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Merchant Accounts – Set Up
Q: How do I setup my shopping cart with merchant account services for credit card processing?
A: Most shopping cart systems are "pre-programmed" to allow easy credit card processing. Most shopping cart companies like Network Solutions integrate with something called "virtual terminals" or "gateways." In order to use these gateways you need to sign-up with one of Global Payment Inc.’s multiple gateway providers, such as Authorize.net or PayPal, directly. Some merchant account service providers bundle a gateway with their merchant accounts.
Q: Do I have to change banks or open special accounts?
A: Funds can be deposited into any business checking account.
Q: How long will it take to begin processing?
A: After credit approval for your merchant account, your system is available for use in approximately 5 business days.
Merchant Account Rates
Q: I see a lot of advertising that says "no hidden fees." What does this mean?
A: All merchant account services have similar costs .“If it looks to good to be true, it probably is." - This is absolutely the case with online merchant accounts.
There are many costs associated with providing and establishing merchant services: Software and virtual gateway development costs, network costs, security costs, fraud examiners cost, customer service reps, administrative costs, hardware costs, mailing costs, bank fees, etc. It is important to read all contracts. You can always expect to see a gateway fee, a statement fee, a transaction fee (both flat and percentage), a charge back fee, and a monthly minimum fee and there is sometimes variation based on how much information is sent through the gateway when the card is processed.
Credit Card Processing Terminology
Q: What is a gateway or virtual terminal?
A: Gateways are special pieces of online software that securely pass credit card information from the shopping cart to the merchant’s payment processor, such as Global Payments Inc.. As the processor, Global Payments then routes this information to the merchant bank. The user interface of the payment gateway is often referred to as the virtual terminal because they perform the same function virtually that credit card swipe machines perform in brick-and-mortar stores. The shopping cart will pass all the credit card information directly to the gateway via a secure SSL encrypted channel. The gateway then passes all of the information to Global Payments Inc., who will process the payment information and communicate directly to the merchant bank (also known as the merchant account provider). Funds will be deposited in your business checking account
Global Transport – VT, from Global Payments Inc., is a secure, virtual terminal (VT) solution for processing all major credit cards, debit cards, and EBT cards with fast transaction times. This offering allows the user to be configured for Recurring Payments in an automated fashion. In addition, the user has online access to real-time transaction data. The VT application offers data retrieval and management information reporting 24 hours-a-day.
This dynamic solution is available through any Windows™-based (XP or 2003) PC, utilizing Internet Explorer™ 6.0 or higher. Using this solution, retail, restaurant, mail order/telephone order, and eCommerce merchants have immediate, convenient, and secure access to transaction processing and can obtain critical, current and historical business information with “point and click”ease.
Chargebacks - Defeating credit card fraud
Q: What are chargebacks and how do they work?
A: A chargeback is a previous transaction that is being disputed by the credit card or debit card owner or their issuing institution. A chargeback occurs when a cardholder disputes a charge or when proper bankcard acceptance and authorization procedures were not followed. If you receive a chargeback, your deposit account is debited for the indicated amount. In addition to the chargeback, you may incur a $50.00 fee if you failed to follow credit card acceptance and authorization procedures.
Reasons for chargebacks include a cardholder dispute or an error in handling on the part of a merchant's staff. Chargebacks are rare if proper authorizations and payment processing procedures are followed.
Chargeback Guide for Merchants
As a small business, chargebacks are more than a nuisance – they can cost you significant time and lost profits. Global Payments and Network Solutions recommend taking the following precautions to significantly reduce the chance of receiving a chargeback notification.
- Do not charge a cardholder before shipping the merchandise
- Do not accept sales that are declined, and if a sale is declined, do not attempt authorization a second time on a declined sale. The cardholder bank may collect a $50.00 fee if you fail to follow card acceptance and authorization procedures.
- Do not accept sales that are not authorized for the exact amount
- Do not accept an expired card
- Do not accept a card before the effective date on a dual dated card
- Do not process a credit as a sale
- Do not deposit the sales draft more than once
- Do not deposit an incomplete sales draft
- Do not accept a sales draft without a cardholder signature
- Do not participate in a suspicious transaction
- Do not obtain an authorization by using multiple transaction/split sales drafts
- Do not accept a card where the account number obtained off the magnetic stripe does not match the account number on the draft
- Do understand that you assume all responsibility for the identity of the cardholder for all fax, Internet, mail order and telephone order sales
- Do prepare and submit a written rebuttal within the time specified on the chargeback notification
- Do accept cards where the cardholder account number is valid
- Do authorize all sales
- Do verify arithmetic on sales drafts
- Do charge the cardholder for the correct amount
- Do deposit the sales draft before the contractual time limit
- Do credit the cardholder for the returned merchandise
- Do credit the cardholder for a canceled order
- Do verify that the signature on the sales draft matches the signature on the card
- Do verify the authorization code
- Do obtain a manual imprint, if unable to capture from magnetic stripe.
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