Posted on January 25th, 2012
Merchant Processing — Whether your business is already accepting credit cards, or if you’re considering it, you should know about important money saving tips you can use to get the most out of your electronic payment processing. The first thing you should know is that there are a series of what are called interchange levels which affect the cost of a charge at every stage, depending on a number of factors—including the type of card presented, specific information contained in the transaction and how and when the transaction is processed. Here are a few tips on how you can prevent being assessed higher processing fees: 1. Swipe the card, key-entered transactions are charged at higher rates 2. Obtain a valid authorization from the terminal or register 3. Provide all original electronic authorization information at the time of settlement 4. Settle transactions daily 5. If you are key-entering often, clean your terminal’s magnetic-stripe reader 6. For card-not-present transactions, ask the customer for the card expiration date and include it in the authorization request 7. Use fraud prevention tools such as Address Verification Service Reducing chargebacks with Merchant Accounts is another way to save money. A chargeback is a reversal of a payment card transaction that usually occurs when a consumer files disputes with their bank or card provider. Following these tips can help you reduce chargebacks: 1. Keep copies of your sales transactions and respond to retrieval requests by sending sales draft copies immediately 2. To avoid duplicate processing, reconcile your batches daily and ensure that the register/terminal totals match daily receipts 3. A timely sales slip submission, along with a written explanation of the validity of the charge, will be needed to try to reverse a chargeback when a customer denies making or authorizing a transaction 4. To be valid, the sales slip must include both a cardholder signature and the card account obtained directly from an imprint of the card itself or from electronically reading the magnetic stripe 5. Upon swiping a card, if the card number does not match the number embossed on the face of the card, ask for a different form of payment 6. Credits must be processed correctly and on time 7. Authorize all transactions, and accurately record the approval code on the sales slip 8. Never process a transaction on a card prior to, or after, the valid date 9. Sales transactions must not be processed prior to delivery of the product purchased. Proof of delivery, signed by the cardholder, should be obtained for every credit card transaction in which the merchandise or service is not delivered immediately at the point-of-sale 10. Ensure that your customers are aware of your return policy at the time of purchase. Stick to your policy. Display the policy at the point-of-sale and print it on your sales slips, directly above the cardholder signature
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