| Top 10 Merchant Questions |
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Q: How long does it take to set up a merchant account?
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| A: Approximately seven to ten days from when all the appropriate paperwork is turned in.
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| Q: Are the transactions and funds secure?
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| A: Yes, DJCalendar connects to the Authorize.Net Payment Gateway, which provides the complex infrastructure and security necessary to ensure fast, reliable and secure transmission of transaction data. Authorize.Net manages the routing of transactions just like a traditional credit card swipe machine you find in the physical retail world, however, Authorize.Net uses the Internet instead of a phone line.
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| Q: What are the requirements to open a merchant account?
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| A: To qualify for a merchant account, you must have a business checking
account, a Social Security Number or Federal Tax ID number and a business license (or other
documentation from a third party verifying that you operate the named business at the given location).
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| Q: Do I need a bank account to accept credit cards and does it have to be a business checking
account?
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| A: You do need a business checking account to receive funds from your customer's credit card payments.
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| Q: Can my credit status prevent me from establishing a merchant account to accept credit card
payments?
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| A: The only time credit is a problem is if you are currently going through a bankruptcy or if you have
numerous tax liens. If you do fall into this category you might want to apply--your credit might not be as
bad as you think.
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| Q: I do retail charges through a terminal now, can I also use DJCalendar or my website for my e-commerce and have the funds go into the
same checking account as the retail funds?
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| A: Yes, but you need a new merchant account that complies with e-commerce discount rules and rates. We can advise you as to the requirements.
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| Q: What is a chargeback?
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| A: A chargeback occurs when a customer receives their credit card statement and does not agree with
the charges applied. The customer can either call the merchant or get a return on their merchandise or
they can call their bank and issue a charge back against the charge. It's always best practice for a
merchant to do as much as possible to resolve any customer issues before the customer initiates a
chargeback. Excessive chargebacks can cause termination of a merchant account.
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| Q: How do I avoid charge backs?
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| A: You can avoid charge backs by having a business checking account. If you have a website, be sure
your "doing business as" name is the name on the site. This will look more familiar to a customer when
they receive their statement in the mail. The merchant's telephone number can be placed on the
statement next to the corresponding charge, so the customer will be more likely to call the merchant
instead of the bank and simply return the goods.
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| Q: What are Mid-Qual and/or Non-Qual Transactions?
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| A: Mid-Qualified and Non-Qualified transactions are transaction types that have higher rates applied to
them due to the type of card used or the manner in which the credit card is being processed. For example
if you normally swipe a Visa® or MasterCard® and obtain a signature this would typically be considered a
“ qualified transaction” and the qualified rate would be applied to the fee. If the card happened to be a
rewards card and was swiped then the transaction would be considered a “mid-qualified” transaction and
the rate applied would now be the qualified rate + mid-qual rate(typically +1.59%). If the same card you
swiped earlier would instead be entered manually (a keyed transaction) that transaction would be
considered “ non-qualified” and the rate applied would be the qualified rate + non-qual(typically +1.89%).
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| Q: What is a Monthly Minimum?
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| A: A Monthly Minimum is a base processing fee you will have applied to your account each month if your
normal activity fees fall below that amount. For example if you processed just a few credit cards and the
combination of the rate and transaction fee equaled $20 yet you had a $25 monthly minimum, your
account would be charged an additional $5 to meet the monthly minimum. This fee is used to pay for the
maintenance required by the processor for your account.
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