Information on Visa Rules - Information Only

[rand]

This post is information you NEED to know - so please do not expect me to comment on replies that accuse me of marketing.

Here are the facts on Visa's cross-border rules and very recent answers to a few questions. There have been a number of inaccurate posts here that leave the reader with a false sense of security. We are all affected if these rules are not followed. This is basically the same information you should have read in the past from Paycom, iBill, CCBill and Jettis if you were around when the IPSP rules went into effect or have become a Registered Sponsored Merchant, ever, in the U.S.

You are a Registered Sponsored Merchant under an IPSP, if you are currently processing and settling transactions (sales) through Paycom, iBill (US, not EU), CCBill (US, not EU) - the only IPSP's that I am aware of today.

If you are a Registered Sponsored Merchant you declared and represented to the IPSP, at the time you were registered, who in turn represented to Visa, that you are a US entity or resident and that is where your principle place of business is located.

You may not change this status unless you form an entity or move to another country outside of the U.S., Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. If you do change this information your processor may stop processing for you in the U.S. and settle your transactions in a bank in that other Visa Region. You may not process and/or settle for a day, week, month, or even a minute for that matter, across Visa Regions.

You may not process or settle transactions in two different regions at the same time. If you do, you are in violation of the U.S. Rules and your back up or secondary IPSP will be forced to terminate your processing.

Do not, repeat NOT allow your IPSP to cross border acquire your transactions. If you are currently unaware of which Visa Region your U.S. registered URL's are being processed AND settled in, ask your IPSP. Get that answer in writing. If you can't get it in writing it does not count. An IPSP that violates cross-border rules may be terminated by Visa and you, as
a Registered Sponsored Merchant, risk being terminated as well, possibly system wide. That would mean you would not be able to process and/or settle with any U.S. IPSP - ever.

The above are only some of the reasons we feel it appropriate to make sure the industry is informed. It affects Paycom if another IPSP is violating rules, as the sale of the commonly shared Sponsored Merchants, through no fault of our own, may be lost, thereby creating ratio problems for the entire book of business.

Consider this a written confirmation from Paycom that if you have an account with us your transactions are all processed and settled in Visa USA in accordance with all IPSP Rules.

If you are a Registered Sponsored Merchant, processing and/or settling with one of the three Registered IPSP's in the US and are also processing those URL's or that entity's sales under any other scenario, except where you have your own Merchant Account in Visa U.S., you are also at risk of termination.

We are all connected folks - so please keep informed with accurate data about these and other rules.

Christopher Mallick
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Paycom.net

[Squirt]

If you were to condense the above post into 5 sentences, what would they be?

[basschick]

these are the main points i got out of it, in three sentences:

third party processors are called isps's.

an isps can only process in its own country.

you are a registered sponsored merchant if you use an isps for your billing.

you can only process visa in the country you're in.

you can only change countries if you move your business legally.

[Squirt]

Ah ok well said! I was reading this around 5am and just couldn't wrap my brain around it.

So I wonder if Verotel will go under. They are Euro based. I have a few backups , including a real merchant account, so it's not really a concern.

The reason I use Verotel: 1) built in reseller program 2) My rate is 6.9% , so if they go under and I lose my 10% holdbacks.. I end up paying what everyone else does really, so no loss. The normal rate is 7.4% and with my 0.0% chargeback ratio I get an additional 5% off, lowering my rate to 6.9%.

[rand]

Originally posted by basschick
these are the main points i got out of it, in three sentences:

third party processors are called isps's.

an isps can only process in its own country.

you are a registered sponsored merchant if you use an isps for your billing.

you can only process visa in the country you're in.

you can only change countries if you move your business legally.

Nicely done.

I might add...
Know what region your processor is doing their banking.

[basschick]

but he only wanted 5 sentences ;-)

[Lee]

Originally posted by rand
Know what region your processor is doing their banking.

Rand how would we get that information? Presumably by asking our processor? Or, would it be listed on their site somewhere?

Regards,

Lee

[rand]

You would need to ask your IPSP directly, get an answer from someone who knows... *in writing*.