The banks funding credit card and debit card transactions have stringent requirements that must be met by all businesses holding merchant accounts. To prevent penalty fees or breaches of contract, instruct your customer service representatives to follow the below guidelines when processing credit transactions:

To learn more please visit: http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/card_acceptance_guide.pdf

• When a card is presented, be sure to verify that the expiration date has not passed.

• Check the back of the card to verify that the customer has signed the signature line. Compare this signature with the one on the printed credit card slip. If the card is not signed, request that the customer present a driver’s license and ask them to sign the card in your presence.

• After swiping a card, check to make sure the account numbers all match on the face of the card, on the card terminal monitor, and on the printed receipt. If these account numbers differ, contact the bank before returning the card to the customer.

• After the credit card payment has been processed, you should always receive a unique authorization number. If no number is received, that means the payment wasn’t completed. Verify that the full amount of the purchase was authorized.

• If you have any reason to believe that a customer is attempting to process a fraudulent credit card charge, retain the card and contact the bank’s authorization center. They will provide further instructions.

• If the card’s magnetic strip does not scan correctly, the employee can manually enter the account number into the terminal, although they should also use a manual card reader also know as an imprinter to create an imprint of the information on the face of the card. This imprint will be used to verify that the customer was present at the point of sale.

• If accepting a “card not present” transaction via a website, mail, or by phone, be sure to request the three-digit credit identification number (CID) on the back of the card.

• Do not charge the customer an additional fee for using a credit card. Instead, you can offer certain incentives, such as product discounts, if you want to encourage cash payments. Another prohibited practice is requiring that a customer purchase a certain dollar amount before they can use their MasterCard or Visa for payment.

• The only charges that should be made to a customer’s card are those for which he or she has presented the card as the form of payment. A recorded account number should not be used against balances from returned checks, outstanding billed amounts, or incidental damages to property without the cardholder’s signed consent.

• Be sure to present the customer with a paper receipt of the charged transaction and retain a copy for your business records. The following information should be included on all credit card receipts:

   

  • Business name

  • Business address or website URL

  • Total transaction amount

  • Date of purchase

  • Account number of the card (the receipt will likely include only the last four digits, unless you’ve created a manual imprint)

  • Expiration date

  • The cardholder’s signature, above their printed name

  • The authorization code that was presented upon approval of the transaction