Our Blog

Below are some frequently asked questions about visa requirements. If you have a question about a visa rule that is not covered below, please contact Visa at [email protected]. Please note that visa requirements change from time to time. In the event of any discrepancy between the information contained in this FAQ and the visa requirements, the visa requirements shall prevail. Other requirements can be found in the visa acceptance agreement between you and your acquirer. Note that it is also possible to accept Visa credit cards and PIN debit cards without accepting signature debit cards. However, in some cases, this may violate other agreements with Visa. You`ll need to work with your credit card processor to make sure you`re properly set up for the types of cards you want to accept. “[K]u seller . may impose a surtax on a cardholder who chooses to use a credit or debit card instead of payment by bank cheque or similar means . In general, a merchant is allowed to ask for identification, but cannot require it as a condition of acceptance of the Visa card. However, there are exceptions, such as where Visa has given the merchant permission to require identification to combat fraud in certain circumstances. `No travel service provider may impose a surcharge or reduce the commission on a travel agent acting as an intermediary for that provider where the purchaser uses a credit card to purchase that provider`s travel services.` It may be cheaper to accept only debit cards.

Credit cards tend to be more expensive to process than debit cards, so if cost is your concern, limiting it to debit cards could increase your bottom line. When deciding to accept only credit or debit cards, there are many factors to consider, including: 7. Don`t use credit cards to refinance existing debts or pay bad debts. Undeliverable cheques fall into the latter category. Status: Maine Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 9-A, § 8-303(2) (See also id.

§ 8-103 (Definitions and design rules)) Another important factor is customer preference. Do your customers generally enjoy paying by debit card or are they more inclined to the cash back rewards offered by credit cards? The TSYS Consumer Payment Methods study can help you by offering these statistics on industry trends: The importance of each factor depends on your business, your needs and your customers. For example, if your customers prefer to pay with debit cards, that knowledge is more important to your business than to someone whose customers don`t have a strong payment method preference. 10. Do not issue cash refunds for credit or debit card transactions. All refunds for returned goods or adjustments must be processed on the same card used in the sales transaction. This protects cardholders from criminals who fraudulently use their cards for a purchase and then return the goods for cash. Exceptions are permitted for prepaid cards that may have been disposed of prior to return. The law does not define a credit card as a debit card In addition, businesses that only accept debit cards may have a lower risk of chargebacks, as consumers may have a harder time proving that the card has been used fraudulently, especially if a PIN has been entered at the point of sale. If you`re in a state that allows charging, you can determine if it makes sense for your business. Some businesses may want to accept only credit cards so they can apply the surcharge to all credit cards, refund processing fees, and not pay for debit acceptance. Any processor should be able to configure your processing account for limited acceptance.

The application you fill out may even include the ability to note the types of cards you accept and break them down by card brand and card type. In order to protect cardholders and merchants and maintain the integrity of the Visa system, we have omitted proprietary and competitive information, as well as certain details from network security rules. “Discounts offered to initiate payment by cash, cheque or other means without a credit card are not financing charges if they are offered to all potential buyers and disclosed in a clear and visible manner in accordance with the regulations.” 11. Deposit your transactions within three business days of the transaction date. Ideally, you should do this the day after the transaction. In a Card does not exist setting, the transaction date is the shipping date, not the order date. In general, Visa is a method of payment and not a method of collecting or performing a contract. However, under certain conditions, certain types of merchants (accommodation, rental [vehicle, bike, boat, equipment, camper, motorcycle, truck/trailer] and caravan parks/campsites) may accept a guaranteed reservation (if the cardholder provides a Visa account number at the time of booking, but no payment to ensure that accommodation, goods or services are available as booked and agreed with the merchant). For more information, please contact your visa acquirer. Many customers prefer credit cards, especially for large purchases. Credit card rewards, chargeback protection, and the security of not using a card linked to a bank account mean many consumers prefer loans when paying with plastic. Reloading or adding fees for using a credit card became allowed in 2013.

However, some states prohibit this practice and no companies are allowed to top up debit cards. Keep in mind that even if a debit card is “managed like a loan,” you can`t add a fee. All regional or country-specific rules in the Visa Core Rules and Visa Products and Services Rules apply to transactions, brokers, issuers and acquirers in their region/country, and any rules identified by the name of a region or country apply only to financial institutions operating in that region or countries. Interlink Network Inc.`s operating rules apply to financial institutions operating in the United States and Canada. Companies that regularly charge customers, such as For memberships or subscriptions, can only accept credit cards due to the reduced risk of declined transactions. If a customer forgets their subscription and doesn`t have enough money in their bank account, a direct debit transaction may be declined. In most cases, accepting credit cards is no less expensive than accepting debit cards. An exception applies to small transactions (less than ~$10) if your customers pay with regulated debit cards. (A debit card issued by a bank with assets of $10 billion or more: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citi, etc.) You can read more about why regulated direct debits are expensive for small transactions in our article Small Tickets: The Durbin Downside. However, in debit cards, there are two methods of authorization: PIN and signature. These two types of transactions have a different cost, which means that sometimes the cheapest method is PIN and sometimes signature.

Typically, signature throughput is cheaper for smaller transactions, while PIN throughput is cheaper for larger transactions. What about your competitors? Do they accept all types of cards? Remember to think not only locally, but also online. Is it easy for customers to go elsewhere if they don`t like your card acceptance policies? Is your product or service likely to be purchased locally, meaning customers may have more tolerance for payment method requirements, or are you competing with online merchants and auction sites? 4. Compliance with all applicable maximum sale amounts. Some federal agencies or colleges have set maximum purchase amounts for credit card transactions. These maximum values in turn apply to all brands and do not apply to debit transactions. 5. Don`t charge extra fees on card transactions. This requirement can be a bit confusing, as there is an allowance for convenience fees (see below). Nevertheless, supplements are not allowed, although you can offer discounts for the use of other payment methods.

In general, no. Reloads are currently allowed in Australia, Mexico and New Zealand, as well as some credit card transactions in the United States. Some of the above rules may not apply to your particular situation, and there may be others specifically designed to regulate your type of business (for example, ecommerce sites have their own requirements that they must meet). Still, these are the most basic rules for the payment card industry and you should make them the basis of your card processing processes. If you have any questions about visa rules, please contact us at [email protected]. You may also want to consider a trade-off, such as accepting credit cards and PIN debit cards, but keep in mind that customers tend to use debit cards for small transactions when it`s usually more expensive than credit cards. Consider the average size of your transactions when determining which debit method is likely to be the most cost-effective. Below are some frequently asked questions about visa requirements. If you have a question about a visa rule that is not covered below, please contact Visa at [email protected].

Please note that visa requirements change from time to time. In the event of any discrepancy between the information contained in this FAQ and the visa requirements, the visa requirements shall prevail.