Warm weather helped cool holiday sales
LANSING – Heat Miser appeared to get the upper hand, as unseasonably warm weather helped push Michigan retailers’ holiday sales below forecasts. Sales increased 0.4 percent over the 2014 season despite retailers’ forecasts of a 2 percent rise,
Laws and regulations regarding credit card truncation
First, credit card truncation means that electronically printed credit card receipts will print only part of the card number, usually the last four numbers. This is to prevent lost receipts from being used for fraudulent transactions.
Governmental Affairs: December 18, 2015
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year
Holiday break
Legislators wrapped up the 2015 session on Thursday. They will return to begin the 2016 session and consider unfinished items on January 13,
Retailers look forward to big shopping weekend
LANSING – Michigan retailers are looking forward to this big holiday shopping weekend – the final one before Christmas.
“The weekend before Christmas is traditionally one of the two biggest of the season and the year,” said MRA President and CEO James P.
Using gift cards for more than just gifts
Because they are usually called “gift cards,” it’s easy to think that their main function is to be sold and given as gifts, like the gift certificates that preceded them.
Setting minimums for credit card purchases
Visa and MasterCard, in their merchant agreements, do not allow merchants to set a minimum amount for a purchase. If you accept these cards, you are obligated to accept them for purchases of any amount.
Retailers post small sales gains in October
LANSING – Michigan retailers rang up slightly better sales in October, according to the latest Michigan Retail Index survey, a joint project of Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Governmental Affairs: November 13, 2015
Legislature takes Thanksgiving/hunting break
Legislators headed home this week for a two and a half week break for the Thanksgiving holiday. The break also falls during Michigan’s two-week regular firearm deer hunting season (November 15-30).
Preventing credit card chargebacks
Failure to follow Visa and MasterCard regulations exactly can leave retailers out in the cold when a customer challenges a billing.
Several common errors could cause you to be held liable for a chargeback:
- A single card transaction was processed more than once and the customer was double-billed.
