Merchant Credit Card Accounts

I have had merchant credit card accounts going back into the 1970's, that is the ability to accept payment by credit card and process it through a bank account. These can be hard to get, because in essence the bank is extended the merchant account holder credit. If I were to turn in fraudulent transactions, the bank would be on the hook. So banks not only worry about card holder fraud, but merchant card processing fraud.

Another aspect of a relatively free market is relatively little fraud. In USA you must have a zip code that matches the billing address on the card when you ship, provide the 3 digit security code off the card, and provide much more detail to maintain a level of security in USA. Buying online in Hong Kong is much easier and faster because the level of fraud is much lower. Curioser and Curioser.

I am not saying Hong Kong is devoid or fraud and crime. This morning's paper features a story about a man who took a video of a lad standing close to a girl on the metro. The man followed the lad, showed him the video and claimed the lad was a pervert abusing the girls on the metro, and the filmed proved it. The man slapped the lad around and demanded HK$28,000. (What, not $27,500, not $30,000?) Anyway, the boy went and got his mom to arrange payment... mom was having none of this and called the cops, and the blackmailer was jailed. Hong Kong has plenty of crime, often entertaining.

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