What the card companies don't want you to know!


Merchant Newsletter - June 05, 2004
Prevent FRAUD LOSS - Permanently!
These devices can actually prevent loss due to a fraud-based chargeback.. find out how!		This works ONLY on chargebacks classified as FRAUD. This is still not protection against customer disputes, product not received, disputes about quality or anything else. Just because you now have the ability to get your funds back, don't get lax on your fraud prevention and detection procedures. It is STILL going to cost you money, and it takes time getting the response to send back when you get that retrieval notice, which you still MUST respond to with all of the items we have mentioned in this article. In addition, the standard rules apply, meaning that if your chargebacks accrue to over 1% of your total monthly sales, your account can be in jeopardy of closure by the bank. (not a good thing) Accept credit cards anywhere! I am an Internet and Mail-order company, what can I do? Well, that is a little more difficult, but if you are selling big ticket items, it is certainly worth it. Besides the traditional authorization, you must get a legible image (Xerox or FAX) of BOTH sides of the credit card, as well as their signature on a properly worded agreement. Click here to download a sample agreement. This is a lot of effort, but some companies have been able to get their funds back on big-ticket items that they would have otherwise taken a loss on. Accept credit cards anywhere! Again, a special THANK YOU to Carol of Payment Resource International's risk and fraud department for her expertise and guidance. In addition, she informed me that Amex and Discover have different policies, that we will be exploring in a future issue. Accept credit cards anywhere! Suggestion Box: Got an idea? Can you think of an improvement on any of our products? Is there anything you think we do that could stand improvement? Let us know! Send your suggestions to: sales@merchantanywhere.com we want to hear from you! Accept credit cards anywhere! See all of our newsletters in our newsletter archive! Get tips and tricks, previews of new products, tips to prevent fraud, and much more!
Chargebacks are just about the worst possible thing that can happen to a merchant. You lose the merchandise sold, the sales amount, and you have to pay a penalty to boot! This is the result of regulations intended to protect the cardholder, leaving the merchant (you) holding the bag. Accept credit cards anywhere! What the card associations don't want you to know (Visa, MasterCard), is there has been changes in card regulations due to some recent litigations. These changes can mean a great deal to you, the merchant! Basically, if you follow the proper steps, and get the required backup from each sale, you can prevent the loss of your funds if the sale is charged back due to fraud! Accept credit cards anywhere! How does this all work? Starting the first of this year, if a merchant swipes a transaction and receives an authorization, imprints the card, and the transaction comes back for fraud, the card issuer has to take the loss and not the merchant. The card issuer must do a chargeback so they can deduct the loss as a business loss, but the card issuer must refund the merchant the original charge. The chargeback fees are still absorbed by the merchant, but at least there are not out their merchandise and money.	The imprinter is the key to this procedure. You must imprint the card, and fill out the sales slip with the amount, date (Very Important), and authorization code (which HAS to come from a swipe - voice or phone authorizations don't work for this). Accept credit cards anywhere! The imprinter has to have a merchant plate with your correct merchant name and number, so we have stocked up on desktop and portable imprinters that have a spot for a merchant plate. To order an imprinter, click here, and to order a merchant plate, click here. (a merchant plate is a little dog tag-like piece of metal with your name and merchant number stamped on it, so it gets embossed on the sales slip along with the credit card data. Accept credit cards anywhere! Things to remember- 1) Transaction must be swiped 2) You must have card imprint 3) Imprinter must have a plate 4) Sales draft must be signed 5) Sales draft must have date Accept credit cards anywhere! In addition, when you receive the chargeback notice, you must respond immediately with a copy of the imprint slip, and the authorization from Transaction Central. You will still have to pay the chargeback fee, but at least you will get back your funds from the sale!

Copyright (c) 2004 Advanced Merchant Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Click Here to order Merchant Materials from VISA^tm Click Here to order Merchant Materials from MasterCard^tm Click Here to order Merchant Materials from American Express^tm Click Here to order Merchant Materials from Discover^tm

Merchant Information is a newsletter that is available to all members of MerchantAnywhere.com and Advanced Merchant Solutions, Inc. This newsletter is provided as an informational tool designed to keep you up-to-date on the latest news and tools available for mobile commerce and merchant processing. As with all user information, we do not give or sell your personal information to any outside company for its use in marketing or solicitation. To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please reply with “REMOVE” in the subject line.