NMA provides the following operating rules as a reference for NMA merchants.  Due to changing rules with the processing companies and card issuing companies, we encourage all clients to clarify any questions with NMA Customer Support Representatives and your processor, or to familiarize themselves with the card issuers merchant operating rules. 

Visa International Operating Rules  

MasterCard U.S. Merchant Acceptance Guide

Acceptance of Cards

In offering payment options to your customers, you may elect any one of the following options:

• Accept all types of Visa and MasterCard Cards - including consumer credit and debit/check cards, and commercial credit and debit/check cards.
• Accept only Visa and MasterCard credit cards and commercial cards. Those merchants choosing this option will accept all consumer credit cards (but not consumer debit/check cards) and all commercial card products, including business debit/check cards.
• Accept only Visa and MasterCard consumer debit/check cards. Those merchants choosing this option will accept all consumer debit/check card products (but not business debit/check cards) and will not accept any kind of credit cards (consumer or business).

The acceptance options above apply only to domestic transactions and, as such, they do not apply to Visa or MasterCard Cards issued by non-U.S. banks. In other words, if your customer presents a Visa or MasterCard Card issued from a European or Asian bank, for example, you must accept that card just as you would any other card (provided you receive a valid authorization and confirm the identity of the cardholder with a signature or otherwise, etc.), regardless of the acceptance option choice you have made and even if you have elected not to accept that type of Card from U.S. issuers.

If you choose to limit the types of Cards you accept, the following rules apply to you:

• You must display appropriate signage to indicate acceptance of the limited acceptance category you have selected (that is, accept only debit/check card products or only credit and commercial products).
• If you elect limited acceptance, any Sales Data submitted into interchange outside of the selected product category will be assessed the standard interchange fee applicable to that card product and may also have additional fees/surcharges assessed.

Please Note:  Additional Association rules that may be applicable to you may be viewed at the Associations’ websites.  www.visa.com  www.mastercard.com

Authorization/Approval Codes

• All sales require an authorization/approval code. You must request and authorization/approval code for the total amount of the transaction.
• An authorization/approval code indicates the availability of credit on the Card at the time of inquiry. It is not a promise or a guarantee that you will receive payment for the related transaction. It does not warrant that the person presenting the card is the rightful Cardholder.

Refunds/Credits

• You shall complete a credit for the total amount of the refund and identify the merchandise being returned and any shipping and handling charges being returned. You shall imprint or record the credit voucher with the same card used to make the original purchase. For retail transactions, the credit voucher must be dated and signed by the Cardholder and the appropriate copy provided to the customer. Cash refunds should never be issued for Card sales. If you fail to follow these procedures, you may be unable to rebut a chargeback from the consumer for failure to issue a refund (even if you actually gave the refund by cash or check).
• Paperwork is not necessary for an even exchange. For an uneven exchange, complete a credit for the total amount of the merchandise being returned and complete a new sales transaction for any new merchandise purchased.
• You shall not process a Credit without having completed a previous purchase transaction with the same Cardholder.

Processing Of Sales And Credit Transactions

• You must submit Sales Data (including credit vouchers) to us on or before the next business day after the date of the transaction. Late submission of Sales Data may result in higher Association fees and/or a chargeback to you.
• You must not submit sales slips for payment until the goods are delivered, shipped, or the services are performed (except as otherwise provided in the Merchant Agreement, and only if you have notified us that you are doing so on your application or otherwise in advance). If the Cardholder disputes being charged for merchandise or services before receiving them, the result will be a chargeback to you. We may from time to time contact customers to verify that they have received goods or services for which sales transactions have been submitted.
• You shall not present for processing any transaction that was not originated as a result of an act directly between the Cardholder and you. You shall not present for processing any transaction you know or should have known to be (i) fraudulent or (ii) not authorized by the Cardholder. You shall be responsible for the actions of your employees while acting in your employ.
• The collection and payment of all federal, state and local taxes is your responsibility. Taxes collected shall be included in the total transaction amount and not collected separately as cash.

Chargebacks

The term “Chargeback” refers to the debiting of the Settlement Account or withholding of settlement funds for all or part of the amount of a particular sale, as provided in the Merchant Agreement. There may be a chargeback if under any of the following circumstances, or as the Association Rules and operational requirements dictate from time to time. Consequently, additions and/or deletions to this list may occur.

• Cardholder account number is incorrect or otherwise invalid.
• Authorization/approval code was not received or other required authorization was not obtained.
• Authorization/approval code but not for exact amount or wrong transaction date.
• Cardholder never received merchandise/service requested.
• Cardholder’s refund/credit was processed as a sale.
• Sales transaction for an incorrect amount.
• Cardholder was charged incorrectly.
• Cardholder was never credited for returned merchandise or a canceled order.
• Card was expired, counterfeit, altered, or invalid at time of sale.
• Cardholder’s sales transaction was deposited more than once.
• Cardholder did not authorize or consent to the transaction.
• Signature on the sales slip does not reasonably match the signature on the Card.
• Card was not imprinted or magnetic strip was not electronically recorded (for example, “swiping” or “tapping” a card) through a terminal. Even if an electronic terminal is used, an imprint of the Card must be taken if the Card was not authorized through the terminal or was manually keyed into the terminal.
• Authorization/approval code is invalid.
• Sales slip was not signed by the Cardholder unless it was a mail order, telephone order or pre-authorized order in compliance with the Agreement and authorized by the Cardholder and indicated as such on the order.
• Cardholder asserts any disputes, claim, counterclaim, defense or offset against you.
• Sales slip or Sales Data or any material information thereon is illegible, incomplete, inaccurate or unsigned, or is not delivered to us within the required time limits.
• Sales slip or Sales Data is fraudulent or does not represent a bona fide transaction in the ordinary course of your business, or is subject to any claim of illegality, negligence, dishonesty or offset
• You have failed to provide copies of sales drafts requested by us (retrieval request) within the prescribed time period
• Suspicious transaction or fraudulent transaction

DISPUTING CHARGEBACKS

If you have reason to dispute or respond to a chargeback, then you must do so by the date provided by us on our report to you. We are not required to investigate, reverse or make any adjustment to any chargeback when thirty (30) calendar days have elapsed from the date of the chargeback. All responses to chargebacks must be in writing, and must contain the following information:

• Date of Debit/Credit advice
• Company case number
• Total amount of chargeback
• Date and dollar amount in which the sale/credit was originally submitted
• If known, the date and authorization approval code
• Any supporting documentation to substantiate claim. You should include a dated cover letter detailing reasons for requesting a review of the chargeback. You should retain a copy of the correspondence and all documentation for files. You should retain proof that we received your response.

 Data Security And Privacy

• You agree to post and maintain on all Merchant Web sites both your consumer data privacy policy (which must comply with all Association regulations, rules and guidelines) and your method of transaction security.
• You may not retain or store CVV2/CVC2 data subsequent to the authorization.
• You must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PA DSS)