Frequently Asked Questions

PCI stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.  Being PCI complaint protects you and your customers from fraud.  Noncompliance can incur fees on your merchant account.

Yes.

(Fees) / (Volume processed) = Effective Rate. 

For example, if you pay $500 to process $10,000 your Effective Rate is 0.05 or 5%.

Unless you are running a business that is considered 'high risk', you should not be paying over 3%.  

Interchange fees are non-negotiable fees set by card brands such as Visa and Mastercard.  Interchange fees are typically updated in April and October by card brands.  

Spotting hidden fees can be difficult, look for recurring fees such as a 'monthly fee' for $25 that is applied to every statement.  Remember, just because it says "Visa" in the fee description that does not mean the money goes to Visa.

A chargeback occurs when the cardholder asks their card issuing bank to reverse a transaction.  This can occur for many reasons including fraud, customer dissatisfaction with goods or services, or even 'friendly fraud'-when a cardholder knowingly reverses a transaction they authorized to avoid paying for goods or services.  

Provide detailed no-show, cancelation, and rain check policies to customers booking online. Make it easy for a cardholder to request a refund if needed.  

Yes. 

When you sign a merchant agreement, you agree to use the services for a certain term-typically 1-2 years.  Early termination fees are sometimes included in merchant agreements to dissuade merchants from leaving before the end of the term.  Early termination fees can be a set amount or calculated as 'liquidated damages'.

Liquidated damages cause the most expensive form of an early termination fee.  When a liquidated damages clause is triggered by early termination from the merchant , the processor will calculate how much the merchant would have owed if they were to continue processing for the duration of the term.  This number can easily exceed $10,000.  

Liquidated damages cause the most expensive form of an early termination fee.  When a liquidated damages clause is triggered by early termination from the merchant , the processor will calculate how much the merchant would have owed if they were to continue processing for the duration of the term.  This number can easily exceed $10,000.  

A surcharge is a way to pass some or all of the bankcard processing costs along to the cardholder.  However, there are a multitude of regulations pertaining to surcharging and legality can vary from state to state.  

A cash discount is a way to incentivize the customer to pay with cash instead of bankcard.  A cash discount involves offering a discounted price to customers paying in cash versus bankcard.  Similar to a surcharge, there are lots of regulations that must be followed to properly implement a cash discount.  

By enrolling in our yearly service, "Scoring Tent", Claymore Payments Consulting will review your merchant statements as they are released each month.  Your statements will be audited for accuracy, your fees will be placed in buckets to let you know where your money is going and how much is negotiable, and your rates will be compared to industry standards to ensure you are not overpaying.