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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is a Merchant Account?

A Merchant Account is an account that you have with the bank in order to accept credit card payments from customers. The bank collects funds from the credit card purchasers and deposits the funds in your bank account. Once you get your merchant account set up, you can start to accept credit cards from your customers.

How does it work?

To be competitive in today's marketplace, your business needs a merchant account to accept and process credit card or debit card transactions. This process authenticates a valid card, authorizes the funds’ availability, and then the settlement secures the transfer of funds from your customer’s account to your account. These merchant services incur a monthly fee and a transaction fee, which are standard throughout the industry.

What's the difference between a credit card and a debit card?

A credit card is a card that lets a consumer access funds in a credit line set aside for that user. When the purchase is made, and settlement occurs, funds are drawn from the credit line and deposited to the merchant's account. On the other hand, a debit card is a payment card whose funds are withdrawn directly from the cardholder's checking account. With an on-line debit card, the customer must enter a PIN to authorize payment at the time of sale (and the funds are settled through a debit network). In the case of off-line debit cards (generally with Visa or MasterCard logos) the customer signs a receipt, as would be the case in a credit card transaction. In this case, the funds are transferred after batch settlement. Also, the debit card offers lower costs for the merchant vs. the using Visa or MasterCard.

How does this compare to PayPal?

Unlike PayPal, we offer a direct relationship with Visa and MasterCard. Rather than having a third party process transactions for you and release funds when requested, we process transactions directly off of your website, and deposit the money directly to your bank account.

Why should I accept Credit Cards?

TO INCREASE YOUR SALES!

• Credit card customers will purchase more merchandise
• You will sell more higher priced items
• You will increase impulse buying
• You never have to turn customers away to your competition

What do these rates and fees mean to me?

Discount Rate - A fixed percentage taken from every transaction. Swiping a card will incur a lower rate than keying because you are capturing the physical data on the card and seeing your customer in person; both help to prevent fraud. Transaction Fee - A fixed charge incurred any time you run a transaction (including batches). If you sell a lot of low priced items, you will need a lower transaction fee. Monthly Fees - There is always a monthly fee incurred—usually called a customer service fee. However, you can sometimes be charged a statement fee as well if you get your statements mailed to you. Monthly Minimum - If you do not process any transactions, you will incur a monthly minimum. If your fees in discount rates don't add up to the minimum, you will be charged the difference. If you process over the minimum, you won't have to pay any extra fees.

What is required?

Legal Requirements:

• US Bank Account
• US Physical Address
• US Tax ID / SS#
• Must be 18 or older

I have a retail account. Can I connect an online account to my existing account?

Since the marketing method will change for your account, you should open a separate online merchant account, where we are anticipating that the card will not be present for these sales. Processing online transactions through a retail account typically increases the cost of processing.

Can I reprogram my existing equipment?

Absolutely! We will evaluate your current rates and fees and show you how you can save money while gaining the most reputable service in the industry.

What is a chargeback?

A chargeback occurs when a transaction is billed back to the merchant after the sale has been settled. Chargebacks are initiated by the card issuer on behalf of the cardholder. Typical cardholder disputes involve product delivery failure or product/service dissatisfaction. Cardholders are urged to try to obtain satisfaction from the merchant before disputing the bill with the merchant

What are a secure payment gateway and a secure socket layer?

Secure Payment Gateway - Companies help other processors conduct secure business on the Internet using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. They provide a system that passes credit card data, authorization requests, and authorization responses over the Internet, using encryption technology. The transaction information is sent by the payment gateway secure server via leased line to the credit card network where the validity of the card is checked and the availability of funds on that account is verified. An authorization code is returned via leased line to the payment gateway; the authorization is encrypted by the payment gateway and is transmitted in encrypted form to the web server of the merchant, which triggers fulfillment of the order. Rather than trying to create their own secure web systems, many banks and bank/processor alliances will use a secure payment gateway provider to perform this task for them.

What is the difference between real-time processing and offline processing?

Real-time processing means that when a website's customer conducts an online purchase, the check or credit card information is conveyed to the processor at that exact time so that an authorization can be requested and received at that moment. Real-time processing always implies that a Secure Payment Gateway is being utilized, whether proprietary or third party. Offline processing means that the check or credit card information is verified after the transaction has been entered.

I need to process transactions outside my place of business. How should I do this?

Depending upon the percentage of business done on the road, there are two ways of processing. If a large amount of business is done on the road, or if you have a very high-ticket price, a wireless terminal will allow you to capture funds in real time wherever you are. If you only have a few shows that you do outside the office, using a Virtual Terminal is a cost effective way to process transactions from anywhere you have an internet connection. Call our sales team at 866.846.1414 to find out more.

What if I am under my Average Monthly Volume?

There is no penalty for processing less than the average monthly volume listed on your application.

What if I go over my Average Monthly Volume?

If you happen to go over your average monthly volume in a given month, some transactions may be held until we can get verification from you on details of the sale. A receipt, invoice or tracking number may be required to release the funds to your account.

Can I process transactions greater than my Average Ticket?

The average ticket is a guideline, but transactions that exceed the amount set on your application may cause a delay in the transaction to be funded. An abnormally large ticket may require a receipt, invoice or tracking number to verify that the transaction was valid and that funds can be released to your account.

Why is more than the quoted discount rate being removed from my transactions?

Certain factors cause a transaction to “downgrade” to a higher percentage rate. These factors can range from certain address information not being passed to the processor to perform Address Verification, the card in use being issued to a business or corporation, or the card being issued by a foreign bank. Check with your processor for the exact reason why transactions are downgrading.

I have funds on hold, what do I do?

The first step is to call the Loss Prevention Department at (800) 456-5989 x 5, option 2. The representative in Loss Prevention will give you details on the information needed to release your funds.

What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway is a service that connects your online store with your merchant account provider. This service reads the information from the order forms and translates that information for the merchant account. The payment gateway also verifies that the customer’s credit card account has the necessary credit available for the purchase.

How can I assure my customers that their transactions are secure?

Obviously, if your customers will be submitting their credit card information to you online they will want to know that this information is safe. If they are not comfortable with the security your site offers, they will probably not buy products from you. The best way to alleviate your customers’ concerns is to secure your site using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). When a site is secured with SSL—the standard form of encryption currently used on the Web—visitors will see a special symbol in their browser window that indicates the site is secure. Visitors can also tell that a page is secured by looking at the URL. A secure page’s URL begins with the letters “HTTPS” instead of the standard “HTTP.”

What is an SSL Certificate? How do I get one?

An SSL Certificate, or a digital certificate, is an electronic document that contains the information necessary to establish a secure SSL connection. When used in credit card transactions, the Web site collecting the credit card information and the site to which the information is being transmitted must both have an SSL Certificate. InternetMerchant provides SSL Certificates. Contact our sales team at 866.846.1414 if you are interested in purchasing one.

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