Merchant Accounts Procedure | TM1060

Merchant Accounts Procedure

The Merchant Accounts Procedure ensures the selection of a merchant account that meets the company’s need to balance best service and lowest cost. This is accomplished through planning, monitoring, and reviewing merchant accounts to guarantee the greatest value for service. This procedure applies to the Finance Department. (6 pages, 923 words)

Merchant Accounts Responsibilities:

The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) is responsible for overseeing the selection of merchant accounts and for conducting periodic reviews of merchant accounts.

Merchant Accounts Definitions:

Merchant Account – Service provider that processes credit card payments for a merchant (business), such as our Company.

Chargeback – Reversal of a credit card transaction; can be accompanied by penalties and fees to the merchant.

Discount Rate – Fee paid by the merchant as a percentage of the transaction amount (e.g., 3%).

Fixed Transaction Fee – Flat fee paid by a merchant on every transaction.

Holdback – Percentage of transactions paid by the merchant and held by the merchant account provider to cover any transaction related dispute. Funds in the “holdback account” are released to the merchant at a predetermined time (e.g., after six (6) months).

Merchant Accounts Procedure Activities

• Merchant Account Plan
• Merchant Account Comparisons
• Merchant Account Comparison Review
• Merchant Account Improvements

Merchant Accounts Procedure Forms

• Merchant Account Review Form