Payment Processing Services

Business Credit Card Acceptance Data

2011-07-28T18:57:00.003-04:00

Business credit card acceptance and other electronic payment methods comprised over three-quarters of all non-cash payments by number and more than half by aggregate amount in 2009, according to Federal Reserve data. Electronic payments are defined as ones that are cleared over a card network (e.g. Visa or MasterCard) or through the ACH system. They do not include large-value funds transfer

E-Commerce Merchant Account Rules for Returns and Refunds

2011-07-21T19:30:00.003-04:00

E-commerce merchant account users are responsible for setting up their merchandise return and refund (credit) policies. Clear and straightforward disclosure of these policies can assist you avoid misunderstandings and possible cardholder disputes. The credit card companies and Associations will endorse your policies, as long as they are properly disclosed to consumers prior to the completion of a

Merchant Payment Account Rules

2011-07-13T17:51:00.005-04:00

Merchant payment account users must follow certain basic card processing rules for all transactions, including the following:Taxes. All taxes should be included in the final transaction amount and should never be collected separately in cash.Card acceptance. Accept all valid cards of the brands listed in your merchant payment account agreement.Minimum and maximum transaction amount. Check with

Bank Merchant Services Interchange Facts

2011-07-07T18:21:00.002-04:00

Bank merchant services interchange fees are not a tax, nor are they hidden or paid by consumers. It is instead a fee that is paid between the acquiring bank and the consumer's bank and serves to distribute costs in the card processing systems of Visa and MasterCard. Interchange makes up a major part of the discount rate, which merchants are assessed for the benefits they get when they accept

Merchant Bank Account Requirements for Compromised Entities

2011-06-30T17:40:00.003-04:00

Merchant bank account entities that have suffered a suspected or an actually confirmed data security breach must take immediate action to help prevent further exposure of sensitive data and achieve compliance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS), PCI Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS), and the PCI PIN Security Standards.Merchant Bank Account

Novus Credit Card Processing Dispute Resolution

2011-06-24T19:16:00.003-04:00

A card issuer may initiate Discover / Novus credit card processing disputes on its own behalf or on behalf of its customers. The issuer starting a dispute needs to forward all relevant documentation in support of the dispute to Novus / Discover at the time it is initiated. Discover receives, collects and compiles data and paperwork regarding any disputes from issuers and then sends dispute

American Credit Card Processing PIN-less Procedures

2011-06-20T12:35:00.003-04:00

It's up to MasterCard and Visa's member banks to assist American credit card processing businesses in the understanding and implementing payment acceptance rules governing a PIN-less payment option for some debit cards. To achieve that, payment processing companies are usually willing provide training to merchants and their third-party service providers to make sure that the following best

How Merchant Credit Card Account Users Should Identify Fraud Signs

2011-06-15T16:46:00.003-04:00

Merchant credit card account users that process payments in a card-absent environment should develop in-house policies and processes for managing atypical or suspicious transactions and offer sufficient training for their sales staff. Being capable of identifying dubious orders are even more important for card acceptors involved in e-commerce and mail order and telephone order (MO / TO) sales,

E-Commerce Credit Card Processing Fraud Prevention

2011-06-13T16:23:00.003-04:00

Today's e-commerce credit card processing user has a lot of options for detecting and preventing bank card fraud. To keep your organization save, you need to build a solid risk management system. Visa and MasterCard continue to build on their web-based fraud prevention tools to expand on their own internal efforts.MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by VisaThese two e-commerce credit card

How Processing Credit Cards Works

2011-06-07T18:51:00.003-04:00

Besides the merchant and their customers, several other entities are involved in processing credit cards. The following information will assist you and your sales personnel to better understand who does what in the acceptance of payments.Who Takes Part in Processing Credit CardsThe following entities take part in the cycle of processing credit cards:Cardholder is an authorized user of bank cards

How to Accept Credit Cards Online the Right Way

2011-06-03T14:57:00.004-04:00

There are certain fraud-prevention policies, procedures, guidelines, and solutions for merchants that accept credit cards online. Implementing these tools will assist retailers protect their business from fraud-related issues and chargebacks. E-commerce merchants need to carefully consider designing internal fraud management policies and offering adequate training for their

Non-profit Credit Card Processing Basics for the Internet

2011-05-31T17:50:00.003-04:00

The following article will overview some of the most important steps for managing non-profit credit card processing risk in online transactions. These processes can be identified as the basic structure for the bigger world of e-commerce merchant account best practices.Setting Up the Non-Profit Credit Card Processing StructureAn organization's exposure to online non-profit credit card processing

How Credit Card Processing Companies Handle Ticket Retrievals

2011-05-24T19:43:00.003-04:00

Every now and then a credit card processing company will get a request from one of its cardholders or directly from the card issuer for supporting data relating to some card transaction or other that was made at one of their merchants. The card issuer will particularly request documentation (what is known as a "Ticket Retrieval") from the merchant that pertains to the transaction at issue. When

Credit Card Merchant Account Authorization Procedures

2011-05-19T17:00:00.003-04:00

In order for credit card merchant account users to accept payments, they have to first obtain an authorization approval, before finalizing any sales. If there are delayed deliveries of purchased items, the retailer is mandated to get an approval before submitting the payment data to the merchant services provider for the transaction. The issued authorization decision is valid for the following

How to Accept Credit Cards Over the Phone and Online

2011-05-16T17:52:00.003-04:00

When you accept credit cards over the phone and on your website, you are required to:Produce a transaction record (sales receipt) as you would do for a card-present transaction, except that a note of "Mail Order," "Telephone Order," "Internet Order," or "Signature on File," should be placed as may be applicable, within the signature field or the respective electronic descriptor on the transaction

High Risk Merchant Account Excessive Chargeback Basics

2011-05-10T17:39:00.002-04:00

Visa and MasterCard have each designed an excessive chargeback program (ECP) of their own to prompt each processing bank that offers high risk merchant account services to carefully monitor, on an recurring basis, the chargeback ratios of every single one of its card acceptors and to estimate quickly whenever any one of them has exceeded, or is likely to do so, the permitted monthly chargeback

Partial Authorizations Guidelines for Merchant Account Services

2011-05-03T17:46:00.002-04:00

Each time the outstanding balance on, exclusively, a debit or prepaid payment card account, is not enough to cover the entire sale's amount, partial authorizations are there to make it possible for merchant account services users to complete the transaction by taking whatever balance is available on the debit or prepaid card and enable customers to pay the rest of the balance using an alternative

No Signature Required Credit Card Payment Processing Program

2011-04-29T15:41:00.002-04:00

Visa has launched a "No Signature Required" program that makes accepting small ticket payments faster and simpler for customers and card acceptors by eliminating the need for signature for qualified transactions that are under $25.For best results, restaurant and others who participate in the program are encouraged to implement the following best practices when doing their credit card payment

How to Accept Credit Card Transactions when the Terminal Is Down

2011-04-27T12:14:00.002-04:00

Card acceptors doing business in a face-to-face payment processing setting will often find themselves not able to get their point-of-sale (POS) terminal read the credit card's account information from its magnetic stripe or they may not be able to receive an authorization approval for the payment. If that is the case, you will not be able to accept credit card transactions the ordinary swiped way

Card-Present Payment Processing Services

2011-04-21T12:38:00.002-04:00

Card-present (a.k.a. face-to-face) payments are such in which both the bank card and its cardholder are physically available during the time when the transaction is processed. Businesses that take credit cards in a card-present setting include the following: convenience stores, supermarkets, fast-food chains, bagel shops, etc. Transactions in which consumers use unattended point-of-sale (POS)

E-Commerce Merchant Account Participants

2011-04-19T17:44:00.003-04:00

In order for you to understand how transactions are processed through e-commerce merchant accounts, you need to first understand the meaning of these core payment processing actions:Authorization. This is the process through which the card issuer approves or declines a transaction. The authorization is performed at the time the transaction is processed.Authentication. This is the process of

Address Verification Service for Online Payment Processing

2011-04-15T17:04:00.002-04:00

The Address Verification Service (AVS) is a widely used fraud prevention service that allows merchants using online payment processing solutions, such as MO / TO and e-commerce merchants, to verify the legitimacy of their cardholder’s billing address by matching the one provided to them by the customer during the transaction to the one the card issuer has on file.How to Use AVSUsing AVS is really

Payment Gateway Basics

2011-04-12T16:34:00.002-04:00

I have received a series of inquiries over the past month that finally convinced me that we need a refresher on payment gateways. This post will explain what they are, what they do and don't do and who needs them.What Is a Payment Gateway?Payment gateway is a web-based tool that transmits transaction information from an e-commerce website to an online credit card payment processing bank. In

Online Credit Card Payment Processing Website Requirements

2011-04-07T16:41:00.002-04:00

Businesses that operate over the internet and do online credit card payment processing on their websites are required by their merchant account providers to design their websites in a way that ensures compliance with a certain numbers of requirements. These requirements are designed to make certain that their customer's personal data are well protected and that customer disputes and chargebacks

Types of Merchant Accounts

2011-04-05T19:48:00.002-04:00

Merchant accounts are financial services that are provided by banks members of the Visa and MasterCard Associations, often through third party providers, to both for-profit and non-commercial organizations. These solutions are in fact a type of credit line that the member bank extends to the card acceptor to allow it to accept for payment the various card brands and other payment types that are

Merchant Credit Card Processing Service Providers

2011-04-01T12:45:00.004-04:00

Merchant credit card processing service providers enable commercial and non-profit organizations to accept credit cards and other bank cards and other forms of payment. Whether a merchant accepts bank cards in a face-to-face or in a non-face-to-face setting, it needs a merchant account service to allow them to do that.In order for an organization to become a provider of merchant credit card

Processing Fees to Accept Online Payments

2011-03-29T16:24:00.004-04:00

Web-based card acceptors pay higher processing fees to accept online payments than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. That much is well known. The reason is that non-face-to-face payments are far more likely to generate customer disputes than face-to-face ones. Customer disputes can often, especially if not adequately addressed, result in chargebacks, which are costly for both the card acceptor

Best Merchant Processing Practices for Minimizing Key-Entered Transactions

2011-03-25T18:04:00.003-04:00

Face-to-face merchant processing services are considered less risky by Visa and MasterCard and are consequently rewarded with much lower fees compared to their counterparts operating virtual businesses, like direct marketing or e-commerce merchants.Manually entered payments, however, although processed when both the customer and her card are physically available throughout the interaction, get

How to Take Credit Cards for a Cruise Line Company?

2011-03-21T15:49:00.005-04:00

Cruise line operations need to follow payment processing practices that are at least slightly different from the ones followed by most other merchants that take credit cards in more traditional settings. In this article I will review the best practices that you will need to follow each time you process a credit card payment to ensure lowest levels of customer disputes and chargebacks:Get an

The Interchange-Plus Credit Card Processing Pricing Model Explained

2011-03-17T19:54:00.003-04:00

A new pricing model has just been added to our quite rapidly expanding line-up. It is based on the interchange-plus type of models and I would like to explain why we designed it and how it works. It is available to both businesses and non-profit entities, accepting credit and debit cards in both face-to-face, as well as card-not-present setting.Why Do We Need Interchange-Plus Credit Card

Credit Card Services for Hotels

2011-03-14T18:16:00.002-04:00

For payment processing at hotels, motels and other types of lodging businesses, there are specific credit card services rules that need to be followed. Managers and owners need to be familiar with these requirements and implement them into their credit card acceptance process.The reason for these differences is that payment acceptance at hotels is done slightly differently than at other

Credit Card Merchant Services Application Requirements

2011-03-10T15:32:00.004-05:00

Applying for credit card merchant services is not quite as simple as setting up a checking account. There are a number of documents that you need to provide and requirements to comply with.Why, you may ask, should be so difficult to take credit cards if you get your money only after the bank gets paid? Well, this too is not quite as straightforward. First of all, you have to understand exactly

How to Limit E-commerce Payment Processing Risk

2011-03-06T15:21:00.003-05:00

The successful management of risk in e-commerce transactions is the single most important factor for the long term survival of your business. I have made a list of the most important, in my experience, procedures that you should implement into your payment processing routine. These are all proven to minimize your risk exposure:Train your personnel on e-commerce risk. The size of your risk

Credit Card Processing Guidelines for E-Commerce Transactions

2011-03-02T17:41:00.004-05:00

The e-commerce credit card processing is potentially riskier to generate fraud than face-to-face payment acceptance. It's just that you can't physically examine either your customer or her card. There is nothing you can do about that. Yet, if you follow the suggestions below, you will manage to reduce the risk to a manageable level.In order to limit risk, all of your online credit card payments

How to Obtain an Authorization for a Card-Present Transaction

2011-02-28T22:30:00.009-05:00

Obtaining an authorization for a card-present transaction is a fairly straightforward process. It is done electronically through the point-of-sale terminals, which are programmed to handle authorizations automatically, based on pre-determined criteria.You should be careful, however, to ensure that your POS terminal is programmed correctly to handle authorizations in a way that is in compliance

How to Accept Credit Card Payments Face-to-Face

2011-02-25T17:36:00.009-05:00

What Are Face-to-Face Transactions?Face-to-face (a.k.a. card-present) are payments where both the card and the cardholder are present for the duration of the transaction. Retailers that accept credit cards in a face-to-face setting include supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.Payments made at unattended point-of-sale (POS) terminals, such as gas stations, are also

U.S. Merchant Account Qualifications

2011-02-24T19:52:00.007-05:00

Do You Actually Need a Merchant Account?The truth is that you may not actually need a merchant account. Yet, if you want to be able to accept credit cards and other electronic forms of payment on a regular basis and look like a real business while doing it, you will most probably need one. This service will enable you to connect to the credit card processing companies and associations through a

What Every Merchant Needs to Know About Flat Rate Pricing

2011-02-16T16:33:00.007-05:00

The two most popular pricing models currently used by U.S. credit card processing companies are the interchange-plus and the tiered models. Each one has its advantages, which is why they've been in circulation for so many years, but each pricing structure also has its shortcomings, which are not simple to remedy. On its most basic level, the issue with these models is that you can use them to

Understanding Virtual Terminals

2011-02-13T19:19:00.015-05:00

In my previous post I reviewed Authorize.Net, which is the world's most popular payment gateway, a service that enables e-commerce merchants to connect their websites' shopping carts with their processors' payment system's back end. Another service used by merchants processing card-not-present payments is the virtual terminal.What is Virtual Terminal?Virtual terminal is a service used by

Authorize.Net Payment Gateway

2011-02-12T19:38:00.012-05:00

At UniBul Merchant Services we work mostly with e-commerce and MO / TO merchants and are constantly fielding inquiries about payment gateways and virtual terminals. Of course, our free Authorize.Net merchant account is a big reason why there is so much interest. What we learn from these inquiries, however, is that there often is a great deal of misunderstanding about the role a payment gateway

MasterCard Electronic Card

2010-01-05T19:20:00.002-05:00

Card issuers have the right to charge back an interchange transaction initiated with a MasterCard Electronic card if a merchant accepts a MasterCard Electronic card for payment and a dispute arises pertaining to the transaction. Second Presentment Procedures for Inadvertent Acceptance of MasterCard Electronic Cards Acquirers that have opted out of MasterCard Electronic may process a second

Acquirer Reference Data in First Chargeback / 1442 Messages

2009-12-26T13:00:00.001-05:00

When processing a chargeback, a card issuer must provide the acquirer with an Acquirer Reference Data (ARD) in the First Chargeback / 1442 message.If the acquirer receives an invalid ARD, or one that is incompatible with the cardholder account number and transaction amount, the acquirer must submit a Second Presentment / 1442 message within 45 calendar days of the Central Site Business Date of

Chargeback Supporting Documentation

2009-12-17T18:17:00.002-05:00

The types of documentation that will or may be requested throughout the chargeback cycle include the following: Sales receipt. Member banks are required to send the original or a legible photocopy of the actual sales receipt that was generated upon completion of the transaction. There are exceptions to this rule, for example, when the type of transaction allows the acquirer to provide an

Retrieval Requests

2009-12-14T18:59:00.001-05:00

Before initiating certain chargebacks, the card issuer may be required to request a copy of the sales receipt to substantiate the chargeback. To request a retrieval, the issuer submits a Retrieval Request / 1644-603 message. The issuer uses the following retrieval request message reasons.