hotel bill to airfares to purchases over the internet.

The cards are completely private and a secure pin based cards, it is used on the Internet, at banks and anywhere MasterCard/Visa is accepted and offers easy round the clock online Account Management.

Unlike the debit cards flaunted by some companies and banks in Nigeria, the prepaid e-purse by Bocal is dollar-denominated and acceptable as a means of payments for goods and services in over 210 countries at more than 22 million locations worldwide (from shops to restaurants, hotels, internet and over 350,000 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

Embossed, convenient, flexible, fast and easy to use, the electronic payment systems, was introduced into the country. Already, an upwardly mobile local company, Flexivalues.com has been appointed by Bocal to license and deal directly with all companies and merchant outlets wishing to acquire the resellership in the country.

Flexivalues.com is a secure link to the world’s generally acceptable payment networks rendering services to the general public which enables them to securely, make payments across the globe without any geographical or political limitations using the universal electronic payments systems.

Because they are prepaid cards, spending limits are set by the amount of money users’ load onto the cards and you can add more money on a regular basis or whenever the money runs low.

Consumer Confidence Holding Up Well in Asia Pacific says MasterCard MasterIndex of Consumer Confidence
Search ASIA Travel Tips .com 19 July 2005

MasterCard’s latest MasterIndex of Consumer Confidence, a bi-yearly survey, reveals that consumers in most Asia Pacific markets continue to have an optimistic economic outlook for the next six months despite economic challenges.

“Consumer confidence over the outlook for the rest of the year is relatively strong in the region, especially seen in the context of worries over the price of oil, economic slowdown in Europe, rising interest rates, and persistent stock market volatility,” said Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic advisor to MasterCard International in Asia Pacific.

“Strong income and employment growth is certainly a key factor behind the solid consumer confidence observed so far, especially in a market like Hong Kong. But the overall confidence level masks significant differences within the region.

“While Korean consumers have stopped being pessimistic about the future, levels of optimism have dropped in Australia and New Zealand. These divergent trends clearly reflect how the current business cycle is unfolding at very different ways in the region. Going forward, even greater complexity should be expected. However, at least for 2005, positive consumer sentiments should support double digit growth in retail sales, outbound travel, and household expenditures in general,” added Dr. Yuwa.

Of the 13 markets surveyed, 10 had an optimistic MasterIndex score. Vietnam and Hong Kong topped the list of markets with a highly positive outlook; other optimistic markets include China, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The latest MasterIndex survey was conducted from 3 May to 29 May 2005 and involved 5,440 consumers across 13 key Asia Pacific markets. Five variables are measured; employment, economy, regular income, stock market and quality of life. MasterIndex respondents are asked about their sentiments on these five variables for the next six months.