Credit Card Processing Tips from MPS
Watch out for customers who:
- Purchase a lot of merchandise without regard to size, style, color, or price.
- Ask no questions on major purchases.
- Try to distract or rush you during the sale.
- Make purchases, leave the store, and return to make more purchases.
- Make large purchases right at opening or at the last minute when the store is closing.
- Refuse free delivery for large items.
When taking a credit card over the phone you should:
- Ask the customer for the expiration date
- Ask for the 3-digit number on the back of the card or the 4-digit number on the front of an American Express card.
- Ask for their card billing address information
- Have them sign and return a credit card authorization form
Always check, compare and validate signatures between the back of a customer's card in the signed copy of the receipt. It is always better to be safe then sorry. A non signed credit card is technically an invalid card. This is actually printed on the back of most cards. Going the extra can save you a big headache in the long run.
How You Can Avoid the Ten Costliest Chargebacks
This guide was designed to assist your business in handling and preventing chargebacks.
- Failure of merchant to respond to a retrieval request.
This is the single most frequent cause of chargebacks. Fortunately, this is often the easiest to prevent or reverse. Simply keep copies of your sales transactions and respond to any and all “Media” or “Retrieval” requests by sending copies of sales drafts immediately: Reason Codes: 01/26/79
- Cardholder was billed more than once for the same transaction.
To avoid duplicate processing, reconcile your batches daily and ensure that the register/terminal totals match the credit card receipts for the day. If you do receive a legitimate duplicate processing chargeback, do not issue a direct Credit to the cardholder-the credit will automatically be applied. Reason Codes: 25/34/82
- Cardholder denies making or authorizing a transaction.
Make sure all transactions (other than mail/phone order) are magnetically swiped or imprinted. Again, timely submission of a copy of the properly completed and signed sales slip along with a written explanation of the validity of the charge will be needed to try to reverse a chargeback. If the phone or mail order sale, the order form any courier or handler will also be required. Reason Codes: 23/43/61
- Failure of merchant to follow correct procedures or in completing the sales slip at the point -of -sale.
The sales slip must include both a cardholder signature and the card account number to be valid. The account number must be obtained directly from an imprint of the card itself or from electronically reading the magnetic stripe. Manually entering the account number does not protect you from a no-imprint chargeback even if the sales slip is signed. Reason codes: 37/39/81/84
- Account numbers don’t match.
After swiping a card, if the card number displayed does not match the number embossed on the face of the card, ask for a different form of payment. Always print and double-check the account number on all phone and mail orders. Accepting non-matching transactions will leave you vulnerable to chargebacks. Reason Codes: 12/25/77
- A credit/refund was not properly processed.
Credits must be processed correctly and on time. Make your customers aware of your credit/refund policy at the time of purchase. Have the policy printed on your sales slips directly above the cardholder’s signature in accordance with Association Policy. Issue credits only to the same account numbers to which the sales were made, refunds paid in cash or merchandise, or to a different account number, will not protect you from this type of chargeback. Reason Codes: 24-/85/60
- Failure to obtain proper authorization.
Be sure to authorize all transactions, and accurately record the approval code on the sales slip. If your request for authorization is declined, do not attempt to reauthorize transactions to the same account number, as subsequent approval may not protect you from a chargeback. Reason Codes: 08/20/72
- A card was either used either before or after its valid date.
Never process a transaction on a card prior to, or after the valid date. Instead, ask for a different form of payment. Reason Codes: 22/23/32/35/58/73
- Merchandise or service not received by cardholder.
Sales transactions must not be processed prior to delivery of the product purchased. Proof of delivery, signed by the cardholder, should be obtained for every credit card transaction in which the merchandise or service is not delivered immediately at the point-of-sale. Such proof of delivery may be your only defense if a chargeback occurs. Reason Codes: 24/55/90
- Cardholder disputes quality of merchandise/services.
Ensure that your customers are aware of your return policy at the time of purchase, Stick to your policy. Display the policy at the point-of-sale and print it on your sales slips, directly above the cardholder signature. Reason Codes: 53/54/56
Facts about Authorizations.
Valid Authorizations DO NOT guarantee the transaction is good and DOES NOT guarantee merchants against credit card fraud, refunds, or chargebacks. It does indicate the card number presented has sufficient credit available and the card has not been reported as lost, stolen, or cancelled. A positive A VS response also DOES NOT protect the merchant. In some circumstances AVS can assist the merchant in a chargeback dispute, but should NOT be interpreted as protection against fraud, or chargebacks.
Does the card you're taking have a hologram?
Merchants should check cards for the hologram. A hologram is a three dimensional symbol in either gold or silver foil that is designed to help deter counterfeiting. The image should reflect light and appear to move when you tilt the card. (The Visa hologram is an image of a dove; the MasterCard hologram is an image of a world map.)
If a photograph of the cardholder is present on the card, merchants should compare the photograph on the card with the person presenting the card.
| Tips from MPS |
