April 24 , 2015

First Data, Sam’s Club fuel small business growth

Atlanta, GA-- Small businesses are the heart of enterprise around the world. In line with its efforts to help clients grow their businesses, First Data, a provider of payment technology and services solutions, has announced an extended agreement with Sam’s Club, a leading membership club for the small business community, to improve member access to First Data solutions and technologies.

First Data will increase its presence in Sam’s Club locations around the country by staffing on-site business consultants in Sam’s Club’s locations. The dedicated sales teams are currently present in more than half of those sites, offering hands-on demonstrations of its comprehensive solutions for business owners. First Data will also continue distribution of the solutions for business owners online.

“With this expanded agreement, First Data is making a significant commitment to millions of Sam’s Club members who currently operate or are looking to open a business in the U.S.,” said Chris Foskett, Head of Global, Strategic and National Accounts at First Data. “Extending this relationship with Sam’s Club gives us the opportunity to enable more business owners and operators to achieve their dreams.”

“Sam’s Club and First Data have helped small businesses grow for more than 10 years and our shared mission to maximize member savings on critical payment solutions continues today,” said MiKaela Wardlaw Lemmon, Vice-President of Member Services for Sam’s Club. “As small businesses face a looming October deadline to implement payment systems that accept chip-card technology, they can rely on Sam’s Club and First Data to guide them through this vital transition with personalized support, cutting-edge technology and the outstanding value our members deserve.”

The First Data collection of small business solutions features Clover™, a dynamic business management system that uses cloud-based software to enable businesses to securely accept payments, including mobile and online, manage inventory, track revenues, improve customer loyalty and generate reports. Clover hardware is EMV-ready to securely accept chip-card technology and new payment types, including payments via mobile devices. First Data is easing access to EMV-ready technology ahead of October 1, 2015, when credit card counterfeit fraud liability will generally shift to merchants that are not using chip-enabled point of sale devices.