What is a merchant account?

A merchant account provides a temporary arrival point for an electronic purchase. It resembles a traditional bank account but can be considered a temporary landing spot to facilitate credit card transactions. It allows for the transfer of funds, so the settlement process can be processed safely. Once everything checks out, the money moves from the merchant account to the business owner's actual bank account. Even though you're the merchant, a merchant account is owned by another party, which usually carries a monthly fee. How long the money stays in the merchant account tends to vary, but it typically takes between three and five business days. Sometimes it can be shorter, other times slightly longer.

What is the benefit of a merchant account over a sub-merchant account?

Sub-merchant account companies, also known as Payment Service Providers, don’t require as much documentation as they are sharing the have very convenient onboarding processes to earn new business. There is less documentation required and the review phase is therefore faster and easier (although this is starting to change). However, the down side to this is that the PSP takes on more risk on behalf of their clients, and therefore charges higher rates. Since they are also responsible for their client’s behavior, they impose stronger restrictions on their terms and conditions.

A full merchant account therefore provides cheaper processing rates, as well as more flexibility for their merchants, at the cost of just slightly more documentation to provide initially.

What is the interchange rate and how do you lower it?

The interchange is the fee charged by the card issuers (Visa, MC, Amex..) to cover their risk and to pay for the benefits of its members (miles, airport lounges etc..) Depending on your processor and on the transaction category, the interchange will represent 80 to 95% of the total fees charged. The interchange can be thought of as a proxy for the risk linked to any given transaction and as such, anything that can make the transaction safer will incur a lower interchange.

Throttle’s interchange optimization technology automatically passes on more information through the gateway for each transaction and in doing so, reduces the risk level determined by the card issuer. This is how Throttle is able to offer sustainably lower rates, while maintaining a high standard of processing and security.

What’s the difference between flat rate vs. interchange plus pricing?

Throttle offers two types of pricing for the merchant to choose from.

The first one is flat rate pricing, whereby a set percentage of the transaction as well as a small fixed amount is agreed upon. This type of pricing is great for projecting, as regardless of the card type used, this is all that’s going to be charged for each transaction.

With Flat Rate pricing, the merchant is safe from surprises but will not benefit as much from reduced interchange rates, as provided by Throttle’s interchange optimization technology. The best way to get the most out of a flat rate pricing is to provide a few months’ statement, to ensure the pricing reflects the merchant’s average processing rates.

Interchange-plus pricing is simply the processor’s margin being added on top of the interchange rate. This system has the advantage of providing the most value to the merchant, while minimizing the risk for the processor, who will get the same margin regardless of the interchange.

This is where the most savings are made by the merchant, particularly combined with interchange optimization technology. However it may be difficult to project future fees, since the interchange varies with the type of card being used by the merchant’s customers.

Why do we use CardConnect technology?

CardConnect has been developing and improving payment solutions protected by patented, PCI-validated security defenses since 2006. They are best in class and well established on the market. Teaming up with CardConnect to licence their processing technology felt like the highest value solution.

Together with CardConnect, we provide high-quality and customized support to merchants so they can reach their own growth goals. In particular, streamlined integration capability means we’re able to meet most software needs to minimize human input and maximize benefits.

The CardPointe portal allows total customer-facing solution, while the CoPilot interface provides robust partner portfolio management.

How do I sign-up to Throttle

1. Visit our website and click Pre-application.
2. Complete and submit the pre application form.
3. You will receive a verification email.
4. Sign into the Dashboard with your credentials.
5. By default, you are in the Live mode.
6. Switch to Test mode.
7. Start accepting payments.
8. Complete KYC process and document verification.

What partner/developer tools are available?

• CoPilot
• APIs & SDKs
• LaunchPointe

Does Throttle provide documentation or sample code for device integration?

Yes. Upon request, CardConnect provides credentials to help ease the device integration process and sample application code to test device integration.

Additional requests for support can be submitted to ISVIntegrations@cardconnect.com. Throttle monitors all exchanges and helps the merchant implement

What is PCI compliance and how do I become PCI compliant?

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements designed to ensure that ALL companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. The PCI DSS body is administered and managed by the PCI SSC (www.pcisecuritystandards.org), an independent body that was created by the major payment card brands (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB.)

There are various levels of PCI compliance which depend on the amount of payments your business processes each year (12 month period). The one component that remains necessary across the board is for businesses to achieve 100% PCI compliance and maintain it. Achieving this will keep the data of themselves and their customers safe.

Each of the five major credit card members of the PCI SSC have their own data security standards. Below is a simplified, general breakdown of potential PCI DSS requirements:

As you can see, the breakdown of PCI CSS regulations are split into four merchant levels.

• Merchant Level 1: Processing over 6 million transactions every year
• Merchant Level 2: Processing between 1-6 million transactions every year
• Merchant Level 3: Processing between 20,000-1 million transactions every year
• Merchant Level 4: Processing less than 20,000 transactions every year

Therefore, PCI requirements depend on which level is applicable to your business. Each level will require merchants to complete the relevant PCI DSS Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). This will provide evidence that the merchant has completed and passed a vulnerability scan with a PCI SSC Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV), and completed and submitted the Attestation of Compliance (AOC) to your acquirer.

If you would like any clarification on the information here, please visit the PCI Security Standards website

Application process - how long does it take to get approved?

The typical process, once the secure online application has been sent is around 24 to 48 hours. In some more complex cases, it can take up to 3 days. However this represents less than 5% of cases we deal with.

Can I configure batch times in CardPointe Mobile?

While you can't configure batch times within CardPointe Mobile, you can configure them within the CardPointe web application by navigating to Administration > Batching.

Do you integrate with Accounting or ERP software?

Yes. Please visit our Partner page for a comprehensive list of integrations. Alternatively, get in touch with us to discuss developing a custom integration.

What is a chargeback and what can I do about it?

A chargeback occurs when a customer disputes a merchant charge on their credit or debit card. The customer's card-issuing bank or financial institution then initiates recovery of the funds from the merchant.

Our management system provides specific notifications by e-mail and on the dashboard when a chargeback is made, so you're always aware of what's going on.

Can you onboard non-US merchants?

At the present time, Throttle only extends to US-based merchants.