| | Good Afternoon,
With our continuously changing situation due to COVID-19, we wanted to make you aware of some things we are seeing related to fraudsters, as well as provide helpful information on government relief programs.
We have started to see an increase in cyber fraud, including: Card scammers who are trying to get merchants to accept stolen cards and wire the funds to another party, in some cases up to $250,000.00. Phishing emails designed to entice merchants with the latest advice related to COVID-19, or to open for urgent instructions from their boss that are filled with malware merchants unwittingly download. Malicious apps (such as CovidLock) that purport to help track infections and provide advice, but are in actuality ransomware that will lock a merchantâs device until a ransom is paid to the criminals. We encourage merchants to protect themselves from these fraudulent scams by practicing good cyber hygiene, including making sure their terminal and router/WiFi devices are up-to-date and that they are using secure and known connections. We will remain diligent in apprising you and your merchants of the latest cyber scams, while carefully monitoring your merchantsâ processing activity to protect your portfolio.
As the ability to conduct normal business activities continues to be disrupted for our existing merchants, we are seeing scenarios which lead to reduced earnings for you, and the potential for credit losses from our merchants. To protect you, our merchants, and ourselves from these occurrences, we will be keeping a closer eye on merchants who: Are in MCCs that have greater exposure. Illustrate financial loss via ACH rejects. Have extended future service liability. Our Enterprise Risk Management team will be modifying some merchantsâ setups to minimize these impacts. Changes our merchants could see may include: a reduction in the return processing window, delayed funding when a batch is a negative amount, fee billing on a daily instead of monthly frequency, standard vs. next-day funding, and reserves if ACH rejects occur.
For new merchants that you enroll, we will make sure to review the MCC and their future service liability and approve items like daily discount and next-day funding accordingly. Keep an eye on the approval notes to see how each MID is approved.
If you would like to see a list of any merchants in your portfolio that may be impacted by these measures, please contact your Partner Relations Advisor.
Weâll also be informing your merchants about a number of different governmental programs that they, and you, can take advantage of during these trying times. Click here to review all resources currently available for government relief.
To give you a brief overview, the aid available includes: The Small Business Administrationâs (SBA) Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (or CARES Act), which contains several provisions aimed at helping small businesses, including expedited, low-interest individual loans of up to $10 million. Paycheck Protection Loans that cover up to 8 weeks of payroll or qualified expenses incurred from February 15, 2020 through June 30, 2020. Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) which provide up to a $2 million low-interest loan for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19. If you or your merchants apply for an EIDL, you could even obtain an emergency grant (an advance of the loan) which can be used for payroll, sick leave, rent or mortgage payments, and so forth. SBA Express Loans â maximum loan amount increased from $350,000 to $1 million with interest deferred for 1 year and repayment terms of up to 10 years. | You and your merchants may:
Apply for EIDLs online or find out more at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
Ask the SBA questions via email at DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.
Contact SBAâs local assistance directory at https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance. | If you have questions, please contact your Relationship Manager at 844-334-9625.
Wishing you all the best,
PayProTec
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