This is dorky, I know, but who wants to read a list of rules? These rules are lengthy, but important to know so you don’t get booted out of a credit card processing agreement.
1-Thou shalt not require a minimum purchase amount: As a merchant, you are not allowed to require a minimum purchase amount. I’ve seen this rule broken all over the place, but, this is a risky deal. Porque? Because you can get booted from your merchant account. Sucks.
2-Thou shalt proudly display stickers: Visa requires you to post their logo in a visible location at your place of business, on sales materials, or web sites.
3-Thou shalt not launder: You are not allowed to deposit transactions for anything other than your own business. Depositing transactions for a business that does not have a valid merchant agreement is called laundering… If you don’t know what laundering is, wiki it, or watch a few mafia movies damnit.
4-Thou shalt not discriminate against card types you find unfavorable: Visa has three categories you can choose from for what types of cards you want to accept. You must accept all cards with a Visa logo within your chosen category:
1-All Visa Cards accepted
2-Visa Debit Category accepted (Merchant chooses not to accept credit and business category)
3-Visa Credit and Business Category
Each category has its own logo. Fun! I love stickers.
5-Thou shalt not charge surcharges: You may not charge customers an extra fee to process any Visa transaction. However, you are allowed to offer a discount for cash transactions, “provided that the offer is clearly disclosed to customers and the cash price is presented as a discount from the standard price charged for all other forms of payment.”
6-Convenience Fees-Visa leaves this up to your discretion: For merchants who offer an alternate payment channel for customers to pay for goods or services, a convenience fee may be added to the transaction amount. If the merchant chooses to assess a convenience fee to its customers, the merchant must adhere to the following rules:
• The fee is being charged for a bona fide convenience of using an alternative payment channel outside of the merchant’s normal business practice (see example below).
• The fee:
– must be disclosed to the customer as a charge for the convenience of using the alternate method to pay
– is applied only to non face-to-face transactions
– must be a flat or fixed amount, regardless of the amount of the payment due
– is applied to all forms of payment products accepted in the alternative payment channel
– is included as part of the total transaction amount
– cannot be added to a recurring transaction
– is assessed by the merchant that provides the goods or services to the cardholder and not a third party
• The customer must be given the opportunity to cancel prior to the completion of the transaction
Example:
The merchant provides utility services to its customers, and the customary way to pay is by mail or in person at the merchant’s location. For the convenience of its customers, the merchant also offers a website for payments. In this example, the merchant may apply a convenience fee to payments made via the website.
7-Thou shalt not charge taxes in a separate transaction: Include any required taxes in the total transaction amount. Do not collect taxes separately in cash. This policy reflects the needs of the many Visa cardholders who must have written records of the taxes they pay for goods and services.
8-Thou shalt not charge an estimated tip on service industry transactions: For restaurant, taxicabs, limousines, bars, taverns, beauty/barber shops, health/beauty spa merchants transactions with a Visa credit or debit card, authorize only for the known amount, not the transaction amount plus estimated tip. Cardholders now have the ability to check their credit or checking accounts almost instantaneously via phone, the Internet, or an ATM. Consequently, an authorization that includes an estimated tip can reduce a cardholder’s available funds or credit by an unrecognizable or unexpected amount. This kind of transaction may occur if a cardholder leaves a cash tip or adds a tip that is less than the estimated amount used for authorization; for example, if a restaurant authorizes for an estimated 20 percent tip, but the customer adds on only 15 percent.
9-Thou shalt not issue cash refunds: Complete a Visa credit receipt for merchandise returns or adjustments. Do not provide cash refunds for returned merchandise originally purchased with a Visa card. Visa does not permit cash refunds for any credit or debit card transaction. By issuing credits, you protect your customers from individuals who might fraudulently make a purchase on their Visa account and then return the
merchandise for cash. If a transaction was conducted with a Visa prepaid card and the cardholder is returning items, but has discarded this card, you may give a cash refund or in-store credit.
10-Thou shalt deposit Visa transaction receipts in a timely manner : Deposit your Visa transaction receipts within five calendar days of the transaction date. The sooner you deposit transaction receipts with your merchant bank, the sooner you get paid! For card-not-present transactions, the transaction date is the ship date, not the order date. Transactions deposited more than 30 days after the original transaction date may be charged back to you.
11-Thou shalt deliver goods and services at the time of transaction: Deliver the merchandise or services to the cardholder at the time of the transaction. Cardholders expect immediate delivery of goods and services unless other delivery arrangements have been made. For card-not-present transactions, cardholders should be informed of delivery method and tentative delivery date. Transactions cannot be deposited until goods or services have been delivered.
12-Thou shalt obtain two authorizations for delayed deliveries: For a delayed delivery, obtain two authorizations: one for the deposit amount and one for the balance amount. Some merchandise, such as a custom-covered sofa, requires delivery after the transaction date. In these delayed-delivery situations, the customer pays a deposit at the time of the transaction and agrees to pay the balance upon delivery of the merchandise or services.
To complete a delayed-delivery transaction, you should:
• Create two transaction receipts—one for the deposit and one for the balance. Write “Deposit” or “Balance, ” as appropriate, on the receipt.
• Obtain an authorization for each transaction receipt on their respective transaction dates. Ensure an authorization code is on each receipt; if your POS device does not automatically print authorization codes on sales receipts, write the codes on the receipts so they are clearly identifiable as such.
• Write “Delayed Delivery” along with the authorization code on each transaction receipt.
You may deposit the receipt for the deposit portion of the transaction before delivery of the goods or services. However, you must not deposit the transaction receipt for the balance amount prior to delivery.
13-Thou shalt not disclose cardholder information: Keep cardholder account numbers and personal information confidential. Cardholders expect you to safeguard any personal or financial information they may give you in the course of a transaction. Keeping that trust is essential to fraud reduction and good customer service. Cardholder account numbers and other personal information should be released only to your merchant bank or processor, or as specifically required by law.
14-Thou shalt register Third-Party Merchant Agents in accordance with the Visa U.S.A. Inc. Operating Regulations: Visa merchant banks must register Third-Party Merchant Agents in accordance with the Visa U.S.A. Inc. Operating Regulations. A merchant servicer is defined by Visa as a third-party agent that has a direct relationship with a merchant instead of the merchant bank. This type of Agent performs services such as payment gateway, fraud scrubbing, loyalty programs, etc. Member banks and their merchants are responsible for ensuring merchant servicers maintain compliance with cardholder data security and storage regulations.
Data Storage Merchants should also be aware of the following data security requirements:
• Magnetic-Stripe Data. Do not store magnetic-stripe data after receiving authorization. After a transaction is authorized, the full contents of track data, which is read from the magnetic stripe, must not be retained on any systems. The account number, expiration date, and name are the only elements of track data that may be retained if held in a CISP-compliant manner.
• Avoid CVV2 Storage. All merchants are prohibited from storing CVV2 data. When asking a cardholder for CVV2, merchants must not document this information on any kind of paper order form or store it on any database.
• Know your liability. Many merchant agreements now include provisions that hold businesses liable for losses resulting from compromised card data if a business (or its third-party processor) lacks adequate data security
15-Thou shalt clearly disclose merchandise return policies: As a merchant, you are responsible for establishing the merchandise return and adjustment (credit) policies that will provide your business with maximum profitability and customer service. Clear disclosure of these policies can help you avoid misunderstandings and potential cardholder disputes. Visa will support your policies, provided they are clearly disclosed to cardholders before the completion of a transaction. If you are unsure about how to disclose your return and adjustment policies, contact your merchant bank for further guidance.
16-Thou shalt legibly print disclosure statements on reciepts: For card-present transactions, Visa will accept that proper disclosure has occurred before a transaction is completed if the following (or similar) disclosure statements are legibly printed on the face of the transaction receipt near the cardholder signature line.
Disclosure Statement What It Means:
No Refunds or Returns: Your establishment does not issue refunds and does not accept returned merchandise or merchandise exchanges.
Exchange Only: Your establishment is willing to exchange returned merchandise for similar merchandise that is equal in price to the amount of the original transaction. In-Store Credit Only Your establishment takes returned merchandise and gives the cardholder an
in-store credit for the value of the returned merchandise.
Special Circumstances: You and the cardholder have agreed to special terms (such as delivery charges or restocking fees). The agreed-upon terms must then be written on the transaction receipt or a related document (for example, an invoice). The cardholder’s signature on the receipt or invoice indicates acceptance of the agreed-upon terms.
17-Thou shalt mail, email or fax disclosure statements for card not present transactions:
For MOTO transactions: For proper disclosure, your refund and credit policies must be mailed, e-mailed, or faxed to the cardholder. To complete the sale, the cardholder must sign and return the disclosure statement to you.
For Internet Transactions: Your refund and credit policies should be available to online customers through clearly visible links on your home page. You should also provide “click-through” confirmation for important elements of the policy. For example, when purchasing tickets for a sporting event, customers should be able to click on a button—Accept or I Agree—to acknowledge that they understand the tickets are nonreturnable unless the event is postponed or canceled.
Congratulations. You now know what you need to do!
http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rules_for_visa_merchants.pdf