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Verizon Now Offers Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Super-Fast Credit Card Processing Service


WEBWIRE

NEW YORK - Small and medium-sized businesses with a broadband connection from Verizon Online have a new option that offers faster discounted credit, debit and payment processing services: Verizon Merchant Services, Payments Powered by Chase Paymentech.

By using credit card processing services, offered through Chase Paymentech, businesses can expand or begin processing credit or debit transaction services for their customers. The ability to accept credit or debit payments using Verizon’s broadband-based service speeds checkouts and pleases customers.

Consumers are showing an increasing preference for non-cash payments, regardless of transaction size. Research from Visa found that debit cards are the world’s fastest-growing payment method, with consumer debit purchase volume up 19 percent from the year prior. Visa also notes that 33 percent of consumer purchases in the United States are now card-based, with that trend growing every year.

“Accepting electronic payments is critical for businesses of all sizes,” said Michael Schaefer, director of business broadband services for Verizon. “At Verizon, we’re always looking out for our business customers. We’ve leveraged Verizon’s buying power and Chase Paymentech’s scale of operations to provide very competitive credit card processing rates to our small- and medium-sized business customers.”

Depending on the volume of transactions processed, the payment processing discounts offered to Verizon’s broadband business customers can completely or partially offset the monthly cost of the merchant’s broadband connection. Verizon’s small- to medium-sized business customers can choose from a range of Chase Paymentech-approved payment terminals supporting a full spectrum of electronic-payment options. Also included is the option of a wireless broadband terminal that can be used virtually anyplace within the retail space.

According to Peter A. Gasparro, group executive, partnership programs at Chase Paymentech, “There are still a significant number of dial-up terminals in the marketplace, and they take between 15-20 seconds to process each transaction. Dial-up terminals are mainly used because most small businesses haven’t yet begun to use their high-speed connectivity for their payment processing.”

By contrast, Verizon’s business broadband customers, using an IP-enabled terminal with Verizon’s up to 3 Mbps (initial connection speed) high-speed Internet connection, will be able to process each transaction in a fraction of the time it would take with a dial-up connection.

“Using dial-up isn’t bad when you are just dealing with a couple of transactions an hour,” said Schaefer. “However, a dry cleaning business, for instance, can have a half dozen or more customers at once during peak time, when every second counts.”

Gasparro added, “Electronic payments acceptance is key to the growth of a small business. Working with Verizon, Chase Paymentech will help level the competitive playing field for small businesses by allowing access to the same payment transaction rates that larger businesses traditionally receive.”

Businesses that want more information about Verizon Merchant Services, Payments Powered by Chase Paymentech can visit www.chasepaymentechsales.com/verizon or call 800-600-8351.

Verizon offers a variety of products and services that enable businesses to customize the solutions they need to better compete in the marketplace. In addition to broadband Internet access, solutions include online backup storage, e-mail encryption and communications management tools.

Recently Verizon was cited by J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Services Study for the “Highest Customer Satisfaction With Small/Midsize Business Data Service Providers.”

More information on Verizon’s products and services for small businesses is available at www.verizon.com/business or by calling 888-649-9500. For news, resources and more tools for Verizon’s business customers, visit the Verizon Small Business Center at http://business.verizon.net.

About Chase Paymentech
Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC, headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest merchant acquirer. The privately-held company is an end-to-end processor for merchants of all sizes and industries. The company processed approximately 18.2 billion transactions in 2006, with more than $660.6 billion in annual bankcard and debit volume. Chase Paymentech’s customer base reflects the most respected brands in the world and represents more than 600,000 merchants in nearly one million locations globally. Chase Paymentech is a joint venture between JPMorgan Chase & Co. and First Data Corp. Learn more about Chase Paymentech at http://www.chasepaymentech.com.

About Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, serving 60.7 million customers nationwide. Verizon’s Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.



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