FAQ’s, Merchant Connecting

Frequently Asked Questions

One month into Bank of America (BAMS) and First Data Corp (FDC) break up –

With the dissolution of the joint venture now a month old – questions from the clients ate beginning. It was said that the services would be grandfathered through 2023 but Clover has sent out information on discontinuing the support of Bank of America programs – Does that mean that every clover terminal processing will now need to go through FDC and the client has no choice?

Also there was a programming issue with a clover terminal not being able to transfer from one agent to another and new systems or terminals would need to be purchased (ie: Wells/FDC to Citi/FDC)?

Merchant Connecting has years of experience with FDC/BAMS. When a client had a problem with their FDC/BAMS clover and when they called them for help – Clover gave them our phone number! If this is the beginning of the confusion, where will it end?

Merchant Connect will be happy to help and if more generic terminals are needed to help a client through these trying times, and we are happy to assist.

Interchange and Association fees Plus are more in the control of the business owner and not the processor – thus the comparison differences between processors should be based on variance in % and Per Item pricing with additional diligence to the monthly fixed fees.

What will my Rate be if I switch?

In the past it was believed that Flat rates or Bundled rates were the best option for the client but this is not correct with all the card type categories.

Do I have to change banks to change processors?

No need to change banks as any independent merchant processor can deposit funds into any financial institution

If you are dependent on posting of funds there are benefits to a bank sponsored and owned program but this is at most a 24-hour bonus.

Do I have to change my terminal to change processor?

These days technology in the terminals are an ever-changing qualification – especially around debit card transactions and this could impact the need to replace the terminal.

If your terminal is more the 2-3 years old there is a good probability that the terminal is outdated and needs to be changed but still ask to have the S/N # verified to determine that the terminal Cannot be reprogrammed.

Changing features and integrations would also most probably result in a terminal change being needed.

How do I access processing services if a terminal is not accessible?

Let me first stress that the most secure and lowest cost transaction is always a chip read or card swiped transaction – That said:

Service companies that would consider receiving payment at the job or delivery site would be able to get the equivalent features through Mobile readers that interact with an iPhone or Pad and a signature is then made on the screen.

With the social distancing in effect – and not sure for how long – the availability of the Face to Face transaction is reduced and a virtual program or on-line portal program could be a better solution however with the luxury comes a slightly higher Interchange fee – this should not have impact on the processor fee.

Last there is the gateway transaction for web sales or Invoicing payment requests.

Since 2018, all businesses accepting credit cards must have EMV capable terminals. Are you up-to-date?

EMV Compliance is the LAW – EMV compliance law stipulates that all merchants should have upgraded terminals that accommodate EMV chip cards. Otherwise, they won’t be able to avoid liability.

If a chargeback occurs and the card was swiped rather than chipped, the MERCHANT will be held liable according to the Card Brands.

EMV – By now you have seen numerous cards with small chips embedded into them. So how does this work, and why is it important? Magnetic strips have slowly been becoming obsolete due to the rampant fraud associate with then.
EMV chip cards are dipped into compliant readers so that the reader interacts with the chip. The square chips on the edge of EMV cards ensure that the card generates one-time transaction codes unique to each purchase. This process, known as tokenization, obscures the purchaser’s actual credit card number during the purchasing process so that the chip reader only sees random alphanumerical strings.
After the smart chip communicates to the card processor to verify and authenticate the purchase and availability of funds, the transaction is processed.

EMV technology allows customers to pay securely via their smartphones and smart devices using NFC radio wave technology with compatible EMV readers.

NFC – NFC stands for near-field communication and it allows phones, tablets, laptops, and other devices to easily share data with other NFC-equipped devices. All of today’s smartphones are equipped with NFC technology.
And because of this, many credit card terminals are now equipped with NFC capable acceptance. Most people consider NFC’s small radius a major security benefit, and it’s one of the reasons that NFC has taken off as a secure alternative to credit cards.
With NFC, a connection is automatically started when another NFC device enters into a four-inch range. Once in range, the two devices instantly communicate and send prompts to the user.
- As customers gradually transition to a cashless world, mobile payments have become a popular method of transaction. Making a mobile payment is both secure and convenient.

Are there monthly fees?

There are 2 ways to look at these fees and that is based on your volume of sales. These fees can be rolled into a processor rate making the costs continues on every transaction throughout the month and year or they can be identified and charged independently from the rete and per item costs – the higher the volume the more the fees are off set and there is a stopping or break-even point better than when it is rolled in.