Finding the right account
Knowing more about the Visa acceptance process will help you identify the account that works best for you. Before you sign a processing contract with an acquirer, financial institution or Independent Sales Organization, ask yourself the following questions:
1. How well do I know the financial institution I’m doing business with?
Member financial institutions either sell directly to merchants or hire agents to sell for them. However, these agents must be registered with Visa and clearly identify the Visa member they represent on their business cards and stationery. The contract you sign should also have the name of the bank clearly identified. MeritCard is a registered VIsa Sales Organization through First Data and Wells Fargo.
2. What are the typical kinds of fees for Visa processing?
- Discount rate (a percentage of sales)
- Per-item fees
- Monthly minimums
- Statement fees
- Chargeback processing
- Fees for supplies (e.g., drafts, roll paper, etc.)
- Terminal lease or rental fees
3. Should I rent, buy, or lease a draft capture terminal?
- Calculate the long-term costs and any need to repair or replace the unit.
- Consider whether or not it can be upgraded to accommodate new technologies.
4. How often will funds be credited to my business account for my sales? With MeritCard we process your daily transactions and provide you with one payment to your financial institution.
5. How many days will elapse from customer purchase to account funding date? In most cases your transactions are available at your bank within 48 hours. However, we also have a 24-hour funding option if you qualify, ask us for details.
6. Am I required to have a certain percentage of my sales dollars or specific dollar amounts held by the financial institution? If so, what is it and how is it determined? More than likely no, unless the type of business or the way to accept payment is considered "high risk".
7. Who is my contact for settlement and customer dispute issues? MeritCard has a 24 hour 7 day a week support system for both Customer Service and Helpdesk that is free of charge.
8. Who is my contact for terminal replacement or repair? Those requests come directly to MeritCard for resolution.
9. How long do I have to store my receipts? For Retrieval and Chargeback purposes it is advisable to store your receipts for a period of 36 months.
Every Visa card transaction involves multiple parties. The following definitions will give you a good understanding of who’s who in the transaction process.
|
|
|
Cardholder: an authorized Visa user.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issuer: a financial institution that issues Visa cards and maintains a contract with cardholders for repayment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Merchant: an authorized acceptor of Visa cards for the payment of goods and services.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquirer or Independent Sales Organization: The acquirer (financial institution or merchant bank) that contracts with the merchant for Visa acceptance and enables Visa card payments from customers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Visa: the consumer payment system, whose members are the financial institutions that issue Visa cards and/or sign merchants to accept Visa.
|
|
|
|
|
|
VisaNet: an advanced network that acts as an Authorization service for Visa card transactions, as well as a Clearing and Settlement service to transfer payment information between parties.
|