Profiler Inc., Hubli Profilers Inc.

KARNATAK UNIVERSITY, DHARWAD

KOUSALI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

PROJECT REPORT ON

“Risk Management in Merchant Establishment Using Electronic Data

Capture Machines for Credit/Debit Card Transactions”

STUDY CONDUCTED AT

Profilers Inc.
Profilers Inc. (HUBLI)

A Project report
Submitted to Karnatak University In partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

DURING THE YEAR 2009-10

SUBMITTED BY:

Mr. Areef ali. P

MBA 08001004

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

EXTERNAL GUIDE INTERNAL GUIDE

Mr. Parvez Konnur Dr. N Maruti Rao

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Chief executive Professor in Management

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project report entitled

“Risk management in Merchant Establishment using

Electronic Data capture Machine for Credit/Debit card
Transactions”
At
Profilers Inc. HUBLI
Submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of

Master of Business Administration

To

Kousali Institute of Management Studies,

Karnatak University, Dharwad

It is my original work and not submitted for award of any other

degree, diploma, fellowship, or any other similar title or prizes.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful accomplishment of any task would be

incomplete without complementing those who made it possible,
whose guidance and encouragement made our effort successful.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Parvez Konnur,
Chief Executive, Profilers Inc. for giving me the permission and
needful guidance to do a valuable project in the Profilers Inc.,
HUBLI.
I also extend my sincere thanks to all the employees of
Profilers Inc., for their excellent cooperation and guidance in the
successful completion of the project.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to my internal guide Dr.
Maruti Rao, Faculty, KIMS, Dr. A. H. Chachadi, Dean and
Director and Mrs. Kamaksha Kangovi, Placement Officer, KIMS,
for giving me the opportunity and encouragement to work in an
esteemed organization like Profilers Inc.
Finally I thank all the faculty members, friends and all the
others for their support and blessings to complete the project
successfully.

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Areef ali. P
(MBA 08001004)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTERS CONTENTS PAGE No

1-2

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2 INTRODUCTION OF STUDY 3-8
3 COMPANY PROFILE 9-13

4 HOW CREDIT CARD WORKS 14-22

5 OBJECTIVES 23

6 METHODOLOGY 24-25

7 ANALYSIS 26-74

8 FINDINGS 75-76
9 ADVANTAGES & 77
DIS-ADVANATAGES
10 IMPACT OF CARD FRAUDS 78-79

11 RECOMMENDATION 80-82

12 CHARGEBACK REASON CODES 83-102

13 CONCLUSION 103-104

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In India, popularity of using Credit or Debit cards for day to day financial
transactions is increasing at a very fast pace, while most of the card transactions on
Electronic Data Capture are genuine, some of them are un-authorized or fraudulent, the
trend of un-authorized card swipes is growing at an alarming pace & there is an urgent
need for awareness to customer as well as merchants to elaborate the importance of
holding the confidential information or the cards themselves in a secured manner.

Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a
credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a
transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain
unauthorized funds from an account. Credit card fraud is also an adjunct to Identity theft.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, while identity theft had been holding steady
for the last few years, it saw a 21 percent increase in 2008. However, credit card fraud,
that crime which most people associate with ID theft, decreased as a percentage of all ID
theft complaints for the sixth year in a row.

When a credit card is lost or stolen, it remains usable until the holder notifies the
issuer that the card is lost. Most issuers have free 24-hour telephone numbers to
encourage prompt reporting. Still, it is possible for a thief to make unauthorized
purchases on a card until it is canceled. Without other security measures, a thief could
potentially purchase thousands of dollars in merchandise or services before the
cardholder or the card issuer realize that the card is in the wrong hands.

The frauds relating to credit cards are committed in the following ways:

Lost or stolen card, Identity theft, Skimming or Cloning, Counterfeit cards, Mail
intercept frauds and Etc.

The plastic culture is influencing into the daily purchasing habits of Indian
consumers, and the payment card business is growing as never before. As it had
happened elsewhere, traditionally the consumer begins with patronizing credit cards.
Therefore credit cards comprise the bulk of payment cards in India. However, debit cards
and stored value cards have also made an entry into consumer wallet in the last two years.

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India is offering a potentially explosive growth in payment cards and numbers are
estimated to double in the next two years.

The merchant should know all the basics related to credit cards like AVS
(Address Verification Service), DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion), the rules for
accepting the card and the rules for return and exchange, CVV2 (Card Verification
Value2), and the Authorization process and Chargeback process in the transactions
relating to card payment. The other essential aspect in the Chargeback is the chargeback
reason code.

Credit card frauds are committed in the following ways:

 An act of criminal deception (mislead with intent) by use of unauthorized account

and/or personal information

 Illegal or unauthorized use of account for personal gain

 Misrepresentation of account information to obtain goods and/or services.

Contrary to popular belief, merchants are far more at risk from credit card fraud
than the cardholders. While consumers may face trouble trying to get a fraudulent charge
reversed, merchants lose the cost of the product sold, pay chargeback fees, and fear from
the risk of having their merchant account closed.

Increasingly, the card not present scenario, such as shopping on the internet poses
a greater threat as the merchant (the web site) is no longer protected with advantages of
physical verification such as signature check, photo identification, etc. In fact, it is almost
impossible to perform any of the ‘physical world’ checks necessary to detect who is at
the other end of the transaction. This makes the internet extremely attractive to fraud
perpetrators. According to a recent survey, the rate at which internet fraud occurs is 12 to
15 times higher than ‘physical world’ fraud. However, recent technical developments are
showing some promise to check fraud in the card not present scenario.

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Introduction of Study

Credit Card Fraud is defined as:

When an individual uses another individuals credit card for personal reasons
while the owner of the card and the card issuer are not aware of the fact that the card is
being used, Further, the individual using the card has no connection with the cardholder
or issuer, and has no intention of either contacting the owner of the card or making
repayments for the purchases made.

Credit card frauds are committed in the following ways:

An act of criminal deception by use of unauthorized account or personal

information Illegal or unauthorized use of account for personal gain Misrepresentation of
account information to obtain goods and services

FRAUD TECHNIQUES:

There are many ways in which fraudsters execute a credit card fraud. As
technology changes, so do the technology of fraudsters, and thus the way in which they
go about carrying out fraudulent activities. Frauds can be broadly classified into three
categories, i.e., traditional card related frauds, merchant related frauds and internet
frauds. The different types of methods for committing credit card frauds are described
below:

APPLICATION FRAUD:

This type of fraud occurs when a person falsifies an application to acquire a credit
card. Application fraud can be committed in three ways:

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 Assumed identity, where an individual illegally obtains personal information of

another individual and opens accounts in his or her name, using partially
legitimate information.

 Financial fraud, where an individual provides false information about his or her
financial status to acquire credit.

 Not-received items (NRIs) also called postal intercepts occur when a card is
stolen from the postal service before it reaches its owner’s destination.

LOST/ STOLEN CARDS

A card is lost / stolen when a legitimate account holder receives a card and loses it
or someone steals the card for criminal purposes. This type of fraud is in essence the
easiest way for a fraudster to get hold of other individual's credit cards without
investment in technology. It is also perhaps the hardest form of traditional credit card
fraud to tackle.

ACCOUNT TAKEOVER

This type of fraud occurs when a fraudster illegally obtains a valid customers’
personal information. The fraudster takes control a legitimate account by either providing
the customer’s account number or the card number. The fraudster then contacts the card
issuer, hidden as the genuine cardholder, to ask that mail be redirected to a new address.
The fraudster reports card lost and asks for a replacement to be sent.

FAKE AND COUNTERFEIT CARDS

The creation of counterfeit cards, together with lost/stolen cards poses highest
threat in credit card frauds. Fraudsters are constantly finding new and more innovative
ways to create counterfeit cards. Some of the techniques used for creating false and
counterfeit cards are listed below:

1. Erasing the magnetic strip:

A fraudster can tamper an existing card that has been acquired

illegally by erasing the metallic strip with a powerful electro-magnet. The
fraudster then tampers with the details on the card so that they match the details
of a valid card, which they may have attained, e.g., from a stolen till roll. When
the fraudster begins to use the card, the cashier will swipe the card through the

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terminal several times, before realizing that the metallic strip does not work.
The cashier will then proceed to manually input the card details into the
terminal. This form of fraud has high risk because the cashier will be looking at
the card closely to read the numbers. Doctored cards are, as with many of the
traditional methods of credit card fraud, becoming an outdated method of illicit
accumulation of either funds or goods.

2. Creating a fake card:

A fraudster can create a fake card from scratch using sophisticated

machines. This is the most common type of fraud though fake cards require a lot
of effort and skill to produce. Modern cards have many security features all
designed to make it difficult for fraudsters to make good quality forgeries.
Holograms have been introduced in almost all credit cards and are very
difficult to forge effectively. Embossing holograms onto the card itself is another
problem for card forgers.

3. Altering card details:

A fraudster can alter cards by either re-embossing them — by

applying heat and pressure to the information originally embossed on the card by
a legitimate card manufacturer or by re-encoding them using computer software
that encodes the magnetic stripe data on the card.

4. Skimming:

Most cases of counterfeit fraud involve skimming, a process where

genuine data on a card’s magnetic stripe is electronically copied onto another.
Skimming is fast emerging as the most popular form of credit card fraud.
Employees/cashiers of business establishments have been found to carry pocket
skimming devices, a battery-operated electronic magnetic stripe reader, with
which they swipe customer's cards to get hold of customer’s card details.
The fraudster does this whilst the customer is waiting for the transaction to
be validated through the card terminal. Skimming takes place unknown to the
cardholder and is thus very difficult, if not impossible to trace. In other cases, the
details obtained by skimming are used to carry out fraudulent card-not-present

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transactions by fraudsters. Often, the cardholder is unaware of the fraud until a

statement arrives showing purchases they did not make.

Merchant Related Frauds:

Merchant related frauds are initiated either by owners of the merchant

establishment or their employees. The types of frauds initiated by merchants are
described below:

 MERCHANT COLLUSION:

This type of fraud occurs when merchant owners or their employees conspire to
commit fraud using their customers’ (cardholder) accounts and personal information.
Merchant owners or their employees pass on the information about cardholders to
fraudsters.
 TRIANGULATION:

The fraudster in this type of fraud operates from a web site. Goods are offered at
heavily discounted rates and are also shipped before payment. The fraudulent site appears
to be a legitimate auction. The customer while placing orders online provides information
such as name, address and valid credit card details. Once fraudsters receive these details,
they order goods from a legitimate site using stolen credit card details. The fraudster then
goes on to purchase other goods using the credit card numbers of the customer.

Internet Related Frauds:

The Internet has provided an ideal ground for fraudsters to commit credit card
fraud in an easy manner. Fraudsters have recently begun to operate on a truly
transnational level. With the expansion of global, social, economic and political spaces,
the internet has become a New World market, capturing consumers from most countries
around the world. The most commonly used techniques in internet fraud are described
below:

1. Site cloning:

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Site cloning is where fraudsters clone an entire site or just the pages from
which you place your order. Customers have no reason to believe they are not
dealing with the company and they wished to purchase goods or services from
because the pages that they are viewing are identical to those of the real site. The
cloned site will receive these details and send the customer a receipt of the
transaction via email just as the real company would. The consumer suspects
nothing, at the same time as the fraudsters have all the details they need to commit
credit card fraud.

2. False merchant sites:

These sites offer the customer an extremely cheap service. The site
requests a customer’s complete credit card details such as name and address in
return for access to the content of the site. Most of these sites claim to be free, but
require a valid credit card number to verify an individual’s age. These sites are set
up to accumulate as many credit card numbers as possible. The sites themselves
never charge individuals for the services they provide. The sites are usually part
of a larger criminal network that either uses the details it collects to raise revenues
or sells valid credit card details to small fraudsters.

3. Credit card generators:

Credit card number generators are computer programs that generate valid
credit card numbers and expiry dates. These generators work by generating lists
of credit card account numbers from a single account number. The software
works by using the mathematical algorithm that card issuers use to generate other
valid card number combinations. The generators allow users to illegally generate
as many numbers as the user desires, in the form of any of the credit card formats,
whether it be Visa or MasterCard.

Methods of credit card fraud and the percentage of their occurrence:

Methods Percentage
Lost or stolen card 48%
Identity theft 15%
Skimming or cloning 14%
Counterfeit cards 12%

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Mail intercept fraud 6%

Other 5%

Graphical Representation of the above table:

The above graph represents that the higher percentage of occurrence of the credit
card frauds are the lost or stolen cards and further identity theft, skimming or cloning,
counterfeit cards, and mail intercept frauds are lies in the same figure as 15%, 12%, and
etc.

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COMPANY PROFILE

Profilers Inc.
Risk Intelligence, Investigation & Management Services

COMPANY PROFILE:

At the outset they introduce as Profilers Inc. an independent risk management &
credit Collections Company operating in State Capital (Bangalore) & 14 districts of
North Karnataka. They are first professionally managed company of North Karnataka
formed in 2002 to provide result oriented, practical & cost effective solutions in risk
management & related services.

The primary strength is data & they posses largest negative database in North
Karnataka, this negative database also contains list of criminals & anti social elements,
database related to professionals, DMA, DME Chartered Accountants, Advisors,
Valuators, Merchants, Companies, Business Establishments, Builders, Real Estate
Agents, & un-authorized business associates involved in unethical business practices with
negative history.

Profilers Inc has highly experienced professionals who are experts in Collections,
Sampling, Field Verifications, Tele-verification, Investigation, Seeding, Skip Trace,
Asset Verification and allied risk services, we have expertise to authenticate & detect
fraud document like IT returns, Bank Statement, Salary Certificate, Repayment Track
Records, Etc. we enjoy considerable rapport with all the Govt. departments, law
enforcement authorities to achieve this.

Profilers Inc has been responsible to detect & detain many fraud & Skip cases in
its regular course of business

Head Office:

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HUBLI: Swamy Plaza, No. 1, Byahatti Plots, 2nd Main, 2nd Cross,
Deshpande Nagar, Hubli - 580029

Regional Offices:

GULBARGA: 1-8/A, Naidu Building, 1st Floor, Khuba Plots, Opp. KBN Hospital,
Station Road, Gulbarga – 585 102

BELGAUM: No. 42, Cantonment Complex, Opp. Mangesh Honda Showroom,

Camp, Belgaum – 590 002

BANGALOARE: 23/3, 2nd Floor, Fort ‘F’ Street, Behind Bangalore Medical
College,
Bangalore – 560 002

CLIENTEL & SERVICES:

ICICI Bank Ltd. – Credit Cards

Field Verification Agency - Authorized for Residence/Business Verification, CPV &

Tele-verification for Credit cards.
Area of Operation – Hubli, Dharwad & Belgaum

INTERNATIONAL AUTOTRAC FINANCE LTD.

CPA & Field Verification Agency – CPA & handling all activities related to CPA,
Authorized RV, BV & CPV agency for verifying credentials of customer availing Auto
Loan
CPA Locations – Hubli
Area of Operation – North Karnataka

Future Capitol Holdings

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Central Processing Agency & Infrastructure Support – Provided infrastructure,

manpower, for all activities related to CPA & we are Fraud Control Unit for Future group
for verifying the credentials of customer who are availing Personal Loan.
CPA Locations – Hubli & Belgaum
Area of Operation – Hubli, Dharwad & Belgaum

Vodafone Essar South Ltd.

Collections, Verifications & Bill delivery Agency – Handling RV/BV verifications, Bill
deliveries for Post Paid connections & collection activities for Gulbarga Cluster
Area of Operation – Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur & Bijapur Districts

ICICI Bank Ltd. – Asset Re-possessions & Collections

Asset Re-possession & Collections Agency - An authorized Re-possession &

Collections agency for Retails Asset Products Group, Housing Finance & CV/CE Loan
products.
Area of Operation – Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum & Bangalore

PREVIOUS ASSOCIATIONS:

CitiFinancial Consumer Finance Ltd.

Central Processing Agency & Infrastructure Support – Provided infrastructure,

manpower for activities related to CPA & were handling RV/BV/CPV, Tele-verification,
Neg. Data scan for verifying the credentials of customer who are availing Personal Loan.
CPA Locations – Gulbarga, Hospet & Davangere

ICICI BANK LTD. – RAPG & HFC

Risk Containment Unit – Handling Risk Containment Unit, which had authorization
from ICICI for sampling, screening, verification, authentication the various processes
involving Personal Loan, Two Wheeler Loan, Auto Loan, Commercial Vehicle Loan,
Agriculture Equipment Loan, Medical Equipments Loan, Construction Equipment Loan,
Home Loan etc. We were also responsible to verify the credentials of DMA/DME for
recruitment, Authentication of documents like site map / Blue print, ITR, Salary
Certificate, Bank Statement, repayment track records. In addition to the time to time

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check of tracing of skip customer, Non Starters, Seeding, Cross Check of Valuation
reports, Cross Check of FI reports & overall process control of various operations.
Area of Operation – 14 districts of North Karnataka.

ICICI Bank Ltd. – Credit Cards / Business Cards / Fleet Cards & Liabilities

Risk Containment Unit - Handling risk containment unit. We were responsible to

authenticate merchant acquisitions in EDC installations, verification of credit card
charges, Sampling, profiling of DMA/DME for recruitment, Address Confirmations, Skip
Trace, Non starter diligence check, Authentication of documents like IT returns, Bank
Statement, Salary Certificate, Repayment Track Records, Etc., Verification Credit Cards

Transactions, Merchant Establishment Acquisitions & Training to Merchant

establishments in Credit Card related Frauds and allied services
Area of Operation – 14 districts of North Karnataka

RELIANCE INFOCOMM LTD.

Field Verification Agency – Authorized CPV agency for Reliance Telephone

connections
Area of Operation – Hubli & Dharwad

OUR STRENGTHS:

We have excellent coverage in terms of operations across North Karnataka with

network of employees based in each district head quarters and 5 offices spread at a
strategic locations across North Karnataka for the smooth operations, We enjoy good
rapport with Govt. & Semi Govt. Authorities, Banks, Financial Companies, Insurance
Companies, Cellular Companies for extracting information; this in term helps us to
provide the best possible service to our clients.

OUR SERVICES:

We undertake various responsibilities from risk management, field investigation,

authentication, confirmations, staff profiling, verification of assets, legal frame works,
PDC collections & deliveries, posting of dunning letters, banking of cheques in non
serviceable locations, profiling of Individuals or companies with or without Knowledge
of customer.

OUR POLICY & RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS PROFESSION:

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We at Profilers Inc strive to work according to the codes and upheld the highest
ideals in professional activities, it is also our constant endeavor to train & manage our
employees to work in accordance with the Codes mentioned below:

1) Prompt Investigation:
In the event any prospect we shall complain that, any individual/company/group
which may have engaged in any improper course of conduct pertaining to the
presentation of goods or services we shall promptly investigate the complaint and shall
take all such steps as it may find appropriate and necessary under the circumstances to
cause the redress of any wrongs for which its investigation discloses to have been
committed and the same will be reported immediately to our office & respective clients
of the concern.

2) Working Habits:

Treating all customers, visitors, co-workers and data collection sources in a

courteous manner & refraining from behavior or conduct that is offensive or undesirable
or which is contrary to the best interests of clients. We shall be reporting to management
suspicious, unethical or illegal conduct by co-workers, customers or suppliers. We shall
comply with safety, security and audit regulations, wearing clothing appropriate for the
work being performed & performing assigned tasks efficiently and in accordance with
established quality standards.

3) Representation & Performance:

Behave ethically and with integrity. Integrity implies not merely honesty but fair
dealings and truthfulness also. We shall observe the basic rule of professional ethics; we
shall accurately represent ourselves and the agency, maintain the highest standards of
professional and personal conduct, while dealing on behalf of company we shall conduct
ourselves with courteously to all people with whom we may come into contact during the
course of work; we shall carry out professional work with diligence, care, skill and with
proper regard to professional standards. We shall Keep ourselves updated with all
developments relevant to our filed & adhere to all applicable laws and regulations in
India, we shall not use or appear to use any confidential information acquired or received
by us in the course of our professional work for our personal advantage or forward the
same to third party.

Address:
H.O: Swamy Plaza, No. 1,
Byahatti Plots, 2nd Main, 2nd Cross,
Deshpande Nagar, Hubli – 580029
Tel.: 92436 00481/484 Tele fax: 836 4250726

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E Mail: [email protected]

HOW CREDIT CARD WORKS:

A credit card is part of a system of payments named after the small plastic card
issued to users of the system. It is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and services
based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services. The issuer of the card
grants a line of credit to the consumer (or the user) from which the user can borrow
money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance to the user.

A credit card is different from a charge card, where a charge card requires the
balance to be paid in full each month. In contrast, credit cards allow the consumers to
'revolve' their balance, at the cost of having interest charged. Most credit cards are issued
by local banks or credit unions, and are the shape and size specified by the ISO/IEC 7810
standard as ID-1.

Credit card

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An example of the front in a typical credit card:

1. Issuing bank logo.
2. EMV chip on "smart cards".
3. Hologram.
4. Credit card number.
5. Card brand logo.
6. Expiry Date.
7. Cardholder's name.

An example of the reverse side of a typical credit card:

1. Magnetic Stripe.
2. Signature Strip.
3. Card Security Code.

Credit cards are issued after an account has been approved by the credit provider,
after which cardholders can use it to make purchases at Merchants accepting that card.

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When a purchase is made, the credit card user agrees to pay the card issuer. The
cardholder indicates consent to pay by signing a Receipt with a record of the card details
and indicating the amount to be paid or by entering a personal identification number
(PIN). Also, many merchants now accept verbal authorizations via telephone and
electronic authorization using the Internet, known as a 'Card/Cardholder Not Present'
(CNP) transaction.

Electronic verification systems allow merchants to verify that the card is valid and
the credit card customer has sufficient credit to cover the purchase in a few seconds,
allowing the verification to happen at time of purchase. The verification is performed
using a credit card payment terminal or Point of sale (POS) system with a
communications link to the merchant's acquiring bank. Data from the card is obtained
from a magnetic stripe or chip on the card.

Other variations of verification systems are used by E-Commerce merchants to

determine if the user's account is valid and able to accept the charge. These will typically
involve the cardholder providing additional information, such as the security code printed
on the back of the card, or the address of the cardholder.

Each month, the credit card user is sent a statement indicating the purchases
undertaken with the card, any outstanding fees, and the total amount owed. After
receiving the statement, the cardholder may dispute any charges that he or she thinks are
incorrect. Otherwise, the cardholder must pay a defined minimum proportion of the bill
by a due date, or may choose to pay a higher amount up to the entire amount owed. The
credit issuer charges interest on the amount owed if the balance is not paid in full
(typically at a much higher rate than most other forms of debt). Some financial
institutions can arrange for automatic payments to be deducted from the user's bank
accounts, thus avoiding late payment altogether as long as the cardholder has sufficient
funds.

Benefits to customers:

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The main benefit to each customer is convenience. Compared to debit cards and
checks, a credit card allows small short-term loans to be quickly made to a customer who
need not calculate a balance remaining before every transaction, provided the total
charges do not exceed the maximum credit line for the card.

Additionally, carrying a credit card may be a convenience to some customers, as it

eliminates the need to carry any cash for most purposes.

Detriments to customers:

Credit cards with low introductory rates are limited to a fixed term, usually
between 6 and 12 months after which a higher rate is charged. As all credit cards assess
fees and interest, some customers become so encumbered with their credit debt service
that they are driven to bankruptcy. Credit cards will often stipulate a default rate of 20 to
30 percent in the event a payment is missed. That is, if a consumer misses a payment, the
rate will automatically increase to a very burdensome level. This can lead to a snowball
effect in which the consumer is drowned by unexpectedly high interest rates. Further
most card holder agreements enable the issuer to arbitrarily raise the interest rate for any
reason they see fit.

Grace period:

A credit card's grace period is the time the customer has to pay the balance before
interest is charged to the balance. Grace periods vary, but usually range from 20 to 40
days depending on the type of credit card and the issuing bank. Some policies allow for
reinstatement after certain conditions are met.

Usually, if a customer is late paying the balance, finance charges will be

calculated and the grace period does not apply. Finance charges incurred depend on the
grace period and balance; with most credit cards there is no grace period if there is any
outstanding balance from the previous billing cycle or statement (i.e. interest is applied
on both the previous balance and new transactions). However, there are some credit cards
that will only apply finance charge on the previous or old balance, excluding new
transactions.

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Benefits to merchants:

For merchants, a credit card transaction is often more secure than other forms of
payment, such as checks, because the issuing bank commits to pay the merchant the
moment the transaction is authorized, regardless of whether the consumer defaults on the
credit card payment (except for legitimate disputes, which are discussed below, and can
result in charges back to the merchant). In most cases, cards are even more secure than
cash, because they discourage theft by the merchant's employees and reduce the amount
of cash on the premises. Prior to credit cards, each merchant had to evaluate each
customer's credit history before extending credit. That task is now performed by the
banks which assume the credit risk. Credit cards can also aid in securing a sale, especially
if the customer does not have enough cash on his or her person or checking account.

For each purchase, the bank charges the merchant a commission (discount fee) for
this service and there may be a certain delay before the agreed payment is received by the
merchant. The commission is often a percentage of the transaction amount, plus a fixed
fee. In addition, a merchant may be penalized or have their ability to receive payment
using that credit card restricted if there are too many cancellations or reversals of charges
as a result of disputes. Some small merchants require credit purchases to have a minimum
amount to compensate for the transaction costs, though this is strictly prohibited by credit
card companies attempt to get consumers to report such merchants.

Costs to merchants:

Merchants are charged many fees for the privilege of accepting credit cards. The
merchant may be charged a discount rate of 1% to 3%+ of each transaction obtained
through a credit card. Usually, the merchant will also pay a flat per-item charge for each
transaction. Thus in some instances of very low value transactions, use of credit cards
may actually cause the merchant to lose money on the transaction. Merchants choose to
pay these costs in exchange for the increased profitable sales they can create. Thus, they
are considering part of the overall cost of marketing. Merchants with very low average
transaction prices or very high average transaction prices are more averse to accepting
credit cards. But rates are often reduced in an attempt to include more of these types of
merchants.

Parties involved:

 Cardholder: The holder of the card used to make a purchase; the consumer.

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 Card-issuing bank: The financial institution or other organization that issued the
credit card to the cardholder. This bank bills the consumer for repayment and
bears the risk that the card is used fraudulently. American Express and Discover
were previously the only card-issuing banks for their respective brands, but as of
2007, this is no longer the case. Cards issued by banks to cardholders in a
different country are known as offshore credit cards.
 Merchant: The individual or business accepting credit card payments for
products or services sold to the cardholder
 Acquiring bank: The financial institution accepting payment for the products or
services on behalf of the merchant.

 Independent sales organization: Resellers (to merchants) of the services of the

acquiring bank.
 Merchant account: This could refer to the acquiring bank or the independent
sales organization, but in general is the organization that the merchant deals with.
 Credit Card association: An association of card-issuing banks such as Visa,
MasterCard, Discover, American express, etc. that set transaction terms for
merchants, card-issuing banks, and acquiring banks.
 Transaction network: The system that implements the mechanics of the
electronic transactions. May be operated by an independent company, and one
company may operate multiple networks. Transaction processing networks
include: Card net, Paymentech, and Visa Net.
 Affinity partner: Some institutions lend their names to an issuer to attract
customers that have a strong relationship with that institution, and get paid a fee
or a percentage of the balance for each card issued using their name. Examples of
typical affinity partners are sports teams, universities, charities, professional
organizations, and major retailers.

The flow of information and money between these parties — always through the
card associations — is known as the interchange, and it consists of a few steps.

Transaction steps:

 Authorization: The cardholder pays for the purchase and the merchant submits
the transaction to the acquirer (acquiring bank). The acquirer verifies the credit

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card number, the transaction type and the amount with the issuer (Card-issuing
bank) and reserves that amount of the cardholder's credit limit for the merchant.
An authorization will generate an approval code, which the merchant stores with
the transaction.

 Batching: Authorized transactions are stored in "batches", which are sent to the
acquirer. Batches are typically submitted once per day at the end of the business
day. If a transaction is not submitted in the batch, the authorization will stay valid
for a period determined by the issuer, after which the held amount will be
returned back to the cardholder's available credit (see authorization hold). Some
transactions may be submitted in the batch without prior authorizations; these are
either transactions falling under the merchant's floor limit or ones where the
authorization was unsuccessful but the merchant still attempts to force the
transaction through. (Such may be the case when the cardholder is not present but
owes the merchant additional money, such as extending a hotel stay or car rental.)

 Clearing and Settlement: The acquirer sends the batch transactions through the
credit card association, which debits the issuers for payment and credits the
acquirer. Essentially, the issuer pays the acquirer for the transaction.

 Funding: Once the acquirer has been paid, the acquirer pays the merchant. The
merchant receives the amount totaling the funds in the batch minus the "discount
rate," which is the fee the merchant pays the acquirer for processing the
transactions.

 Chargeback: A chargeback is an event in which money in a merchant account is

held due to a dispute relating to the transaction. Chargeback are typically initiated
by the cardholder. In the event of a chargeback, the issuer returns the transaction
to the acquirer for resolution. The acquirer then forwards the chargeback to the
merchant, who must either accept the chargeback or contest it.

Secured credit cards:

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A secured credit card is a type of credit card secured by a deposit account owned
by the cardholder. Typically, the cardholder must deposit between 100% and 200% of the
total amount of credit desired. Thus if the cardholder puts down Rs.1000, they will be
given credit in the range of Rs.500 – Rs.1000. In some cases, credit card issuers will offer
incentives even on their secured card portfolios. In these cases, the deposit required may
be significantly less than the required credit limit, and can be as low as 10% of the
desired credit limit. This deposit is held in a special saving account. Credit card issuers
offer this because they have noticed that delinquencies were notably reduced when the
customer perceives something to lose if the balance is not repaid.

The cardholder of a secured credit card is still expected to make regular payments,
as with a regular credit card, but should they default on a payment, the card issuer has the
option of recovering the cost of the purchases paid to the merchants out of the deposit.
The advantage of the secured card for an individual with negative or no credit history is
that most companies report regularly to the major credit bureaus. This allows for building
of positive credit history.

Although the deposit is in the hands of the credit card issuer as security in the
event of default by the consumer, the deposit will not be debited simply for missing one
or two payments. Usually the deposit is only used as an offset when the account is closed,
either at the request of the customer or due to severe delinquency (150 to 180 days). This
means that an account which is less than 150 days delinquent will continue to accrue
interest and fees, and could result in a balance which is much higher than the actual credit
limit on the card. In these cases the total debt may far exceed the original deposit and the
cardholder not only forfeits their deposit but is left with an additional debt.

Most of these conditions are usually described in a cardholder agreement which

the cardholder signs when their account is opened.

Secured credit cards are an option to allow a person with a poor credit history or
no credit history to have a credit card which might not otherwise be available. They are
often offered as a means of rebuilding one's credit. Secured credit cards are available with
both Visa and MasterCard logos on them. Fees and service charges for secured credit
cards often exceed those charged for ordinary non-secured credit cards, however, for
people in certain situations, (for example, after charging off on other credit cards, or
people with a long history of delinquency on various forms of debt), secured cards can

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often be less expensive in total cost than unsecured credit cards, even including the
security deposit.

Prepaid "credit" cards:

A prepaid credit card is not a credit card, since no credit is offered by the card
issuer: the card-holder spends money which has been "stored" via a prior deposit by the
card-holder or someone else, such as a parent or employer. However, it carries a credit-
card brand (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover) and can be used in similar
ways just as though it were a regular credit card.

After purchasing the card, the cardholder loads the account with any amount of
money, up to the predetermined card limit and then uses the card to make purchases the
same way as a typical credit card. Prepaid cards can be issued to minors since there is no
credit line involved. The main advantage over secured credit cards is that you are not
required to come up with 500 or more to open an account. With prepaid credit cards you
are not charged any interest but you are often charged a purchasing fee plus monthly fees
after an arbitrary time period. Many other fees also usually apply to a prepaid card.

Prepaid credit cards are sometimes marketed to teenagers for shopping online
without having their parents complete the transaction.

Because of the many fees that apply to obtaining and using credit-card-branded
prepaid cards, the Financial Consumer Agency describes them as "an expensive way to
spend your own money". The agency publishes a booklet, "Pre-paid cards", which
explains the advantages and disadvantages of this type of prepaid card.

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OBJECTIVES

- To understand how the credit card works.

- To understand the work undertaken by merchant while accepting the cards or making
the card transaction.
For the regular customers and as well for the first time shoppers.

- To study the process of merchant acquiring by financial institutions & analyze the risky
fields or business where the scope for fraudulent or fake cards usage may occur, involve
the card users by investigating their usage/purchases.

- Needless to say flush-out the fake merchant entities that encourage un-authorized or
fraudulent transactions & for devising a risk procedure to analyze merchant acquiring
process by financial institution.

- To determine management’s ability to conduct merchant processing in a safe and sound

manner.

- To determine whether internal/external audit, management information systems, and

any other control systems should enable the bank to manage merchant processing
adequately.

- To determine the quantity and quality of risk in merchant processing activities.

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METHODOLOGY

The methodology is the plan, structure and strategy of the investigation process
that sets out to obtain answer to the study. The methodology followed for collecting the
information is using two sources of data namely.

Primary Data:

The method which was collected to collect the information is “In depth Personal
Interview” method.

The personal Interview and discussion was done with project guide (Branch
Head) & other personnel in the organization in this process.

There was no formal questionnaire designed for collecting the data and here we
have used only personal interview and discussions with the people who come in the way
of the project.

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The other primary data collected are as follows:

 Data regarding the credit cards.

 Circulars issued by Head Office.
 Working and observing in the Organisation.
 Details of products and how these products work.
 Discussion with staff members of Profilers Inc.

Secondary Data:

The different sources used to collect secondary data are as follows:

Websites like

 www.euromonitor.com/FinancialCardsinIndia
 www.myiris.com/cards/index.php
 www.thehindubusinessline.com
 Wikepedia.com, Etc

News Papers like

 Economic Times,
 Business Line, Etc

Magazines like

 Professional Banker
 Business world.

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ANALYSIS

The Merchants operating the Electronic Data Capture Machines and accepting the
Credit and Debit cards for the payment of Goods and Services offered by them in Hubli
region.
I have met the following Merchant’s and had a personal interview which helped me to get
the idea about merchant processing activities.

NAME ADDRESS OWNER NAME

MANOJ JEWELLERS KOPPIKAR ROAD NEETA TELISARA

B BABU AND CO BROADWAY AMIT SANGVI

SWATANTRATA BAFNA
PETROLEUMS OPPNEW BUS STAND C H BAFNA

MUNDARGI COLOR PRINTS LAMINGTON ROAD USHA MUNDARGI

CTS NO 876
COMAAK LIFE CARE KESHWAPUR MANJUNATH S NAIDU

KSHEMA HOSPITALS P LTD GOKUL ROAD A V KALAMDANI

DARPAN GARMENTS COEN ROAD PATTABHI SITARAM

RAMACHANDRA V
SHRIRAM CLOTH PALACE OLD HUBLI RAIBAGI

CLOTHES KOPPIKAR ROAD GURUDEV C JOLAND

MAHAVEER COMMUNICATION STATION ROAD RAVIDAK KAILASHDAK

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SHRIKANT T
RAMESH TAILOR COLLECTIONS KOPPIKAR ROAD BELAMKAR

WESTERN GARAGE BANKAPUR CHOWK PRAFUL A SINGALA

SHASHIDHAR S
SKY TECH COMPUTERS VIDHYANAGAR HIREMATH

S M MIRJANKAR AND COMPANY OPP KMC GATE M PRAKASH

HUBLI SYSTEMS KOPPIKAR ROAD SACHIN KATKAR

M G INDI KARWAR ROAD SHIVANAND G INDI

NAUSHAD A
HOTEL THE NIYAZ VIDYA NAGAR SOUDAGAR

JAVALI AUTOMOBILES PVT LTD OPP UNKAL LAKE SUHAS J JAVALI

SUNDAR PETROL PUMP TORVI HAKKAL JAWAHARLAL N IRKAL

NEW AMBIKA FASSIONS DURGADBAIL SUDHA T BASAWA

SHIVA SHAKTI KESHWAPUR INDRAVADAN P OZA

RAJAN R RAYKAR
CITY PETROLEUMS CLUB ROAD

NAVEEN COMMUNICATIONS VIDYANAGAR SAJJAN SHETTAR

COMPUTER SHOPEE VIDYANAGAR SUBHOD K HUDDAR

BALIGAR AUTOS VIDYANAGAR RAVINDRA S BALIGAR

RANGAVARSHA SILK AND

SAREES DAJIBANPETH SANTOSH BIHANI

MBM UNKAL HUBLI MEHABOOBALI B

SWARNAKARIS DURGADBAIL SANJAY R KARI

BASEMENT ISHWARGOUDA B
MUSIC BANK STATIONROAD PATIL
SHIVANAND
HOME CRAFTS AKSHAY COLONY BALEHOSUR

HEBSUR HOSPITAL DESHPANDE NAGAR NARAYANCHANDRA

SHIVANAND
HOME CRAFTS ALKAPURI TOWERS BALEHOSUR
SOMASHEKAR V
UMARANI AUTOS VIDYA NAGAR UMARANI
STEEL YARD NEAR SRI LAXMI
TALKIES VINOD KUMAR S

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LADDHA

NAVRATANRAJ C
RATNADEEP JEWELLERS DURGA BAIL SANGHVI

MUNDARGI COLOR PRINTS LAMINGTON ROAD USHA MUNDARGI

COMAAK LIFE CARE KESHWAPUR MANJUNATH S NAIDU

M G INDI KARWAR ROAD SHIVANAND G INDI

KSHEMA HOSPITALS P LTD GOKUL ROAD A V KALAMDANI

DARPAN GARMENTS COEN ROAD PATTABHI SITARAM

S M MIRJANKAR AND COMPANY OPP KMC GATE M PRAKASH

MOBILE CORNER (NOKIA

DEALER) HOSUR M SIDDESH

HUBLI SYSTEMS KOPPIKAR ROAD SACHIN KATKAR

BIG BAZAAR AKSHAY PARK  

 
VISHAL MEGA MART AKSHAY PARK

RNS MOTORS UNKAL HUBLI  

HOTEL NAVEEN    

NEW AMBIKA FASHIONS DURGADBAIL SUDHA T BASAWA

SHIVA SHAKTI KESHWAPUR INDRAVADAN P OZA

OPP GYMKHANA
CITY PETROLEUMS CLUB RAJAN R RAYKAR

FASHION FORUM KOPIKAR ROAD VISHNU HANAMSAGAR

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Some of the Merchants have shown their approximate Average turnover of the
credit and Debit card transactions amount in Rupees for one month period.

Name of the firm Approx. Average monthly

Turnover
70-75 lakhs
Tanishq stores
2 Crores
Big Bazaar
5-6 lakhs
Mobile Corner (Nokia Priority)
5 lakhs
Hotel Naveen
8 lakhs
RNS Motors
2 lakhs
Diamond point (Univercell)
10-12 lakhs
Shopper’s Shop
20-25 lakhs
Vishal Mega Mart
50 thousand
Hotel Niyaz
60-80 thousand
Ambika Fashions
2 lakhs

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Computer shopee
1 lakh
Darpan Garments
5 lakhs
Sky tech computers
20 lakhs
Hubli Systems

Treatment by the Merchant’s for the Regular Customer and First time
shopper:

For regular customers the merchant will not go for the identification services they
will just swap the card and let the customer to go, Because the Merchant’s will have trust
their regular customers.

For the irregular or the first time shopper merchant will take care while making
the card transaction. The merchant will ask for ID or any other personal identification
cards if the customer is failed to do so they will go for Address verification service and
Customer verification value services.

The Process of different type of cards undertaking by the Merchant’s:

For swiping of Master card the 4-digit pin is required. And swiping of Visa card
the confidential pin is not required. Just the merchant will swipe the card and return back
the card to customer with the bill details.

Whereas the new rule is taking place in two months that the Visa card should also have to
swipe by entering the 4-digit confidential pin code.

The maestro Debit card also requires the 4-digit confidential pin number to complete a
card transaction.

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Visa Transaction Processing—From Start to Finish

By accepting Visa cards at your point of sale, you become an integral part of the
Visa payment system. That’s why it’s important that you start with a clear picture of the
Visa card transaction process: what it is, how it works, and who’s involved. This basic
knowledge will provide you with a conceptual framework for the policies and procedures
covered in this guide. It will also help you to understand the major components of
payment processing and how they affect the way you do business.

A cardholder is an authorized user of Visa payment cards or other Visa

payment products.

A merchant is any business entity that is authorized to accept Visa cards

for the payment of goods and services.

A merchant bank is a financial institution that contracts with merchants to

accept Visa cards for payment of goods and services. A merchant bank may also
contract with third-party processors to provide many of these services.

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A card issuer is a financial institution that maintains the Visa cardholder

relationship. It issues Visa cards and contracts with its cardholders for billing and
payment of transactions.

Visa is a membership corporation of financial institutions that issue Visa

cards and/or sign merchants to accept Visa cards for payment of goods and
services. Visa provides card products, promotes the Visa brand, and establishes
the rules and regulations governing member participation in Visa programs.
Visa also operates the world’s largest consumer payment system to facilitate the
flow of transactions between members.

VisaNet is part of Visa’s consumer payment system. It is itself a collection

of systems that includes:

 An authorization service through which issuers can approve or decline individual

Visa card transactions.

 A clearing and settlement service that processes transactions electronically

between merchant banks and issuers to ensure that:

- Visa transaction information moves from merchant banks to issuers for posting to
cardholders’ accounts.

- Payment for Visa transactions moves from issuers to merchant banks to be

credited to the merchant’s account.

Transaction life cycle:

The following illustrations show the life cycle for Visa card transactions, for both
card-present and card-not-present purchases. Processing events and activities may vary
slightly for any one merchant, merchant bank, or card issuer, depending on card and
transaction type, and the processing system used.

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1. Cardholder presents a Visa card to pay for purchases. For card-not-present

transactions, the cardholder provides the merchant with the account number,
expiration date, billing address, and CVV2.

2. Merchant swipes the card, enters the dollar amount, and transmits an
authorization request to the merchant bank. For card-not-present transactions, the
account number and other information may be digitally or key-entered.

3. Merchant bank electronically sends the authorization request to VisaNet.

4. VisaNet passes on the request to the card issuer.

5. Card issuer approves or declines the transaction.

6. VisaNet forwards the card issuer’s authorization response to the merchant bank.

7. Merchant bank forwards the response to the merchant.

8. Merchant receives the authorization response and completes the transaction

accordingly.

Clearing and Settlement

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9. Merchant deposits the transaction receipt with merchant bank.

10. Merchant bank credits the merchant’s account and electronically submits the
transaction to Visa for settlement.

11. VisaNet:

 Facilitates settlement.

 Pays the merchant bank and debits the card issuer account, then sends the
transaction to the card issuer.

12. Card issuer:

 Posts the transaction to the cardholder account.

 Sends the monthly statement to the cardholder.

13. Cardholder receives the statement.

Merchants or their agents that store, process, or transmit data may not
store sensitive authentication data (full magnetic-stripe or chip) contents. Card
Verification Value 2 (CVV2), or PIN Verification Value (PVV)—even if it is

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encrypted. Once an authorization is processed, such data should no longer exist. The
only components of the magnetic stripe that can be stored are name, account number, and
expiration date.

Visa Rules:

Merchants must follow basic card acceptance rules for all Visa transactions.
Careful and consistent adherence to the Visa rules outlined in this section will help you to
enhance customer satisfaction and increase your profitability.

Acceptance option:
To offer the broadest possible range of payment options to consumers, most
merchants choose to accept all categories of Visa debit and credit cards.

Merchants however may accept:

 All Visa cards

 Visa credit and business cards only

 Visa consumer debit and prepaid cards only

Merchants accepting any category of Visa cards must honor all foreign-issued Visa cards
presented for payment.

Visa logo:

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Display the Visa logo at the merchant location or on catalogs, sales materials, or
web sites. Depending on the card acceptance option you choose, both card- present and
card-not present merchants must display the appropriate Visa logo or word mark to
advice customers of your payment options. Visa has developed the following logos:

All Visa cards accepted.

Visa Debit Category accepted (Merchant chooses not to accept
credit and business category)

Visa Credit and Business Category accepted (Merchant chooses

not to accept debit category).

For Automated Fuel Dispensing (AFD) merchants, the Visa logo

must be displayed on or near the dispenser.
No Surcharging:

Always treat Visa transactions like any other transaction; that is, you may not
impose any surcharge on a Visa transaction. You may, however, offer a discount for cash
transactions, provided that the offer is clearly disclosed to customers and the cash price is
presented as a discount from the standard price charged for all other forms of payment.

Convenience Fees:

For merchants who offer an alternate payment channel for customers to pay for
goods or services, a convenience fee may be added to the transaction amount. If the
merchant chooses to assess a convenience fee to its customers, the merchant must adhere
to the following rules:

 The fee is being charged for a bona fide convenience of using an alternative
payment channel outside of the merchant’s normal business practice (see example
below).

 The fee:

 Must be disclosed to the customer as a charge for the convenience of using

the alternate method to pay.

 Is applied only to non face-to-face transactions.

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 Must be a flat or fixed amount, regardless of the amount of the payment

due.

 Is applied to all forms of payment products accepted in the alternative

payment channel.

 Is included as part of the total transaction amount.

 Cannot be added to a recurring transaction.

 Is assessed by the merchant that provides the goods or services to the

cardholder and not a third party.

 The customer must be given the opportunity to cancel prior to the

completion of the transaction

Example:

The merchant provides utility services to its customers, and the customary way to
pay is by mail or in person at the merchant’s location. For the convenience of its
customers, the merchant also offers a website for payments. In this example, the
merchant may apply a convenience fee to payments made via the website.

Taxes:

Taxes include any required taxes in the total transaction amount. Do not collect
taxes separately in cash. This policy reflects the needs of the many Visa cardholders who
must have written records of the taxes they pay for goods and services.

Laundering:

Deposit transactions only for your own business. Depositing transactions for a
business that does not have a valid merchant agreement is called laundering or factoring.
Laundering is not allowed; it is a form of fraud associated with high chargeback rates and
the potential for promoting illegal activity.

Zero-Percent Tip:

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For restaurant, taxicabs, limousines, bars, taverns, beauty/barber shops,

health/beauty spa merchant’s transactions with a Visa credit or debit card, authorize only
for the known amount, not the transaction amount plus estimated tip. Cardholders now
have the ability to check their credit or checking accounts almost instantaneously via
phone, the Internet, or an ATM. Consequently, an authorization that includes an
estimated tip can reduce a cardholder’s available funds or credit by an unrecognizable or
unexpected amount. This kind of transaction may occur if a cardholder leaves cash tip or
adds a tip that is less than the estimated amount used for authorization; for example, if a
restaurant authorizes for an estimated 20 percent tip, but the customer adds on only 15
percent.

No cash Refunds:

Complete a Visa credit receipt for merchandise returns or adjustments. Do not

provide cash refunds for returned merchandise originally purchased with a Visa card.
Visa does not permit cash refunds for any credit or debit card transaction. By issuing
credits, you protect your customers from individuals who might fraudulently make a
purchase on their Visa account and then return the merchandise for cash.

If a transaction was conducted with a Visa prepaid card and the cardholder is
returning items, but has discarded this card, you may give a cash refund or in-store credit.

Deposit time limit:

Deposit your Visa transaction receipts within five calendar days of the transaction
date. The sooner you deposit transaction receipts with your merchant bank, the sooner
you get paid! For card-not-present transactions, the transaction date is the ship date, not
the order date. Transactions deposited more than 30 days after the original transaction
date may be charged back to you.

Delivery of Goods and Services:

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Deliver the merchandise or services to the cardholder at the time of the

transaction. Cardholders expect immediate delivery of goods and services unless other
delivery arrangements have been made. For card-not-present transactions, cardholders
should be informed of delivery method and tentative delivery date. Transactions cannot
be deposited until goods or services have been delivered.

Delayed Delivery:

For a delayed delivery, obtain two authorizations: one for the deposit amount and
one for the balance amount. Some merchandise, such as a custom-covered sofa, requires
delivery after the transaction date. In these delayed-delivery situations, the customer pays
a deposit at the time of the transaction and agrees to pay the balance upon delivery of the
merchandise or services. To complete a delayed-delivery transaction, you should:

 Create two transaction receipts—one for the deposit and one for the balance.
Write “Deposit” or “Balance,” as appropriate, on the receipt.

 Obtain an authorization for each transaction receipt on their respective transaction

dates. Ensure an authorization code is on each receipt; if your POS device does
not automatically print authorization codes on sales receipts, write the codes on
the receipts so they are clearly identifiable as such.

 Write “Delayed Delivery” along with the authorization code on each transaction
receipt. You may deposit the receipt for the deposit portion of the transaction
before delivery of the goods or services. However, you must not deposit the
transaction receipt for the balance amount prior to delivery.

Merchant Service Registration:

Visa merchant banks must register Third-Party Merchant agents in accordance

with the Visa Inc. Operating Regulations. A merchant servicer is defined by Visa as a
third-party agent that has a direct relationship with a merchant instead of the merchant
bank. This type of Agent performs services such as payment gateway, fraud scrubbing,
loyalty programs, etc. Member banks and their merchants are responsible for ensuring
merchant servicers maintain compliance with cardholder data security and storage
regulations.

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Data Storage:

Merchants should also be aware of the following data security requirements:

 Magnetic-Stripe Data. Do not store magnetic-stripe data after receiving

authorization. After a transaction is authorized, the full contents of track data,
which is read from the magnetic stripe, must not be retained on any systems. The
account number, expiration date, and name are the only elements of track data
that may be retained if held in a CISP-compliant manner.

 Avoid CVV2 Storage. All merchants are prohibited from storing CVV2 data.
When asking a cardholder for CVV2, merchants must not document this
information on any kind of paper order form or store it on any database.

 Know your liability. Many merchant agreements now include provisions that hold
businesses liable for losses resulting from compromised card data if a business (or
its third-party processor) lacks adequate data security.

Visa Rules for Returns and Exchanges:

As a merchant, they are responsible for establishing the merchandise return and
adjustment (credit) policies that will provide your business with maximum profitability
and customer service. Clear disclosure of these policies can help you avoid
misunderstandings and potential cardholder disputes. Visa will support your policies,
provided they are clearly disclosed to cardholders before the completion of a transaction.

If they are unsure about how to disclose the return and adjustment policies, they
should contact the merchant bank for further guidance.

Disclosure for Card-Present Merchants:

For card-present transactions, Visa will accept that proper disclosure has occurred
before a transaction is completed if the following (or similar) disclosure statements are
legibly printed on the face of the transaction receipt near the cardholder signature line.

Disclosure Statement What it means

The establishment does not

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1 No Refunds or Returns issue refunds and does not

accept returned merchandise
or merchandise exchanges.

The establishment is willing

2 Exchange only to exchange returned
merchandise for similar
merchandise that is equal in
price to the amount of the
original transaction.

3 In-Store credit only The establishment takes

returned merchandise and
gives the cardholder an in-
store credit for the value of
the returned merchandise.

Merchant and the cardholder

have agreed to special terms
4 Special circumstances (such as delivery charges or
restocking fees). The agreed-
upon terms must then be
written on the transaction
receipt or a related document
(for example, an invoice). The
cardholder’s signature on the
receipt or invoice indicates
acceptance of the agreed-upon
terms.

Disclosure for Card- Not-Present Merchants:

Mail order or Telephone order:

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For proper disclosure, card holder refund and credit policies must be mailed, e-
mailed, or faxed to the cardholder. To complete the sale, the cardholder must sign and
return the disclosure statement to merchant.

Internet:

The refund and credit policies should be available to online customers through
clearly visible links on internet home page. Merchant should also provide “click-through”
confirmation for important elements of the policy. For example, when purchasing tickets
for a sporting event, customers should be able to click on a button— accept or I agree—
to acknowledge that they understand the tickets are nonreturnable unless the event is
postponed or cancelled.

Visa Rules for PIN-less Payment Brand Acceptance:

It's up to Visa Merchant banks to help their merchants understand and follow Visa
payment acceptance rules if they elect to implement a PIN-less payment option for
alternative debit cards. To this end, you are encouraged to work closely with your
merchants and their third-party agents to ensure that the following practices are adopted
prior to system implementation.

Three Important Steps:

1. Offer the Customer a Clear Payment Choice:

Confusion can often arise when customers believe they're paying using one
payment brand, but the transaction is processed using another brand. For example, a
customer who selects payment by Visa should always have that choice honored. Options
such as “Debit” and “Credit” may be misleading and may have different meanings
depending upon the customer’s understanding. Selection of a payment brand provides a
clear choice to the consumer. This is why it is best for merchants to provide their
customers with a menu of acceptable brands.

 For Internet merchants, providing a menu or radio button that presents all of the
payment brand options and allowing the customer to make an informed choice as
shown in the example to the right.

 For telephone merchants who instruct customers to select their preferred payment
method through a Voice Response Unit (VRU) or customer service agent, it
means identifying specific payment brand options, rather than generic terms such

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as credit, debit, and ATM, and allowing the customer to make an informed
choice.

2. Honor the Choice:

If the customer indicates that he or she wants to pay with a Visa card, the
merchant must make sure that choice is honored. A merchant is allowed to steer the
customer to other forms of payment, but cannot confuse or mislead the customer or omit
important information in the process. In other words, the choice is ultimately the
customer’s. A transaction can only be processed as something other than Visa if the
customer has selected another form of payment. However, if a customer chooses Visa, it
must be processed as a Visa transaction.

3. Confirm the Choice:

To avoid any kind of misunderstanding about the customer’s choice of payment,

merchants should include a confirmation page or voice confirmation that specifies the
payment option selected (e .g.., Visa, MasterCard, Star, etc). Billing Information

Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) Compliance at the Point of Sale:

Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) is an optional service, which is facilitated

by a merchant at the point of sale with either a third party agent or through its merchant
bank. DCC gives a Visa cardholder the choice of whether to pay for goods or services in
their billing currency, or in the merchant’s pricing currency.

In a typical DCC transaction, the purchase price is converted from the merchant’s
pricing currency into another currency, the “transaction currency.” This is the
cardholder’s billing currency. This conversion is performed at the point of sale, before a
merchant bank presents the transaction for authorization. The transaction amount is based
on a labeled price in the merchant’s pricing currency and converted at a rate agreed upon
by the merchant and the cardholder, plus any other charges for currency conversion.

When performed correctly, DCC provides transparency for Visa cardholders. It

allows a cardholder to see the transaction amount in his or her billing currency and the

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merchant’s pricing currency. This way, the cardholder knows exactly how much the
goods or services cost, and is able to make value judgments quickly and easily.

With DCC, there are no surprises, the amount agreed and verified by the
cardholder using either a PIN or signature at point of sale is exactly the amount charged
on the his or her payment card statement. DCC is currently prohibited for ATM and cash
disbursement transactions.

Merchants that offer DCC generally have a high percentage of International

customers, particularly those in the travel and entertainment sectors, and at tourist
destinations. DCC may also be offered in card present and card-not-present transactions.

Dynamic Currency Conversion Transaction Receipt Requirements:

For both a card-present or card-not-present environment, a DCC transaction must
contain all of the following:
Tanishq Jewellery Mart
 Transaction amountLocation:
of the goods or services purchased in the merchant’s local
Date & Time:
currency—including currency symbol next to the amount
Merchant ID: *****
Terminal
ExchangeID:rate, including any commission
*****
Date: Time:
Invoice No. Auth No.
 Total price in the transaction currency, accompanied by the words “Transaction
VISA SALE
Currency”—including currency symbol next to the amount
Card No: ************6330
Exp Date: **/**
Sale
A Amount:
disclaimer that: 1000 Merchant currency
Tax:  That is easily visible
25 to the cardholder.
 Specifies that
Total Amount: the cardholder
1025 has been offered a choice of payment in the
Merchant currency
Exchange Ratelocal currency, and that the cardholder understands the choice
merchant’s
+ Commission:
of currency is final ****

Sale Amount: 65 Transaction Currency

I accept that I have been offered a choice of currencies

for payment and that this choice is final
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Truncated account Number:

Visa requires that all new electronic Point Of Sale terminals provide account
number truncation on transaction receipts. This means that only the last four digits of an
account number should be printed on the customer’s copy of the receipt. The expiration
date should not appear at all. Existing Point Of Sale terminals must comply with these
requirements. To ensure your Point Of Sale terminals are properly set up for account
number truncation, contact your merchant bank.

Dynamic Currency Conversion Transaction Receipt Best Practices:

Suggested Dynamic Currency Conversion best practices for merchants are as

follows:

 Fully disclose to the cardholder that DCC is optional.

 A DCC transaction receipt must not contain misleading text, layout, and font sizes
or use of text highlighting that may lead to cardholder confusion or disputes.

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 The Transaction Currency and amount should be shown in a larger typeface.

 To aid confirmation of cardholder choice, a cardholder signature may be required

to acknowledge cardholder agreement to participation in a DCC transaction. This
is in addition to the signature or PIN verification to confirm the transaction and
cardholder identity.

 Communication to the cardholder in their local language is advisable, where

technically possible, or in English as the default.

 There must be a clear statement that the cardholder recognizes that he or she has
been given a choice of currencies.

 There needs to be a clear statement acknowledging that the cardholder’s choice of

currency is final. This does not mean the use of the term “No Refunds.”

Dynamic Currency Conversion Restrictions:

A Dynamic Currency Conversion merchant:

 Must not use any contractual language or procedures that result in the cardholder
choosing DCC transaction by default. The merchant must inform the cardholder
that the service is optional.

 Must not convert a transaction amount in a local currency into an amount in a

cardholder’s billing currency, after the transaction has been completed, but not yet
entered into the Interchange.

 Must not process a contactless “no signature required” or “small ticket”

transaction.

Card-Present Transactions:

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Card-present transactions are those in which both the card and cardholder are
present at the point of sale. Merchants associated with this sales environment include
traditional retail outlets such as department and grocery stores, electronics stores, and
specialty shops and boutiques. Gas stations and other businesses where customers use
unattended payment devices are also defined as card-present merchants.

In traditional sales environments, merchants are required to take all reasonable

steps to assure that the card, cardholder, and transaction are legitimate. Proper card
acceptance begins and ends with sales staff and is critical to customer satisfaction and
profitability.

Doing It Right at the Point of Sale:

Whether sales associates are experienced or new to the job, if they follow a few
basic card acceptance procedures, they will do it right the first time and every time. The
illustration below provides an overview of the card acceptance steps that should be
followed at the point of sale.

The above illustration is being explained in the order:

1. Swipe the card to request the transaction authorization. Hold the card through the
entire transaction.

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2. While the transaction is being processed, check the card’s features and security
elements to make sure the card is valid and has not been altered in any way.

3. Obtain authorization and get the cardholder signature on the transaction receipt

4. Compare the name, number, and signature on the card to those on the transaction
receipt.

5. If a card holder suspect fraud, he has to make a Code 10 call.

It pays to swipe the stripe:

On the back of every Visa card, you’ll find a magnetic stripe. It contains the
cardholder name, card account number, and expiration date, as well as special security
information designed to help detect counterfeit cards. When the stripe is swiped through
the terminal, this information is electronically read and relayed to the card issuer, who
then uses it as crucial input for the authorization decision.
Verifying the Account Number:

Most Point Of Sale terminals also allow merchants to verify that the account
number embossed on the front of the card is the same as the account number encoded on
the card’s magnetic stripe. How you check the numbers depends on your POS terminal.
In some cases, the magnetic stripe number is displayed on the terminal or printed on the
sales receipt. In others, the terminal may be programmed to check the numbers
electronically. In such instances, merchant will be prompted to enter the last four digits of
the embossed account number, which will then be matched against the last four digits of
the account number on the If the account number is printed on the receipt, in many cases
only the last four digits will be used . If the numbers don’t match, you will receive a “No
Match” message. In such instances, should make a Code 10 call.

If a Card Won’t Read When Swiped:

In some instances, when you swipe a card, the terminal will not be able to read the
magnetic stripe or perform an authorization. When this occurs, it usually means one of
the three things:
 The terminal’s magnetic-stripe reader is not working properly.

 The card is not being swiped through the reader correctly.

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 The magnetic stripe on the card has been damaged or demagnetized.

Damage to the card may happen accidentally, but it may also be a sign that the card is
counterfeit or has been altered.

If a card won’t read when swiped, merchant should:

 Check the terminal to make sure that it is working properly and that the card is
swiped correctly.

 If the terminal is okay, take a look at the card’s security features to make sure the
card is not counterfeit or has not been altered in any way

 If the problem appears to be with the magnetic stripe, follow store procedures. He
may be allowed to use the terminal’s manual override feature to key-enter
transaction data for authorization, or he may need to make a call to the voice
authorization centre.

 For key-entered or voice-authorized transactions, make an imprint of the front of

the card. The imprint proves the card was present at the point of sale and protects
your business from potential charge backs if the transaction turns out to be
fraudulent. The imprint can be made either on the sales receipt generated by the
terminal or on a separate manual sales receipt from signed by the customer.

Minimizing the Key-Entered Transactions:

These below are the best practices can help the merchant in keep key-entered
transactions at acceptably low levels and should be incorporated into your daily
operations and staff training and review sessions.

Pinpoint areas with high Key-entry Rates:

Calculate the percentage of key-entered transactions compared to total

transactions to pinpoint which stores, terminals, or sales associates have high key-entry
rates. Merchants are encouraged to monitor their key-entry rates on a monthly basis.

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To obtain the percentage of key-entered transactions for a particular terminal,

divide the total number of key-entered transactions by the total number of sales. Exclude
from both totals any mail or telephone orders that may have been made at the terminal.
Perform the above calculation for each terminal, and for each sales shift to determine the
key-entry rate per sales associate. Repeat the process for each store, as appropriate.

Find Causes and look for Solutions:

If key-entry rates are greater than one percent per terminal or sales associate, you
should investigate the situation and try to find out why. The following chart summarizes
the most common reasons for high key-entry rates and provides possible solutions.

Key- Entry cause Solution

Damaged Magnetic-Stripe Readers Check magnetic-stripe readers regularly to

make sure they are working.

Dirty Magnetic-Stripe Readers Clean magnetic-stripe reader heads several

times a year to ensure continued good use.

Remove obstructions near the magnetic-

Magnetic-Stripe Reader obstructions stripe reader. Electric cords or other
equipment could prevent a card from being
swiped straight through the reader in one
easy movement.

Remove any food or beverages near the

Spilled food or Drink magnetic stripe reader. Falling crumbs or
an unexpected spill could soil or damage
the machines.

Anti-Theft Devices that Damage Keep magnetic anti-theft deactivation

magnetic stripes devices away from any counter area where
customers might place their cards. These
devices can erase a card’s magnetic stripe.

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Swipe the card once in one direction, using

a quick, smooth motion.
Improper Card Swiping
Never swipe a card back and forth.

Never swipe a card at an angle; this may

cause a faulty reading.

Visa card features and security Elements:

Every Visa card contains a set of unique design features and security elements
developed by Visa to help merchants verify a card’s legitimacy. By knowing what to look
for on a Visa card, your sales associates can avoid inadvertently accepting a counterfeit
card or processing a fraudulent transaction.

Train your sales staff to take a few seconds to look at the card’s basic features and
security elements after they have swiped the card and are waiting for authorization.
Checking card features and security elements helps to ensure that the card is valid and
has not been altered in anyway.

Holding onto the Card:

Sales staff should be instructed to keep payment cards in their possession during
transaction processing. Holding onto the card allows time to check card features and
security elements and to compare the cardholder signature on the card with the signature
on the transaction receipt.

What to Look For On All Visa Cards:

Cards with Visa Mini Dove Design hologram on Back of Card

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These are the points to look for in the Visa card as above Shown in the above
Diagram:

1. The Signature Panel has an updated tamper evident design, as shown here, or
has a custom design. It may vary in length dependent on card type. If someone
has tried to erase the signature panel, the word “VOID” will be displayed.

2. The Magnetic stripe is encoded with the card’s account number, expiration
date, and other identifying information.

3. Card Verification Value (CVV2) is a three-digit code that appears either on

the signature panel or on a white box to the right of the signature panel. Portions
of the account number may also be present on the signature panel. CVV2 is used
primarily in card-not-present transactions to verify that the customer is in
possession of a valid Visa card at the time of the sale.

4. Visa Brand Mark appears in blue and gold on a white background. It must
appear in either the bottom right, top left, or top right corner.

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5. Ultraviolet "V" is visible over the Visa Brand Mark when placed under an
ultraviolet light.

6. “Good Thru” (or “Valid Thru”) Date is the expiration date of the card. It is
located below the embossed account number. If the current transaction date is
after the “Good Thru” date, the card has expired.

7. Four-Digit Number must be printed directly below the account number. This
four-digit number must match exactly with the first four digits of the account
number. Both must begin with a “4.”

8. Embossed or Printed account Number on valid cards begins with “4.” The
account number must be even and straight; on altered cards, they may have fuzzy
edges, or you may be able to see “ghost images” of the original numbers.

9. The Mini Dove Design hologram may appear on the back anywhere within the
outlined areas shown in these images. A three-dimensional dove hologram should
reflect light and seem to change as you tilt the card. Most counterfeit cards
contain a one-dimensional printed image on a foil sticker.

When Something Doesn’t Look Right:

If any of the Visa card security features is missing or looks altered, the card
should be kept with merchant in possession and make a Code 10 call to the authorization
center and may be instructed to try to recover the card or simply to return it to the
cardholder and decline the transaction.

Authorization:

The authorization process allows the card issuer to approve or decline a

transaction. In most cases, authorizations are processed electronically in a matter of
moments. However, to protect against fraud, the card issuer may request additional
information about the transaction
If properly done, authorizing a transaction is quick and easy, and protects merchants
against fraud and charge backs.

Authorizing Transactions

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To authorize credit card transactions, the merchant obtains approval from the
card-issuing bank or from a third party approved by the card-issuer. This authorization
process is structured to prevent transactions being approved for cardholders who have not
satisfactorily maintained their credit card account or who are over their credit limit, as
well as to protect against the unauthorized use of stolen and fraudulent cards.

Typically, the clerk at the point of sale swipes the credit card through a terminal
to obtain the information stored on the magnetic stripe on the back of the card, then
inputs the amount of the transaction. This information is then transmitted to the merchant
bank or its processor, who captures the transaction and forwards the information to the
card-issuing bank through the bankcard association network. Depending on the status of
the cardholder’s account, the transaction will be approved or declined, and this decision
will be transmitted back through the bankcard association network to the point of sale.
After the transaction is authorized, the clerk prints a sales draft that the customer signs.

Acquiring banks now require authorizations for all paper-based transactions.

Having each transaction authorized helps protect the merchants against fraudulent
transactions. The authorizations have also eliminated the need for paper-based warning
bulletins.

Authorization Process and Clearing and Settlement Process:

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Authorization Responses:

During the authorization process, the sales associates should receive one of the
following responses, or one that is similarly worded.

Response Meaning
Card issuer approves the transaction. This is the

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Approved most common response—about 95% of all

authorization requests are approved.

Card issuer does not approve the transaction. The

transaction should not be completed. Return the card
Declined or Card Not Accepted
and instruct the cardholder to call the card issuer for
more information on the status of the account.

Card issuer needs more information before

Call, Call center, or Referrals approving the sale. Most of these transactions are
approved, but you should call your authorization
center and follow whatever instructions you are
given. In most cases, an authorization agent will ask
to speak directly with the cardholder or will instruct
you to check the cardholder’s identification.

Card issuer wants to recover the card. Do not

complete the transaction. Inform the customer that
Pick Up
you have been instructed to keep the card, and ask
for an alternative form of payment. If he feels
uncomfortable, simply he will return the card to the
cardholder.

The embossed account number on the front of the

card does not match the account number encoded on
the magnetic stripe. Swipe the card again and re-key
No Match
the last four digits at the prompt. If a “NO Match”
response appears again, it means the card is
counterfeit. If it can be done safely, keep the card in
your possession, and make a Code 10 call.

Signature and Identification:

The final step in the card acceptance process is to ensure that the customer signs
the sales receipt and to compare that signature with the signature on the back of the card.
When signing the receipt, the customer should be within your full view, and you should

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check the two signatures closely for any obvious inconsistencies in spelling or
handwriting.

While checking the signature, you should also compare the name, account
number, and signature on the card to those on the transaction receipt.

 Match the name and last four digits of the account number on the card to those
printed on the receipt.

 Match the signature on the back of the card to the signature on the receipt. The
first initial and spelling of the surname must match.
Note: Embossed name and signature do not need to be the same.

For suspicious or non-matching signatures, make a Code 10 call and ask for further
instructions.

Note: If the transaction is accepted with a non-matching signature and it turns out to be
fraudulent, merchants business may be liable, even if all other procedures were followed.

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Unsigned Cards:

While checking card security features, you should also make sure that the card is
signed. An unsigned card is considered invalid and should not be accepted. If a customer
gives you an unsigned card, the following steps must be taken:

 Check the cardholder’s ID card. Ask the cardholder for some form of official
government identification, such as a driver’s license or passport. Where
permissible by law, the ID serial number and expiration date should be written on
the sales receipt before you complete the transaction.

 Ask the customer to sign the card. The card should be signed within your full
view, and the signature checked against the customer’s signature on the ID card.
A refusal to sign means the card is still invalid and cannot be accepted. Ask the
customer for another signed Visa card.

 Compare the signature on the card to the signature on the ID Card. If the
cardholder refuses to sign the card, and you accept it, you may end up with
financial liability for the transaction should the cardholder later dispute the
charge.

Although Visa rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID,
merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot
refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID
card. Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card
acceptance procedures. Laws in several states also make it illegal for merchants to write a
cardholder’s personal information, such as an address or phone number, on a sales
receipt.

Suspicious Behavior:

In addition to following all standard card acceptance procedures, you should be

on the lookout for any customer behavior that appears suspicious or out of the ordinary.

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At the Point of Sale:

 Purchasing large amounts of merchandise with seemingly no concern for size,

style, color, or price

 Asking no questions or refusing free delivery on large items (for example, heavy
appliances or televisions) or high-dollar purchases

 Trying to distract or rush sales associates during a transaction

 Making purchases, leaving the store, and then returning to make more purchases

 Making purchases either right when the store opens or just before it closes

Of course, peculiar behavior should not be taken as automatic proof of criminal

activity. Use common sense and appropriate caution when evaluating any customer
behavior or other irregular situation that may occur during a transaction.

Merchant know what kind of behavior is normal for your particular place of
business. If he feels really uncomfortable or suspicious about a cardholder or transaction,
keep the card in your possession and make a Code 10 call. In any situation where making
the call with the customer present feels inappropriate or unsafe, complete the transaction,
return the card, and make the call immediately after the customer leaves.

At Service Stations:

With their mix of attended and unattended POS devices, service stations are
somewhat different from traditional retail environments. Customer behavior that signals
potential fraud is also different here, both at the counter and at the pump.

At the counter At the Pumps

 Buying more than the worth of  Activating multiple pumps.

convenience store items.
 Buying gas several times a day.
 Buying large amounts of beer and

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cigarettes.  Filling multiple cars on the same

pump.
 Buying tires and not needing them
mounted.  Filling large containers.

 Attempting to bribe a cashier.  Testing cards.

 Asking for cash back with a credit  Loitering at the pumps.

card.

Skimming:

Skimming is a fraud scam in which a cardholder’s account information is

electronically copied, or “skimmed,” off the card’s magnetic stripe, often in the process
of an otherwise valid transaction. The skimmed information is used to produce
counterfeit payment cards that are, in turn, used for fraudulent transactions.

Skimming often occurs in card-present environments, such as restaurants and

service stations, where transaction processing may occur out of sight of the cardholder.
To skim a card, fraudsters typically use a small portable device that may not be bigger
than a pager. They swipe the card through the device to copy the magnetic stripe.

To prevent skimming, merchant should be on the lookout for:

 Anyone operating an electronic device not normally used in your day-to-day

business activities

 Anyone offering you money to record account information

If merchant suspect skimming activity at his place of business, he should call your
merchant bank or company security immediately.

Card-Not-Present Transactions:

The growth of the mail order, telephone order, and Internet markets means
increasing numbers of merchants are now processing transactions in situations where the
card and cardholder are not present and fraud may be especially difficult to detect. Of
necessity, card acceptance procedures for these transactions are different from procedures

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for card-present transactions, but must still allow merchants to verify to the greatest
extent possible the cardholder’s identity and the validity of the purchase.

Fraud Prevention Guidelines for Card-Not-Present Transactions:

Visa has established a range of fraud-prevention policies, guidelines, and services

for card-not-present merchants. Using these tools will help protect your business from
fraud-related charge backs and losses. Mail Order/Telephone Order and Internet
merchants should strongly consider developing in-house fraud control policies and
providing appropriate training for their employees.
The following sections outline basic fraud-prevention guidelines and best practices for
card-not-present merchants.

1. Authorize All Card- Not-Present Transactions:

Authorization is required on all card-not-present transactions. Card-not-present

transactions are considered as zero-floor-limit sales. Authorization should occur before
any merchandise is shipped or service performed.

2. Ask for Card Expiration Date:

Whenever possible, card-not-present merchants should ask customers for their

card expiration, or “Good Thru,” date and include it in their authorization requests.
Including the date helps to verify that the card and transaction are legitimate. A Mail
Order/Telephone Order or Internet order containing an invalid or missing expiration date
may indicate counterfeit or other unauthorized use.

3. Ask for CVV2:

The Card Verification Value 2 (CVV2) is a three-digit security number printed on

the back of Visa cards to help validate that a customer is in possession of a legitimate
card at the time of an order.

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Findings show that merchants who include CVV2 validation in their authorization
procedures for card-not-present transactions can reduce their fraud-related charge backs.

4. CVV2 Processing:

To ensure proper CVV2 processing for card-not-present transactions, merchants

should:

 Ask card-not-present customers for the last three numbers in or beside the
signature panel on the back of their Visa cards.

 If the customer provides a CVV2, submit this information with other transaction
data (card expiration date and account number) for electronic authorization.
Merchant should also include one of the following CVV2 presence indicators,
even if he is not including a CVV2 in your authorization request:

Indicator What it means

CVV2 is not included in authorization request.

0

CVV2 is included in authorization request.

1

Cardholder has stated that CVV2 is illegible.

2

Cardholder has stated that CVV2 is not on the card.

3

 Evaluate the CVV2 result code you receive with the transaction authorization, and
take appropriate action based on all transaction characteristics.

CVV2 Result code Recommended actions

Complete the transaction, taking into

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M – Match account all other transaction characteristics

and verification data.

View a “No Match” response as a sign of

N – No Match potential fraud, which should be taken into
account along with the authorization
response and any other verification data.
You may also want to resubmit the CVV2
to ensure a key-entry error did not occur.

P – CVV2 request not processed Resubmit the authorization request.

S – CVV2 should be on the card, but Follow up with the customer to verify that
The cardholder has reported that it the correct card location has been checked
isn’t. for CVV2.

Evaluate all available information and

U – card issuer does not support decide whether to proceed with the
CVV2 transaction or to investigate further.

Verify the Billing Address with Address Verification Service:

The Address Verification Service (AVS) is an automated fraud prevention tool

that allows card-not-present merchants to check a cardholder’s billing address as part of
the electronic authorization process. Studies have shown that perpetrators of fraud in
card-not-present transactions often do not know the correct billing address for the account
they are using. Verifying the address can, therefore, provide merchants with another key
indicator of whether or not a transaction is valid.

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Address Verification Service Processing:

To use Address Verification Service, simply ask card-not-present customers for

their billing address as it appears on their monthly statement. This information is then
submitted with other transaction data for electronic authorization. Address verification
and authorization occur simultaneously in a matter of seconds and merchant will receive
an AVS response code with the authorization.

Merchant should evaluate the Address Verification Service response code and
take appropriate action, based on all transaction characteristics and any other verification
information received with the authorization (expiration date, CVV2, etc.). An
authorization response always takes precedence over Address Verification Service. Do
not accept any transaction that has been declined, regardless of the Address Verification
Service response.

ADDRESS VERIFICATION WHAT IT MEANS

SERVICE RESPONSE

Both street address and five-digit zip code

Y – Match match. Complete the transaction; you can
be relatively confident it is legitimate.

Street address matches, but zip code

doesn’t. View as a sign of potential fraud.
A – Partial Match Depending on the transaction amount, you
may decide to complete the transaction or
investigate further to ensure it is valid.

Zip code matches but the street address

doesn’t. View as a sign of potential fraud.
Depending on the transaction amount, you
Z – Partial Match may decide to complete the transaction or
investigate further to ensure it is valid.
Unless you sent only a zip code AVS
request and it matched, you may want to
follow up before shipping merchandise.

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Note: A zip code only request and P.O.

Box address, issuers may respond with
either a "Y" (Exact Match), or a "Z"
(Partial match-zip Code Matches).

Street address and zip code don’t match.

N – No Match View as a sign of potential fraud and take
further steps to validate the transaction.

The card issuer’s system is not available,

U – unavailable or the card issuer does not support AVS.
The address cannot be verified at present.
You must decide whether to accept or
refuse the transaction, or investigate
further.

The card issuer’s system is not available;

try again later. The card issuer’s system
R – Retry may not be working. He should resubmit
the AVS request later.

Merchant Direct access Service (MDAS):

The Merchant Direct Access Service (MDAS) offers merchant’s access to AVS
by a toll-free number, using a touch-tone phone. The service is specifically targeted to
small Mail Order/Telephone Order or Internet merchants for whom AVS may not be
cost-effective. Merchants using MDAS are charged on a per-transaction basis. To use
MDAS, you need a touch-tone phone with an outgoing line and a Merchant Access Code
(MAC), which you get from your merchant bank. To request address verification, call the

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MDAS toll-free number 1-800 VISA-AVS (1-800-847-2287). An automated voice unit

guides through the process of submitting a customer’s account number and address, and
gives the results of the verification.

Merchant Direct Access Service responses are similar to AVS, but do not include a
single-letter response code.

MDAS Response What it Means

Street address and zip code match.

Exact Match

Street address matches, but not zip code.

Partial Match

Zip code matches, but not street address.

Partial Match

Neither street address nor zip code matches.

No Match

Card issuer system is not available at present.

Retry later

International address; cannot be verified.

Global

Internet Transactions:

Today, more and more merchants are joining the “click and mortar” market,
adding online sales to their traditional card-present operations. As a result, Visa has
developed guidelines and fraud prevention services especially for the web.

Merchant Web Site Requirements:

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Merchant bank may recommend or require that you include certain content or
features on your web site. These elements are intended to promote ease of use for online
shoppers and reduce cardholder disputes and potential charge backs.

 Complete description of goods and services. Remember you have a global market,
which increases opportunities for unintended misunderstandings or
miscommunications. For example, if you sell electrical goods, be sure to state
voltage requirements, which vary around the world.

 Customer service contact information, including e-mail address or phone number.

Online communication may not always be the most time-efficient or user-friendly
for some customers. Including a customer service telephone number as well as e-
mail address promotes customer satisfaction.

 Return, refund, and cancellation policy. This policy must be clearly posted.

 Delivery policy. Merchants set their own policies about delivery of goods, that is,
if they have any geographic or other restrictions on where or under what
circumstances they provide delivery. Any restrictions on delivery must be clearly
stated on the web site.

 Country of origin. You must disclose the permanent address of your establishment
on the web site. Check with your merchant bank to ensure your disclosure is made
in accordance with the Visa Inc. Operating Regulations and local law.

 Export restrictions.

Merchants cannot convert transaction amounts into a different currency.

Equivalent amounts in other currencies may be shown, but they must be clearly labeled
as being listed for information only.

Suggested best practices for merchant web sites include:

 Privacy statements.

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 Information on when credit cards are charged: Merchant should not bill the
customer until merchandise has been shipped.

 Order-fulfillment information: State timeframes for order processing and send an

e-mail confirmation and order summary within one business day of the original
order. Provide up-to-date stock information if an item is backordered.

 Customer service timeframes: Ideally customer service e-mails or phone calls

should be answered within two business days.

 A statement on web site regarding security controls used to protect customers.

 A statement encouraging cardholders to retain a copy of the transaction.

Additional Fraud-Prevention Tools for the Internet:

Today’s e-commerce merchant has many options for combating payment card
fraud. To protect your business, you need to build a reliable risk management system.
Visa continues to develop online fraud-prevention tools to complement your own internal
fraud avoidance efforts.

Verified by Visa

Verified by Visa is an online, real-time service that allows e-commerce merchants

to validate that a cardholder is the owner of a specific account number.

The service is free to cardholders, who register their account numbers online at
Visa’s consumer web site, www.visa.com. Each cardholder creates a unique password at
the time of registration. Then when a cardholder makes a purchase by clicking Buy, or a
similar button, on a participating merchant web site, the merchant server recognizes the

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Visa account number and a Verified by Visa window appears. The cardholder is
prompted to enter the password. The password is forwarded to the cardholder’s card
issuer, who confirms the cardholder’s identity and the Visa account number.

Merchants offering Verified by Visa to their customers must incorporate a

software module called a merchant plug-in (MPI) as part of their e-commerce server
application. You will also need to talk with your merchant bank or gateway processor to
ensure authentication-related data is included in transaction records.

Fraud Screening:

Today, a wide variety of fraud-screening services and practices are available to

help Internet merchants assess the risk of a transaction and, in some cases, suspend
processing if high-risk attributes are found. You are encouraged to develop your own
internal fraud-screening programs or consider using a third party screening service, such
as Cyber Source Advanced Fraud Screen Enhanced by Visa.

An effective fraud-screening program will suspend processing if a transaction:

 Matches data stored in your internal negative files.

 Exceeds velocity limits and controls.

 Generates an Address Verification Service mismatch or CVV2 no match.

 Matches other high-risk attributes. For example, transactions associated with

anonymous e-mail addresses, high-risk shipping addresses, or cards issued outside
the United States are considered high-risk.

Cyber Source advanced fraud Screen enhanced by Visa:

Cyber Source Advanced Fraud Screen Enhanced by Visa is real-time risk

management tool that evaluates the risk associated with individual transactions and
provides merchants with risk scores. You use the scores as an additional means to
identify potentially fraudulent orders.

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Every time a cardholder clicks the Buy button on a web site using Cyber Source
Advanced Fraud Screen, the transaction is evaluated based on over 150 data points.
Running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the service uses the world’s largest database
of global fraud and payment-card usage patterns, including online and offline
transactions, and is updated frequently. Risk scores are calculated using a combination of
neural networks, rules-based modeling, and Visa hybrid fraud technologies.

Suspicious Transactions:

Card-not-present merchants should develop in-house policies and procedures for

handling irregular or suspicious transactions and provide appropriate training for their
sales staff. Being able to recognize suspicious orders may be particularly important for
merchants involved in telephone sales, and employees should be given clear instructions
on the steps to take to verify these transactions.

Merchant’s sales employees should be on the lookout for any of the following signs of
suspicious customer behavior:

 Hesitation: Beware of customers who hesitate or seem uncertain when giving

you personal information, such as a zip code or the spelling of a street or family
name. This is often a sign that the person is using a false identity.

 Rush orders: Urgent requests for quick or overnight delivery the customer who
“needs it yesterday” should be another red flag for possible fraud. While often
perfectly valid, rush orders are one of the common characteristics of “hit and run”
fraud schemes aimed at obtaining merchandise for quick resale.

 Random orders: Watch out also for customers who don’t seem to care if a
particular item is out of stock” You don’t have it in red? What colors do you
have?” or who order haphazardly” I’ll take one of everything!” Again, orders of
this kind may be intended for resale rather than personal use.

 Suspicious shipping address: Scrutinize and flag any order with a ship to
address that is different from the billing address on the cardholder’s account.

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- Requests to ship merchandise to post office boxes or an office address are

often associated with fraud.

- Keep lists of zip codes where high fraud rates are common and verify any
order that has a ship-to address in these areas.

- If your business does not typically service foreign customers, use caution
when shipping to addresses outside the United States, particularly if you are
dealing with a new customer or a very large order.

Guidelines for Internet Merchants:

Experience suggests that Internet orders with certain characteristics can be tip-offs
to possible fraud. Suspicious online transactions are similar to suspicious sales in other
card-not-present environments, although the Internet offers additional opportunities for
“virtual” scams. The following list of potential fraud characteristics—compiled from the
advice of various experts—is offered to help you avoid being victimized by Internet fraud
. An Internet transaction with any one of these characteristics by itself is seldom cause for
alarm; however, a transaction with several potential risk markers may mean you are the
target of a fraud scheme.

Characteristics to watch out for include:

 First-time shopper:

Criminals are always looking for new victims. They usually hit a merchant once
and don’t go back a second or third time.

 Larger-than-normal orders:

Because stolen cards or account numbers have a limited life span, crooks
need to maximize the size of their purchases. Of course, the sizes of “normal”
orders vary from merchant to merchant.

 Orders consisting of several of the same item:

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Having multiples of the same item increases criminals’ profits.

 Orders made up of big-ticket items:

These items have maximum resale value and therefore maximum profit
potential.
 Orders shipped “rushed” or “overnight”:

Crooks aren’t concerned about extra delivery charges. They want their
fraudulently obtained items as soon as possible for the quickest possible resale.

 Orders from Internet addresses at free e-mail services:

These services have no billing relationships with their user, which in turn
means no audit trail or verification that a legitimate cardholder has opened the
account.

 Orders shipped to an International address:

A significant number of fraudulent transactions are shipped to fraudulent

cardholders outside of the country. Address Verification Service can validate
addresses in the other country, but other country addresses cannot be verified.

The next several characteristics are ones that require regular monitoring of
company’s transactions. Ideally, merchant should have a database or account history files
against which to compare individual sales for possible fraud.

 Transactions on similar account numbers:

Fraudsters often use account numbers that have been generated with
software available on the Internet, such as Credit Master.

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 Orders made on multiple cards but shipped to a single address:

These orders can also be characteristic of a software-generated account
number or may have been made using a batch of stolen cards.

 Multiple transactions on one card over a very short period of time:

Criminals often attempt to run up purchases on a single card until the
account is closed.

 Multiple shipping addresses:

In a similar fraud scenario, multiple transactions are charged to one card
or similar cards that have a single billing address but multiple shipping addresses.
This situation could be a sign of some organized activity, rather than one
individual at work.

 Multiple cards from a single IP address:

The Internet Protocol (IP) address identifies the computer in a network
from which an order has been made. In this instance, fraud indicators may include
multiple orders using different names, addresses, and card numbers, but coming
from one IP address.

For all Recurring Transactions:

 To minimize the risk associated with all recurring transactions, merchants should:

 Participate in Visa Account Updater (VAU) to verify that on-file information,

including account number and expiration date, is correct. VAU is a Visa service
that allows merchants, merchant banks, and issuers to exchange electronic updates
of cardholder account information.

 Keep the cardholder’s expiration date on file and include it in all authorization
requests.

 Should use Address Verification Service.

 Ensure that all recurring transactions are clearly identified as such.

For example: where a recurring transaction is set up by mail or telephone, it
should have a Mail Order/Telephone Order E-Commerce Indicator of 2. This

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identification is usually handled automatically by a merchant’s transaction-

processing system; however, merchant should check with their respective
merchant bank to confirm that the system is properly set up.

 Notify the customer before billing. Cardholders should be routinely notified of

regular recurring payments charged to their Visa account at least 10 days in
advance. The advance notification should include the amount to be charged to the
account and where necessary, alert the cardholder if the transaction amount
exceeds a preauthorized range.

How the Visa account updater (VAU) Service Works:

Above illustrated diagram Works as below stated:

1. The card issuer sends information to the Visa Account Updater that includes
account number, card expiration date changes, and account closures.

2. The merchant bank sends inquiries to Visa Account Updater for cardholder
accounts that their enrolled merchants have on file.

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3. Visa Account Updater sends a response to the merchant bank for each inquiry,
including updated information.

4. The merchant updates the billing information for the customer.

Cancelling Recurring Transactions:

To cancel a recurring transaction, merchants should:

 Check customer logs daily for cancellation or non-renewal of services paid for
with a recurring transaction. Comply with all cancellation and nonrenewal
requests in a timely manner, and notify the cardholder that the recurring payment
account has been closed.

 Process all credits promptly. If a cancellation request is received too late to

prevent the most recent recurring charge from being posted to the cardholder’s
account, submit the credit and notify the cardholder.

 Provide the customer with a cancellation number.

FINDINGS

 Many of the merchant’s just swipe the card when the customer agrees to pay
through credit card for the goods and services offered to him.

 In Hubli region the terminologies like AVS (Address verification service), CVV2
(card verification value 2). DCC (Dynamic currency conversion) and Etc are not
being in use.

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 It is found that merchant will swipe the card if and only the cost of goods and
services provided by him is more. If the card holder wants to pay Rs. 500 through
card merchant will not to make the card transaction if possible please pay the
cash, if the transaction amount is more that the purchaser can’t carry such amount
they will accept the card transaction.

 Findings show that merchants who include Card Verification Value 2 validation
in their authorization procedures for card-not-present transactions can reduce their
fraud-related charge backs.

 Many card holders have never seen credit reports and do not realize the impact
that reports have on their ability to utilize their valued property rights.

 In Hubli region the Merchants like Tanishq stores, Jain jewelers and Big Bazaar
and Etc will go for the card transaction if the amount of goods sold is more and
the Merchants like Nokia Priority, Reliance fresh, More and Etc will not prefer
mostly for the Card transactions because the amount of transaction is not high and
the level of risk involved in the transaction will be more.

 If the card holder seems to be suspicious the store merchants will not accept his
payment through credit/debit card they only prefer to cash transaction.

 Many of the Electronic data capture merchants do not go for proper reference of
the card holder, they just swipe the card amounted to bill and give back a receipt
of payment.

 The Bank will install the Electronic Data Capture Machines in those outlets where
the outlets Bank account is managing by that particular bank.

 The Electronic Data Capture machines installed by bank in the stores will be
having Monthly rental Machines, Non-rental Machines and Discount Machines.

 For swiping of Master card the 4-digit pin is required. And swiping of Visa card
the confidential pin is not required. Just the merchant will swipe the card and
return back the card to customer with the bill details.

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 Whereas the new rule is taking place in two months that the Visa card should also
have to swipe by entering the 4-digit confidential pin code.

 The maestro Debit card also requires the 4-digit confidential pin number to
complete a card transaction.

ADVANTAGES AND DIS-ADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES:

- They allow you to make purchases on credit without carrying around a lot of cash. This
allows the lot of flexibility.

- They allow accurate record keeping by consolidating purchases into a single statement.

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- They allow convenient remote purchasing – Ordering/ Shipping online or by the phone.

- They allow you to pay for large purchases in small, monthly installments.

- Under certain circumstances, they allow to withhold payment for merchandise which
proves defective.

- They are cheaper for short term borrowing and interest is only paid on the remaining
debt.

- Many cards offer additional benefits such as additional insurance cover on purchases,
cash back, and Air miles and discount on holidays.

DIS-ADVANTAGES:

- You may become an impulsive buyer and tend to over spend because of the ease of
using credit cards. Cards can encourage the purchasing of goods and services you cannot
really afford.

- Credit cards are relatively expensive way of obtaining credit if you don’t use them
carefully, especially because of higher interest rates and other costs.

- Lost or stolen cards may result in some unwanted expense and inconvenience.

- The usage of large number of credit cards can get you even further into debt.

- Using a credit card, especially remotely, introduces and element of risk as the card
details may fall into the wrong hands resulting in fraudulent purchases on the card.
Fraudulent of unauthorized charges may take months to dispute, investigate and resolve.

IMPACT OF CREDIT CARD FRAUDS:

Impact of Fraud on Cardholders:

The cardholders are the least impacted party due to fraud in credit card
transactions as consumer liability is limited for credit card transactions by the legislation
prevailing in most countries. This is true for both card present as well as card not present
scenarios. Many banks even have their own standards that limit the consumer's liability to
a greater extent. They also have a cardholder protection policy in place that covers for
most losses of the cardholder. The cardholder has to just report suspicious charges to the

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issuing bank, which in turn investigates the issue with the acquirer and merchant, and
processes chargeback for the disputed amount.

Impact of Fraud on Merchants:

Merchants are the most affected party in a credit card fraud, particularly more in
the card-not-present transactions, as they have to accept full liability for losses due to
fraud. Whenever a cardholder disputes a credit card charge, the card-issuing bank will
send a chargeback to the merchant, reversing the credit for the transaction. In case, the
merchant does not have any physical evidence (e.g. delivery signature) available to
challenge the cardholder’s dispute, it is almost impossible to reverse the chargeback.
Therefore, the merchant will have to completely absorb the cost of the fraudulent
transaction. In fact, this cost consists of several components, which could add up to a
significant amount. The cost of a fraudulent transaction consists of:

1. Cost of goods sold:

Since it is unlikely that the merchandise will be recovered in a case of
fraud, the merchant will have to write off the value of goods involved in a
fraudulent transaction. The impact of this loss will be highest for low-margin
merchants.

2. Shipping cost:
More relevant in a card-not-present scenario, since the shipping cost is
usually bundled in the value of the order, the merchant will also need to absorb
the cost of shipping for goods sold in a fraudulent transaction.

3. Card association fees:

Visa and MasterCard have put in place fairly strict programs that penalize
merchants generating excessive chargeback’s. Typically, if a merchant exceeds
established chargeback rates for any three-month period (e.g. 1% of all
transactions or 2.5% of the total rupee volume), the merchant could be penalized
with a fee for every chargeback. In extreme cases, the merchant’s contract to
accept cards could be terminated.

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4. Merchant bank fees:

In addition to the penalties charged by card associations, the merchant has
to pay an additional processing fee to the acquiring bank for every chargeback.

5. Administrative cost:
Every transaction that generates a chargeback requires significant
administrative costs for the merchant. On average, each chargeback requires one
to two hours to process. This is because processing a chargeback requires the
merchant to receive and research the claim, contact the consumer, and respond to
the acquiring bank or issuer with adequate documentation.

6. Loss of Reputation:
Maintaining reputation and goodwill is very important for merchants as
excessive chargeback and fraud monitoring could both drive cardholders away
from transacting business with a merchant.

Impact of Fraud on Banks (Issuer/Acquirer):

Based on the scheme rules defined by both MasterCard and Visa, it is sometimes
possible that the Issuer bears the costs of fraud. Even in cases when the Issuer is not
bearing the direct cost of the fraud, there are some indirect costs that will finally be bear
by them. Like in the case of chargeback issued to the merchant, there are administrative
and manpower costs that the bank has to incur. The issuers and acquirers also have to
make huge investments in preventing frauds by deploying sophisticated IT systems for
detection of fraudulent transactions.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 Merchants should verify the card before swiping of the card when the card holder
needed to make a card transaction.

 Visa Card do not need the 4-digit pin while swiping, this may be risk oriented, so
Visa Card also have the confidential pin for safe transactions.

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 For the first time shoppers the Merchant have to take the Id or any other Identity
proof for the card transactions.

 Merchants should not accept the card payment or make the card transaction if the
cost of the purchases is low. Example: if a person purchased the goods or
services which costs up to 250 or 500, if he wants to pay with card it is better to
ask him for the cash payment.

 Suggested best practices for merchant web sites:

- Information on when credit cards are charged. Merchant should not bill the
customer until merchandise has been shipped.

- Order-fulfilment information. State timeframes for order processing and send

an e-mail confirmation and order summary within one business day of the
original order. Provide up-to-date stock information if an item is backordered.

- Ideally customer service e-mails or phone calls should be answered within

two business days.

- A statement on web site regarding security controls used to protect customers.

- A statement encouraging cardholders to retain a copy of the transaction.

 Suggestion for Internet Merchants

For suspicious transactions, Internet merchants should establish effective

procedures for cardholder verification calls. Contacting customers directly not
only reduces fraud risk, but also builds customer confidence and loyalty.
Merchant verification procedures should address the need both to identify fraud
and leave legitimate customers with a positive impression of your company.

- Use directory assistance or Internet search tools—not the telephone number given
for a suspect transaction—to find a cardholder’s telephone number.

- Confirm the transaction, resolve any discrepancies, and let the cardholder know
that you are performing this confirmation as a protection against fraud.

Suggested Dynamic Currency Conversion best practices for merchants are as

follows:

 Fully disclose to the cardholder that DCC is optional.

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 A Dynamic Currency Conversion transaction receipt must not contain misleading

text, layout, and font sizes or use of text highlighting that may lead to cardholder
confusion or disputes.

 The Transaction Currency and amount should be shown in a larger typeface.

 To aid confirmation of cardholder choice, a cardholder signature may be required

to acknowledge cardholder agreement to participation in a DCC transaction. This
is in addition to the signature or PIN verification to confirm the transaction and
cardholder identity.

 Communication to the cardholder in their local language is advisable, where

technically possible, or in English as the default.

 There must be a clear statement that the cardholder recognizes that he or she has
been given a choice of currencies.

 There needs to be a clear statement acknowledging that the cardholder’s choice of

currency is final. This does not mean the use of the term “No Refunds.”

Fraud Prevention Guidelines for Card-Not-Present Transactions:

Visa has established a range of fraud-prevention policies, guidelines, and services

for card-not-present merchants. Using these tools will help protect your business from
fraud-related charge backs and losses. Mail Order/Telephone Order and Internet
merchants should strongly consider developing in-house fraud control policies and
providing appropriate training for their employees.
The following sections outline basic fraud-prevention guidelines and best practices for
card-not-present merchants.

1. Authorize All Card- Not-Present Transactions:

Authorization is required on all card-not-present transactions. Card-not-

present transactions are considered as zero-floor-limit sales. Authorization
should occur before any merchandise is shipped or service performed.

2. Ask for Card Expiration Date:

Whenever possible, card-not-present merchants should ask customers for

their card expiration, or “Good Thru,” date and include it in their

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authorization requests. Including the date helps to verify that the card and
transaction are legitimate. A Mail Order/Telephone Order or Internet order
containing an invalid or missing expiration date may indicate counterfeit
or other unauthorized use.

3. Ask for CVV2:

The Card Verification Value 2 (CVV2) is a three-digit security number

printed on the back of Visa cards to help validate that a customer is in
possession of a legitimate card at the time of an order.

Findings show that merchants who include CVV2 validation in their

authorization procedures for card-not-present transactions can reduce their
fraud-related charge backs.

4. CVV2 Processing:

To ensure proper CVV2 processing for card-not-present transactions,

merchants should:

 Ask card-not-present customers for the last three numbers in or beside the
signature panel on the back of their Visa cards.

If the customer provides a CVV2, submit this information with other transaction
data (card expiration date and account number) for electronic authorization. Merchant
should also include one of the following CVV2 presence indicators, even if he is not
including a CVV2 in your authorization request:

Chargeback Reason Codes:

Within each of these categories, the suggestions and recommendations for merchant
action are further classified by action type.

 (PR) Possible Remedy. Steps merchant could take to help their merchant bank re-
present (resubmit) a chargeback item.

 (NR) No Remedy. Merchant must accept the chargeback.

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 (PM) Preventive Measures. Possible steps merchant could take to minimize future
recurrence of the particular type of chargeback being discussed.

 (CS) Customer Service. Suggestions that may help merchants to provide

enhanced service to their customers.

Non-Receipt of Information

Reason Code 60: Request Copy Illegible or Invalid

Definition:

The card issuer requested a copy of the sales receipt and received an illegible
copy, or an incomplete substitute receipt, or something other than the requested item.

Most Common Causes:

The merchant submitted a substitute sales receipt that did not contain all of the
required information or the transaction receipt was not legible, or was other than the
requested item because:

 The point-of-sale printer ribbon was worn and the ink was too light.

 The point-of-sale paper roll was nearing the end, and the colored streak indicating
this obscured transaction information.

 The copy was on coloured paper.

 The carbonless paper of the original sales receipt was mishandled, causing black
blotches and making copies illegible.

 The original sales receipt was microfilmed at a reduced size, resulting in blurred
and illegible copies.

 The document submitted was not the requested copy of the sales receipt.

Merchant Actions Back-office Staff:

 Legible or Complete Copy:

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(Possible Remedy) If possible, resubmit a legible or complete copy of the

sales receipt to your merchant bank.

 Incomplete Sales Receipt

(No Remedy) If missing information or a legible copy of the sales receipt

cannot be provided, chargeback should be accepted.

 Incomplete Sales Receipt—fraud

If a retrieval request is fraud-related and the merchant provides an

incomplete or invalid substitute sales receipt, accept the chargeback. The
merchant has no representment rights unless the card issuer's chargeback is for
"illegible item received."

Owner/Manager:

Company logo Position on Sales Receipts

(Preventive Measure) Position your company logo or marketing messages on

sales receipts away from transaction information. If your company name, logo, or
marketing message is printed across the face of sales receipts, the transaction information
on a copy may be illegible.

(Preventive Measure) For fraud-related retrieval requests, provide a copy of the signed
sales receipt.

Reason Code 75: Cardholder Does Not Recognize Transaction

Definition:

The card issuer received a complaint from a cardholder stating that the transaction
appearing on the billing statement is not recognized. This code applies to both card-
present and card-not-present transactions.

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Most Common Causes:

The merchant store name or location reflected on the cardholder’s billing

statement was not correct or recognizable to the cardholder.

Merchant Actions Back-office Staff:

Cardholder Participated in Transaction

(Possible Remedy) Provide any documentation or information that would assist

the cardholder in recognizing the transaction.

For example:

 Sales receipt.

 Shipping invoice or delivery receipts.

 Description of merchandise or service purchased.

Owner/Manager:

Merchant Name
(Preventive Measures) The merchant name is the single most important factor in
cardholder recognition of transactions. Therefore, it is critical that the merchant name,
while reflecting the merchant’s “Doing Business As” (DBA) name, also be clearly
recognizable to the cardholder. Work with your merchant bank to ensure your merchant
name, city, and state are properly identified in the clearing record.

Reason Code 57: Fraudulent Multiple Transactions

Definition:
The card issuer received a written claim from the cardholder, acknowledging
participation in at least one transaction at the merchant outlet but disputing participation
in the remaining transaction. The cardholder also states the card was in his or her
possession at the time of the disputed transactions.

Most Common Causes:

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The merchant:
 Failed to void multiple transactions

 Attempted to process transactions fraudulently

Merchant Actions:

Back-office Staff:

Credit Processed on Disputed Transactions

(Possible Remedy) If the appropriate credit has been processed to the

cardholder’s account on one or all of the disputed transactions, send your
merchant bank evidence of the credits.

Cardholder Participated in Multiple Transactions

(Possible Remedy) if the cardholder did participate in more than one valid
transaction, provide your merchant bank with appropriate documentation, such as
sales receipts, invoices, etc.

Credit Not Processed on Disputed Transactions

(No Remedy) If appropriate credit has not yet been processed on the
disputed transaction, accept the chargeback. Do not process a credit since the
chargeback has already performed this function.

Owner/Manager

Investigate all potentially fraudulent Transactions

(Preventive Measure) This type of chargeback could have serious

implications for your establishment as it may indicate potential fraud occurring at the
point of sale. It also may simply be the result of a mistake by point-of-sale staff. In
either case, charge backs of this nature require immediate investigation.

Reason Code 62: Counterfeit Transaction

Definition:
The card issuer received a written complaint from the cardholder claiming:

 He or she was in possession of the valid card on the date of transaction.

 He or she did not authorize or participate in the transaction.

Most Common Causes:

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The merchant:

 Failed to compare the first four-digits of the embossed account number on the
card with the preprinted digits below the embossed number for a card-present
transaction.

 Received authorization without transmission of the entire magnetic stripe.

Merchant Actions:
Back-office Staff

Card and Transaction Were Valid

(Possible Remedy) If the card was swiped and transaction authorized at
the point of sale, provide your merchant bank with a copy of the printed sales
receipt.

Transaction Was Counterfeit

(No Remedy) If the transaction was counterfeit, accept the chargeback.

Point-of-Sale Staff:

Check Card Security features

(Preventive Measure) Check all card security features before completing

the transaction. In particular, the first four digits of the embossed account number
on the card should match the printed four-digit number below the embossed
number. If the numbers do not match, make a Code 10 call. Merchant should also
look for other signs of counterfeit, such as embossed numbers that are blurry or
uneven, or ghost images beneath the embossed numbers, indicating they have
been changed.

Key-entered Transaction
(Preventive Measures) If you key-enter a transaction because the magnetic
stripe cannot be read, be sure to get an imprint of the front of card either on the printed
sales receipt or a manual sales receipt form, which should be signed by the customer .

Reason Code 81: Fraudulent Transaction—Card-Present Environment

Definition:
The card issuer received a sales receipt that is missing required information,
indicating a potentially fraudulent transaction. Specific situations where this chargeback
code may be used include the following:

 The card issuer received a sales receipt that has no imprint of the card’s embossed
or magnetic-stripe information or the cardholder’s signature, and either: the

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cardholder certifies that he or she neither authorized nor participated in the

transaction OR the card issuer certifies that no valid card with that account
number existed on the transaction date.

Most Common Causes:

The merchant or service establishment:

 Did not swipe the card through a magnetic-stripe reader.

 Did not make a manual imprint of the card account information on the sales
receipt for a key-entered transaction.

 Completed a card-present transaction without obtaining the cardholder’s signature

on the sales receipt.

 Completed a card-not-present transaction but did not identify the transaction as a

Mail Order/Telephone Order or Internet purchase.

Merchant Actions:

Back-office Staff
Card Imprint from Magnetic Stripe was obtained

(Possible Remedy) If account information was captured from the card’s

magnetic stripe, request that your merchant bank send a copy of the authorization
record to the card issuer as proof that the card’s magnetic stripe was read . You
should also provide a copy of the sales receipt proving the cardholder’s signature was
obtained.

Card Imprint was not obtained

(Possible Remedy) If the account number was not obtained from either the
magnetic stripe or manually, accept the chargeback.

Signature was obtained

(Possible Remedy) If the cardholder’s signature was obtained on the sales
receipt or a related document (for example, an invoice with cardholder’s name,
address, and the date of the transaction) should send a copy of the document to
merchant bank.
Merchant should also send evidence that the cardholder’s card was
present; specifically either a manually imprinted sales receipt or authorization
record proving the magnetic stripe was read. Merchant must be able to prove the
sales receipt and other documentation are from the same transaction.

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Signature was not obtained

(No Remedy) If the cardholder’s signature was not obtained for a card-
present transaction, accept the chargeback.

Point-of-Sale Staff:
Swipe Cards or use a Manual Imprinter
(Preventive Measure) Obtain a record of the card’s account and expiration
date information on the sales receipt by (1) swiping the card through a terminal to
capture the account information from the card’s magnetic stripe, or (2) using a
manual imprinter to obtain the card’s embossed information. If you use a manual
imprinter, make sure the imprint can be positively matched with other transaction
information to prove the card was present. For example, if you take an imprint on
a separate receipt for a key-entered transaction, you should write the transaction
date, amount, and authorization code on this document before completing the sale.

Obtain Cardholder Signature

(Preventive Measure) Obtain the cardholder’s signature on the sales
receipt for all card-present transactions. Always compare the customer’s signature
on the sales receipt to the signature on the back of the card. If the names are not
spelled the same or the signatures look different, call your voice authorization
center and ask for a “Code 10” authorization.

Owner/Manager:
Remind Staff to obtain an electronic or Manual Imprint

(Preventive Measure) Train sales staff to swipe the card through a

magnetic-stripe terminal or to use a manual imprinter to imprint the embossed
information from the front of the card onto a sales receipt that will be signed by
the customer.

Manual Imprinter or Portable electronic Terminal

(Preventive Measure) If your business delivers merchandise or performs
services at customers’ homes, equip your field employees with manual imprinters
or portable electronic terminals that can read the card’s magnetic stripe.

Reason Code 83: Fraudulent Transaction—Card Absent Environment

Definition:
The card issuer received:

 A written complaint from a cardholder in regard to a card-not-present transaction,

claiming that he or she did not authorize or participate in the transaction

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 A card-not-present transaction charged to a fictitious account number for which

authorization approval was not obtained.

Card-not-present transactions include mail order, telephone order, Internet, pre-

authorized health care transactions, recurring and advance payment transactions.

Most Common Causes:

The merchant:
 Processed a card-not-present transaction from a person who was fraudulently
using an account number.

 Processed a card-not-present transaction without submitting an authorization

request

The cardholder:
 Did not recognize a card-not-present transaction on his or her statement due to an
unclear or confusing merchant name.

 Had his or her account number taken by fraudulent means.

Merchant Actions:

Authorization was obtained and Address Verification Service or CVV2 used

(Possible Remedy) If the transaction was a Mail Order/Telephone Order or

Internet transaction and merchant:
 Received an authorization approval and an exact match to the AVS query (that is,
a match on the cardholder’s street number and ZIP code), and have proof that the
merchandise was delivered to the Address Verification Service address, send a
copy of the transaction invoice, proof of delivery and any other information
pertaining to the transaction to merchant bank so it may attempt a representment.

 Verified AVS or CVV2 and the card issuer gave a "U" response, you have a
representment right Inform the merchant bank.

Verify account Number with Customer

(Preventive Measure) For telephone transactions, always verify (read
back) the account number with the customer to avoid errors.

(Authorization Errors) Reason Code 71: Declined Authorization

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Definition:
The card issuer received a transaction for which authorization had been declined.

Most Common Causes:

The merchant or service establishment attempted to circumvent or

override a declined authorization by one of the following methods:

 Forced posting. After a decline response, the merchant forced the transaction
through without attempting another authorization request.

 Multiple authorization attempts. After an initial authorization decline, the

merchant re-swiped the card one or more times until the transaction was
authorized. In this situation, authorization might occur if the card issuer’s
authorization system times out or becomes unavailable, and the transaction is
forwarded to Visa.

 Alternative authorization method. The merchant swiped the card at a POS

terminal, and the authorization was declined. The merchant then resubmitted the
transaction by key entry or called in a voice authorization, and received an
approval.

Merchant Actions:
Transaction was authorized

(Possible Remedy) If you obtained an authorization approval code, inform

your merchant bank of the transaction date and amount.

First authorization attempt Declined

(No Remedy) Accept the chargeback if your first authorization attempt

was declined. Multiple authorization attempts may not be accepted as valid
evidence to show that an approval was obtained.

Never accept a Declined Transaction

(Preventive Measure) If a transaction is declined, do not accept it.

Immediately stop the transaction, and ask the customer for another Visa card or
other form of payment.

Owner/Manager:

Staff awareness of authorization Policy

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(Preventive Measure) Ensure that all sales staff knows your

establishment’s authorization policy. Inform staff that in the event of a declined
transaction, they should immediately stop the transaction and ask the customer for
another Visa card or other form of payment.

Reason Code 72: No Authorization

Definition:

The card issuer received a transaction for which authorization was not obtained.
For Automated Fuel Dispenser (AFD) transactions, the card issuer may only chargeback
the amount exceeding any of the following:

 Visa Corporate and Purchasing Cards.

 Visa Fleet Card.
 All other cards.

Most Common Causes:

The merchant did not obtain an authorization for a transaction or, for card- present
transactions, obtained it after the transaction date.

Merchant Actions:
Back-office Staff

Transaction was authorized

(Possible Remedy) If you obtained an authorization approval, inform your
merchant bank of transaction date and amount.

Transaction was not authorized

(No Remedy) Accept the chargeback.

Point-of-Sales Staff

Obtain an authorization
(Preventive Measure) Obtain an authorization before completing
transactions. The authorization request is sent automatically when you swipe the
card and enter the dollar amount. A receipt is printed if the transaction is
approved; if it is not approved, merchant will receive a Decline (or Call Center or
Pick Up) message on his POS terminal.

Card-Not-Present Transactions

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Floor limits
(Preventive Measure) Floor limits are zero for all card-not-present
transactions with the exception of prestigious lodging merchants. This means they
always require authorization regardless of the dollar amount of the transaction.

Owner/Manager

Staff awareness of authorization Policy

(Preventive Measure) Be sure all sales staff knows the authorization
policy.

Reason Code 73: Expired Card

Definition:
The card issuer received a transaction that was completed with an expired card
and was not authorized.

Most Common Causes:

The merchant accepted a card after its expiration or "Good Thru" date and did not
obtain an authorization approval from the card issuer.

Merchant Actions:

Back-office Staff
Card not expired—Key-entered Transaction
(Possible Remedy) For key-entered transactions, the expiration date
should be on the manually imprinted copy of the front of the card. If the expiration date
on sales receipt shows the card had not expired at the time of the sale, send a copy of the
receipt to your merchant bank. The chargeback is invalid regardless of whether
authorization was obtained.

Card expired, authorization obtained

(Possible Remedy) If the card was swiped or a manual imprint made, an

authorization approval was obtained as required, inform your bank of the
transaction date and amount. Many merchant banks automatically handle this type
of chargeback so you never see it.

Card expired, No authorization obtained

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(No Remedy) If the card is expired and you did not obtain an
authorization, accept the chargeback.

Point-of-Sale Staff:

Check expiration Date

(Preventive Measure) Check the expiration or "Good Thru" date on all

cards. A card is valid through the last day of the month shown; for example, if the
Good Thru date is 09/09, the card is valid through August 30, 2009 and expires on
Sept 1, 2009.

Card-Not-Present, authorization obtained

(Possible Remedy) If the transaction was a Mail Order/Telephone Order or
Internet transaction, then the expiration date provided by the cardholder is
considered correct. Many merchant banks automatically handle this type of
chargeback, so you really never see it.

Owner/Manager:

Check Card expiration Date

(Preventive Measure) Periodically remind point-of-sale staff to check the

card’s expiration date before completing transactions and to always obtain an
authorization approval if the card is expired.

Reason Code 76: Incorrect Transaction Code

Definition:

The card issuer received a complaint from a cardholder, stating that a debit was
received for a transaction that should have been credited to the account.

Most Common Causes:

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The merchant issued a credit voucher, but the transaction was posted as a sale.

Merchant Actions:

Back-office Staff

Correct Transaction Code Was Posted

(Possible Remedy) Provide your merchant bank with documentation of the

transaction, showing that it was posted correctly as a credit to the cardholder’s
account (and a debit to your account).

Credit Was Posted as a Debit

(No Remedy) Accept the chargeback. In this case, the chargeback amount
will be double the original transaction.

Point-of-Sale Staff:

Use Correct Transaction Codes

(Preventive Measure) When issuing a credit voucher, be sure to use the

credit transaction code on your POS terminal.

Owner/Manager:

Train Staff on Correct use of Transaction Codes

(Preventive Measure) Ensure all sales staff knows procedures for issuing a
credit voucher, including correct use of transaction codes on POS terminals.

Reason Code 77: Non-Matching Account Number

Definition:
The account number transmitted to the card issuer did not match any account
number on the card issuer’s master file, and the transaction was not authorized.

Most Common Causes:

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The merchant or service establishment:

 Incorrectly key-entered the account number
 Incorrectly recorded the account number for a mail order or telephone order

Merchant Actions:

Back-office Staff
Account Number Matches
(Possible Remedy) If the account number on the sales receipt matches the
account number cited on the chargeback, and the transaction received an
authorization approval, return the chargeback to your merchant bank and request
your bank to include the authorization log for this transaction when returning it to
the card issuer.

Account Number Doesn’t Match

(No Remedy) If the account number on the sales receipt does not match
the correct account number cited on the chargeback, accept the chargeback, then
process a new transaction with the correct account number, and be sure to request
an approval code.

Card-Not-Present Transactions:
Recording account Numbers
(Preventive Measure) For phone orders read the account number back of
the customer to verify it.

Obtaining authorization
(Preventive Measure) Authorization is required for all card-not-present
transactions.

Owner/Manager
Card acceptance Procedures
(Preventive Measure) Review card acceptance procedures with your point-
of-sale staff. Staff should compare the account number embossed on the card with
the account number printed on the related sales receipt or shown on the point-of-
sale terminal. The two numbers must match. Do not accept the card if these
numbers do not match, instruct staff to call the voice authorization center and ask
for a “Code 10 authorization,”
Processing Errors:

Reason Code 74: Late Presentment

Definition:

The card issuer received a transaction after the 30-day time frame and account
number is blocked or closed.

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Most Common Causes:

The merchant or service establishment did not deposit the sales receipt with its
merchant bank within the time frame specified in its merchant agreement.

Merchant Actions:

Sales Receipt Deposited late—account Closed

(No Remedy) If the sales receipt was not deposited within 30 to 180 days
of the transaction date and the cardholder account has been closed, the
chargeback is valid.

Sales Receipt older than 181 Days

(No Remedy) If the sales receipt was deposited more than 181 days after
the transaction date, accept the chargeback. (In this situation, the cardholder
account status is not a factor).

Deposit Timing Guidelines

(Preventive Measure) Deposit sales receipts with your merchant bank as

soon as possible, preferably on the day of the sale or within the time frame
specified in your merchant agreement.

Owner/Manager
Manual Deposit of Paper Sales Receipts
(Preventive Measure) If you deposit paper sales receipts, ensure your staff
deposits them on a regular schedule within the time frame required by your
merchant bank.

Transaction Data Capture Terminals

(Preventive Measure) If you currently process deposits manually, consider
the costs and benefits of a transaction data capture system at the point of sale. Transaction
data capture sales terminals allow you to electronically deposit your sales transactions
after you have balanced them each day. Electronic cash registers are another option.
Electronic cash registers can be set up so that your transactions are automatically
deposited in batches or on a real-time basis.
Reason Code 96: Transaction Exceeds Limited Amount

Definition:

The card issuer received a transaction that exceeded the allowable amount from a
Limited-Amount, Self-Service Terminal, or Automated Fuel Dispenser (AFD)
transaction.

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Most Common Causes:

The merchant processed a transaction from:

 A Limited-Amount Terminal and exceeded amount.

 A Self-Service Terminal (including AFD) and exceeded

 An Automated Fuel Dispenser and exceeded:

- Visa Corporate and Visa Purchasing cards
- Visa Fleet cards
- All other cards

Merchant Actions:
Back-office Staff

Transaction was less than the allowable amount or amounts specified for
Automated Fuel Dispenser

(Possible Remedy) – Provide documentation supporting transaction

amount to merchant bank (e .g, copy of the sales receipt or audit tape).

Transaction amount exceeded, or amounts specified for AFD

(No Remedy) – Accept the chargeback. Transaction exceeded allowable
limit for a Limited- Amount, Self-Service Terminal, or AFD.

Credit Processed on Disputed Transaction

(Possible Remedy) – If the appropriate credit has been processed to the

cardholder’s account on the disputed transaction, send your merchant bank
evidence of the credit.

Credit Not Processed on Disputed Transaction – Transaction exceeded

allowable amount

(No Remedy) – If the appropriate credit has not yet been processed on the
disputed transaction, accept the chargeback. Do not process a credit since the
chargeback has already performed this function.

Reason Code 41: Cancelled Recurring Transaction

Definition:
The card issuer received a claim by a cardholder that:

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 The merchant was notified to cancel the recurring transaction but has since billed
the customer.

 The transaction amount exceeds the pre-authorized dollar amount range, OR the
merchant was supposed to notify the cardholder prior to processing each recurring
transaction but has not done so.

Most Common Causes:

The cardholder:

 Withdrew permission to charge the account.

 Cancelled payment of a membership fee.

 Cancelled the card account.

The card issuer:

 Charged back a previous recurring transaction and the cardholder did not
expressly renew.

 Cancelled the card account.

The merchant:

 Received notice before the transaction was processed that the cardholder account
was closed.

 Exceeded the pre-authorized dollar amount range and did not notify the
cardholder in writing within ten days prior to processing the transaction.

 Notified the cardholder in writing within 10 days of processing the recurring

transaction, after which the cardholder notified the merchant not to charge the
account.

Merchant Actions:
Back-office Staff

Transaction Cancelled and Credit Issued

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(Possible Remedy) If the cardholder claimed to have cancelled the

recurring transaction, inform your merchant bank of the date that the credit was
issued.

Transaction Cancelled and Credit Not Yet Processed

(No Remedy) If a credit has not yet been processed to correct the error,
accept the chargeback. Do not process a credit since the chargeback has already
performed this function.

Transaction Not Cancelled

(No Remedy) If you have no record that the cardholder cancelled the
transaction, accept the chargeback. The cardholder does not have to supply
evidence that you received the cancellation notice.

Transaction Cancelled—Services used

(Possible Remedy) If the customer claimed they were billed for the service
after they cancelled, you may need to supply proof to your merchant bank that the
bill in question covered services used by the customer between the date of the
customer’s prior billing statement and the date the customer requested
cancellation.

Customer Cancellation Requests

(Customer Service) (Preventive Measure) Always respond in a timely
manner to customer requests relating to renewal or cancellation of recurring
transactions. Check customer logs daily for cancellation or nonrenewal
requests, and take appropriate action to comply with them in a timely manner.
Send notification to the customer that his or her recurring payment account has
been closed. If any amount is owed for services up to the date of cancellation,
seek another form of payment if necessary.

Credit Cardholder account

(Customer Service) (Preventive Measure) Ensure credits are processed
promptly. When cancellation requests are received too late to prevent the most
recent recurring charge from posting to the customer’s account, process the credit
and notify the cardholder.

Transaction exceeds Pre-authorized amount Ranges

(Preventive Measure) flag transactions that exceed pre-authorized amount

ranges, and notify customers of this amount at least 10 days in advance of
submitting the recurring transaction billing. If the customer disputes the amount
after the billing, send evidence of the notification to your merchant bank.

Reason Code 85: Credit Not Processed

Definition:

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The card issuer received a notice from a cardholder acknowledging participation

in a transaction for which goods were returned or services cancelled, but:

 The cardholder has not received a written refund acknowledgement or credit

voucher from the merchant.

 The credit has not appeared on the customer’s Visa statement.

Most Common Causes:

The merchant:

 Did not issue a credit.

 Issued the credit but did not deposit the credit with its merchant bank in time for it
to appear on the cardholder’s next statement.

 Did not issue a credit because the business does not accept returns, but did not
properly disclose its return policy.

Merchant Actions:
Back-office Staff

Merchandise or Cancellation Not Received

(Possible Remedy) If you never received, or accepted, returned

merchandise or a cardholder’s cancellation, advise your merchant bank
immediately. Proof of cancellation is not required from the cardholders.

Merchandise Returned Contrary to Disclosed Policy

(Possible Remedy) If the cardholder returns merchandise or cancels

services in a manner contrary to your disclosed return or cancellation policy,
provide your merchant bank with documentation showing that the cardholder was
aware of and agreed to your policy at the time of the transaction. Specifically,
the cardholder’s signature must appear on a sales receipt or other document
stating your return policy.

Credit Was Issued

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(Possible Remedy) If a customer returns merchandise or cancels services

in accordance with your disclosed return or cancellation policy, and you have
already issued a credit, inform the merchant bank of the date the credit was
issued.

Issue Credits Promptly and Properly

(Preventive Measure) Ensure credits are properly issued to the same Visa
account that was used for the original Visa purchase.

Owner/Manager

Return Policy Disclosure—at Point of Sale

(Customer Service) (Preventive Measure) Post your return policy at the

cash register so that it is clearly visible to customers. Keep in mind, however, that
you are required to disclose your return policy on a sales receipt or other
document that is signed by the cardholder at the time of the transaction.

Return Policy Disclosure—on Sales Receipts

(Preventive Measure) Be sure your return policy is clearly disclosed on

your sales receipts near the customer signature line. Customers need to know your
policy before they complete a sale. On receipts produced by scroll printer
terminals, the disclosure must be printed in close proximity to the signature line,
typically at the bottom of the transaction receipt near the transaction amount. As
previously noted if merchants return policy disclosures are on the back of your
store’s receipts, the customer must sign the front of the receipt and initial the
back of the receipt by the disclosure statement.

No-Return Policy Disclosure

(Preventive Measure) If your business has a limited return policy or does

not allow returns at all, the words “no returns” or similar words must be
preprinted on all copies of the sales receipts near the cardholder signature line.

Obtain Customer Signature

(Preventive Measure) For card-not-present merchants processing mail

order/telephone order transactions describing merchants return policy in a catalog
or verbally on the phone does not constitute proper disclosure unless obtaining a
customer signature indicating disclosure was provided. Such policy descriptions
may support merchant’s case for having alerted the customer to the policy.

CONCLUSION

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As card business transactions increase, so too do frauds. Clearly, global

networking presents as many new opportunities for criminals as it does for businesses.
While offering numerous advantages and opening up new channels for transaction
business, the internet has also brought in increased probability of fraud in credit card
transactions.

The good news is that technology for preventing credit card frauds is also
improving many folds with passage of time. Reducing cost of computing is helping in
introducing complex systems, which can analyze a fraudulent transaction in a matter of
fraction of a second.

It is equally important to identify the right segment of transactions, which should

be subject to review, as every transaction does not have the same amount of risk
associated with it. Finding the optimally balanced ‘total cost of fraud’ and other measures
outlined in this article can assist acquiring and issuing banks in combating frauds more
efficiently.

 The quantity of risk is (low, moderate, or high) in different merchant

processing’s.

 The quality of risk management is (strong, satisfactory, and weak). The quality of
risk varies from merchant to merchant.

In expanding the credit card market, the existing foreign players, SBI and the
domestic private sector banks are expected to pursue complementary strategies. Foreign
banks with the advantages of technology and industry experience are likely to concentrate
on increased cardholder spending and customer loyalty. SBI, on the other hand, is
expected to use its superior distribution network to radically expand acceptance in the
smaller towns. The private sector banks will capture significant market share by
combining the strengths of foreign banks and nationalized ones.

Debit cards will grow up and will act as catalyst in increasing the electronic spend
with its extensive use in low value transactions.

Concluding Remarks:

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Credit cards, smart cards and other electronic transactions will apparently replace
the cash medium in our near future. We need to understand our rights regarding credit
cards frauds and credit reports.
We need to be ready to improve our laws when faced with changes in technology.
Many card holders have never seen credit reports and do not realize the impact that
reports have on their ability to utilize their valued property rights in their reputation and
credit worthiness.

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