“Supporting World Vision is something that I grew up with”, said Randel.  “My family has supported the organization for years. Since I have become an adult and thus figured out my own beliefs and ideologies, I have become quite passionate for  World Vision and what it stands for.  It is something that I can truly line up with.  Trying to get these kids out of the cycle of poverty by providing education, healthcare, and nutritious food, so that they can better themselves and break the generational trend of the same family being in poverty decade after decade is extremely important. World Vision makes the entire community a better place.”

World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization that aids with disaster relief, poverty reduction and hunger alleviation, is most known for its child sponsorship program.  World Vision’s child sponsorship program also enriches the child’s entire community by working with local community members to create healthy, successful communities for children where there was previously devastating, widespread poverty. When a child receives a sponsor, World Vision helps the entire community to break the poverty cycle and become self-sustaining.

When you sponsor a child, your sponsorship provides the child with nutritious food, clean water, healthcare and education. The community receives assistance with job training, business coaching, small loans and agricultural training.

World Vision serves an estimated 100 million people in almost 100 countries around the globe regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Currently, more than 500,000 children have been sponsored.

Trinity Merchant Group has pledged their support to World Vision through their sponsorship program.  It began with the question, “How can we position Trinity Merchant Group in such a way that we inspire our employees, customers, and other businesses around the country to follow our lead and support this amazing organization? It’s also extremely rewarding to know that at the end of every day, our hard work and dedication contributes to the betterment of those around the world that are less fortunate.

From this desire, came Trinity’s new collaborative, team effort to provide sponsorship to as many children as possible.  “Each month, we add to the Trinity family by increasing our financial support of World Vision’s adoption program”, said Randel. “This way, every new customer acquisition that we make goes towards providing resources for a child in a situation of need.”

So far Trinity Merchant Group is on the right track and has increased their support to World Vision every month since the inception of the program in January of this year.  As Trinity continues to grow, they hope to increase their support even more in the near future.

If you would like to get involved with World Vision, Trinity Merchant Group encourages you to sponsor a child. For roughly a dollar a day, you can change a child’s life by providing them with access to healthcare, education, nutritious food and clean water and impact an entire community.

 Also, share this article on Facebook or Twitter to show your support of World Vision.

A specific example of this are the devices that have legal uses but could assist in enabling Credit Card skimming. This practice is unfortunately a common risk these days that can endanger a customers' credit card data. Credit card skimming occurs when information from the magnetic strip of a credit card is illegally obtained and kept for fraudulent purposes.

One recent invention that has made this easier is Square, a portable credit card reader that fits into the audio jack of any phone. Because it is easy to operate and is small in size, any phone has the potential to be a vehicle for credit card fraud. Square can be used  to legally process credit card information. Square's major flaw however is that it does not encrypt customers' data, so the device holding the customers' card information becomes a potential target for identity thieves. This means that even when a business owner used his or her phone to legally process transactions, that phone could be targeted and all the customers' data taken.

Square is an excellent example of the dangers both merchants and consumers face when advances in merchant technology are adapted too quickly and without proper testing. Since merchants are liable for fees derived from fraudulent transactions, choosing a trustworthy merchant services provider to accept their customers' credit cards is of utmost importance.

So what can business owners do to protect both their businesses and their customers' information?

The first line of defense is choosing the best merchant services provider. Wise business owners should ensure that their credit card processor employs caution when deciding whether or not to use new technology. A trustworthy company will adopt new technology only after it has been tested and proven secure for its customers' data. While it can be tempting to engage a company that is eager to try out the latest trends, prudence is often the best solution. Your customer is likely to be a repeat buyer if process of accepting credit cards online is smooth and hassle-free, and secure. But if a merchant endangers a customer's personal information even once, it's practically guaranteed that you will lose that customer and any of their social contacts.

Call Trinity Merchant Group today and let us help you with setting up the technologies you need to accept credit cards on-line and for your in-store business.

Merchant services with Trinity Merchant Group is an educational experience for our clients. Rather than making merchant services difficult to understand and inaccessible, our dedicated customer support means that we will walk you through every step of every process to best meet your business' needs. You will receive honest answers about which of our products are right for your business. Through your relationship with Trinity Merchant Group, you will receive a customized package of products and services that will enable you to easily process payments from your customers, making their experience with your business all the more pleasing.

Trinity Merchant Group is backed by one of the top 10 processing centers in the U.S.  This allows us to properly manage our customers' merchant services accounts and control our quality of products and services. We directly deposit your money and perform the other important functions of processing for your merchant services account rather than outsourcing them and relying on a third party company for your support. Any questions you might have would be answered promptly by us, rather than having to be routed through another company, which is so common.  Ever wonder why you have three 1-800 numbers on the side of your terminal? Doesn't it get old trying to figure out which of those three 1-800 numbers to call for an answer to a specific question? With Trinity Merchant Group, you have a one-stop-shop for all of your merchant services needs.

We offer state of the art security for your valuable customer data. We store your customers credit card information in an off-site digital vault. The data is encrypted and accessible only by our certified customer service team members. To access the information you would simply give us a call and go through a quick identification process to get extensive details of transactions. Our complete line of online products, such as our Virtual Terminal also offer security for you and simplicity for your customers. Retaining the customer's information in a safe manner is one of the many ways we help protect you as well as your customers sensitive credit card information. With the security, merchants have the ability to create customer profiles that store credit card information in an encrypted format so that repeat customers don't have to present their credit card information every time they spend money with your business.

Trinity Merchant Group also offers gift card programs that are very popular with your clientele. Keeping a valued customer happy is one of the most important things any business can do. We have several ways to help you do just that.

Trinity Merchant Group prides itself in being innovative and adapting to change within our industry, but with that said, we always keep our customers protection as our top priority. While other merchant services providers may jump on every technological innovation before it has been properly tested, we make a point to ensure that any advancements we pass on to our clients and their customers are secure and PCI Compliant. Too often reckless adoptions of trends lead to security and reliability concerns between merchants and their customers. Trinity Merchant Group always ensures that everything we promote and utilize for merchant services is tested, secure and has a place in our clients' businesses.

With Trinity Merchant Group , you're getting everything your business needs: security, expertise and the reassurance that your partners in merchant services are only 26 seconds away.

Empowering Children and Communities Around the Globe

Each year, it seems the holiday season gets more hectic and commercial. Even those of us with the best intentions get caught up in frantically shopping, decorating, planning, and cooking. In the end, we’re often left wishing for a more meaningful expression of the season. Rather than giving a token gift to charity this year, consider researching organizations with your family and supporting a cause that you are all truly passionate about.

Nathan Randel, Managing Partner of Trinity Merchant Group, celebrates the true spirit of Christmas with his family by sponsoring children through World Vision. “Contributing to World Vision is a family tradition that my parents began almost twenty years ago. Not only have they continued to sponsor several children each year, now my wife and I sponsor three as well.”

World Vision is a faith-based humanitarian organization empowering children and communities around the globe by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Supported by more than one million individual donors, thousands of churches and businesses, and hundreds of foundations, organizations, and government agencies, World Vision raised more than a billion dollars in 2010. Those funds helped provide emergency and hunger relief, community development, agricultural development assistance and leadership training in 100 countries throughout Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. The organization also educates the public on poverty and justice related issues and advocates on behalf of the poor and children in crisis. Here’s a look at what they were able to accomplish in 2010 alone:

• Emergency relief: World Vision responded to some 80 emergencies in 2010 by providing food aid, basic supplies and child-protection centers.
  
• Humanitarian crises: World Vision is responding to complex humanitarian emergencies around the globe, including Haiti, DRC, Sudan and Somalia.
  
• Child sponsorship: Nearly 4 million children are assisted through sponsorship programs worldwide.
• Food aid: World Vision distributed 169,000 metric tons of food for the United Nations' World Food Programme and U.S. government programs in 2010.
  
• Clean water: In 2010, World Vision dug 305 wells in West Africa, expanding access to clean water to an additional 151,500 people in the region.
  
• HIV and AIDS: World Vision’s care and prevention work in AIDS-affected communities started in 1990 in Uganda, and is now in 60 countries, including most of sub-Saharan Africa.
  
• Development: In 2010, more than 638,000 men and women in 40 developing countries began building their own businesses with small loans received through World Vision’s micro-finance programs.

Outreach is pleased to welcome a new supporter of our cause. Trinity Merchant Group shares our belief that, through the power of social media, people can join together to create a strong hand with the ability to change their communities and the world. Each month, on the behalf of Trinity Merchant Group, we will be featuring a new organization who is making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Managing Partner Nathan Randel asked that we start with a profile of The National Coalition for the Homeless. “I’ve always had a heart for the homeless, and no organization works harder to advocate for those at risk and put an end to homelessness.”

The National Coalition for the Homeless started taking shape in 1981, when founder Robert Hayes filed a lawsuit which culminated in giving homeless people in New York City the right to shelter. He then started the community-based Coalition for the Homeless in New York City. Before long, other local and statewide coalitions sprouted and, in 1982, the National Coalition for the Homeless was formed.

 A national network of people committed to a single mission, the NCH strives to create the systemic and attitudinal changes necessary to prevent and end homelessness. While tackling this goal, they simultaneously work to meet the immediate needs of people who are currently experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, homelessness. They believe strongly that homeless people, or those who have formerly experienced homelessness, must be actively involved in all of the work they do. In addition, the NCH is made up of activists, advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers. Their combined experiences and strengths make the NCH uniquely adept at public education, policy advocacy, and grassroots organizing.

Projects

• Faces of Homelessness Speakers' Bureau
  A program comprised of people who are or have been homeless that works to educate the public about homelessness and what can be done to end it.
  
  
• The Homeless Challenge Project
  Economically-privileged people dressing down, emptying their wallets and spending time on the streets as homeless people for up to 48 hours. This project has been hosted by NCH for more than 20 years.
  
  
• The Bringing America Home Campaign
  Dedicated to the goal of ending homelessness, the campaign is founded on the principles that people need affordable housing, livable incomes, health care, education, and protection of their civil rights.
  
  
• National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project
  In response to increasing civil rights abuses, NCH is coordinating a locally-based national movement to protect the civil rights of people who are homeless. Find out what you can do to help prevent and combat the violation of homeless people's civil rights.
  
  
• The "You Don't Need A Home to Vote" Voting Rights Campaign
  Since 1992, this campaign has already registered thousands of homeless people in all 50 states. The campaign seeks to protect and promote the right of homeless people to vote.
  
  
• Hate Crimes/Violence Prevention Project
  For many years, advocates and homeless shelter workers from around the country have received news reports of men, women and even children being harassed, kicked, set on fire, beaten to death, and even decapitated. The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) has spearheaded the introduction and passage of legislation to add homeless people to existing hate crimes laws at the local, state and federal levels.
  
  
• National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
  Co-sponsored annually by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness, National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week will be held November 12-20, 2011. Click here to see how you can become involved!
  
  
• National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day
  Since 1990, NCH has sponsored National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day on or near the first day of winter (December 21) to remember our homeless friends who have paid the ultimate price for our nation's failure to address the issue.
  
  
• Universal Living Wage
  The Austin, TX-based group Living Wage formula is based on the premise that if a person works 40 hours a week, then he/she should be able to afford basic housing.
  

Show appreciation. Send a handwritten thank you card to your merchants when they sign up with you and send a free roll of terminal paper, perhaps. You might also try sending a holiday card or a card after six months or a year of service. Taking the time to show your gratitude is very important, and a quick note is a great way to do it.

Say hello. Try to call a different merchant each day, or drop by if you are in the neighborhood to make sure things are going well. If everything is running smoothly, great! If the merchant is having processing issues, however, you could end up saving the day. Bets are that is one merchant who is not going anywhere, anytime soon.

Offer a referral program. Try sending a $50 gift card for each successful referral or some free accessories. It does not need to be anything big; the purpose is to simply show appreciation.

A little appreciation will take you a long way. Try it!