It’s no secret that in today’s world, businesses and consumers are more mobile than ever before. With this evolution there has been increasing demand for more wireless payment devices and solutions. Providing an ideal mobile point of sale experience requires having reliable network connection that doesn’t cost a fortune. CDE makes it easy.  Now payment providers can leverage CDE’s new 4G Wireless Program to provide the 4G data plans your merchants need at competitive pricing.

With CDE’s 4G Wireless Program, POS providers not only have access to low rates for unlimited data plans with AT & T and Verizon, they can also enjoy the peace of mind of knowing their wireless device deployments, merchant activations, and support are being handled by an industry leader in POS solution support.

Whether a POS provider is offering 4G Wireless data plans as the core source of mobile device connectivity, or just as a back-up network connection for landline based or ethernet connected merchants, the CDE 4G Wireless Program is ideal.  Through CDE, partners can purchase unlimited data plans with either AT & T or Verizon, and all the of following:

• Merchant activation
• Full device lifecycle support (including in-field)
• Simple device and data plan ordering in the CDE partner portal
• Easy to use device reporting on all CDE managed devices

The 4G Wireless Program from CDE is yet another step in the company’s path to continue offering solutions to payment service providers that not only help make their lives easier, but also improve the merchant experience.  With this new program, CDE partners can decrease the time between new merchant contract to the merchant’s first transaction, even with the industry’s most advanced POS devices.

As younger generations reach the age of 18 and older, technology will continue to make advancements in the private sector. These tech-savvy individuals will expect the latest, most convenient, and most secure technology in nearly every aspect of their lifestyles as they move through the world. While many companies already have developments in the works to stay in front of the competition and adapt to rapidly evolving technology options, the government needs to keep in step with citizen convenience and technology demands as well, especially when it comes to paying or receiving money of any kind.

• Where the Government Payments Sector Stands Today – Currently, the payments industry in the United States is among the most advanced compared to other countries. Millennials are already using this technology in their everyday lives and Gen Z is being raised to become accustomed to it as well. These government entities must continue to incorporate new technology when it arrives. Doing so will help allow for the continued use of these agencies by younger audiences. In a study done by Conduent, one of the largest digital payment processors, 62% of 2,000 consumers surveyed said, “The government should experiment with new technologies and innovate”. Currently, people report that government websites and payment processes are too difficult to navigate. One of the biggest complaints is the lack of consistent flow with each step and navigation through the process. People want a “beginning and an end” as they go through the process, and as of right now, government technology has people jumping through hoops to register for social services, pay child support, or enroll in government insurance. For a large majority of these tasks, they simply cannot be done online. Instead, people are required to visit these agencies, work through the processes with someone, and use valuable time. These methods are too slow in the fast-paced modern world that we all live in. 
• Security Matters the Most – Billions of dollars are stolen each year because of identity theft and other cyber-crimes. When it comes to an individual’s private information, such as bank accounts and social security numbers, most people want as much protection as possible. Some would think that peoples’ information in the government’s hands is the best choice, but in a survey by Conduent, 91% of the subjects surveyed say they have security concerns when sharing their information with the government. It is important to note that a Social Services agency does not possess the same cyber-security as the Federal Government itself. These agencies lack the robust I.T. services that other companies in the private sector have and generally lack the funds to make their systems safer. Not only are their data caches on the weaker side of protection, but in a world where everything is run on a mobile device, it would take a lie to say that securing information and payments over a long-distance internet channel will be safe and effective. Most people want secure systems that can register for social services, enroll in government insurance or health exchange, and pay for taxes. 
• There are Plenty of Innovations Being Made – Much of the innovation being seen today is not done by the U.S. government. Instead, third party processing companies are pouring millions of dollars into new technology, so the government does not have to. One of the prospects for businesses like Conduent is automation. This technology is not necessarily new, but it is in the industry of government payments. Using their already refined accounting software, Conduent plans to move this in the direction of automated payments for things like child support, utility bills, and taxes. The benefits of automation are instant and remove the “manual labor” aspect of these payments. For the people who want more control over their payments, investments are also being made to make processes more mobile-friendly. People’s lives are already controlled on their cell phones so it is no surprise that many people would enjoy the ability to make payments at their discretion. 81% of adults in the U.S. own a smartphone.  This form of technology dominates our society, which is why many other companies have adapted their business to fit on our screens and our government should be no different. Lastly, many companies plan to implement AI conversation platforms. Many businesses already utilize some form of AI to answer client questions and simply processes. This might be the exact solution to many of the issues face when making government payments. While this list does not encapsulate all leading-edge technology, it is a good start to where many companies, like Conduent and Vantiv, will end up.
• Budget Cuts Pose an Issue – Many of the agencies being discussed with advancements are receiving heavy budget cuts well into the billions of dollars. This does not rule out the possibility for investments into a user-friendly interface, but it does make it less likely. 40% of surveyors make payments to things like SNAP, WIC, Child Support and Utility Payments. Last year, 68-million dollars was allocated to these programs, but under current legislation, that amount is expected to decrease greatly over the next 10-years. Government health care is also expected to see cuts around 2.7-trillion dollars by 2021. Going down the list, other agencies in the health care sphere are also going to experience tighter budgets with some cuts being in the billions and others around 500-million dollars. This is added with tighter regulation, which could result in even heavier losses. Not everything is negative, though, as many of these budget cuts are in an attempt to allocate funds elsewhere. Child Support and Labor/Workforce funding are both expected to see more funds being invested in their systems. Last year these two groups were allotted nearly 180-million dollars, but those numbers will continue to rise with each year. This does make it difficult to envision any future investment into these agencies and their solutions/software. These hopes for a more customer-focused process are not lost, though. While it is unlikely that the government would take the time and spend valuable tax dollars creating a seamless process for customers, companies like Conduent can accomplish the goal for a fraction of the cost and nearly no time at all.
• Solutions to the Problem – These secondary, non-government owned, payment solutions are also user-friendly for government entities themselves. They actively manage products, integrate systems, and optimize the collection of payments and data. The security that goes into these solutions is far greater than what can be invested by these government entities especially with massive budget cuts coming in the next few years. Advancing technology for the user is important and so advancing the security, which is why each of these areas receives so much focus. Ease of use and security are the keys to making sure the solutions do what they are supposed to. It’s not an easy task to set this up, especially when you are behind and chasing a growing market, which is what makes these outside companies so beneficial. Conduent has developed payment solutions for paying healthcare costs, making child support payments, and SNAP benefits with countless other solutions as well. Not only are the products ready for use but they are always looking to be improved upon. Success in business is based on adapting to the needs of customers and the market, which is exactly what companies like Conduent and Vantiv do better than the government ever could.

In business, you need to offer every option or possibility to make your customers happy. These different agencies are no different. If investments into new technology are not made, then generations of people who need these benefits may not receive them. A static business model has been proven to fail and trying to make up the ground might cost more money and time than what is available. Keeping these services secure is the next big step. If information isn’t protected and money is lost, well, that may just be more expensive than an overhaul of innovations. The solution is simple, though. Provide the right device, the right systems, and these issues disappear. Innovations will be made to remain relevant and these programs will continue to thrive. 

Over the past 29 years, we’ve been hard at work providing a wide range of customized solutions to payments providers and other partners in the industry.  Because the industry moves quickly and is almost always changing, staying ahead of the curve in technology, security, and processes has always been our priority.  We’ve also kept our partners’ growth in mind when making operations decisions.  To keep everyone in the loop about some of the important things happening at CDE and the value we hope to add to our partners’ businesses, we’ve created this video:

One of the features that sets CDE apart from other support providers in the POS and payments industry is our call center support efforts.  Our call center service is just one of the solutions that we offer to our partners to help them get their merchants up and running as fast as possible and ensure that merchants are not left unable to process transactions.  Because retaining merchants is just as important as acquiring them, the call center support services we provide to our partners’ merchants is critical.  Our call center has already helped partners improve their merchant activation and device conversion experiences.  By taking on the often cumbersome activities involved with having an in-house call center, CDE has been able to help partners take their merchant services to the next level.

To ensure that our call center can continue to provide the best call center service, the CDE leadership team decided it was time to upgrade our facilities.  They wasted no time bringing in an architect and designer to evaluate our space and work up a plan for a completely new call center with cubicles, surrounding offices, meeting space, a new POS lab, new bathrooms, AND a new break room.  Today, was the day we were finally able to cut the ribbon on the new space and open it for employees to move into their work spaces.  Everyone in the company is very excited about this new renovation and all of the continued success we hope to experience in helping our partners succeed.

1. Encourage employees to think outside the box

To have innovation, you must endorse innovation.  Every employee, from customer service to the person who packs boxes, should be constantly encouraged to approach their role with a strategic mind.  While following through with processes and procedures is important, employees within your organization should feel empowered to present new ideas, ask questions, and influence change.  When creativity is stifled and employees are apprehensive about thinking abstractly, the chances for progression are limited.

2. Promote continuous development

Just because something is working now, it doesn’t mean it’s a lasting solution.  The only way to get ahead and stay ahead is to continue evolving.  The payments industry is not at all slowing down when it comes to technology upgrades and your organization can’t afford to try to play catch up.  Consider finding new ways for your company to continue learning and testing new ideas.  A few examples of this are:

• Create a “lab” space inside your building for testing, brainstorming, researching, etc.
• Create a process for employees to regularly submit ideas
• Reward employees for making suggestions or influencing change
• Hold contests for new ideas

3. Work with partners

Lasting change happens when diverse ideas and perspectives come together to influence decisions.  While you can support diversity within your own organization, working with a strategic partner to gain further insights or even adopt technology or processes that they have already mastered gives your company an even greater chance at taking your organization to the next level.  Engage with companies that work outside of your own expertise and utilize their unique breadth of knowledge to build something new.

4. Don’t be afraid to fail

Many of today’s top companies encourage a culture that “rewards failures”.  To understand innovation is to understand that there is no such thing as perfect and achieving success means trying new things and learning.  Failures mean that you have been brave enough to try something and you now can gain further insight from the experience.

5. Ask questions

You should be willing to ask as many questions as possible as often as possible.  Ask questions of leadership, ask questions of other companies, ask your employees questions, and most importantly ask your customers questions.  The best way to gain knowledge and perspective is by understanding the experiences of different people who are impacted by or impact your business.  Merchants may not always know exactly what they want or need but they can certainly tell you about their pain points or something that went wrong.  The same can be said for employees. Asking questions often leads to opportunities for improvements in products and processes.

We are proud to announce that CDE is now a PCI validated P2PE v.2 facility.  This new certification is more proof that we’re keeping payment security top of mind.  With our P2PE v.2 validation, we have an even better opportunity to help make the lives of our partners and their merchants easier.

What’s P2PE v.2?

Originally, rigorous PCI council standards made achieving P2PE validation pretty difficult and large solution providers were depending on third party providers to distribute their P2PE solution under their validation.  However, because the third parties were only validated under the partner provider they were serving, PCI auditing could become very cumbersome for both businesses.

Now, the PCI Security Standards Council has introduced version two of P2PE (P2PE v.2), that allows the different responsibilities involved with providing a validated P2PE solution to be split amongst separate entities, as “components”. Today, support services providers like CDE can provide services like key injection and deployment under their own P2PE component validation.

What makes P2PE v.2 better?

Point of interaction solution providers often outsource their equipment activities, from procurement all the way to deployment, in order to focus more on the evolution and improvement of their solutions. With the goal of simplifying their operations in mind, the last thing solution providers want to do is hold the responsibility of their partners’ PCI compliance in their hands. P2PE v.2 ensures that solution providers are creating, managing, and distributing points of interaction that are both PCI and P2PE compliant while allowing them the worry less about activities they are already outsourcing.

CDE’s P2PE v.2 validation also allows us to guarantee our own ability to provide P2PE compliant services.  With these validations, CDE’s valued partners can rest assured that our company is fully equipped and qualified to handle their products as they continue to offer P2PE solutions to their merchants.  Companies like CDE that commit the time and efforts to becoming P2PE validated have proven their own dedication to protecting the data of merchants and consumers, which can provide the peace of mind POI solution providers are seeking in such a high-pressure industry.

P2PE v.2 Strengthens Connections

While P2PE v.2 allows third party providers to act on their own behalf, it also requires that the line of communication and connection between POI solution providers and these third parties become even stronger.  Because P2PE requires a documented chain of custody before the devices are deployed, documented tamper-proof packaging details, and shipping details, it’s important that the companies providing the solutions to merchants have the ability to access and verify this documentation. This means that P2PE Key Injection Facilities (KIFs), like CDE, must now be able to easily pass back and forth details about the serialized devices they are handling with partners.

P2PE v.2 requires that CDE have the willingness and ability to develop innovative ways to provide our partners with the information they need to guarantee a secure POI.  Now, with P2PE v.2 validation under our belt, CDE is still hard at work refining systems to make the right data easily accessible and to close the loop between us, our partners, and their merchants.  We’re glad to be a P2PE v.2 validated company and excited to continue taking the struggle out of the security and support solutions that partners and their merchants depend on.