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Frequently Asked Questions How long does it take to be approved? I don’t know what my annual volume/average ticket size will be; can I just put $0? Do I need to purchase any equipment? I operate my business out of my office at home. Can I get an account with you? I have some past credit problems. Can you still set up my account? How long does it take for funds to transfer to my account? What is Interchange? Will my business receive a statement that reports on the transactions processed? Why am I being asked to provide additional documentation on a transaction? What is a chargeback? How long does a customer have to dispute a charge? What credit cards can I accept? What's the difference between a credit card and a debit card? What is a discount rate? What is Address Verification Service (AVS)? I have a new Internet business. Can I get credit card processing from you? What is a payment gateway? What does it mean if I’m placed on TMF? What is Pass Thru plus Pricing? My business is seasonal and is only open 2 months out of the year can I still qualify for a merchant account? Do I receive any training on the equipment or software? |
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How long does it take to be approved?
Most accounts are approved within 24 hours of receiving all necessary paperwork. Once approved, we will immediately inform you of your acceptance and deliver the terminal equipment or software. << Back I don’t know what my annual volume/average ticket size will be; can I just put $0? When an account is approved, it is added to the system with the average ticket size and volume, which then sets the threshold amongst other criteria. If the merchant runs a transaction that exceeds that threshold, the transaction is placed into a daily queue that is checked and reviewed by our Loss Prevention department and then a phone call is placed. << Back Do I need to purchase any equipment? No, the equipment you now have can be re-programmed without the need to purchase anything new. If you wish to upgrade your equipment, you may rent it for a low monthly fee or purchase the equipment on a one-time payment basis. << Back I operate my business out of my office at home. Can I get an account with you? I have some past credit problems. Can you still set up my account? We are able to approve over 95% of all applications submitted. We can let you know if your account is approved within 24 hours of receiving your application. << Back How long does it take for funds to transfer to my account? What is Interchange? Visa and MasterCard transactions are driven by an interchange-based system. Interchange is a fee paid by the Visa or MasterCard member institution that processes the transaction on behalf of a merchant (the acquirer) to the member institution that issued the card to the consumer (the issuer). Interchange rates are determined by Visa and MasterCard but the fees are not retained by the associations who act as intermediaries between the members on either end of the transaction. Interchange expense are deducted from transaction volume at the time of settlement from issuers to acquirers. For example, if a merchant requests settlement for $100 and the transaction is subject to an interchange rate of 2%, then the acquirer receives only $98 from the settled transaction. << Back Will my business receive a statement that reports on the transactions processed? Yes. Every month we’ll mail you a statement with detailed information on all deposits into your account, your total sales volume, and charges.. These are mailed automatically at the beginning of each month, or On-line transaction reporting is available for all services for an additional fee. << Back Why am I being asked to provide additional documentation on a transaction? The reasons for the request of additional documents can vary but most commonly it is because the transaction in question needs to be validated, or checking to see if there is a signature authorizing the charge and acknowledging the terms of the sale or looking to see if the product is presold. << Back What is a chargeback? A cardholder may dispute a credit card charge for many reasons, and when they do it is "charged back" to the merchant by the cardholder's bank. If the transaction is charged back, the merchant will have an opportunity to rebut the cardholders claim. If the cardholder’s claim is determined to be invalid, the chargeback will be returned. Contact our experienced Chargeback area for assistance in responding to a chargeback. << Back How long does a customer have to dispute a charge? The cardholder is within his/her legal rights to begin procedures to dispute the charge up to six months after the date of sale, although in extreme cases the charge may be disputed up to 3 years after. B<< Back What credit cards can I accept? Century Bankcard Services allows merchants to process Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB credit cards. In addition, retail merchants can accept debit/ATM cards issued by all national and regional ATM networks. << Back What's the difference between a credit card and a debit card? A credit card is a card that allows 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 and a PIN is NOT required to authorize the transaction. In this case, the funds are transferred after batch settlement. << Back What is a discount rate? The discount rate is the percentage of sales amounts that the bankcard acquirer or travel and entertainment (T&E) card issuer (i.e., American Express, etc) charges the merchant for the settlement of the transactions. Much of the discount rate is dictated by the "interchange" costs imposed by the card associations. << Back What is Address Verification Service (AVS)? Address Verification Service (AVS) is a fraud prevention service that validates a cardholder's address (provided during a transaction) against the card issuer's records. This service is provided as part of a credit card authorization for mail order/telephone order/Internet transactions. A code is returned with the authorization result that indicates the level of accuracy of the address match and helps secure the most favorable interchange rates. Note that if AVS returns a "no match" result, it is up to the merchant to decline the transaction; it is not stopped automatically by Merchant Services. << Back I have a new Internet business. Can I get credit card processing from you? What is a payment gateway? 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 transmitted in encrypted form to the web server of the merchant, which triggers fulfillment of the order. << Back What does it mean if I’m placed on TMF? Also known as the Terminated Merchant File (TMF), merchants that are placed on TMF have violated their merchant contract with their processor. Common reasons for a merchant to be placed on TMF are excessive chargeback activity, fraud, laundering, activity resulting in a financial loss to their processor to name a few. MasterCard and Visa maintain the TMF database that is accessed by all processors. Once a merchant has been placed on TMF, obtaining processing services can be extremely difficult. << Back What is Pass Thru plus Pricing? Pass thru pricing is a commonly used methodology used to bill merchants for their processing activity. Simply, the interchange cost assessed by MasterCard and Visa is passed thru to the merchant. In addition, the processor will charge a small processing fee on the transactions. This methodology allows the merchant to benefit from having the transaction qualify at the lowest possible interchange category. << Back My business is seasonal and is only open 2 months out of the year can I still qualify for a merchant account? Yes. We process for many seasonal businesses such as fireworks stands, one-time fundraising events, etc. << Back Do I receive any training on the equipment or software? |