Processing Basics

Knowing these basic terms and procedures is essential to running an efficient business with minimal chargeback losses.

1. Always swipe the credit card through the terminal. If you encounter a credit card that cannot be read, you must imprint the card on a paper sales draft using a manual card imprinter. The imprinted sales draft must contain the cardholder’s signature; the amount of the sale; a brief description of the merchandise; the date of the transaction; an authorization code; and the merchant name, city, and state.

2. Request an authorization on every credit/debit card sale. Once an authorization attempt is declined, do not attempt another authorization; ask for an alternate form of payment. If you process a credit card sale that was declined, the cardholder’s bank can initiate a chargeback.

Never split an amount on two sales drafts to avoid an authorization.

3. Use the Address Verification Service (AVS). AVS reduces the risk of accepting fraudulent mail and telephone order transactions by facilitating verification of the cardholder’s billing address with the cardholder’s bank. This address information helps you to determine whether you want to accept a particular transaction or take further follow-up action.

AVS will not prevent all chargebacks, but it will help you reduce fraud transactions. Remember to record on the sales slip the AVS code you receive from the terminal.

Watching for suspicious transactions such as large dollar sales, rush orders and orders from areas in which you do not advertise, will also help reduce fraud transactions.

4. You may not process cash advances for cardholders or for yourself.

5. Include your return policy on your sales draft. To be considered properly disclosed, your return policy must appear on your sales draft at the time of the sale, printed prominently and in close proximity to the cardholder’s signature.

6. Never process credit card transactions for another business. This practice, known as "factoring," is strictly prohibited and will result in the immediate termination of your merchant agreement and your ability to accept credit cards.

7. Balance and transmit your transactions regularly. Balance all batches before transmitting your daily transactions. When balancing, check for duplicate transactions. If you do not transmit daily you may incur additional transaction fees.

All sales must be processed within seven days of authorization, or you will be required to obtain a new authorization code prior to processing.

8. Comply with retrieval request procedures. If you receive a retrieval request letter, please provide us with the required documentation immediately. If correct documentation is not received, the cardholder’s bank can issue an irreversible chargeback for "Non-Receipt of Requested Item." This is the most common chargeback. You will be charged a processing fee for all retrieval requests.

All sales drafts must be retained for seven years. For ease in complying with retrieval requests, please file your sales drafts by transaction date, not by cardholder name, as the retrieval request will not include the cardholder’s name.

Please note that if you provide an illegible copy in response to a retrieval request, the cardholder’s bank may initiate a chargeback. Change the ribbon in your printer frequently.

9. Learn to avoid chargebacks. A chargeback is initiated by the cardholder’s bank when the cardholder disputes a charge. Landmark Merchant Solutions must reverse previous credit card transactions when a chargeback occurs. The amount of the chargeback will be debited from your processing account and you will be charged an additional fee for processing.

10. If you have questions, call us. Please feel free contact our customer service representatives at 1-866-606-1504. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. Terminal-related issues can be handled 24 hours a day at 1-866-606-1505.