What payment methods are available for processing with a convenience fee?
Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express all provide the possibility for government agencies to process a convenience fee. Eligibility is determined based on the capture methods and the type of government. Electronic checks (ACH) can also be processed in a convenience fee model. Contact Federal Payments for an answer to your particular application.
Is it possible to assess a convenience fee for face-to-face, card present transactions?
Currently, MasterCard, American Express and Discover allow a convenience fee at the POS.
Can a payment by check be charged a convenience fee?
Yes. Federal Payments can provide your operations personnel with any assistance it might need for best practices in instituting a program for check processing with a convenience fee.
Can the amount of convenience fees be different depending on the type of card?
No because the Association rules are clear that cardholders cannot be assessed a convenience fee that would discriminate against any brand relative to other payment acceptance brands.
What are the acceptable merchant types for processing with a convenience fee?
Government entities with the following MCC codes:
8220 – Colleges, Universities and Junior Colleges
9211 – Court Costs
9222 – Fines
9311 – Tax Payments, and
9399 – Government services not elsewhere classified
What kinds of goods or services are allowed to be assessed a convenience fee for secondary education?
Secondary education and Universities can assess a convenience fee for tuition and related fees and school maintained room and board transactions.
How is the consumer notified about the convenience fee?
The merchant must clearly and conspicuously disclose to the cardholder the amount of the convenience fee that will be charged prior to transaction initiation.\
Is Federal Payments PCI complaint?
Yes. As a service of Federal Payments, PaymentsGateway is completely PCI compliant. The most recent certification was December 2008.
Does the government entity using Federal Payments need to be PCI compliant?
Yes. Contact us for requirements that might pertain to your operations. Federal Payments employs staff that is dedicated to the issues of PCI compliance and card data security.
Can we use existing software to transmit payments?
Yes, if the software is PCI compliant. Our PaymentsGateway™ platform provides an Advanced Gateway Interface specification that enables any software to be integrated so they can originate transactions.
Can our office use our existing point-of-sale terminals for processing credit card transactions?
Convenience fee processing is limited to specific VeriFone terminals. Contact Federal Payments to discuss your specific needs.
Is there any way I can send information along with each payment to help identify the transactions to my system when posting to our accounting system?
Yes, there are two alphanumeric user defined fields available for POS terminal users and six user defined fields available for Virtual Terminal users. Some of these fields are available in reporting, exported data and settlement files.
What additional hardware or services are required for point-of-sale convenience fee processing?
An internet connection and Ethernet cable are required for VeriFone terminals. For Virtual Terminal POS capture, typically a magnetic card reader is supplied by Federal Payments. This method uses existing PCs that have an internet connection.
Can we get demonstration hardware?
Yes. Federal Payments maintains an inventory of point-of-sale terminals that are available on a limited basis. Please call us to determine your eligibility for a demo terminal.
Do you offer training?
Yes, our training solutions consist of webinars, manuals, one-on-one support and group training.
What kind of reporting do you provide?
Federal Payments provides a complete suite of reporting. Our Virtual Terminal offers 24 x 7 reporting delivered via the internet. Our reports are also searchable and exportable in a variety of file formats. Raw transaction data is made available to our clients via SFTP.
Is there a catch for us to “Zero Cost Processing?”
No. We provide everything your organization requires to process transactions in a convenience fee model at no cost. All hardware, training, support, reporting and transaction management is paid for by the convenience fee charged to the consumer. Minimum monthly transaction volumes apply but are easily met by most government clients.
If we want to use Secure Web Pay, do we need to have an SSL certificate?
No, an SSL certificate is not required because consumers will use Federal Payment’s secure website and SSL certificate during the critical payment process. This key feature also further limits your liability since your servers never touch or have access to sensitive payment information.
What would our Secure Web Pay payments page look like?
The Secure Web Pay payment page is fully customizable. It is designed to enable your organization to maintain a seamless look and feel throughout the payment process.
If we use Secure Web Pay, where are consumers re-directed to after check-out?
They are re-directed to a URL designated by you, the client.
What payment methods are available when using the Secure Web Pay product?
All credit cards and electronic checks.
Can we charge a convenience fee through Secure Web Pay?
Yes, Secure Web Pay includes the ability to process with a convenience fee.
Are convenience fees required in using Federal Payments for our processing needs?
No. While government offices have become increasingly active with convenience fee processing due to budgetary constraints, Federal Payments can provide processing where the consumer is not charged a fee.
Can the Federal Payments Virtual Terminal be branded with our identity?
Yes, please contact Federal Payments for more information.
What kind of internet connection is required to use the Virtual Terminal?
While any speed of internet connection can access the Virtual Terminal, it is recommended that broad band access be available.
Can we schedule recurring payments?
The Federal Payments Virtual Terminal is fully capable of scheduling and processing recurring payments. Recurring payments cannot have a convenience fee.
What are our options for re-presenting an ACH transaction returned R01 (insufficient funds)?
There are a number of options available to re-present R01 returns. Our Virtual Terminal has the ability to re-present NSF items based on a number of days to delay, smart dates, specific days of the week, or immediately. These options reside within the Merchant Options tab, which is available to the system administrator.
We already have a merchant account, but would like to use the Federal Payments Virtual Terminal. Is this possible?
Federal Payments PaymentsGateway platform can process and route credit card transactions to most of the major providers. Contact one of our payment professionals to determine if your current provider is supported.
If using the Virtual Terminal for point-of-sale application, do we need a special printer for receipts?
No. Federal Payments does offer a stand-alone receipt printer for Virtual Terminal users but your organization can use whatever existing printers you have.
We have multiple offices that have different responsibilities. Can we use the Virtual Terminal and grant different permissions to different offices?
Yes. The Virtual Terminal works on organizational hierarchy. Permissions can be granted at the user level.
Can the Virtual Terminal deliver a receipt via e-mail?
Yes. Your system administrator will have access to the receipt language and form field functionality.
