Frequently Asked Questions

If your transactions deal with tips, it is important that you adjust any tips before batching out. Once you batch out, you are unable to adjust any transactions, as they are sent to the bank for processing.

 If you must adjust any transaction, be it for a tip, refund or another authorized transaction, you will need the full credit card information and expiration date. If you cannot acquire that information directly from your customer, we can assist you in retrieving that information by doing the following:

1. If you have a copy of the receipt(s), please submit a request to support@greenpayments.io (If you don’t have a copy of the receipt, please provide us with as much information as possible; Last 4 of CC Number, Date, transaction amount, approximate time)

2. Your request will be taken up by the research department and you will be contacted via phone within 24 business hours with the information requested. Please note that more than one retrieval will increase the research involved and might extend beyond 24 business hours. Credit Card information will never be shared over email and we do not have the ability to adjust/refund/alter a transaction apart from your terminal.
   

Please note, that anytime you run a transaction past the original transaction date, you run the risk of incurring a chargeback. We encourage you to maintain good communication with your customers, so they understand the charge.

If you need credit card information to run a transaction (i.e: over the phone orders, refunds, manual transaction) you only need the full card number and expiration date. The best and easiest way to get this information is directly from your customer.

If you are unable to acquire the Credit Card info directly from your customer for a transaction that was processed through our system, we can assist you by doing the following:

1. If you have a copy of the receipt(s), please submit a request to support@greenpayments.io (If you don’t have a copy of the receipt, please provide us with as much information as possible; Last 4 of CC Number, Date, transaction amount, approximate time)

2. Your request will be taken up by the research department and you will be contacted via phone within 24 business hours with the information requested. Please note that more than one retrieval will increase the research involved and might extend beyond 24 business hours.

Credit Card information will never be shared over email and we do not have the ability to adjust/refund/alter/force a transaction in anyway transaction apart from your terminal.  

The best practice you can have is to always be vigilant with your credit card transactions. Just like you protect your cash, protect your credit card sales! Review daily transactions, don’t allow orders or sales for fishy-smelling deals and protect sensitive information.

Online Best Practices

• Use AVS (Address Verification System): Always use AVS for eCommerce or keyed transactions. AVS compares the billing address provided with the billing address on file with the card-issuing bank, and returns an address match or mismatch response. Reject transactions with a mismatch response. If you accept a transaction with an AVS mismatch response, your rate will be affected.
• Use the CVV (Card Verification Code): Always require the 3 digit security code on the back of Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and JCB cards or the 4 digit code on the front of the American Express card with your transactions. If the CVV code does not match what is on file with the bank, reject the transaction. If you use Authorize.net, you need to set this up on your account. If you accept transactions with a CVV mismatch, your rate will not be affected, but this could reduce your ability to win a chargeback case.
• Review your Daily Transactions: Be on the lookout for unauthorized refunds (employee fraud), duplicate transactions, and excessively large orders to unknown customers. Immediately contact us or the 24/7 support center if you see any anomalies.
• Set your Gateway’s Daily Velocity Filter: If a fraudster is using your website to test credit card transactions, this will limit the number of tests they can run, causing them to go elsewhere. This will also limit the number of authorization charges you will incur for these fraudulent transactions.  Contact us to learn how to activate this feature in other gateways.
• Additional Red Flags to look out for: 
  •  “Rush” orders
  •  Orders shipped to an address that does not match the billing address
  •  Large orders
  •  
Orders to be shipped outside the United States
  •  Multiple sales made in a short period of time which appear to be indiscriminate purchases

International Orders Best Practices

International orders can really help boost sales and donations, but they carry higher inherent risks. To help avoid being the victim of fraud, we recommend shipping products outside of the US only once you have vetted the cardholder and verified their address. Below are some best practices for your organization to follow when accepting international transactions.

• Use AVS (Address Verification System): Always use AVS for eCommerce or keyed transactions. If you are processing with an online gateway the default Address Verification Service (AVS) settings will automatically reject transactions placed on cards that were not issued in the United States, and you will see a letter code returned with the decline reason that corresponds to a specific AVS reject reason. If you decide to change those default settings so these transactions are not automatically declined, please take care to not fulfill the order, especially a large order, without vetting the customer first.
• Require copies of the customer’s passport and the front and back of the credit card: Most thieves will not reply, assuming that you are “fraud aware”, and have caught on to them. If they do respond, contact the card-issuing bank using the toll-free number on the back of the card and ask them to call their customer to verify that the charge is legitimate.
• Call the phone number given with the order: It may be bogus or could be the actual number of the person whose card was stolen. Ask the cardholder for the card expiration date, and the details of the order. Fraudsters often lose track of which card they used on which site, and go on a “shopping spree”, not remembering who they ordered from or what they ordered. A legitimate consumer will know exactly what they ordered and will be able to repeat their order accurately.
• Trust your Instincts: At the end of the day, we recommend trusting your “gut feeling.” Only you, the merchant, know your business well enough to determine if a transaction smells fishy or not. Use your best judgment, and when in doubt, ask for additional information from your customer. There’s a good rule of thumb: If your organization can’t withstand the loss of a sale plus the inventory, then we highly recommend either passing on the order, or requesting a wire-transfer. A legitimate customer will be willing to either verify their identity or complete the sale with an alternate payment. If you ever have further questions about a potentially fraudulent sale, give us a ring so we can help out!

A chargeback occurs when your customer formally disputes a transaction with their issuing bank. Because it is a dispute initiated by your customer and their bank, our knowledge or ability to assist is limited.  

You will always receive correspondence in the mail regarding a chargeback. Please follow the instructions in the notice to resolve the chargeback. You can contact the chargeback department by calling 1-800-567-4729. You can fax them at 732-515-4589. Anything sent to them must include the case number listed in the notice. 

Chargebacks are an unfortunate and unavoidable reality of processing credit cards. Please note the following. 

1. They’re $30 each. Chargebacks follow strict Visa/MC/Amex guidelines and require arbitration between the acquiring bank and your customer’s issuing bank. This carries an internal cost, and as such, chargebacks carry a $30/instance fee.
2. Chargebacks are monitored by Visa/MC/Amex and can impact your ability to accept credit cards in the future. Processing banks and credit card associations see high chargeback rates as proof of a business’s inability to properly work with customers and are seen as high-risk.
3. You can ship merchandise or deliver a service, and still lose the value of the sale. A chargeback can be won by your customer in many different circumstances. In particular, chargebacks in a card-not-present environment tend to favor the customer very often.

Reduce chargebacks by doing the following:

• Respond to customer complaints. By resolving a dispute before the customer calls their bank, you can save yourself a lot of effort.
• Offer a refund if you feel the customer may win a dispute. It’s cheaper to offer a refund than to lose a chargeback. You may also be able to offer a “half off” or some other discount to your customer to further ease the sting of the loss. Half is better than none!
• If you’re processing in a card-present environment, always capture a signed receipt with a full description of goods sold or services rendered. These will prove valuable in the chargeback arbitration and will likely tip the scales in your favor.
• If you’re processing in a card-not-present environment, always check for fraud! Many chargebacks are caused by fraud. Set your AVS and CVV filters, as well as your Daily Velocity filter and your Transaction Limit filters. These can save you a lot of headaches down the road.

A retrieval takes place when a customer’s issuing bank formally requests specific information from you, the merchant, or us, the acquiring bank. Retrievals are $30 each. They’re relatively rare, but often a retrieval will come in the form of an invoice request, or a copy of a signed receipt. When requested, it’s important to act quickly and provide the requested documentation. That way, the issuing bank can verify the validity of the sale, and you can potentially avoid a chargeback.

Visa Chargeback Guide

Click Here to view the full Visa Chargeback documentation

MasterCard Chargeback Guide

Click Here to view the full MasterCard Chargeback documentation

AMEX Chargeback Guide

Click Here to view the full American Express Chargeback documentation

Yes.  You will receive a bill as usual.  The only difference is that the price increase collected to offset your processing cost will have already been collected and applied to offset your processing fees.

What is the amount of the Unauthorized Entry Fee?

• The amount of the Unauthorized Entry Fee will be $4.50 per return​.

What is an Unauthorized Entry Fee?

• An Unauthorized Entry Fee is a fee paid by an ODFI to the RDFI for certain returns of ACH debit transactions due to a problem with the Receiver’s authorization.
• The Rule requires an ODFI to pay a fee to an RDFI for any ACH debit returned due to a reason of unauthorized (return reason codes R05, R07, R10, R29 and R51). International ACH Transactions (IAT) initially will not be covered by the fee, but could be included in the future.

More Info, go to Nacha.Org

What does it mean to merchants and their customers?

With the new iPhone® 6 release, Apple® is poised to accelerate the growth of mobile commerce and catalyze the “card-less” environment in an unparalleled manner. It provides a digital “wallet” in the device, in which consumers can store payment options that can be used to ‘tap and pay’ for goods and services. This contactless use of a mobile device to perform payment transactions is facilitated via Near Field Communication (NFC) communications technology. While contactless payments have been around for a while and Green Payments can expertly support them, the ability to use one’s phone to ‘tap and pay’ – particularly at so many merchant locations, with so many payment options – is a brand new development for the marketplace. Consumers will begin utilizing their phones to transact more frequently, and will expect that they can be accepted everywhere. This means we should encourage our Clients to be ready to accept mobile payments – from their new Clover Station™ solution as well, or their contactless terminals.

The chip on the EMV card is very difficult to duplicate. Each EMV-enabled card contains an embedded smart chip that is programmed by the card issuer to create a unique cryptogram (an encrypted code) for every transaction. This code represents a randomly generated numeral provided by the POS terminal at the time that the purchase amount is keyed in by the cashier. When an EMV chip is used in a transaction, a cardholder verification is triggered and becomes required for authentication via Chip and PIN or Chip and Signature. If connectivity with the card issuer is unavailable during a transaction, the chip determines whether the transaction can be processed offline.

Communication errors occur when the machine isn’t picking up an ethernet or phone line connection. Below is a list of communication errors and quick fixes to start processing again!

TCP Error

This error occurs when the machine isn’t picking up an ethernet connection or the cable is unplugged. This is most common when the business location just recovered from an internet outage.

Resolution:

Step 1 – Make sure your ethernet cable is plugged into the ETH port

Step 2 – Reset the machine’s connection. From your WELCOME screen select the STAR button right above the RED X on the keypad. Then, select COMMSERVER. From this screen, press the PURPLE KEY right below the HAMMER AND WRENCH icon in the lower right-hand corner. Select REPAIR.

Step 3 (if repair is successful) – Press RED X key until you see VCS ETHERNET. Select the STAR KEY right above the RED X on the keypad. Select CREDIT/DEBIT and start processing again!

Step 3 (if repair failed) – The location is more than likely having an internet outage. Check to make sure your router is giving an internet connection and call your internet service provider for assistance.

No Line Found

This error occurs when the machine isn’t picking up a phone line connection. Please make sure your valid phone line is connected to the back of the machine in the port with a BLUE PHONE RECEIVER icon. 

What are these strange and mysterious fees? Card Brand Fees (also known as Card Association Fees) are the costs that are actually paid back to Visa/MasterCard/Discover. These are also commonly referred to as NABU fees (Network Access and Brand Usage fees). Most merchants don’t realize that the vast majority of the costs paid aren’t actually paid to the Card Associations, but instead to the banks that physically issue the cards. The Card Associations do make their money, though! There are literally dozens of different small circumstantial fees charged by the associations that apply in all different circumstances. Keep in mind that these are not charged by Green Payments.  These are fees collected by Green Payments and immediately passed through to the Corporate brand of card your customer used. In the interest of full disclosure we post all potential assessment fees, although many merchants may never be subject to many of these specific costs.

Visa Assessments

MasterCard Assessments

Discover Assessments

American Express Assessments

Green Payment’s chargeback cost is $30. A chargeback occurs when one of your customers disputes a sale with their credit card company. Visa/MasterCard have a specific process that both parties will follow during a dispute, called the chargeback process. When representing you in the chargeback dispute, we will communicate directly with the issuing bank and will also request supporting documentation from you to assist us in defending your sale on your behalf.

When you accept PIN debit transactions, you’re processing over different networks than what Visa/MasterCard/AMEX use. These PIN networks are managed separately, and charge annual fees for their usage to MSPs like Green Payments. Green Payments always passes these fees through at cost. Green Payments charges this fee to merchants as a single line item, once a year in the amount of $20/annually. Green Payments does not mark this fee up. Naturally, should you not wish to be subject to an annual PIN network fee, you can certainly opt not to take PIN debit sales. It’s your choice!

An ACH Reject Fee is assessed when Green Payments attempts to pull costs out of your bank account, but there aren’t enough funds in the account. Think of an ACH Reject cost like an “overdraft” fee in your bank account.

Green Payments’ fees are always billed the month following processing. Costs are always withdrawn during the first week of the month. If the bank account we’re withdrawing from doesn’t have sufficient funds to cover the monthly costs assessed, your account will be charged a $30 ACH Reject Cost.

A batch cost is assessed on every day that transactions are sent in for processing, regardless of how many transactions are processed. Batch costs are paid if you process one transaction or one hundred. So, if your business is open every day, you’d be subject to 30 batch costs in a month.

So, what’s a VOID?

When you VOID a sale, you’re preventing the sale from being captured. In essence, you’re simply removing the authorized sale from the list of sales to be captured later. So – if you have ten processed sales today and realized that one of them was a mistake, you can simply void it! By voiding the sale, you prevent it from being sent in for processing – now your list of sales sent for capture will only include 9 transactions. So, the customer will still see the authorization on their credit card, but they will NOT be charged for the sale, since you voided the sale. After a few days, the authorization will “fall off” of the customer’s card, and they’ll never be charged. And, you aren’t charged for the sale since you never submitted it for processing! All you pay is the per-authorization fee (typically $0.10).

The one big caveat to voiding sales is that you must void a transaction before settlement. Once you settle your sales, they’re sent for processing, and you are unable to void anymore. That’s where a refund comes into play.

What’s a Refund?

Once you “settle” or “capture” your sale – that’s it! The sale is processing, and there’s no turning back. Per Visa/MC guidelines, the only way to cancel or undo a mistaken sale is to process a refund (also known as a return). In a nutshell – when you process a refund, you’re processing an offsetting sale for the customer. This is OK, and it’s the expected process for customers. However, there are a few consequences of running a refund that you should be aware of:

• You’ll still pay for the original sale. It processed, your customer was debited, you were paid, and the customer could still dispute that sale. So, you’ll still pay fees on the original transaction.
• Your customer’s funds will be tied up. Unlike a void where you essentially cancel the sale, a refund is processing a second, offsetting sale. So, your customer will FIRST get debited the original sale amount, then later, AFTER the refund processes, they’ll see an equivalent credit in their account. This delay can sometimes be frustrating for customers.

Due to the above limitations, we always recommend voiding if possible! Not only will you save money, but you’ll likely keep your customers happier, too!