Accepting Payments with a Terminal on a Short-Term/Temporary Basis
Fill out the Temporary Merchant Site Request Form.
Rather than setting up a new merchant account and using a real terminal, an existing merchant account with a Virtual Terminal will be used. A Virtual Terminal is an internet based point of sale terminal for key entered transactions. The existing merchant site is known as CMU Campus Events. After filling out and submitting the Temporary Merchant Site Request Form, Payroll & Travel Services will complete the necessary paperwork to acquire a UserID and password for your department. It will take 1-3 business days to receive the logon information. After receiving the UserID and password, a procedure on how to process credit cards using the Virtual Terminal will be distributed.
It is important that all individuals involved in accepting credit cards read and fully understand the CMU Merchant Sites Security Guidelines. The Merchant Services Operating Procedures Guide must also be read. This guide provides information on how to handle refunds and exchanges, avoid chargeback fees and information on credit card acceptance and sales slips.
You are now ready to accept credit card payments using your Virtual Terminal.
Processing Information
Discount and Adjustment Fees
The University is charged a discount rate or fee on all credit card transactions by the Credit Card Processor. The amount of the fee is determined by the type of credit card, the number of transactions and the dollar value of the credit card sale. Each department is responsible for their own fees. Departments are required to provide Payroll & Travel Services a cost center to charge the fees on the request form.
Batch Settlement
You are responsible for making sure that the transactions are listed as “Marked for Capture” at the end of the day. At 12:00 AM, the transactions will auto settle. Please see the Virtual Terminal Procedures for more information.
Acquiring your Funds - Journal Entries
It is the responsibility of the department accepting credit card payments to provide Accounting Services with the appropriate information in a timely manner to create a journal entry to obtain their funds. Write down the batch number and total sales dollars, along with the cost centers you would like the revenue to go to. Send this information and all credit card receipts to the Admin Clerk in Accounting Services, WA 304. It is recommended you do this on a weekly basis.
Chargeback
A chargeback is a reversal of a previous sale transaction resulting when a cardholder or card issuer disputes a charge posted to their account. In the event of a chargeback, it is the responsibility of the department to respond back to the chargeback by the date provided on the report sent to you. You are required to provide information regarding the sale and any other supporting documentation to substantiate the claim. You should retain a copy of all correspondence for your files.