Merchant Account and Payments FAQs

1. Why does the merchant services application ask for my average sale and average monthly sales volume? What if I don’t know them?

These numbers are important to the merchant services underwriting department, as they are granting your organization a line of credit up to this amount. If your organization suddenly sees a large jump in these amounts, it could be due to the fraudulent use of credit cards, and the credit card underwriter is at risk of chargebacks, fees, and fines associated with these types of transactions.

Please attempt to accurately assess your average monthly sales volume (online registrations or donations for non-profits) and be prepared with these figures when submitting your application. If you are not certain as to what these may be given an upcoming fundraising campaign, please assess what your projected totals are. These figures may be changed at a later time by contacting us.

2. Why must I provide my social security and/or Tax Id number on the merchant services application?

This information is used by the merchant services underwriting department, as they are granting your organization a line of credit up to this amount. For businesses, the primary owner’s financial history is run through one or more of the major credit bureaus. For non-profits, there is normally no signatory and a federal tax ID and proof of 501(c)3 status is required.

3. Does my merchant services account include an American Express account?

Yes, your merchant account can include an American Express account, but American Express payment processing differs from Visa and MasterCard payment processing. As such, you can optionally choose to add an American Express account when applying for your merchant services account. American Express reviews each application independently and will grant approval within about 48 hours of submitting your merchant services application. American Express determines its own fee structure, but rates generally range from 2.09 to 3.5%. There is no additional monthly charge for this service. We recommend that you accept American Express credit cards, as many consumers prefer to use these cards due to their established loyalty program.

4. What is PCI compliance?

The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard is a worldwide standard for payment card and consumer financial data protection. It incorporates the requirements of the Visa USA Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) and the Visa International Account Information Security (AIS) program, the MasterCard International Site Data Protection (SDP) program, as well as the security requirements of American Express DSS, DiscoverCard DISC and the Japan Credit Bureau (JCB). VISA and MasterCard now require all merchants who process credit cards to adhere to the PCI security standard.

5. What is interchange?

Interchange fees refer to the costs charged by Visa, MasterCard, and other card companies to process their credit and debit cards. Interchange fees are charged to all merchants (ie, businesses and organizations) who accept credit cards and must be paid by the merchant services provider immediately upon accepting a credit or debit card transaction.

Interchange rates vary according to the type of debit or credit card, size and industry of a merchant, and the method of processing (ie POS, eCommerce). There are hundreds of interchange rates which vary between about .80% and 2.6%. Interchange pricing rates for US and Canadian merchants are set annually by Visa and MasterCard and can be reviewed in detail on their websites.

Here is an example for interchange plus .7% and $.20 per transaction:

If interchange is 1.6% and $.15 per transaction (for debit cards) –
+ a merchant provider’s rate of .70% and $.20 per transaction
= You would be charged 2.3% and $.35 for the transaction.

6. When are the monthly Merchant Services fees debited from my checking account?

Monthly fees are debited between the first and fifth of the month and will include fees that occurred in the month prior. For example, January’s statement fees will be debited between February 1st – 5th.

7. What is a batch? And the batch fee?

A batch contains all the credit and debit card transactions since the last batch was run. Typically, businesses close out (or batch out) their batches at the end of each business day. Each batch will incur a small fee.

8. What is a chargeback?

A chargeback is a dispute by a cardholder of a transaction that is returned to the acquiring bank. The cardholder is refusing to pay for a charge and wants the charge reversed on their credit card statement. Resolution by the merchant is imperative to minimize loss.

9. What is the Address Verification Service (AVS)?

AVS is built into the credit card authorization process to help prevent fraudulent transactions. The numerical portion of a consumer’s address (ie 123 in 123 Main Street) and zip code are matched against the address on file with the consumer’s credit card. A response code is sent back with the approval or decline indicating whether the numeric information matched that of the cardholder’s. This match (or mismatch) is provided to the merchant in order to make an informed decision regarding the status of the transaction.

The use of AVS for businesses can reduce the potential for fraud. Its use is highly recommended.

10. How will fees be debited and funds be deposited into my bank account?

You will provide your bank account for deposits and fee withdrawals as part of the merchant account application process. Global Payments is our end processor and will make debits as well as deposit funds directly into your bank account. Transactions will come from GLOBAL STL GLOBAL PAYMENTS CCD (or similar). Deposits occur daily and will be deposited approximately 2 business days after the transactions have been made. Fees are charged between the first and fifth of the month and will include fees that occurred in the month prior.

11. What is the monthly minimum or minimum discount fee?

This is a common merchant services fee that guarantees that you will be paying a minimum amount of processing fees each month. With DMS, we do NOT charge a monthly minimum.

12. Should I use DoJiggy Merchant Services or PayPal for my online fundraising campaigns?

We have created this simple checklist to help you determine if a merchant services account is right for your organization. Read more here.

13. We are being accessed a monthly Visa FANF Fee. What is this?

Visa introduced the Fixed Acquirer Network Fee (FANF) in April 2012. This is a monthly fee that is assessed on all merchants that accept Visa’s credit and debit cards. Please contact your merchant account provider for more information on the fee and how Visa determines the fee.

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