Ensuring Merchant Compliance

An important announcement to all ABC clients using our recurring and POS payment processing services!

To avoid violations, prevent fines, and remain compliant in the increasingly confusing world of credit card processing, it’s important to remember that as a merchant you cannot put a minimum charge on debit card transactions. Doing so can result in serious red flags as well as, violation notices and fines from Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.

In one recent example, there was a complaint filed against a club because they were setting a $5.00 minimum requirement on debit card transactions. The fine for this type of violation starts at $1,000 and can climb if the club does not stop the offending practice. The one silver lining is that fines can be deferred and dropped as long as the non-compliant practice is rectified immediately. As a merchant, you would be required to provide written documentation to the credit card companies stating the specific actions taken to address the issue.

So, to avoid fines and maintain a clean record as a merchant, remember not to impose a minimum dollar amount on debit cards!

For questions regarding this article, call ABC’s Merchant Services today at 866-420-8555.