Buyers need not only an understanding of the benefits and value of what you are selling, they also need clearly stated billing, return, shipping and other policies important in their decision making process. This guide will focus on the essentials of a card payment refund policy:

• Setting a Return Policy
• Refund Best Practices
• Handling Refund related Chargebacks
• Beware of Refund Scams
• Lower costs with Credit Voucher Interchange

Setting a Return Policy

A good return policy can help close sales. Your return policy or lack thereof can justify higher or lower cost as reflected by higher or lower risk of buying from you in the mind of your customer. Your return policy can even define your brand - think Nordstrom.

Handling refund requests in a way that makes good business sense and achieves 100% customer satisfaction is the goal. Consider your options. Will you offer a full refund, in-store credit, exchange only, or are all sales final? The complexity of your return policies will vary depending on your business.

Consider what you sell and who your customers are when establishing a return policy. Begin by reflecting on the value of the goods or services you are selling. Will you require the original sales receipt? Are there any time or condition requirements for acceptable returns? Who pays return shipping? Put yourself in the customer’s position and test your policy by getting feedback from friends and family. How would you feel about doing business under these conditions? Will your policy seem fair and make sense to your customer?

A store credit towards a future purchase is common and seen as an acceptable policy to many buyers. An alternative use of gift cards is to issue them for awarding in store credits. Gift cards can be a great way to retain revenues and provide customer convenience.

Refund Best Practices

Once you have developed your return policies, do not bury them deep within your web site or in the fine print. Be open and up front. Accepting card payments is a convenience form of payment, not a guaranteed form of payment. All the rules and regulations are written in favor of the cardholders. Therefore, it’s very important to protect your interest with these best practices:

• The most important thing you can do is to document that the cardholder was aware of and agreed to your return policy. Specifically, the cardholder's signature must appear on the sales receipt near the cardholder’s signature line. This is especially important if your policy is “All Sales Final”. Make sure that this phrase is clearly disclosed on the sales receipt near the customer signature line. The cardholder's signature should also be obtained next to your refund policy disclosure printed on any related document, such as a contract, invoice or customer agreement.
• Merchants may post their return policy at the point of sale visible to customers, on their web site, in a catalog or verbally on the phone; however, evidence of proper disclosure requires the cardholder signature.
• The best practice for online transactions is to include your refund policy automatically as part of the check-out process. Use a “click to agree” button or have your customer type their initials next to your refund policy disclosure before completing the transaction indicating that they agree to your policies.
• If a return is as allowed by your company's return policy, make sure your managers are trained to issue a credit to the same card account that was used for the original transaction. A best practice is to staple a copy of the original sales receipt to the refund receipt highlighting the matching last 4 digits of each card number for your records. Do not refund cash when a credit card was used. Without an offsetting credit, the card issuing bank has no evidence of a refund and may still pursue to have a chargeback reverse the sale. In this case, you run the risk of having two refunds processed.
• If the item's value is particularly high, the best practice is to request that the buyer return the item to you first, according to your refund or exchange policy. A best practice recommendation is to require that your customers obtain a return merchandise authorization (RMA) number that you supply before they send the item back to you. Additional requirements help to prevent frivolous returns.
• If a refund is mistakenly issued to the wrong card, it is best to VOID the transaction. If the error has already become a settled transaction then contact your merchant services provider and request that the credit be reversed. Do not attempt to offset the credit by running a sale.
• Be cautious with gift returns. In cases where a gift recipient has returned a gift, the best policy is to offer an in-store credit or exchange. Do not return cash. Retain your documentation in case the cardholder claims a credit was not issued to his or her account for the gift.
• If a customer is requesting a refund but you are unclear if you’ve been paid for a card sale, contact your merchant services provider. Once you have confirmed that you have not been paid for the sale transaction, the best practice is to instruct the cardholder to contact his issuing bank.

Handling refund related chargebacks

Because card payments are subject to chargebacks, refund requests that go unaddressed, or are not handled in a way that is satisfactory to your customers, can lead to chargeback disputes. A chargeback means that the amount of the original card sale that was deposited into your business checking account is taken back out. In disputes, payment card issuers will look to see how clearly your policies are stated to the cardholder. Is it reasonable to expect that they purchased with full knowledge of your return policy? And the key to this is the signature evidence next to your refund policy disclosure.

Note that if you maintain a policy such as “No Refunds” or “All Sales Final” the product or service is still expected to work as advertised and be what was ordered; otherwise, merchants still face "Not as Described" chargebacks. "Not as Described" chargebacks are most common due to defective merchandise or service disputes.

Quick Reference Helpful Hints:

• Make customers aware of return policies and procedures.
• If a customer disputes a transaction for this reason, they must first attempt to resolve with you. Always keep full detail and accurate records.
• Insure package delivery for breakage.

“Credit not processed” chargebacks occur when the cardholder alerts their issuing bank that they have requested and are due a refund which has not been credited. In some instances, a merchant issues a credit voucher yet it has not appeared on the customer's online or card statement.

Quick Reference Helpful Hints:

• Always put the return policy near the signature line of the sale receipt (signage at the point of sale is not enough to meet the rules and regulations of the card association).
• Never give card payment credits in cash or check.
• Never give credits on items if you are unsure if the sale was made from your merchant account or if it has been paid to you. Customers presenting their credit card statements or print outs from their bank are not presenting sufficient evidence, and in these cases you should instruct your customer to contact their card issuer with a dispute.

If a credit is issued to the cardholder before you receive a chargeback notice, respond to the chargeback with your documentation that a credit has already been granted.

If the chargeback is initiated before you issue a credit (customer contacts their issuing bank before contacting you) then respond with documentation containing signature evidence that the cardholder agreed to your return policy. Also indicate whether or not the cardholder has followed your return procedures or if they have returned or are still in possession of your goods or services rendered. If you agree to the refund in this instant, you should accept the chargeback. Do not issue a credit on top of a chargeback as this will create a duplicate “refund”.

Beware of Refund Scams

Make sure that end-of-day batch reports match the deposit to your bank. If a refund is present within a batch total then make sure there is supporting documentation for the refund. A best practice is at least a monthly audit of all refund transactions – matching original card sales and card numbers to approved refunds and card numbers.

When available on your point of sale device, password-protect the refund function. Only allow managers to perform card holder credits. And beware of employee theft! Elaborate criminal embezzlement schemes from bookkeepers have been uncovered where card refunds are issued to personal or conspirator card accounts, sometimes in place of legitimate authorized customer returns and others on invented entries.

Take notice of debits to your business checking account. Make sure the debits are not a result of unauthorized refunds being processed through your merchant account. If you notice suspicious refunds to credit cards then contact your merchant services provider immediately. With the help of the card issuing fraud department, they may be able to determine if the card being refunded has a pattern of fraudulent refund activity.

Lower cost with Credit Voucher Interchange

One way to lower your bottom line costs of accepting credit and debit card payments is to have the credit voucher Interchange returned when you process cardholder credits. Don’t overlook merchant rate savings from cardholder returns. Credit Voucher Interchange should be returned to the merchant when credits are processed. In doing so, the original fees billed for processing the card sale are offset by the return of fees back to the merchant when a refund is issued on the card.

Merchants should check their merchant processing statements, calculate their annual cardholder return volume and identify how they are billed for processing cardholder returns. Don’t leave savings from credit voucher Interchange on the table. Merchants should seek a direct Interchange pass through billing from their merchant account provider. However, not all Interchange pass through rate programs are the same and many do not return the credit voucher Interchange. Get a quote now at http://merchantrates.com to see the Visa, MasterCard and Discover card credit voucher Interchange rates.

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The Essential Merchant Guide to Card Payment Refunds

Reward credit cards are used by card companies to compete with one another for the business of affluent consumers. Card issuers attempt to influence the purchase behaviors of cardholders with higher spending limits by rewarding them to spend more at merchant locations. And by most accounts they have been successful.

This spring marks the 5^th anniversary of rewards Interchange. The decision to implement a higher rate for a rewards card verses a non-rewards card was introduced in response to a growing American Express market share. The competitive landscape in 2005 found MasterCard and Visa card issuers increasingly using rewards as a key component of their cardholder acquisition strategies in order to compete with AmEx for affluent consumers.

So in April 2005, both MasterCard and Visa established new reward card Interchange rate categories. Visa launched two card programs, Visa Traditional Rewards and Visa Signature, both with higher Interchange rates. The swiped CPS Rewards 1 Interchange rate was set at 1.65% + $0.10. Five years later that rate remains unchanged. What has changed is that there are more reward cards in the market. Issuing reward cards to more and more consumers has resulted in an overall increase in Interchange expenses for merchants.

Today reward credit cards are the new norm. And one frequently asked question we hear is why the costs of “reward” incentives are passed on to the retailer?  Yet merchants only directly cover a portion of the actual reward benefit by paying slightly higher Interchange rates. Yes rates are higher but not high enough to cover all of the costs of the reward level which is mandated by the card companies in order for a credit card to qualify as a reward card.

In order to earn the higher Interchange from a reward card, the card issuer is required to meet an established rewards value threshold. This is the value that is returned to cardholders. In 2005, the minimum rewards value for a Visa Traditional Rewards card was to exceed 62 basis points while Visa Signature cards required 125 basis points as the minimum reward value.

This minimum value exceeds what merchants contribute. For example, on a Visa Traditional Rewards card, the merchant’s portion is only 11 basis points of the minimum reward value a card issuer must award -- the difference between a regular credit card (1.54% + 10 cents) and a rewards credit card (1.65% + 10 cents). Or put in other terms, the incremental costs to a retailer of accepting this rewards card is $1.10 per $1,000 in sales.

In fact, this is a common argument against rewards. Most articles talk about reward cards costing as much as 1% more than the cost of accepting standard credit cards and suggest that small local retailers often pay an even greater percentage. While unfortunately this may be true in some cases, it doesn’t need to be the case. Because most merchants are not on direct Interchange pass through, they face very expensive “Non-Qualified” surcharges. However, this is a completely different problem and not a case against reward cards.

All merchants would benefit from a merchant Interchange rate quote where a pass through pricing structure reduces the costs of reward card acceptance; especially for small merchants, where the real lesson on the 5^th anniversary of reward card Interchange is to simply pay the reward Interchange - not “non-qualified” surcharge fees.

In a recent NY Times article, The Damage of Card Rewards, the author worries about being a “selfish consumer” because paying with a reward credit card creates a “a sort of reverse Robin Hood problem”, where the poor (apparently defined as people without a rewards credit card) pay subsidies to finance the rewards of the affluent.

From my viewpoint I don’t see the relatively small incremental increase in costs from credit to rewards credit as a major societal issue. Certainly it is not an issue requiring drastic measures like the TX wine shop referenced in the article who “offers a 5 percent discount to customers who use cash.’’ It appears that this merchant is operating on misinformation on the costs of credit and credit rewards.

While the debate will continue over the value of payment card acceptance and the associated costs; merchants, the media, the political class and the providers of merchant services would all be better served by having a greater understanding of the history and intricacies of the payment system.

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The Fifth Anniversary of Reward Card Interchange

NYCE and CU24 PIN debit networks have announced modifications to the current rates. 

Effective February 1, 2010 NYCE will implement the following changes:

• The switch fee will be decreased from $0.05 to $0.0425.

• Retail merchants will be billed at 0.75% + $0.2125 per transaction. The minimum transaction fee will be decreased to $0.3025.

• Quick Service Restaurant merchants will be billed at 0.55% + $0.1075 per transaction with a maximum fee of $0.5425. The minimum transaction fee will be decreased to $0.2275.

• Supermarket merchants will be decreased to $0.3025.

• Petroleum merchants will be billed at 0.85% + $0.1925 per transaction. The minimum transaction fee will be decreased to $0.3025.

• Returns will be decreased to $0.0425 per transaction.

• PINless Utility merchants will be billed at $0.6550 per transaction.

• PINless Cable merchants will continue to be assessed 1.00% + $0.125 per transaction. The maximum transaction fee will be increased to $1.055.

In addition, Effective April 1, 2010:

• NYCE will implement a Premier Issuer fee of $0.011 per transaction. This will be an addition to the existing interchange fees.

Effective February 1, 2010 CU24 will implement the following changes:

• The switch fee will be increased from $0.025 to $0.028.

• Retail merchants will be billed at 0.75% + $0.178 per transaction with a maximum fee of $0.828.

• Quick Service Restaurant merchants will be billed at 1.25% + $0.058 per transaction with a maximum fee of $0.478.

• Supermarket merchants will now be billed $0.258 per transaction.

• Drug Store and Pharmacy merchants will be billed at 0.75% + $0.178 per transaction with a maximum fee of $0.828.

• Petroleum merchants will be billed at 0.75% + $0.168 per transaction with a maximum fee of $0.728.

• Returns will now be billed $0.028 per transaction.

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Debit Network Fee Updates

MasterCard and Visa have announced New April 2010 Interchange adjustments. 

MasterCard

Currently, MasterCard's Assessment fee is 0.095%. MasterCard will increase the Assessment fee to 0.110%.

While new rates have not yet been announced, MasterCard is introducing new Interregional Interchange programs for:

• MasterCard World Card
• MasterCard World Elite
• World MasterCard for Business
• MasterCard Corporate World
• World Elite MasterCard Business
• MasterCard Corporate World Elite

Effective April 2010, MasterCard is revising the qualification criteria for Commercial Face to Face and Commercial Data Rate II.  Zero will no longer be accepted as a valid tax value to qualify for these Interchange rate categories.  If a commercial transaction has no sales tax, the transaction will downgrade to the next best Interchange level.

MasterCard is also adding a new Interchange program for MasterCard Enhanced Small Business. Pricing for the new program categories will be announced once released.

• MasterCard BusinessCard Card
• MasterCard Professional Card
• MasterCard Executive BusinessCard Card

Visa

Visa is implementing modifications to the No Signature Required program:

• MCC 5993 (Cigar Stores/Stands) is being added as an eligible MCC
• Standardize amount to equal to or less than US $25.00 to be eligible.
• Transaction with cash back amounts will not be eligible.

Vantage has tracked changes and updates to Interchange each spring and fall since 2005.   Track Interchange changes or read recent Interchange history at http://www.vantagecard.com/price/interchange05.html.

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April 2010 Interchange Adjustments

According to a new survey commissioned by Visa Inc., U.S. consumers whose primary payment method is their debit card would rather give up coffee, their MP3 player, their mobile phone, email, visiting social network sites for one week than they would their debit card.

Employers issuing Visa payroll debit cards to under-banked workers not only benefit by moving all employees to direct deposit but are also providing a cash management tool highly valued by employees.  Consumers are focused on controlling spending and understand that cash purchases can be difficult to track.  The Visa survey reveals that consumers believe debit cards can help them monitor spending more closely and stay within budget.   Plus employees enjoy convenient access to their funds by using their Visa debit paycard with a level of control and protection not offered by cash.  In fact the Visa survey found that younger adults between the ages of 18 to 24 claim to lose track of $2,500 in cash annually, more than twice the average amount.

Debit can help solve the disappearing cash dilemma and can provide an easy and effective way for consumers to access available funds for purchases.  Employers can have a positive impact on their unbanked employees by providing tools to help them manage spending. And, according to the Visa survey, consumers agree:

• Overall, debit cards ranked as Americans’ primary payment method for personal and household expenses (37 percent), which is considerably above cash (22 per cent).
• Over two-thirds of debit card users (68 percent) prefer to use their debit card instead of cash whenever possible.
• Three-quarters of U.S. consumers using debit cards (76 percent) agree the cards provide an easy way to track spending.
• Three in five U.S. consumers who use a debit card (61 percent) say that using their debit card helps keep their mystery spending to a minimum.
• Two-thirds of U.S. debit card users (63 percent) find that tracking their debit card spending helpful in sticking to a budget.

For over a decade there has been a shift in consumer behavior toward debit cards.  The period ending December 2008 marked the first time that spending on Visa Debit cards surpassed spending on Visa Credit cards; comprising  approximately 70 percent of Visa’s U.S. transactions.  As a result of these consumer payment choices, more places that were traditionally cash only are now accepting payment cards.   In fact, its been recently reported that many retailers are piloting or implementing 'No Check' policies including several large grocery chains, a move that should act to further encourage payment cards at the POS. 

With consumers preferring debit cards to cash and stores preferring card payments to check payments, employers should make 2010 the year to mandate direct deposit by providing Visa debit payroll cards. 

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Debit cards highly valued

Poor management of accounts receivables is the enemy of cash flow. For small businesses today, 30-day terms all too often extend to 60, 90 and 120 days before payment is made.

CPAs can help their small business clients better manage cash flow by proactively talking about their payment policies and procedures. Now is the time to help your clients set a 2010 goal of implementing payment acceptance best practices. Why?  Because by implementing sound accounts receivable policies with the objective of lowering working capital, businesses will achieve an operational advantage over their competitors.

Business is, ultimately, about getting paid.  Businesses need to have enough working capital to fund their operations while they wait to get paid.  If a company can improve its processes and get paid a little earlier, this means the company would need less working capital to fund its operations. Companies that use payment technology to run more efficiently require lower working capital.

And a lower working capital requirement in turn reduces the costs of financing working capital. Financing working capital can come from many sources (some more expensive than others). With the tight credit market small businesses are currently experiencing, implementing AR best practices can reduce credit risk, automate manual paper-driven processes and provide skilled invoice follow up support – which combine to produce a more efficient payment cycle.

At VantageB2B.com, our analyst work with small businesses and their CPAs as payment advisors, delivering professional payment resources combining AR best practices with Level 3 commercial card payment acceptance to lower costs, increase productivity and enhance security.

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CPAs play a key role in helping small businesses implement payment best practices

The Salvation Army is accepting credit and debit cards for contributions this holiday season in more regions nationwide. News articles from around the country have reported on the card terminals at the traditionally all cash "Red Kettles" which collect donations to support programs such as food for the homeless and toys for needy children.

The Salvation Army is smart to provider donors with the convenience of more payment options including Visa, MasterCard and American Express card transactions. Realizing that many people don't carry cash, the Salvation Army kettles are adjusting to the changing payment choices consumers are making.

The Salvation Army has deployed card acceptance to:

• Increase overall red kettle donations
• Eliminate "not carrying any cash" as an excuse for not giving
• Make it easy for people to make larger donations
• Provide a receipt for tax-savvy givers to apply for deductions
• Appeal to the next generation of younger donors
• Reduce cash and the risk of being targets of thief

To accomplish this, the Salvation Army divisions deployed hundreds of wireless payment terminals. Different regions selected different vendors. Some chose First Data's FD400 while others used the VeriFone VX610 wireless terminals. The Salvation Army reported that their rates were “very discounted”. But according to the quoted rates in an article by Payment Source, it appeared to be your basic qualified rate-as-low-as quote: “1.79% of the donation amount plus 20 cents when donors use credit cards”. Of course those of us talking to merchants every day about Interchange know that this type of blended rate quote is loaded with non-qualified surcharges for rewards and business cards. And depending on the market share of Visa check cards for example, even this “qualified rate” may be higher than it should.

Other issues come to mind as well. While not discussed, activating SIM chips for wireless coverage for a 30-day seasonal fundraiser adds unnecessary processing expense. Store and forward batch authorizations would reduce both set up and per transaction costs since real time approval codes are not necessary in this environment given there is no associated risk from declines. PIN debit requires real time approval but with an average ticket of only $14, they should reconsider adding the costs of encrypting devices to accept PIN transactions since the average ticket is below the signature debit break-even amount anyway.

Last, KAIT 8 Jonesboro AR reported that the kettles accepting Visa, MasterCard and Discover require a $5 dollar minimum donation. This of course is against the card acceptance regulations and they should be advised of such.

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Salvation Army deploys card acceptance

The law firm Constantine Cannon LLP announced today that approximately $1.1 billion in payments will be mailed to approximately 634,000 merchants across the United States, the final large-scale disbursement in the landmark Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation settlement. 

In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation is still the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history.  The settlement with Visa and MasterCard was negotiated in 2003 and this final payment, likely the largest single payment to businesses in class action history, represents an accelerate payment schedule that was not set to end until 2012. 

In addition to the monetary compensation to merchants, Visa and MasterCard agreed to eliminate their “Honor All Cards” policies, which required merchants that accepted their credit cards to also accept their signature debit card transactions.  The settlement also ensured Visa and MasterCard debit cards were clearly marked as debit cards so that they could be easily distinguished from Visa and MasterCard credit cards.

In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust class action lawsuit covered merchants in the United States who accepted Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards for payment at any time during the period October 25, 1992 to June 21, 2003.   Merchants, if you have moved, remember its your responsibility to provide notice of any change of address after you submit your Claim Form.  If you have any questions, visit http://www.inrevisacheckmastermoneyantitrustlitigation.com/ or call 1-888-641-4437.

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U.S. Merchants receive $1.1 Billion Final Payment Early

The number of “unbanked” Americans rose 1.3 million nationally last year, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.   Of the unbanked Americans in 2008, more than 31 percent said they closed bank accounts because of overdraft fees, service charges or high minimum balance rules.  Yet they are substituting other more costly, less regulated services like payday loans, check-cashing services and pawn shops for their financial needs. 

While few banks are reaching out to under-banked communities, employers can pick up the slack by moving employees to direct deposit using a Visa debit payroll card.  And employers can help control costs by negotiating group discounts for their unbanked employees. 

Payroll cards benefit both the employer and the employee as an added benefit.   Employers find that direct deposit on a payroll card is less costly than issuing paper checks, and reissuing lost or stolen paper checks.  Distributing pay through direct deposit is less disruptive and more efficient than handing out paper checks or mailing checks.  Getting payroll distributed to employees electronically should be considered as part of every companies disaster planning. 

For their part, employees without bank accounts should request a payroll card from their employer.  Payroll cards can costs as little as a $1.95/mo or less than $25 a year (lower than many credit card annual fees) since there are ways to use the cards that avoid all other usage fees.  For example, free cash back at the grocery check out verse using the ATM.  Transactions such as debit purchases (both signature and PIN debit) are also free.  The costs of carrying a payroll card is less than a traditional bank account and far less than paying to cash a check.  Visa debit payroll cards are more secure than carrying cash (stolen or lost cards can be replaced unlike cash and purchase protections are provided when using a card) and more convenient.  And payroll cards aid in managing expenses through statements and reports. 

For the FDIC's part, if they are serious about their goal to bring the “unbanked” into the financial mainstream, they need to address "pay without discount" rules.  Issuing paper checks is not only not green but is more costly to employees without bank accounts forced to find alternative ways to cash company checks. 

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Unbanked Americans need Plastic

Retailers are likely to see lower Interchange processing expenses this holiday season due to fewer consumers using credit cards and rewards cards.  According to a WSJ article, Fewer Shoppers Using Credit Cards for Gifts, there has been a drop in the number of shoppers paying with credit cards.   Higher interest rates, lower spending limits, canceled accounts, maxed out cards and watered-down rewards programs are all cited as reasons for the decline.

In general consumer spending has shifted from credit to debit during the recession. In the third quarter of 2009, credit transactions for Visa and MasterCard reached $313 billion, an 11.58% decline over the same quarter in 2008, according to TowerGroup. Debit transaction volume for Visa and MasterCard was $303 billion, a 5.21% increase over the third quarter in 2008.  PIN debit-card transactions increased by 9% this Black Friday over last year, according to First Data. 

With this shift from credit to debit comes lower Interchange costs for retailers.  Check cards (signature debit) and PIN debit transactions carry lower Interchange costs than credit and reward card transactions. Good news for retailers who have argued that Interchange expense is too high and have organized to lobby the government for relief.  Merchants have also said that they will pass along the savings from lower Interchange to consumers in the form of lower prices.  However as the GAO reports, this will be hard to determine.

In the Visa Check / MasterMoney Anittrust Litigation settlement, merchants won the ability to opt out of accepting either credit or debit transactions.  Merchants have been reluctant to opt out of higher priced credit acceptance.  But now their customers are making debit payment choices more frequently.  The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry’s key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments and 2008 sales of $4.6 trillion. One would think that the fastest way to effect the lower Interchange they seek would not be through government intervention but by encouraging their members to opt out of credit, accepting debit only.   

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Retailers likely to see lower Interchange costs this holiday season