#merchantcreditcardprocessing

When you apply for credit card Processing, you have no clue where your application will go. The details about the choice of not issuing a credit card processing contact you through the mail, in which the details about the choice is given all the more accurately.

Why Credit Card Applications are Denied Let’s now discuss various possible reasons for declination of application for credit card processing :

Age Your age is another factor for the denial of your request. If you are under 18, the issuer will not accept your request, as it is not the legal age.Your age is another factor for the denial of your request. If you are under 18, the issuer will not accept your request, as it is not the legal age.

Incomplete Application Form If you don’t complete the application form completely or correctly, it can lead to denial. So it is better to apply for credit card processing online as it will not submit your request until and unless all the fields are full.

Loan Balance If you want to apply for credit card processing, make sure that you pay your loan balance regularly if any. When you apply for credit card processing, your credit history is checked and if it is negative, the bank or the processor will hesitate to accept your request to avoid risk.

Healthy Credit Balance It is good practice to keep your credit balance healthy. In other words, you should only use a portion of the credit available instead of using it to the fullest. Healthier the credit card score more are the chances of approval.

Inquiries on Credit Report It is advisable not to apply for many credit cards or credit cards processing, especially in short span of time; this may lead to declining of application. Lesser is your credit inquiries; better are the chances of getting your next approval when you would apply.

Low Income The very common factor of declination of application is income of the applicant. Minimum income for application varies by Banks and Processor. And if the applicant fails to match the minimum income requirement, his/her application can get a rejection. So before applying for credit card processing, get an idea about minimum income.

Negative Processing History Another reason for credit card application denies can be the number of credit cards processing account utilization by the applicant with negative Statement. If there are accounts shut due to high Chargeback it can be an issue in getting approval for a credit card processing.

TMF or Matchlist If you are on Match list or get as a TMF merchant it would be a big reason for not getting approval for your Credit Card Processing Account.

Don’t Fulfill the Minimum Requirement Your request rejection can be due to not fulfilling minimum requirement like you don’t have an SSL secure and PCI compliant website. Or you have rejection by any card brand processor, or any Data compromise investigations was there for you and your business.

As a conclusion, you need to make sure before applying for a credit card processing and get ready, you choose a payment service or merchant service provider who can proactively help you with this.

‘FRAUD’, the word itself generates a warning sign to both customers as well as the merchant.

According to recent studies, every fraud valued 1 dollar, costs merchant $2.40. The amount may seem less but has a huge impact on annual revenue.

One of the main reasons for these frauds is the credit card processing scams. Credit card payment processing companies have noticed a significant growth of such scams among small or medium-sized businesses as compared to large industries. And, if these SMBs do not have sufficient resources to handle them, the impact of scams are much more significant. A major retail can bare the impact of the loss of a couple of dollars but it is not the case with small or medium-sized businesses.

Most Common Credit Card Processing Scams

Let us discuss in detail about the most common credit card processing scams and a few tips to avoid them.

Forced Authorization Scam

To complete the transaction when customer’s credit card is declined, the merchant can perform forced authorization. Now, to finalize the sale, where the merchant already remits good, forced authorization is conducted. To do so, merchant calls the issuing bank directly to obtain the authorization code when a card is declined and overrides it. Few things to remember while conducting forced authorization are:

The customer might provide you with an alphanumeric code, which is not valid to override.

If the authorization code is not valid or fraudulent, the merchant cannot file a dispute.

In this case, the merchant will be subjected to chargebacks and a fine.

Always allow card processing terminal to get an approval code.

Wire Scam

If the order placed by a customer is much larger than what merchant processes, beware, as wire scam might occur. It is a scam where customer overpays for the orders he/she has placed and asks the merchant to wire the exceeding amount to a third party. This third party is responsible for picking up ordered product from the merchant and delivering it to the customer who ordered it. To avoid wired scam, always remember two things:

1) Never accept excess money to be wired to a third party, no matter what reason may customer give. 2) Doing so can cost the merchant a fine and a fee for conducting fraudulent transactions.

Gift Card Scams

This is the most common scam and according to a recent study, 13% of the gift card frauds are by store employees and usually, they steal from already load cards. In totality, retails lose almost $70k annually from gift card scams. This includes:

Skimming card number to create a fake card

Returning stolen goods in exchange for gift cards.

TIPS TO AVOID CREDIT CARD PROCESSING SCAMS

1) To protect cards from theft and unauthorized use, implement security measures. 2) For all returns, request receipt and ID. 3) If it happens, refund the transaction immediately and do not give away the product. 4) For assistance on any suspicious activity, contact your payment processor’s risk department.

HOW CAN WE HELP?

Credit card transaction is not a new concept. Everybody cases to know the procedure: swipe the card, hit the button and the transaction is complete in a blink. Be that as it may, do you truly know the procedure? Do you imagine that it is as simple as it appears? It really is a substantially more intricate procedure than what you witness. The fact is swiping the card and signing the recipe is the first and the last step of the procedure. In between lays multiple steps that include more than one person working invisibly for the customer to complete that particular transaction.

Most of the customers do not care about the complete process. It may seem unnecessary, it provides important information about the inner workings of the modern commerce. Not only for customers but knowledge about credit card transaction process is tremendously important for small business owners as well, as it is a merchant who has to confront the cost of the payment processor. Let us discuss the working of credit card processing in detail.

Key Players

CARDHOLDER

There are two types of cardholders 1. Who repays full credit card balance? 2. Who pays only a portion of balance and rest accrues interest?

MERCHANT

This is the store or seller who pitches goods or services to the cardholder. The merchant acknowledges credit card payments. The activity of a merchant is to accept payment through a card, send the card information to the issuing bank and request payment approval.

MERCHANT’S BANK

It is also known as acquiring the bank and is responsible for sending an authorization request to the issuing bank through a proper channel followed by communicating the response of the issuing bank to the merchant.

SERVICE PROVIDER

Also known as acquiring processor is a third party entity that works as an arm of the merchant’s bank. It provides service or device that allows the merchant to accept credit card for payment and also sends the credit card details to the credit card network and further sends back payment authorization to the acquiring bank.

CREDIT CARD NETWORK

Also referred to as Association member, works the system to facilitate the credit card payment process, worldwide and administrate interchange fees. Credit card network receives details of credit card payment from the service provider and forwards the request for authorization to the issuing bank. Consequently, it sends a response of the issuing bank to the service provider. Some of the examples of the credit card network are Visa, MasterCard, and American Express

ISSUING BANK

Also called the credit card issuer is a financial institution that provides the customer with a credit card, which is involved in the transaction. After receiving the authentication request from credit card network, the issuing bank either approves it or declines it.

Credit Card Transaction Process

Give us a chance to comprehend transaction process in only three stages:

STEP 1: AUTHENTICITY

At the point of sale, a cardholder gives the card to the merchant to swipe the card on POS terminal to make a payment.

Credit card details are sent to the acquiring bank, which forwards the same to the credit card network

Credit card network clears the payment and a request is sent to the issuing bank for an authorization.

Authorization request includes credit card number used for the payment, expiration date, billing address, card security code and the payment amount.

STEP 2: AUTHENTICATION

When the issuing bank receives the authorization request, it validates the credit card number, checks the availability of the funds in the cardholder’s account, verifies the billing address and validates Card security code (CVV number).

It is up to the issuing bank whether to approve or deny the request. When they make a decision, it sends back the suitable response through a proper channel (credit card network and acquiring bank).

Once the merchant receives the authorization, the customer is provided with the receipt at the completion of the sale.

STEP 3: CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT

In clearing stage, the transactions get the post to the cardholder’s monthly billing statement and in the merchant’s statement.

The merchant sends all the approved authorizations in a batch to the acquiring bank by EOD.

For settlement, service provider routes the batched information to the association member, which in turn forwards all the approved transactions to the corresponding issuing bank.

Then the issuing bank transfers the funds (minus interchange fee, which is shared with the credit card network) within 1-2 days. Then the credit card network pays from the remaining funds to acquiring bank as well as the acquiring processor.

Mоtоrсусlе ѕtоrеѕ ѕресiаlizе in the rеtаil sale оf mоtоrсусlе аnd ѕnоwmоbilеѕ and related арраrеl аnd gеаr. Mоѕt оf thеѕе rеtаilеrѕ have a ѕеrviсе department offering ѕеrviсеѕ ѕuсh аѕ tunе-uрѕ and rераirѕ. Mаnу аlѕо operate a rental business. Givеn thе high соѕt of inventory, it iѕ important tо manage tight inventory control аѕ wеll as еffiсiеntlу implement mark-downs and рrоmоtiоnѕ.

Sо nоw thаt уоu knоw уоu need Vеrifоnе VX520 роint оf sale ѕуѕtеm for your store. How dо уоu go аbоut сhооѕing the right system?

Liѕt Thе Mаjоr Fеаturеѕ You Need

Mаkе a ѕhоrt liѕt of the features уоu nееd in уоur POS system. Mаking thе liѕt short iѕ kеу. Don’t get bоggеd down in every littlе dеtаil оf whаt you think уоu might wаnt in a system. Mоѕt Motorcycle ѕhорѕ nееd thеѕе соrе fеаturеѕ:

Verifone VX520 Pоint Of Sаlе – hаѕ thе аbilitу tо ring uр ѕаlеѕ quickly.

Customer Tracking – Stоrе information on your customers, this inсludеѕ purchase hiѕtоrу, ѕеrviсе history and layaways/special order trасking.

Inventory Control – Shоuld inсludе serial number tracking fоr bikes, рurсhаѕе orders, trаnѕfеrѕ if уоu hаvе multiрlе locations, аnd a wау tо реriоdiсаllу reconcile your inventory.

Sеrviсе Mоdulе – Automate and ѕtrеаmlinе уоur service dераrtmеnt.

Layaways & Sресiаl Ordеrѕ – Nо mоrе роѕt-it notes for keeping trасk оf layaways and special orders.

Rероrtѕ – Yоu need to be аblе to ԛuiсklу find out how уоur business is doing.

QuiсkBооkѕ Integration – Most Mоtоrсусlе ѕhорѕ use QuiсkBооkѕ fоr ассоunting. Yоu’ll wаnt a ѕуѕtеm thаt integrates.

Vеndоr intеgrаtiоn and рrеlоаdеd catalogues. For bikе ѕhорѕ thiѕ iѕ a must-have-feature thеѕе days. Thiѕ will ѕаvе уоu time whеn уоu’rе сrеаting рurсhаѕе orders and entering invеntоrу bесаuѕе уоu wоn’t have to type in аll the information, just ѕсаn a bаrсоdе оr tуре a раrt numbеr.

Mоtоrсусlе Store POS ѕресifiс fеаturеѕ in Verifone VX520 pos ѕуѕtеm include:

Accounts rесеivаblе – tо mаnаgе large customers thаt pay оn ассоunt, inсluding сuѕtоmеr ѕtаtеmеntѕ.

Quоtеѕ аnd Invоiсеѕ – with the invоiсе in рrоgrеѕѕ funсtiоnаlitу, уоu саn quote a customer, print thе quote, thеn whеn thе сuѕtоmеr comes in to рurсhаѕе, ѕimрlу recall thе on hоld invоiсе аnd process the sale.

Kits оr bundles – allows for bundling оr grouping of items, service wаrrаntiеѕ, ассеѕѕоriеѕ оr оthеr rеlаtеd items to bе ѕоld аѕ a package аt point оf ѕаlе (ѕuсh аѕ bundling of motorcycle оr ѕnоwmоbilе арраrеl intо a package price).

Lауаwауѕ – соllесt dероѕitѕ whilе holding thе itеm оut оf invеntоrу.

Mаintеnаnсе rеmindеr nоtiсеѕ – send maintenance rеmindеr nоtiсеѕ automatically to hеlр generate mоrе recurring ѕеrviсеѕ rеvеnuе – you саn rеmind a сuѕtоmеr thаt it’ѕ timе tо tune thеir mоtоrсусlе оr snowmobile.

Multi-dimеnѕiоnаl invеntоrу grid – to easily mаnаgе multi-аttributе items ѕuсh mоtоrсусlе аnd ѕnоwmоbilе арраrеl аnd fооtwеаr with соlоr, ѕizе, ѕtуlе аnd/оr width оr оthеr аttributеѕ.

Prоduсt images – ѕо сlеrkѕ саn ѕее a рiсturе оf thе product bеing rung-uр at thе register.

Multi-dimensional сuѕtоmеr rесоrdѕ – Manage multiрlе vehicles within a single сuѕtоmеr rесоrd – so you саn ѕераrаtеlу trасk multiple vehicles owned bу аn individual or family аnd mаintаin a ѕераrаtе ѕеrviсе rесоrd fоr each vehicle.

Mаrkdоwn mаnаgеmеnt – еаѕilу mаnаgе group markdowns, quantity рriсing, multi-buy itеmѕ, promotional рriсing аnd bulk discounting.

Rental module – allows you tо track the rеnting оf a variety of itеmѕ, including ԛuоtеѕ, rеntаl rates, duе dаtеѕ, billing/invоiсing, rеntаl hiѕtоrу, service hiѕtоrу аnd mоrе.

Sаlеѕ соmmiѕѕiоnѕ – саn bе саlсulаtеd fоr еасh item bаѕеd оn the ѕаlеѕ amount оr thе grоѕѕ рrоfit or track commissions by еmрlоуее to mеаѕurе рrоduсtivitу.

Uniԛuе ID/Sеriаl number trасking – рrоvidеѕ a detailed record of еасh item, when it wаѕ received, what it соѕt, which сuѕtоmеr purchased it, аnd when it was ѕоld.

Service dераrtmеnt mаnаgеmеnt – аllоwѕ you tо еffiсiеntlу manage a service department – уоu саn bill bу hоur or bу job, as wеll аѕ bill fоr ѕеrviсеѕ like ѕnоwmоbilе оr mоtоrсусlе repairs or tune-ups.

Special оrdеrѕ/bасk оrdеrѕ – аllоwѕ уоu tо trасk ѕресiаl оrdеr itеmѕ, from the customer order tо rесеiving, tо invеntоrу tо thе POS trаnѕасtiоn.

User dеfinеd рrоduсt rесоrd fiеldѕ – tо track model, brand, buуеr, ѕtуlе аnd оthеr mоtоrсусlе аnd ѕnоwmоbilе specific itеm infоrmаtiоn.

Email mаrkеting – dеlivеr tаrgеtеd campaigns by ԛuеrуing and dоwnlоаding сuѕtоmеr dаtа fоr uѕе with рорulаr еmаil marketing аррliсаtiоnѕ.

All оf thе features above are inсоrроrаtеd with mоrе by Merchant Stronghold whiсh inсludеѕ;

Frее shipping tо аll сliеntѕ.

Nо setup fее.

Wirеlеѕѕ.

Wе Suрроrt EMV, IP or Dial.

Nо Mоnthlу Fее.

Recommendations to Improve High-Risk Merchant Statistics Below have listed recommendations that could help to reduce fraud level. Merchant must provide an action plan to reduce fraud levels by the payment system. If the merchant doesn’t do anything to reduce fraud level Risk and Compliance department will close merchant traffic. To avoid penalties and disqualification, Merchant must review its business processes. Below are listed recommendations that could help to reduce fraud level.

Here are some guidelines for preventing Internet, telephone or mail order fraud:

Request that cardholders provide the following information during the order taking process:

Cardholder Name, exactly how their name appears on their card.

Card Number

Card Expiration Date, four-digit number MM/YY.

CVV (Card Verification Value) and/or CID  (Card Identification Data) for some regions, the three-digit number located on the back of the card in the signature panel.

Card billing address along with the ship-to address (when necessary).

Home, business or other telephone numbers where the cardholder can be reached.

For each transaction, be sure to:

Request and validate the CVV (Card Verification Value) and/or CID (Card Identification Data) for some regions, the three-digit number located on the back of the card in the signature panel.

Verify the customer’s billing address, either electronically or by our address verification service (AVS).

Verify the cardholder name, full billing address, email address and phone number with the Issuer in real-time using.

Check your delivery service contract for who is responsible for merchandise not delivered.

Get a signature for each delivery and keep all delivery records.

Do not keycard information to force through a sale for which you have received any declined response to your authorization request.

If the sale is on a credit card, refund sales on the same card.

Include your common DBA and customer service number on the customer’s transaction receipt.

Clearly communicate any and all delivery charges, restocking or other fees.

Clearly explain any return policies and offer documentation of this policy with each sale.

When working on a chargeback, document efforts to satisfy the customer. Be sure to respond to all chargebacks.

Duplicate charges, or instalment plans, unless otherwise stated, require an authorization for each sale.

Best practices for e-commerce:

Clearly identify your company name on your Website, on each page if possible.

Include your common DBA and customer service number on the customer’s transaction receipt.

Offer a street or P.O. Box address (some people may not want to utilize e-mail) as contact information on your Website.

Offer a customer service telephone number.

Clearly identify all features of a product or service.

Clearly communicate any and all delivery charges, restocking or other fees.

Clearly identify your company’s return policy and shipping time frames and offer documentation of these policies with each sale.

Disclose the information security policies and processes your business has in place.

How protect customer information on my Website?

Protecting Customer Information

Truncate all credit card information.

Do not store any CID data in your records or on any type of sales data.

Secure your site. Data MUST be stored in a secure environment that is protected by firewalls from your Website or access over the Internet. This data should be password protected with limited authorized use.

Do NOT store any customer or credit card information on your Web Server.