Merchant's Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
How do I know what terminal I will need?
Why do I need Equipment? Can't I just
call the number in for verification?
Can I use the old style sliding imprinter
and turn in my receipts for processing?
Should I go with software or hardware?
I want to accept credit cards on my web
site. What do I need to do?
Why are there different rates?
How long does it take for the money to be
deposited into my bank account?
Will you raise my rates later?
How do I get the equipment to process credit
cards?
What about debit cards? How do they
work?
What is a chargeback?
What is a transaction fee?
Do Mastercard and Visa get anything?
Is there a monthly statement fee?
What is a Minimum Monthly Discount?
How do I know what terminal I will need?
If you have a storefront, where the customer comes in and presents their
credit card for a purchase, a simple terminal is all that would be needed
to read the magnetic stripe on the card. A receipt can be printed for
the customer after the transaction has been authorized with some terminals
having printers connected and some having them built in.
If you accept credit cards on location, like a service call, terminals
will work in any phone outlet allowing you to take the equipment with
you. Dragging along a printer might not seem like a good idea, but a
terminal with a built in printer would work. Or you can take an old
style sliding imprinter with you, get an imprint of the card, and bring
it back to your business to key in the numbers. You can also use a cellular
phone with some terminals. Software can be installed on a laptop computer
and you could process cards anywhere. Or process online with a Virtual
Terminal if you have access to the Internet.
If accepting credit cards over the phone, as in mail-order, everything
works the same except you will have to key in the numbers. You would
be unable to swipe
the card through a reader. Optional card readers are available. A printer
is optional if you want to keep track of purchases easily and send your
customer a receipt. Otherwise, you would need to keep track of reference
numbers and authorization numbers that are returned to the terminal's
LED readout yourself, when completing a sale.
If you have a restaurant, nightclub, beauty salon, or a business where you need a machine that can track your receipts, you'll need a terminal that can track multiple accounts. Waitresses can have their tips separated, the different chairs in a beauty salon can each have a code number, and each could have their day's receipts assigned to the code and tracked. Have your daily or weekly transactions broken down into categories such as average ticket, and Mastercard versus American Express purchases for example.
There are many equipment options, and the best way to determine what
equipment you need is to talk with one of our representatives.
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Why do I need equipment? Can't I call for
verification?
Yes, you can call in a credit card number for verification. Our service,
Dial Pay, allows you to phone our processing center with the credit
card number, and our processing rep will actually process the transaction
for you. There is an activation fee, and a higher transaction cost,
which is not cost feasible if you have many sales. If you have just
a few sales, Dial Pay might be just right for you.
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Can I use the sliding imprinter and turn
in my receipts for processing?
If you cannot swipe a card through an electronic terminal to complete
a transaction, you can use an imprinter to get an impression of the
card, fill out the old style carbon paper receipt, get a signature,
and punch the numbers in later. This transaction carries with it the
MO/TO rate, but you won't miss a sale. You may want to call and get
authorization if the sale is large enough, to make sure the card is
good. The receipt is yours, we don't use the receipts for processing.
Keep signatures on file for one year. We'll give you a sliding imprinter
in case you ever need it, with the paper receipts. Some terminals now
have Store and Forward features, where you can swipe a card and send
the information at a later time.
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Should I go with software or hardware?
It really depends on your future needs. Software can perform like a
regular terminal, but it needs optional add-ons to swipe a credit card,
or to accept debit card PIN numbers. Software is not dependable, and
can have many bugs in the code. Most cannot be upgraded. If you plan
on accepting cards personally in the future by opening a storefront,
you may want to consider a terminal capable of swiping credit cards.
Use it for mail order today, and later you will be ready to accept cards
in a retail setting.
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I want to accept credit cards on my web site.
What do I need to do?
You have two choices, accept credit cards in real time, or accept them
off-line. MasterCard and Visa require you to have a secure page to accept
credit cards in real time on the Internet. Information must be encrypted
to guard against the theft of credit card numbers. The easiest and most
economical way of accepting credit cards over the Internet is by telephone,
off-line. The customer simply calls you to place an order. Just like
ordering from a catalog. Accepting credit card numbers using e-mail
is not acceptable. If you accept credit cards in real time you will
need to do at least an average amount of business each month. Otherwise,
try the telephone method until your business does enough transactions
to warrant real time processing. A Virtual Terminal is included.
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Why are there different rates?
The lowest rate is obtained when you physically swipe the card through
a reader. To credit card companies, this is the safest against fraud.
When you manually key in the numbers, from a telephone sale the magnetic
stripe on the card is not read, and the risk of fraud, and loss, goes
up according to card companies, so the rate is higher. To keep your
costs lower, always try to swipe the card through your terminal if at
all possible. It is difficult to determine if a credit card is stolen,
or fake, if the card is taken over the telephone.
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How long does it take for the money to be
deposited into my bank account?
If a customer comes in on Monday and makes a purchase, the sale is recorded
and saved by your terminal. At midnight, our banks receive information
from businesses all over the country. The next day it is processed,
and at midnight, the money is transferred to your business bank account
and will be available to you on Wednesday, unless your bank posts it
later. If a purchase is made on Friday, since banks are closed over
the weekends at midnight, your money will reach your bank account by
Tuesday. It takes 48 hours to post to your account.
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Will you raise my rates later?
The only time we will raise Mastercard and Visa's rates are when MasterCard
and Visa does. When this happens, all companies will be raising rates.
If they increase it .02% we will increase ours by .02%.
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How do I get the equipment to process credit
cards?
You can choose to purchase processing equipment. You can choose
to lease-to-own processing equipment. Leases include a service plan
that completely protects your equipment! If your equipment fails, call
us immediately! We will overnight you a replacement. Others will tell
you that you'll have to send yours to the manufacturer and they won't
Federal Express you an overnight replacement. We know how important
lost sales are to your business! We also have options for seasonal businesses.
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What about debit cards? How do they work?
Debit cards combine the functions of ATM cards and checks. Debit cards
are issued by banks, but are used at stores, not at the banks themselves.
When you pay with a debit card, the money is automatically deducted
from your checking account. Many merchants accept ATM cards as debit
cards. Banks typically issue a combined ATM/debit card, which looks
just like a credit card and can be used in places where credit cards
are accepted. But don't be mistaken--they are not credit cards. The
money spent comes out of a checking account immediately using debit.
Many people prefer debit cards over checks. Debit is not available in
all states.
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What is a chargeback?
A chargeback occurs when a customer disputes a charge on their monthly
statement. If a customer sees a charge they think they did not make,
or if they ordered something through the mail and did not receive the
product, that customer has up to one year to dispute the charge according
to Mastercard and Visa's consumer protection regulations. All they have
to do is call the bank where the card was issued from and tell them
they want the charge dropped. The bank will chargeback the transaction
to you, and take the money from your merchant account. You have to prove
that the sale or delivery of the product went to the actual person whose
name appeared on the credit card that was used, as well as the address.
Many companies will not ship to any other address than what is listed
as the card holder's address.If someone else had used the card and made
a fraudulent purchase, naturally the owner of the card would notice
the charge and immediately dispute it. It is very important and helps
in your favor incases of chargeback disputes to have utilized AVS. Address
Verification System.
Terminals used for credit card processing of mail orders and telephone
mail orders should have the AVS enacted and be using it. Fraud is more
of a problem than most people realize. Credit card fraud is widespread.
The hardest hit victim is usually the merchant. Any steps you can take
to protect yourself from chargebacks is a positive step.
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What is a transaction fee?
A transaction fee is charged for connection of your terminal or
software into the processing network. The fees for using their lines
and network are as low as .20 cents if the credit card was swiped through
a card reader electronically, and .30 cents if the transaction was keyed
in on the terminal.
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Does Mastercard and Visa get anything?
Mastercard and Visa fees are as low as 1.75% for swiped cards and 2.39%
for unswiped cards. That would be $1.75 for every $100 of swiped credit
card sales, and $2.39 for every $100 of unswiped credit card sales.
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Is there a monthly statement fee?
There is a $10 monthly statement fee. This is for maintenance and frequent
access of your merchant account. A report will be sent each month detailing
all of your transactions and deposits to your merchant account. It's
the same type of maintenance fee assessed by banks to maintain your
personal bank accounts. Top of page
What is a Minimum Monthly Discount?
The Minimum Monthly Discount is a minimum fee to be met when you have
a merchant account. The $25 monthly minimum, is waived when you
meet your minimum volume or go over it,and is prorated when you meet
part of your minimum.
Example: If your MC/Visa processing rate is: $2.39
Take your rate (2.39%) X your monthly sales volume
($xxxx)
example 1: .0239 rate X $1050 volume = $25.09
($25.09 exceeds the $25 monthly minimum, no fee is owed)
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