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Click Here To View Our Glossary of Terms
GENERAL:
BILLING:
SECURITY:
CHARGEBACKS:
ELECTRONIC CHECKS:
| Q: |
What are the requirements for submitting an online application? |
| A: |
To submit an Online Seller Enrolment
Application, you must be able
to answer "YES" to all of the following criteria:
- I am over 18 years of age.
- I am the owner of the business, sole proprietor; or if other type of business, or I am officer or director
of the business that is authorized on behalf of the business to submit this Online Seller Enrolment Application.
- The checking account from which my monthly Integrated Payment Service (IPS) account fees will be deducted,
and to where my sales receivables will be sent, is my personal or business checking account.
- The business that I am submitting the application for is based in the United States.
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| Q: |
What kind of hardware and software do I need to use the Integrated Payment
Service (IPS) processing solution? |
| A: |
For the Virtual Terminal, merchants may log into the Authorize.Net Merchant
Interface from any web browser, including, but not limited to, Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. No
software is required by Authorize.Net or Wells Fargo to process transactions from a Web site using the SIM or
AIM integration methods. |
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| Q: |
What is the SecureSource RiskAssessor(SM) system? |
| A: |
The RiskAssessor system is a proprietary risk and fraud technology that
is US Patent Pending. This system fraud-screens, assesses and flags Enrolment and transaction data that might
otherwise
go undetected through usual processing channels, and result in a fraudulent charge or purchase. |
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| Q: |
Can I share an Integrated Payment Service (IPS) account with other merchants? |
| A: |
No. Sharing a merchant account with other merchants (sometimes referred
to as "factoring") is against Credit Card Association regulations and may result in the termination
of your IPS account. |
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| Q: |
What happens when I apply to become a registered Integrated Payment Service
(IPS) merchant? |
| A: |
SecureSource examines a number of criteria before approving an application
and registering a Merchant. Some of the criteria SecureSource examines includes, but is not limited to:
- Agreement with Merchant policies.
- Agreement with Billing procedures.
- Risk and fraud analysis of offline and online business practices.
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| Q: |
What is a BIN or Bank Identification Number? |
| A: |
A BIN, or Bank Identification Number, is a number that Discover®, MasterCard® and
VISA® issue when they license a bank to issue cards to its customers. |
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| Q: |
Can I manually process transactions? |
| A: |
Yes. You can manually process transactions using the Virtual Terminal
and Upload Transaction File features of the Authorize.Net Merchant Interface.
The Virtual Terminal is a secure
web-based "terminal" that enables businesses to accept, authorize, process,
and manage credit card transactions from any computer that has an Internet connection (this solution is ideal
for merchants who manually enter credit card transactions for mail, phone, or fax order sales).
The Upload Transaction
File feature allows you to upload a file containing multiple transactions to the Payment Gateway, providing
a quick solution for recurring billing and high-volume transaction processing.
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| Q: |
Are there browser-specific issues that I need to be aware for using the
Integrated Payment Service (IPS) processing solution? |
| A: |
You can access the Authorize.Net Merchant Interface using any web browser,
including, but not limited to Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. For optimal performance, use Netscape
Navigator 5.0, Internet Explorer 5.0, or their more recent respective versions. |
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| Q: |
Are there any restrictions on what I can sell? |
| A: |
Any merchant who knowingly and deliberately supplies false information
during the online application or transaction process will be denied access to an Integrated Payment
Service (IPS) account.
Merchants who provide the following goods or services will likely be declined for
an account due to the increased risk associated with the selling and/or distribution of these items:
- Adult membership sites
- Adult related products; escort services
- Materials and/or information that is considered grossly offensive
or libelous
- Audio text; video text; online newsletters
- Customised products, such as custom golf clubs
- Gaming, lottery
- Sweepstakes
- Pyramid schemes; multi-level marketing companies
- Credit card insurance programs
- Online trading (brokerage)
- Travel and travel related businesses; airlines
- Mail order herbal remedies
- Illegal substances and/or activities
- Materials and/or information that is considered grossly offensive or libelous
- Products and services that infringe on the trademarked or copyrighted property of others
- Any product or service that presents an unacceptably high risk of purchaser disputes
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| Q: |
I have another online merchant account. Can I use my existing merchant
account with the Integrated Payment Service (IPS) processing solution? |
| A: |
No. You must apply for a new IPS account by completing the online
application. |
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| Q: |
Does MerchantIPS have a glossary
of terms and relevant definitions available for me to view online? |
| A: |
Yes, please click here to see a list of relevant glossary terms and definitions
that pertain to merchant account and payment gateways. |
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| Q: |
What is a Discount Rate? |
| A: |
The Discount Rate is a fee associated with collecting, assessing, approving,
processing, and settling credit card transactions. In other words, it's the fee charged to the merchant to
process credit card transactions. |
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| Q: |
How is my Integrated Payment Service (IPS) Discount Rate determined? |
| A: |
Your IPS Discount Rate is determined by checking the information you
provide in the online application to project the transaction services your online sales will require. The
services required to assess, approve, process, and settle an online sale include,
but are not limited to:
- Chargeback procedures
- Risk assessment
- Fraud screening
- Fraud management
- Seller acceptance
- Support services
- Investigation procedures
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| Q: |
How is a Discount Rate collected? |
| A: |
The Discount Rate fee for each approved credit card transaction is automatically
deducted from the amount deposited into the checking or savings account you provided in the online application.
This is a daily process. |
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| Q: |
Can I have the fee for my discount rate deducted from a credit card? |
| A: |
No. At this time, the Integrated Payment Service (IPS) processing solution
does not deduct any fees from the credit card of a registered merchant. |
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| Q: |
What is the Daily Batch Settlement Fee? |
| A: |
The Daily Batch Settlement Fee is
a fee incurred, at most, once daily (not more often, but could be less often depending upon the circumstances).
The Batch Settlement Fee is an amount deducted from the captured funds for a given day. The Daily Batch Settlement
Fee is deducted ONLY on days when you have captured funds to your SecureSource account. If you have only authorised
payments for a given day, and
did not
capture
any
funds for that same day, then there is no daily batch settlement fee assessed. |
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| Q: |
How secure are my online transactions when using the Integrated Payment
Service (IPS) processing solution? |
| A: |
The IPS processing solution integrates several fraud prevention measures
to maximize the security of confidential information submitted online. These measures include but are not
limited to:
- Providing consistency of information, or data integrity, during transmission from the user's computer
to Wells Fargo. Specifically, data integrity involves preventing unauthorized creation, modification or
destruction of information from unauthorized sources through the Internet. For any e-commerce transaction,
it is essential that the IPS processing solution receive the exact transaction information as supplied
by the initiator (merchant) of the transaction. It is critical that a financial transaction be completed
exactly as originally intended. As the merchant, you must also be assured that the information you received
was properly authorized and was not tampered with during transmission.
- Ongoing protection of your transaction
information is provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. IPS uses sophisticated data information checks
that control the risk of data alteration during transmission to identify
any data that has been altered.
- Encryption is a way to control information integrity and makes it difficult for an unauthorized
party to access and read transaction information. Using encryption-matching processes, information that
has been altered can easily be identified and the transaction rejected since the integrity of the information
is suspect. If the transaction is rejected, the customer can re-initiate the purchase. (There is no monetary
impact to your online business if this occurs.)
- Internal system controls over the systems that use the information are implemented to
provide the integrity of data while it is being processed by IPS.
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| Q: |
What is a chargeback? |
| A: |
When a credit card transaction is disputed (either at the request of the
Cardholder or by a Card Issuer), the dispute is handled through a chargeback. A chargeback will cause the amount
of the original sale and a chargeback fee to be deducted from the checking account you provided in the online
application. |
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| Q: |
What is a retrieval request? |
| A: |
A retrieval request occurs when your customer requests more information
about a transaction that appears on his or her credit card statement. |
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| Q: |
How does a retrieval request occur? |
| A: |
A customer contacts his or her credit card issuer to initiate the request. |
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| Q: |
Are any funds deducted from my bank account as a result of a retrieval
request? |
| A: |
No, a retrieval request is just a request for information. The amount
of a retrieval request is not deducted from your bank account. |
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| Q: |
What are some of the reasons for chargebacks? |
| A: |
Some of the reasons for chargebacks include:
- Merchandise is damaged
in transit and arrives broken
- A Cardholder returns the merchandise but has not received a refund
- A Cardholder disputes a transaction as a fraudulent use of their card.
- Fraud screening
- Fraud management
- Merchant acceptance
- Support services
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| Q: |
What should I do if I receive a chargeback? |
| A: |
If you receive a chargeback, read the chargeback carefully and see if
you are able to provide the requested information. For example, for a "credit not issued" chargeback,
the Cardholder is stating they are entitled to a refund, but have not received one. In this case, if you receive
a "credit not issued" chargeback but have already sent a refund check to the customer, you can provide
a copy of the front and back of the cancelled check. |
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| Q: |
How do I manage chargebacks? |
| A: |
To ensure safe receipt of merchandise, use a form of shipping that
provides proof of delivery. For higher ticket items, require a signature for delivery. If a buyer contacts
you with a complaint about a purchase, work with that buyer to resolve the dispute. If you can't resolve
the dispute to their satisfaction, instruct the buyer how to return the merchandise and what form of shipping
they should use. Once the merchandise has been returned to you, issue a credit to the same credit card used
to make the purchase. Pay attention to the Address Verification System (AVS) response received. Don't accept
numbers and information that don't match and use common sense in shipping to an address other than the buyer's
billing address. International purchases involve a higher risk, in part because address verification is only
available for U.S. transactions. Here are some terms you should become familiar with and some simple tips
you can use to manage chargebacks.
COMMON TERMS:
- Chargeback - The return of a sale that has previously been charged to an Issuer and subsequently to its
Cardholder.
- Re-presentment - The re-submission by an Acquirer of a previously charged back
sale in an attempt to re-charge the Cardholder. Chargebacks usually requires some form of additional
documentation confirming
the
validity of the charge and disputing
the chargeback reason.
- Proof of delivery - A delivery receipt signed by the cardholder or a carrier's
confirmation that the merchandise was delivered to the correct address.
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| Q: |
How does a chargeback take place? |
| A: |
A chargeback begins when a buyer contacts their bank to dispute a transaction.
The chargeback is passed through the credit card networks to the seller. Your account will be charged at
the time the chargeback is received. When the seller receives the chargeback it will include a "respond
by" date. As the credit card associations only allow a limited amount of time to respond to a chargeback,
it is critical any response be provided by this date.
In some cases, chargebacks can be "re-presented", in other words information can be presented
back to the cardholder's bank disputing the chargeback. Below are the most common scenarios where re-presentment
is feasible. The ultimate decision of whether or not to accept the re-presentment rests with the cardholder's
bank. Potential re-presentments:
- If the chargeback reason is "non receipt of merchandise" and
proof of delivery is available, the chargeback can be re-presenter with a copy of the delivery confirmation.
- If
the chargeback reason is "credit not processed" and the customer has already received a refund,
the chargeback can be represented along with a copy of the cancelled check or the credit card refund information.
- If
the chargeback reason is "fraud", and proof of delivery to the buyer's billing address is
available, the chargeback can be represented with a copy of the proof of delivery.
- If the chargeback reason
is quality related e.g. "not as described" or "defective merchandise,"
and the seller has not received the merchandise back, the chargeback can be represented with the statement that the merchandise
has not been returned.
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| Q: |
What is an Electronic Check? |
| A: |
An electronic check is a convenient Internet purchase instrument that
many Internet shoppers (your customers) use. It works just like a paper check, except it is processed electronically
and it clears faster than a paper check. A customer uses funds from a savings or checking account when paying
by electronic check. |
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| Q: |
Why should I offer Electronic Check as a payment option? |
| A: |
By providing your customers with the option of paying with an electronic
check, you can sell goods and services to customers who do not have a credit card, or would rather not use
a credit card. An electronic check is a guaranteed Internet purchase instrument that is a cost-effective alternative
to paper checks and credit cards. Check the pricing page for the terms and conditions of processing electronic
checks. |
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| Q: |
How is an Electronic Check processed? |
| A: |
Your customers input their account information in your system. The account
information is securely passed through the SecureSource(SM) payments service and the transaction
is presented to the purchaser's bank for settlement. After 4 business days, SecureSource sends you payment
confirmation via e-mail, acknowledging that the payment has cleared. Electronic check transactions require
sellers to wait
until they have received notification that the transaction has cleared before shipping merchandise to their
customers. The electronic check payment is then automatically deposited into the bank account you've selected.
You can access your back-office using SecureSource payments service to look up any transaction,
payment, and deposit information. |
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| Q: |
Who can use Electronic Checks? |
| A: |
Today, all U.S.-based buyers with a U.S. checking or savings accounts
can pay for goods and services with an electronic check. |
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| Q: |
Can an Electronic Check be canceled? |
| A: |
Once an electronic check payment is initiated, it can only be reversed
in the event that it is fraudulent. |
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