FAQs

Once all necessary application info is received, the processing time is usually 24 hours or less, sometimes same day if we receive it first thing in the morning. If approved, we will immediately inform you of your

acceptance and deliver the terminal equipment or software.

The 30-day risk-free trial allows you to try our merchant account products and services, totally risk-free. If you don’t experience the highest level of customer service, along with fast, efficient processing at an overall low cost, then cancel the service. We will refund you the purchase price of any equipment or software you purchase. However, merchant account credit card processing fees that you may have incurred are not refundable. This offer does not apply to leased equipment. Certain restrictions and exclusions apply. Merchant account is subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change without notice.

We accept retail, professionals, trade shows, mail order, telephone order, Internet based, and home-based businesses. Sorry, we don’t accept adult related businesses.

You only need a business checking account if you are a corporation. If you are a sole proprietorship you may use a personal checking account or a business checking account.

Technically, your personal credit score does not affect your merchant account rates, but if you have a low credit score there is the possibility that you may not be eligible. We can sometimes approve a merchant account application despite a low personal credit score by putting other stipulations in place.

We set you up so that you can accept MasterCard®, Visa® , American Express and Discover at the same time, bank ATM debit cards and EBT.

No you do not. We do all this for you.

Yes, we can accept temporary websites, something very basic that shows product and pricing. It does not have to be live to the public but should show enough to give a sense of what you are selling and for how much.

ID Tech Shuttle is the mobile processing solution that turns your smartphone into a credit card terminal. Download our free app and deliver your products or services directly to your customers in the field. Then collect payment on your mobile phone with direct swipe capabilities that can save you money on processing fees. Imagine accepting major credit and signature debit cards at the point of sale by simply sliding them through a card-reader attached to your iPhone. You can even email receipts, manage voids and issue refunds via your phone!

In a payment transaction, once SmartPay Merchant Services receives authorization it’s passed along to you, the merchant, who completes the sale and issues a receipt to the cardholder. The card issuer bills the cardholder’s account and pays us, and we deposit the transaction proceeds into the business owner’s merchant account. The funds will be deposited into your bank account, typically within 24-48 hours but may take longer for high risk businesses.

Yes! Our local customer support team is always available. You will have live, merchant assistance by calling 505.803.4242 or anytime at 1888.655.1653 — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

Yes. A statement is mailed out and/or emailed out every month with the information on all deposits into your account, your total sales volume, and the charges for the month. You can also access this information online via a website anytime for real-time, up-to-date information.

No. We do not process for merchants outside the United States.

The discount rate is the fee that a merchant pays to the acquirer for the processing of services that enable the merchant to accept bankcards as payment. Our discount rates are extremely competitive.

If you sell mail order/telephone order, or through the Internet, you don’t want to send a product to a false address and have a risk of receiving a chargeback. The Address Verification System (AVS) lets you enter the customer’s home address and compares it to the address on file with their credit card company. If someone uses a stolen card, and wants products shipped to a false address, AVS will detect this for you.

The discount rate you pay is determined by a variety of factors such as:

• Your payment processing methods (face-to-face with your customers,

online, by phone or by mail)

• The type of cards your customers use to pay you (determined through a

rate analysis)

• How quickly you settle transactions

• How your merchant services account is set up

• Type of equipment and more

The fees are collected, usually on a monthly or daily basis, by an automatic deduction from the business checking account.

• Step 1: The consumer places an order with the merchant through any number of sales channels: website, phone call, in person, etc.

• Step 2: The merchant submits the order/transaction via their payment service (terminal, gateway, software, telephone). The system securely forwards the authorization request to the card issuing bank to verify the consumer’s credit card account and funds availability at the time of the transaction.

• Step 3: The authorization (or decline) response is returned via the system to the merchant. This process typically averages around two seconds.

• Step 4: Upon approval, the merchant fulfills the consumer’s order.

• Step 5: The merchant settles the batch and the Point of Sale (POS) system sends the settlement request.

• Step 6: SmartPay deposits transaction funds into the merchant’s business checking or deposit account.

You may email support@smartpaynm.com and advise our support team that you have sold the business and would like to have the new owner set up with services, or you may contact your sales representative to have this completed.

This indicates that the issuer does not approve the transaction. Please do not continue with the transaction or attempt to force through/run again. Instead, request an alternative method of payment.

The cardholder is claiming that they were not in possession of the card at the time of sale and that they did not authorize or participate in the transaction. The merchant must supply proof that the transaction occurred, was authorized, and that the cardholder had knowledge of the sale, etc. (Refer to “Merchant Action Necessary” portion of Chargeback documentation).

Arbitration occurs when a disputed transaction cannot be settled through the chargeback process. The deciding body is the relevant card association. The merchant covers the cost for all fees, penalties and the transaction value where the case is not successfully defended.

Per the Merchant Account Agreement, the merchant agrees to keep sufficient funds in their DDA to cover any chargebacks.

It is extremely limited as to what a processor can do to protect a merchant from chargebacks. SmartPay does offer a chargeback support team which can explain chargeback case documents and help the merchant respond to the case. However, the cardholder does hold certain liberties in questioning and disputing transactions made to their credit card account per the card association.

An authorization code is the response code direct from the issuing bank returned to the merchant at the time of authorization/sale. This code is usually a 6 or 7 digit number and is recorded either by the point of sale terminal or software, as well a printed on any receipt or sales draft.

If doing a phone or voice authorization, the merchant should record the authorization code for reference. The code serves as proof of authorization.

An authorization will only verify that a credit card account is active and that there are funds available. However, there are many different reason codes as to why a cardholder or their issuing bank initiates a chargeback.

There are a number of reasons transactions can downgrade, including:

• Keying in a transaction in a retail, card present environment

• Skipping terminal prompts (i.e., if the terminal asks you for a zip code and you skip past this prompt)

• Accepting specific card types such as rewards cards, world cards, business cards, etc.

You may visit the major card brand websites for additional information or reach out to your relationship manager.

You can obtain various signage at no cost by visiting www.DiscoverSignage.com.

The annual fee covers the cost of shipping, postage and handling of warranty equipment, account maintenance, and interchange compliance adjustments.

Your terminal must be batched on a daily basis.

All payments are transferred within 48 business hours from the transaction.

In order to change DDA information, an ACH authorization form must be filled out and submitted along with a copy of the voided check to account maintenance.

The form can be obtained by contacting Customer Service.

Fill out the Merchant Referral Form from your welcome kit and fax it to the number on the form. This form can also be mailed or emailed or simply give us a call.

Contact Customer Service to obtain the required form. This form must be submitted with your current financial information.

SmartPay Merchant Services recommends retaining sales drafts for a minimum of two years.

If the legal ownership of the new store is the same as your existing account

with us and is also the same type of business, we can open an additional

location under your current account (unless you are opening an eCommerce

location). If your business type is different, you will need to set up a new

Merchant Account for the new location. If you are planning to open another

location or have questions, please contact our client service representatives

at 505.803.4242.

Yes, new equipment deployments are shipped programmed and tested.

The PCI Data Security Standards are payment card network (Visa®/MasterCard®) and industry mandated requirements for handling of credit card information, classification of merchants, and validation of merchant compliance. Merchants are responsible for the security of cardholder data and must be careful not to store certain types of data on their systems or the systems of their third party service providers. Merchants are also responsible for any damages or liability that may occur as a result of a data security breach or other non-compliance with the PCI Data Security Standards.

It is good business practice to adhere to the PCI standards and protect cardholder information. Additionally, Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, and Discover® Network may impose fines on their member banking institutions when merchants do not comply with PCI Data Security Standards. You are contractually obligated to indemnify and reimburse us, as your acquirer, for such fines. Please note such fines could be significant, especially if your business is compromised and you have not been validated as compliant.

Yes. If cardholder data that you are responsible for is compromised, you may be subject to fines and other liabilities, including the following:

• Potential fines of up to $500,000 (in the discretion of Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover® Network or other card companies).

• All fraud losses incurred from the use of the compromised account numbers from the date of compromise forward.

• Cost of re-issuing cards associated with the compromise.

• Cost of any additional fraud prevention/detection activities required by the card associations (i.e. a forensic audit) or costs incurred by credit card issuers associated with the compromise (i.e. additional monitoring of system for fraudulent activity).

For information on payment card network and industry cardholder information security programs, please visit the following websites on a regular basis:

• PCI Security Standards Council

• Visa® USA

• MasterCard®

• Discover® Network

• American Express®

On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which included provisions impacting the payment processing industry. Many provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act were effective immediately, while implementation of others has been subject to formal rulemaking by federal agencies.

The Durbin Amendment prohibits payment card networks from limiting a merchant’s ability to discount or provide other incentives for consumers who use any form of payment method, including cash, check, debit or credit card. It also allows merchants to establish transaction minimums of $10.00 (or less) for the use of a credit card. Federal agencies and institutions of higher education may set maximum credit card transaction amounts.

On June 29, 2011 the Federal Reserve delivered rules on limitations on interchange fees and network exclusivity and routing requirements. The rule requires that interchange fees for electronic PIN debit and signature debit transactions be “reasonable and proportional to the cost incurred by the issuer with respect to the transaction.” The rule requires all debit cards to be able to access at least two unaffiliated networks. Networks are prohibited from exclusivity arrangements whereby issuers are restricted from contracting with other payment networks to process the issuer’s debit card transactions. Issuers and networks are prohibited from mandating transaction routing requirements.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 created a Tax ID Number (TIN) reporting requirement for banks and other payment settlement entities to report payment card and third-party network transactions for their participating merchants to the IRS. This reporting requirement is also known as Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6050W. The law requires banks and other payment settlement entities to report payment card and third-party network transactions with their participating merchants. The final regulations contain rules to implement reporting of credit card, debit card and similar transactions, as well as transactions settled through third-party payment networks, such as third-party organizations that settle online transactions.

Beginning in 2012 every payment processor is now required to file 1099-K forms with the IRS reporting the gross amount of each merchant’s card transactions each year, as well as provide a corresponding statement to merchants. Reporting entities are also required to collect and verify the tax identification number (TIN) along with the merchant’s legal name and address associated with the TIN number.

If a merchant fails to provide its TIN or correct legal name or there is a discrepancy between the information the merchant provides to the reporting entity and the IRS’ records, the IRS requires the reporting entity to begin backup withholding of the merchant‘s future settlements amounts.

Additional information can be found at http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-1099-K,-Merchant-Card-and-Third-Party-Network-Payments.