Page 32 - GS191102
P. 32
Education
StreetSmarts SM
How to avoid setbacks at installation
By Dee and Emily Karawadra have a personal guarantor. Most processors do not
Impact PaySystem require this unless the business is new or has high
processing volume.
aving been in the industry for over 20 years, • Inaccurate estimated percentages of card types
we have seen our fair share of setbacks when accepted: This is where you break out the percent-
trying to board merchant accounts. From age of sales that are card-present, card-present but
H the underwriting process to the equipment not swiped, and card-not-present MO/TO transac-
install, a deal can go wrong in various ways. And those tions. Together, these must add up to 100 percent.
setbacks can sabotage deals. Often, a deal you submit This is important to processors in assessing mer-
can go stale or not move through underwriting due to chant risk. If all transactions are card-present, the
errors made during the merchant-application stage. We business is typically considered less risky. If the
avoid the bulk of these errors by taking measures to catch majority of sales are card-not-present, this must be
mistakes before merchant setup. Here are several ways a disclosed upfront to prevent funds being held or
merchant application can cost you a deal: the account being frozen after processing begins. If
• Wrong or missing information on application: actual percentages differ greatly from those stated,
This can stop a deal before it even starts. An incor- funds could be held while the processor clarifies
rect or missing Social Security number, for exam- how cards are being processed.
ple, can cause an account to be pended, awaiting • Incorrect industry type/MCC code and descrip-
correct information. tion: It's important to use the correct MCC/SIC
• Wrong signature on application: If, say, the signor code when setting up a merchant. If you designate
is not the owner, this can cause the application to a restaurant as a retail shop, this can cause issues
be rejected or pended. when processing begins. A restaurant must be able
• P.O. box for owner's address: This mistake is com- to have tips and edit those tips at end of shift. If
the restaurant is set up as a retail shop, it won't
mon; most processors will not allow a P.O. box to have this ability, so the agent will likely have to get
verify an owners information. the designation modified, which takes time. Some
• Missing or misprinted tax ID: During the busi- processors may have to re-underwrite the account,
ness verification process, this number must be causing further delay.
correct. If the business is a sole proprietorship, the • Inaccurate estimated annual card volumes: This
owner's Social Security number can be used. is where the sales agent estimates by card type
• Incomplete or illegible pricing addendum: The the merchant's annual dollar volume, as well as
processor cannot set up an account without clear size of average daily sale. If an MLS puts the esti-
pricing that has been agreed and signed on by the mated yearly volume at $20,000 and the merchant
merchant. processes that much in one month, the processor
• No guarantor signature: Some business entities could ask for additional information because this
such as corporations and LLCs are not required to is not what the account was approved for.
32
