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Serve First strives to provide you with valuable information regarding the best practices to use when accepting cards for payment. We provide you with guidelines for situations when the card is present and when the card is not present. We hope you follow these guidelines to minimize the presence of unwanted circumstances.
Processing your Visa and MasterCard sales is easy with Serve First. Follow these steps to ensure that all your transactions proceed smoothly:
Card Present
Check the Card
including the signature panel - to see if the card has been altered.
Check the Card for a Hologram
A hologram is a three-dimensional symbol in either gold or silver foil that is designed to help deter counterfeiting. The image should reflect light and appear to move when you tilt the card. The Visa hologram is a dove. The MasterCard hologram is two interlocking globes.
Check the Expiration Date on the Card
The card is valid through the last date of the month. Do not accept an expired card.
Check the Valid Date
Some cards will have this feature, where the card is not valid until the date shown. Do not accept an invalid card.
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For each card type you process, be aware of the first four to six digits as well as the total number of characters for each card type. Remember: A Visa card number begins with a four and has thirteen or sixteen digits. A MasterCard number begins with a five and has sixteen digits.
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Check the First Four Digits
For Visa and MasterCard cards, the first four digits of the embossed card number must match the four digits pre-printed above or below that number.
Attempt to Swipe Every Card
through your point of sale terminal.
If You are Using a Manual Imprinter, Check the Draft for a Clear Impression
This will ensure that you have captured the embossed card account number. Complete the draft with the date, description of merchandise/service, sales tax, total dollar amount, authorization number and signature.
Obtain a Manual Imprint of the Customer's Card
Do this if you are using an electronic printer and the card cannot be magnetic-stripe read. This will ensure that you have captured the embossed card number. Use the manual sales draft to complete the transaction.
Obtain the Customer's Signature
Match the signature on the draft to the signature on the back of the card.
If the customer's card is unsigned, request another form of identification with a photo and signature. Request that the customer signs his card and then compare the signatures. If the customer refuses to sign, inform him that you are unable to accept an unsigned card for payment and request another form of payment.
Remember: hold the card until the transaction is completed!
Retaining the card throughout the transaction enables you to complete all of the security checks without having to ask the customer to re-present his card for a signature comparison or possible "call center" procedure. You will avoid check-out delays and ensure a smooth transaction.
Do not accept a card if:
- The hologram is missing or of poor quality.
- The customer's signature does not match the one on the card.
- The signature panel does not contain a security pattern in the background - "Visa" typed diagonally across the panel for Visa cards and "MasterCard" typed diagonally across the panel for MasterCard.
- The card is warped or has a dull finish.
- The account number and cardholder name are ironed out and the card is embossed with a different number. Evidence of this alteration is noticeable on the back of the card.
- The account number is tilted or slanted, or the embossed data spacing is off.
- The printed information is on top of the laminated surface of the card.
- The printing on the back of the card is blurry or distorted.
- Information displayed on the terminal or electronic printer receipt does not match the account number embossed on the front of the card.
Card Not Present
In the mail/telephone order and e-commerce industry, payment by credit card is the preferred method. Unfortunately, it can be risky. When neither the card nor the customer is physically present at the point of sale, the merchant experiences the greatest exposure to disputes, chargebacks and fraud. Serve First has developed guidelines to help reduce this exposure for Internet, mail, and telephone order sales.
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Remember: Serve First is not responsible for any losses due to sales in which the card is not present - either by mail, telephone or over the Internet. These sales are taken at your own risk. However, reviewing these guidelines may help you make more informed decisions on whether to accept such sales in your business or not.
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Authorize Every Sale on the Order Date
Authorizations are valid for a specific number of days: Visa - up to 7 days, MasterCard - up to 30 days. Merchandise must be shipped and sales must be deposited within these timeframes or the authorization will expire. If your shipping date exceeds these timeframes, obtain a new authorization code before shipping the merchandise.
Record the Card Account Number on the Sales Draft
Remember: A Visa card number begins with a "4" and has 13 or 16 digits. A MasterCard card number begins with a "5" and has 16 digits.
Ask for Both a Billing and Shipping Address
If the addresses are different, determine whether the difference seems reasonable.
Ask for the Customer's Phone Number
Not as a condition for accepting the sale, but as a customer service tool. The phone number enables you to call the customer for various reasons: to inform him or her that merchandise is back ordered, to request another form of payment if the authorization is declined, or to verify information if the caller seems unclear about address details.
Use the Address Verification Service (AVS)
While this is not a guarantee against chargebacks, it allows you to make more informed decisions before shipping. Contact Serve First at 877.737.7355, for more information on utilizing AVS.
Do Not Deposit Sales Until the Ship Date
Visa and MasterCard regulations do not permit merchants to receive payment for sales until the goods or services are delivered to the customer. Obtain an authorization on the order date, but do not deposit the sale until the ship date. Visa transactions for custom-ordered merchandise may be deposited on or after the order date - if the merchant has informed the customer that he will be billed prior to shipping.
Mail an Order Confirmation Notice to the Cardholder Prior to Shipping
This will not prevent chargebacks, but may reduce the number of inquiries and ticket requests.
Request that Your Customer Service Number Appear on the Customer's Credit Card Statement
Both Visa and MasterCard regulations permit mail and telephone order merchants to place their customer service telephone number where the merchant city would normally appear. This may help the customer recognize the charge when it appears on the statement and reduce the number of ticket requests and disputes. Contact your customer service representative to discuss this option.
While it is crucial that all customers are treated with the same courtesy and helpfulness, the following guidelines may be applied to aid in fraud detection without alerting or affecting the customer.
Mail/Telephone Order Merchants
There are special considerations for Mail/Telephone Order and Internet Merchants when accepting transactions because a card is not present. The merchant should be aware of:
A Hesitant Caller
A shaky voice or delayed responses to questions may indicate that the caller is not comfortable with the information he is providing.
Rush Orders
These are a favorite weapon of the "here today/gone tomorrow" schemes.
P.O. Boxes and Mail Receiving Services
This may indicate lack of a permanent address.
Above-Average Transaction Amounts
Merchants often know the amount of an average sale. Be wary of those transactions that greatly exceed the norm.
Purchases that can be Easily Converted to Cash
Examples include electronics, jewelry and leather goods.
1-800 Return Phone Numbers
Be suspicious of toll-free telephone numbers when given as the day or evening phone number. Attempt to get a direct line instead.
Multiple Orders in a Short Period of Time
Many merchant systems show all orders placed to a certain account or unique customer number. Be especially aware of multiple orders.
Fourth Quarter
Fraud is always a consideration, but fraudulent activity is particularly widespread around the holidays.
Larger-than-"Normal" Orders
This is dependent on each merchant's definition of a "normal" sized order. Because criminals are usually using stolen or fictitious credit card numbers that have a limited life span, they need to maximize the size of their purchases.
Orders Made Up of "Big Ticket" Items
These items have maximum resale value and therefore maximum profit potential.
Orders Containing Several of the Same Item
Criminals usually select the items with the most resale value. As these items are intended for resale, having more of them increases the criminal's profits.
Orders Shipped "Rush" or "Overnight"
Criminals want these items in their hands as soon as possible for the quickest possible resale, and are not concerned about the extra delivery charges.
Orders from Internet Addresses Offering Free E-Mail Services
For these services, there is no billing relationship and often no verification that a legitimate cardholder has opened the account.
Orders Shipped to an International Address
A significant number of fraudulent transactions are shipped to fictitious cardholders outside of the U.S. Fraud tools, such as the Visa Address Verification Service (AVS), cannot validate addresses outside the U.S.
Orders Shipped to a Single Address, but Made on Multiple Cards
This may indicate multiple stolen cards.
Multiple Transactions on One Card Over a Very Short Period of Time
This could be an attempt to "run" a card until the account is closed.
Multiple Transactions on One Card or Similar Cards with a Single Billing Address, but Multiple Shipping Addresses
This could represent organized activity, rather than one individual at work.
Multiple Cards Used from a Single IP (Internet Protocol) Address
More than one or two cards would indicate a fraud scheme.
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