FAQ

What is a Merchant Account?

A Merchant Account allows you to accept credit cards for payment from your customers and establishes your business as a Credit Card Acceptor with the Card Associations (Visa and MasterCard).

When are the funds credited to my bank account?

Funds will be directly deposited into your bank account within 48 hrs.

Is the full amount of the transaction deposited to my bank account?

Yes, the full amount will be credited. Any fees are automatically debited at the end of each month.

Do I need to open another bank account?

No. The funds can be deposited to any existing U.S. checking account.

Can I accept American Express and Discover?

Yes. The Merchant Services application will allow you to apply for American Express and Discover. Let your sales representative know that you would like to apply for American Express and Discover. American Express and Discover set their own rates and fees and are not reflected in the program pricing plans - please allow 2 weeks for approval.

Can I add the Visa and MasterCard logos to my web site to let my customers know that I accept credit cards for payment?

Yes, you can download the Visa and MasterCard logos at the following links:

Visa Logo:
http://usa.visa.com/business/accepting_visa/marketing_center/logo_usage.html
MasterCard Logo:
http://www.mastercardbrandcenter.com/mcbrand/index.jsp

If you do not have your own website, contact your advertiser about having the Visa and MasterCard logos added to your listing.

Why do I need to provide personal information on the merchant account application?

A merchant account is a type of credit facility as the Credit Card Processor deposits funds to your bank account before they have collected funds from the Issuing Bank/Cardholder. The Credit Card Processor is required to perform its due diligence to ensure that its merchants are credible businesses.

Can I sign up even if my business is not incorporated?

Yes, if you have a U.S. social security number, U.S. checking account, and a U.S. mailing address you can sign up for the program.

How long does it take to sign up?

After you complete the Application, the process should take 4- 5 business days.

What is a Chargeback?

A chargeback is the reversal of a disputed sale transaction. When a chargeback occurs the amount of the chargeback is debited from your bank account.

See the Visa Card Acceptance Processing Guide - How to Reduce Chargebacks at: http://www.visa.ca/en/merchant/pdfs/card_acceptance.pdf

What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway authorizes a credit card transaction through the Internet, securely encrypts it and submits an authorization request to the card-issuing bank. It then submits the transaction to the credit card processor which deposits the funds into the merchant’s checking account.

About PCI DDS

Q1 – Where can I find more information about PCI Compliance mandates?
All merchants are required to comply with PCI DSS and all payment applications must be PA-DSS (Payment Application Data Security Standard) certified and validated. PCI compliance is required by the card associations, and the standard is overseen by an independent council of the five major brands. For more information, please visit: www.pcisecuritystandards.org. Further information, as well as the ability to validate compliance, is available at www.pci.elavon.com.

Q2 – When will existing merchants receive notification of PCI Compliance Validation Requirements?
Existing MSP merchants boarded before October 2008 and not previously notified of validation requirements will receive notification in August and will be billed on their September month-end statement.

Merchants meeting the requirements for Multi Locations as it relates to the PCI Compliance program as well as merchants on a Foreign Network have been excluded from this mailing and will be addressed in a separate mailing later in 2009.

Merchants boarded after October 1, 2008 and through August 10, 2009 will be provided compliance notification beginning November 2009.

Q3 – How long will existing merchants receiving notification in August 2009 have to provide compliance validation?
Merchants will have 90 days after they are notified to provide Compliance Validation through the Trustwave Website. A non-compliance fee of $20 will be assessed monthly until validation is provided.

Q4 – What if a merchant chooses to use a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) or Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) other than Trustwave?
The merchant must provide their PCI DSS compliance validation to Elavon using the Trustwave website provided on the Elavon notification letter. If compliance is certified through another QSA or ASV, the PCI Annual Fee will be refunded to the merchant. If a merchant is able to certify compliance through another QSA or ASV prior to being billed on their merchant statement, they will be excluded from billing.

As part of the validation process, the merchant will be assessed a $35 administrative fee. The merchant will also receive limited Data Breach coverage which is detailed in a separate document. As with merchants using Trustwave as their QSA, these merchants will be required to certify compliance annually and will be subject to Non Compliance fees.

Q5 – What coverage will a merchant receive in the case of a Data Breach?
Specific information on Data Breach Coverage is detailed in a separate document and will be available on the MSP Info Center after June 9, 2009.

In summary,

• Non Compliant Elavon merchants may receive up to $10,000 per incident
• Compliant Elavon merchants with PCI validation confirmed through a non-Elavon partner may receive up to $50,000 per incident.
• Compliant Elavon merchants with PCI validation confirmed through Elavon’s third-party partner may receive up to $100,000 per incident.

Q6 – How will the annual fee be applied to MSP merchants with multiple relationships?
A multiple relationship, as it relates to the PCI Compliance Program, is a merchant relationship with the same Federal Tax ID, the same address, or in the case of a Sole Proprietorship, the same Social Security Number and Date of Birth. Existing merchants meeting these requirements will be excluded from the July and August 2009 notifications but will be notified of compliance requirements prior to year end 2009. New merchants, boarded after August 10, 2009 will be identified systemically based on the matching criteria and will receive a reduced annual fee as detailed below. For new merchants, multiple location matching criteria is determined at the time of boarding and will be reviewed annually. If annual fee pricing changes based on the number of merchants within the relationship, adjustments will occur at that time.

Q7 – How will Elavon determine a merchant’s connectivity type and related PCI Compliance Validation Fee?
For existing merchants, we have reviewed transactional data to identify merchants who have had transactions hitting our Host, within the past 60 days, indicating an IP Connection type. If those indicators are present, the merchant be required to validate compliance as an IP merchant. If the indicator is not present, they will be assessed as a Non IP merchant.

For new merchants, connectivity type is entered at the time of boarding and will be used to determine the PCI Annual fee. Note: If a merchant has both Non IP and IP equipment, they will be required to validate compliance as IP.

In either case, if information received by Trustwave in the validation process indicates a connection type other than identified, the merchant may be subject to additional fees.

Q8 – If a merchant has questions regarding PCI Compliance Requirements, who can they contact?
For general questions around PCI requirements, merchants should review information provided at www.pcisecuritystandards.org. Merchant inquiries regarding the Elavon PCI Compliance program will continue to be supported by a specialized team within Elavon Customer Service reachable at 1-888-468-1155 or by accessing www.merchantconnect.com. MSPs inquiries will continue to be addressed by contacting MSP Support.

Q9 – When will new merchants, boarded after August 10, 2009, be required to certify compliance?
New merchants will have access to the Trustwave validation services within 72 hours following approval. The merchant will have 90 days to certify compliance after which they will be assessed a monthly $20 non compliance fee until compliance is validated. The fee for Trustwave’s services will be waived for new merchants in the first year and they will be billed on or around the anniversary of their approval.

Q10 – How will new merchants be notified of PCI Compliance Requirements and Associated Fees?
Effective August 10, 2009, the Merchant Processing Agreement and Schedule of Fees page for new merchant applications will be updated with the verbiage detailing the program. A document further explaining the Elavon PCI Validation Program and detail for Data Breach Coverage should be provided in the sales process and will also be mailed to the merchant in their Elavon Welcome Kit. Please note, the requirements for PCI Validation should be disclosed in the Sales process and a PCI Assessment Requirements grid is available on the MSP Info Center to assist sales in disclosing the appropriate fee for a merchant relationship. However, the fees for each merchant will be determined systemically based on the Point of Sale Connectivity method entered on the application and the number of merchants within the merchant relationship. The updated Merchant Processing Agreement will be available no later than July 15, 2009 for distribution to sales and will be required for any merchant boarded after August 10, 2009.

Q11 – Are any merchants excluded from PCI Compliance Requirements?
At this time, all US merchants accepting Visa, MasterCard, American Express and/or Discover are required to be PCI Compliant and will be included in the Elavon PCI Compliance program with the exception of Cash Advance locations.

Q12 – If a merchant is validating compliance through a QSA other than Trustwave, how will they provide the certificate of compliance to Elavon?
The merchants should access www.pci.elavon.com and upload certification documents to Trustwave who will review and confirm the validity of the information. Once the complete, Trustwave will provide Elavon the appropriate status which will ensure the appropriate PCI Validation Fee will be assessed. Merchants without internet access can contact Customer Service and provide this information via Fax or Email. Merchants without internet access can also contact Customer Service to obtain the appropriate Validation Documents for Validation through Trustwave.