Connor Gardiner

Phone-order merchant comparing narrow SAQ C-VT scope with a broader SAQ D PCI environment

small business merchant services September 28, 2026 25 min read

PCI SAQ C-VT and SAQ D for Phone-Order and Virtual Terminal Merchants: Which Questionnaire You Actually Owe

If you take card numbers by phone and manually enter one transaction at a time into a qualifying third-party hosted browser virtual terminal, SAQ C-VT may apply. But SAQ C-VT virtual terminal...

small business merchant services September 28, 2026 29 min read

Buying a Business That Takes Cards: Why the Merchant Account Doesn’t Transfer and What to Line Up Before Closing Day

A merchant account when buying a business generally should not be treated as an asset that automatically follows the sale. Payment acceptance is tied to a merchant entity, its processing profile, bank...

Payment Processing September 9, 2025 9 min read

What PCI DSS 4.0 Means for Small Businesses in 2025

With PCI DSS 4.0 becoming mandatory in 2025, small businesses need to get their payment security practices in line to remain compliant. The latest version focuses on stronger controls, multi-factor authentication, and...

Payment Processing July 9, 2025 9 min read

Tiered, Flat, or Interchange-Plus: Which Pricing Model Actually Fits Your Business?

All merchants are aware that there are fees associated with accepting card . Still few stop to think about how the pricing model—the structure of those fees—can drastically change operational clarity and...