Card Acceptance Guide

Note

This guide is part of your Merchant Acceptance Agreement with Orchard Technology, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “MyOrchard”) and you must follow the instructions and procedures in this Guide to comply with your agreement.

Important Information

Your MyOrchard Account Number
Your MyOrchard ACCEPT Merchant Number
MyOrchard Customer Support Telephone Number 844-696-7242

For more information on additional products and services from MyOrchard, contact support@myorchard.com or call us at 844-696-7242.

or visit our website at:

www.MyOrchard.com

For more information about VISA®, Mastercard®, American Express®, Interac® Direct Payment, Discover® or UnionPay® please visit the applicable websites at:

Introduction

Congratulations! Your decision to accept credit and debit payments from MyOrchard with Cost + 0 offers a valued service and positions your business for success.

This Guide is part of your MyOrchard Merchant Acceptance Agreement. You must follow the instructions and procedures in this Guide to comply with your Agreement. Please keep this Guide handy for reference. We recommend that you keep your Agreement and other documentation, including telephone numbers and account numbers associated with your Agreement, with this Guide.

You are taking an important step in enhancing customer service and increased sales volume when you offer your customers the payment flexibility of VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Interac Debit, Visa Debit, Debit Mastercard, Discover, UnionPay (UP) cards and other payment acceptance options.

Additionally, when you accept payment with credit and debit cards, you gain a competitive edge, maintain a positive image and have the potential to increase your bottom line.

We want you to be familiar with your MyOrchard ACCEPT program and take advantage of all its features to help your business grow and prosper. The information in this Guide has been provided to supplement your Agreement and will assist you in the operation of your business related to payment acceptance.

We’ve included answers to the questions most frequently asked by card-accepting businesses like yours. If you have additional questions not covered in this Guide, we encourage you visit www.MyOrchard.com or call and speak with our Customer Success team.

Our goal is to provide you with a card acceptance program that is designed to grow with your business. Your comments and ideas help us to constantly develop new ways to meet your needs and the needs of business owners and operators across Canada.

The Parties Involved in the Transaction

Customer/Cardholder

The process of paying for goods and services begins when the customer submits an application to a bank that issues VISA, Mastercard, American Express or Discover cards or other credit cards processed by MyOrchard and covered by your Merchant Acceptance Agreement and/ or is provided with an Interac Debit, Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard or other debit cards processed by MyOrchard and covered by your Merchant Acceptance Agreement that is tied to the customer’s bank account.

The cardholder becomes an authorized user of VISA, Mastercard, American Express and/or Discover payment products and/or can use the Interac Debit, Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard or UP cards to make purchases from merchants accepting such cards for payment.

In order for you to accept any new type of card not previously accepted by you and issued by a card issuer, you must provide your express consent to MyOrchard. This includes any new product or service, even if your POS equipment has the capability of acceptance.

Bankcards, Debit Cards and Issuers

VISA, Mastercard, American Express and Discover cards are sometimes known as bankcards because individual financial institutions issue them, banks for example, instead of the credit card company itself, such as American Express® or JCS®.

In Canada, if the financial institution or credit card company (issuer) accepts the customer’s application for a credit card, it issues the VISA, Mastercard, American Express or Discover card. A credit card signifies that the bank or credit card company has authorized a line of credit against which the customer may draw.

Another type of card is an Interac Debit, Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard card, sometimes referred to as a debit card because payments for the transactions are withdrawn (debited) directly from the cardholders’ bank accounts at their financial institutions. A debit card is therefore tied to the amount of money actually on deposit for the cardholder at his/her financial institution.

With respect to VISA, Mastercard, American Express or Discover products, (i) merchants who accept credit card payments from a particular payment network are not obligated to accept debit cards issued by Canadian issuers belonging to such payment network, and (ii) merchants who accept debit card payments from a particular payment network are not obligated to accept credit cards issued by Canadian issuers belonging to such payment network. UnionPay (UP) cards may be debit cards or credit cards.

Merchant

Meanwhile, you or your business has opened a payment card transaction deposit account with a bank, and your business has been approved for card acceptance by MyOrchard. You are an authorized acceptor of cards for the payment of goods and services. Now you’re ready for that first payment card customer.

How the Transaction Process Works

Any payment card transaction ultimately begins and ends with the cardholder. The illustration below shows the steps involved in an electronic payment transaction, and how the various organizations Interact to create a smoothly executed process.

The cardholder (Customer) presents the card as payment for goods or services, either at the point-of-sale (POS) or via telephone, or over the Internet.

Authorization and Electronic Data Capture

Once the electronic information is captured from the magnetic stripe or chip on the card, an electronic imprint of the card number and other relevant information are passed to MyOrchard for authorization. MyOrchard then electronically routes the data from the card to the card issuer through the payment card brand networks.

The card issuer checks the cardholder account status, and the requested authorization amount is compared to the card holder’s available spending limit or funds on deposit and reviewed with fraud protection tools.

If the card is approved, the issuer posts the approved amount against the cardholders credit line or funds on deposit and the card issuer provides the authorization approval.

At this point, the authorization response is returned by the card issuer to the merchant and routed through MyOrchard, the processor.

Funding

The process of moving the funds from the cardholder’s account to the merchant’s account is called funding. During funding, the card issuer funds/credits the merchant’s bank, which then funds/credits the merchant’s account with the amount of the transaction.

To initiate funding into their merchant bank accounts, merchants typically commence an “end of day” transaction on their point-of-sale terminals or payment gateway. This type of transaction sends to MyOrchard the relevant electronic details about a merchant’s day. MyOrchard reconciles such credit card and debit card transactions, provided by the merchant, and then deposits the appropriate funds into the merchant bank account at the merchant’s designated financial institution.

On the cardholder side, in the case of a credit card transaction, the electronic draft is routed to the cardholder’s issuing bank or credit card company, which records the transaction as a charge against the cardholder’s account and sends the cardholder’s monthly statement for payment. In the case of an Interac Debit or Visa Debit transaction, the cardholder’s bank account was debited immediately at the time of the transaction, and the relevant transaction information will appear on the merchant’s bank account statement.

Settlement

The process of moving the transaction information from your business to the cardholder’s financial institution is called settlement. VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Interac and UnionPay maintain authorization and settlement networks for card processing and charge a fee for their use. For credit cards, this fee is a percentage of the transaction, and it is the foundation for your rate.

Remember that your deposit account is not just for deposits. This account is also used for paying MyOrchard its applicable fees; MyOrchard will subtract accumulated fees and other charges from your deposit account.

Merchant must provide MyOrchard with the bank’s name and bank routing information, and Merchant’s Bank Account number, and Merchant must notify Merchant’s bank that MyOrchard will have access to Merchant’s account for debiting and crediting the Bank Account.

Merchant must immediately notify MyOrchard of any changes to Merchant’s Bank Account information. Failure to notify MyOrchard of such changes may cause a delay to Merchant’s Settlement until updated.

The policies of your financial institution govern when funds are available in your Account.

MyOrchard will not be responsible for any obligations, damages, or liabilities in excess of the amount of applicable debit, credit, or adjustment to Merchant’s Bank Account in the event that Merchant’s bank does not honour any such item or improperly applies it to Merchant’s Bank Account.

Occasionally, a credit cardholder will have a question about a sales draft that has already been deposited in your account. In that case, MyOrchard may debit your account for the amount of the sale until the customer’s question is resolved. This is called a chargeback or dispute.

Mail and Telephone Orders

When a cardholder is not physically present to a Merchant there is an increased risk of fraud. MyOrchard provides the most secure tools available to help in reducing this risk, but it is the Merchant’s responsibility to perform processes to further mitigate risk of fraud and losses. If possible, establish the customer’s identity by multiple forms (email, signature on electronic invoices, etc.), collect card billing address and ship to address, securely collect the cardholders credit card number and expiry date on the sales draft (also include name of issuing institution).
If you are taking an order over the phone, fax, Internet, or by mail, we recommend that goods be shipped to the cardholder billing address or permanent addresses where possible and utilize shipping carrier tracking numbers and evidence of delivery— steer clear of post office boxes, hotel lobbies or freight forwarders. Remember all cardholder or Issuer disputes may be charged back and are your responsibility.
Always send a copy of the sales draft and order form to the customer, either when the product is ordered or when it is shipped.

Protecting your Internet Business

Internet merchants should be just as aware of the risks of fraud as traditional merchants and should consider ways to prevent fraud. If you are creating or operating an online store, be sure to learn about security risks by assessing your shopping cart procedures, securing your online transactions and letting your customers know that your website transactions are safe.

In addition, here are some keyways and some requirements you can use to prevent Internet fraud:

Post your purchase/return policies on your website where your customers can see them clearly. (Required)
Start by taking a few extra steps to confirm each order and reject orders that leave out important information.
Be careful when dealing with orders that have different “ship to” and “bill to” addresses.
Avoid shipping to post office boxes, hotel lobbies or other addresses that are not permanent, as these addresses can be harder to trace later.
Pay extra attention to orders that are larger than your usual orders, as well as international orders, especially if express shipping is requested.
Note the customer’s email address, and make sure it is valid and matches the cardholder’s name.
Be sure that each transaction is authorized correctly and that proper procedures are followed. (Required)
Do not accept other merchants’ requests to deposit their receipts through your account If any items are charged back, you will be responsible for them. (Required)
If you are suspicious about an order, pend the order and call the Issuer to request a cardholder validation of your order. (Required)

PCI Compliance and Payment Data Protection

One of the largest threats to any business accepting payments is payment fraud and loss of customer cardholder data. MyOrchard has built systems and platforms to support in the mitigation of risk and data exposure. However, just like anything else in business it requires the proper use and proper training to protect your business. Below is a list of best practices and links to various resources, as you are the first line of defense from losses due to fraud or data breaches.

Authorize every transaction and include the card expiration date in every authorization request.

An invalid or missing expiration date might mean the customer doesn’t have the actual card in hand. Ask for more information if you receive an authorization but still suspect fraud.
Ask for the name of the bank that appears on the front of the card.
Contact the cardholder with any questions.
Confirm the order separately by sending a note via the customer’s billing address rather than the “ship to” address.

Warning Signs

First-time shopper
Larger than normal order
Order that includes several of the same item
Order with many big-ticket items
Rush or overnight shipping requested
Shipping to an international address
Transactions with similar account numbers
Transactions placed on multiple cards all shipping to a single address
Multiple transactions on one card over a short period of time
Multiple transactions on a card with a single billing address, shipping to multiple addresses
Multiple cards used from a single IP address
Orders from Internet addresses that make use of free e-mail services