Q: I was debited by Elavon, can you tell me what the debit is for?
A: You will first want to make sure the debit is in fact from Elavon. It usually appears as ELAVON MRCH SVC. An Elavon debit can be one of a few things:
Your monthly statement fee, which is debited around the 1st of the month for the processing of the previous month. You can access your statements in Payments Insider to determine if the debit amount matches.
If a certain day's batch had a single transaction which was a refund or if the net amount of the batch was negative. You can view payment details and the transactions within the negative batch in Payments Insider under the Payments Report
A debit can indicate a chargeback (transaction is being disputed). The chargeback amount is debited from your account 3 - 5 business days after the dispute notification is issued. You can view and manage chargebacks in Payments Insider.
Swap fee- a $45 debit is likely associated with a terminal swap. These are usually applied on the merchant statement but sometimes get debited separately.
Supply Order - If you ordered supplies from Elavon (i.e. paper rolls, replacement cords)
Q: What is a Minimum Bill / Monthly Minimum fee?
A: If applicable to your account, this is the smallest dollar amount that the processor expects to bill each month. It is calculated by taking the processing fees the merchant is charged for the month and subtracting them from the minimum bill amount. If a merchant exceeds the minimum bill amount, there will be no minimum fee assessed for that month. If the merchant does not process in a certain month, the full minimum bill amount will be charged.
Q: I received a weird looking email, is it safe to open?
A: Elavon sends out dispute notifications via a secure encrypted email message. The subject line is in the following format: Dispute [1234567890011183154526] key123 where the first 10 numbers is the case number. These emails will also have an attachment message_zdm.html. To view the email, double click on the attachment. If this is the first time opening up an Elavon secure email you will first need to register and set secuity questions and a password. Otherwise if you already have done this step, click to read message and login with your secure email password.
Q: What is the difference between a chargeback and retrieval?
A: A cardholder or the issuing bank can dispute a transaction when one of the parties has an issue with the transaction.
A retrieval request (sometimes also referred to as a soft chargeback), is when a cardholder does not recognize a charge and requests the bank / card issuer to obtain more information from you about a transaction.
Retrievals often result in a chargeback, to mitigate this, it is advisable to reach out to the customer to
explain and provide the information they are looking for so they can let the issuer know they
acknowledge the charge so it can be processed.
If you fail to respond to a retrieval, you may forfeit your right to dispute with the card issuer if they open
a case against the transaction.
A chargeback is when the cardholder disputes and requests a reversal of the transaction. Reasons vary and may include: goods not received, items not as advertised, fraud, cancelled recurring subscription, etc...
Q: How long does a cardholder have to request a retrieval or dispute a charge?
A: Retrievals can be requested up to 18 months and for most chargebacks, the time frame is within 120 days and 180 days for international transactions from the date of the original transaction or discovery of a product / service issue. Depending on the reason code, this may be longer.
Q: How long does a merchant have to respond to a chargeback / retrieval?
A: The deadline to respond to a dispute / chargeback is 30 days. The card issuer will then have up to 30 days to review the case. If a refund is issued back to you, the cardholder will have 30 days to challenge the ruling.
Q: What is a chargeback arbitration and pre arbitration?
A: Pre-Arbitration is when the cardholder issues a chargeback on the same transaction for the second time. This occurs when the merchant wins the initial dispute. When the dispute cannot be resolved by the parties, the case may go to arbitration. This is when the card network gets involved. Arbitration is typically the last resort and most transaction sizes do not justify the cost of going to arbitration. If you chose to respond to pre/arbitration case, it can result in fees from $150 - $500+.
Q: Why is a chargeback fee imposed even if the transaction is proven to be valid?
A: The chargeback fee is applied to all chargebacks regardless of the outcome. This fee is to cover the administrative cost of processing a chargeback.
Q: Why does my refund transaction not have an authorization code?
A: Refunds are done using the original auth / approval code. An auth / approval code is just for the apporval to charge a card.
Q: What are GEMS rejects / exceptions?
A: These exceptions were either transactions that were funded to the merchant but could not be collected from the cardholder, so the processor is taking the funds back, or in the case of refunds that could not be funded to the cardholder, the processor is giving the funds back to the merchant.
Q: What do you do if the terminal says batch must be settled, but that batch was already settled and funded?
A: If you confirmed you were funded for the batch, you can delete the batch off the local terminal.
Q: What is a host reversal?
A: This can occur when two physical terminals are operating with the same terminal ID. What occurs is the transaction run will get an approval and sale receipt and in the exact second will reverse. The result is this transaction wont be in the batch and the terminal will not let you settle the batch. Usually this occurs with only one transaction, so delete the batch and force the transaction through with the original auth code. If there are multiple transactions in the batch, have the processor settle on their end, then delete the batch on the local terminal. At this point do a download to update the terminal with the correct terminal ID.
Q: What does a Declined 79 response mean?
A: It means the transaction requires you to call the auth center for approval.
Q: What does Call Auth Center mean?
A: The bank is unsure of the transaction and needs you to call the processor for further verification, it the transaction gets approved you will receive an approval code to capture.
Q: How long does an authorization stay on a card?
A: Typically 7 days
Q: How can I remove / drop an authorization from a cardholder?
A: To make an authorization drop, either wait for it to drop on its own or force a sale for $0.01. Alternatively force the sale for the full amount then void that sale. It is possible when forcing it that the cardholder will still see the original authorization for some time. In some cases we can work with the processor to have the authorization be dropped
Q: What does "Pick Up Card" mean?
A: This is a decline response code from card issuers declining the transaction due to card being reported lost or stolen and flagged as fraudulent.
Q: Why are my Amex customers not receiving supermarket rewards?
A: If you are on our Amex Opt Blue program, you will want to check with us on how your merchant account is coded. However, if you are with Amex direct, it will depend how Amex has you coded.
Q: I see a $16 fee on my statement DB FEE under payment network and associated fees- Pulse network participation fee, what is this?
A: For US merchants that accept pin debit transactions, there are network annual fees for participating in the PIN Debit Networks.
Accel - network annual fee $16 per year will typically be billed between October and December
Jeanie - network annual fee $12 per year will typically be billed between October and December
NYCE - network annual fee $16 per year will typically be billed between June and August
Pulse - network annual fee $16 per year will typically be billed between September and November
STAR - network annual fee $16 per year will typically be billed between October and December
Q: What are the requirements of setting up an ammunition or firearms merchant account ?
A: USA - a FFL (federal firearms license) is required for selling firearms in a card not present environment. This refers to working guns, but also lower receivers, which are the component that the serial number is put on. Any other gun parts: scopes, magazines, triggers, springs, barrels, ammunition, etc, do not require an FFL.
Canada - online gun sales can ship to a residential address as long as the seller can confirm PAL (Possession Acquisition License).
Due to recent ATF gun laws that went into effect August 24, 2022, merchants need to be in compliance with these regulations to maintain a merchant account.
Q: What is the Visa force post mandate, and how does it affect processing?
A: Controls have been put in place to prevent forced Visa transactions with no matching authorization from being processed, settled and funded. This is being rolled out for all card brands (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and Union Pay). What this means is if a transaction has not been authorized or has no matching auth code from the acquirer and card-issuing bank, it will decline at time of transaction or void from the settlement batch, and the merchant will not be funded for such transaction.
Q: What if there is a legitimate business need to submit force post transaction.
A: You may contact the Voice Authorization Center, and they will inform you of options.
Q: I received an email from website review that my eCommerce site is missing requirements. What are the website requirements to complete the review?
A: If a cardholder is entering in their card information to submit a payment on a company's website, the website needs to meet Visa and MasterCard requirements. There are many recommendations (display card brand logos of brands you accept, list delivery method and timing, include privacy policy, etc...), however these are the requirements to pass website review:
-Payment page needs to be secure SSL (https://) webpage
-Business name to be listed
-Contact information to be listed
-Return / refund policy to be outlined
Q: If cardholder enters in their payments within a mobile app and not on a website, does it still require website review.
A: No, a mobile app does not require website review, just let us know so we can have the account marked compliant.
Q: I use a gateway through the TSYS network, can I have next day funding?
A: A Foreign network like TSYS can't guarantee next day funding. TSYS usually sends a file feed after the cut off time for next day funding.