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Optimal Account FAQ's
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How much does the Optimal Account cost?
The cost of this service is minimal. There are no upfront
deposits, no minimum monthly volumes to maintain, and
no extra processing fees to pay to the bank. You simply
pay setup and monthly fees, then a small fee for processing
each of your transactions.
Set-Up |
£150 |
Monthly Fee |
£20 |
Credit Cards |
2.99% |
Debit Cards |
2.99% |
Settlement |
5 Days |
Virtual Terminal |
FREE |
Rolling Reserve |
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For much more costs involved with this account, including
set-up charges, transaction rates, monthly fees etc.
please click here.
How do I get paid?
By providing your payment information, you permit funds
owing from your merchant account to be automatically
deposited, be electric funds transfer, into the bank
account that you specify
When do I get paid?
Payment is issued weekly, 5 days in arrears
Can I use my existing merchant account with this service?
No. The Optimal Account unlike the World Account is
an integrated merchant account service. In addition
to the processing of transactions, the credit card processing
tracks information to automatically record credit card
payments and credit card expenses. This means it is
designed to connect exclusively to merchant accounts
issued by ourselves
Can
I use a Virtual Terminal without a website?
Yes. If you don't have a web site we can activate your
Merchant Account for your 'traditional' business, so
you can start taking credit card payments directly from
customers or by phone, fax, mail-order etc. For more
information please visit
here
Do you charge an application fee?
Unlike many companies, we do not charge an application
fee. This means it costs nothing, apart from a little
of your time, to apply for one of our merchant accounts.
Once you have applied and are successful in getting
an account, you will then have the associated costs
to pay such as the set-up fee and monthly fee.
Providing false details and business descriptions
A number of businesses try to apply using false details
and/or business descriptions e.g selling DVD's but in
fact selling medication. As you can imagine this wastes
alot of time for all parties involved, most importantly
us. This practice is illegal and is
classed under UK law as 'trying to acquire products
or services under false pretenses'.
For this reason, anyone caught doing so will not only
have their business details past over to the appropriate
authorities, but will also be charged a £150
+ VAT Fee
Any company who changes their business model must inform
us as soon as possible, otherwise their account could
be closed with immediate effect and no refund given
What is a transaction fee?
Bank card issuing associations charge a percentage
of the sale for the use of their cards and this amount
is referred to as a transaction fee. The percentage
paid by the merchant may vary depending on the monthly
sales volume, the average sale size and whether a transaction
is processed with or without the card being physically
present.
The Optimal Account offers a competitive transaction
fee of only 2.99%. This is one of the lowest rates available
for card-not-present transaction processing (no swipe
machine). In addition, there are no upfront deposits
and no minimum monthly volume requirement
What is a gateway fee?
A gateway fee is applied by the transaction processor
to cover the costs of receiving and processing the transaction.
While a transaction fee is a contribution for the convenience
of accepting credit card payments, a gateway fee pays
for the use of the infrastructure to receive payment
information, request authorisation from the customers
bank, transmit the authorisation information to the
merchant and to facilitate payment of the merchant.
What is a rolling reserve?
Many banks require a non-interest-bearing deposit equal
to 1 or 2 times the average estimated monthly credit
card sales by a merchant. This can pose a substantial
barrier to accepting credit cards for some merchants.
The purpose of this deposit is to cover any purchase
refused by a customer and for which the customer's credit
card issuer refuses to pay (a chargeback).
To overcome the barrier of a large cash deposit, the
Optimal Account includes a rolling reserve. This reserve,
equal to 5% of each purchase, is held for 6 months after
the sale. If a purchase is charged back by the customer's
credit card issuer, the amount of the chargeback and
any chargeback fees will be deducted from the rolling
reserve. After 6 months have passed, any amount remaining
in the reserve from the purchase will be paid to the
merchant. Click here for more information
What is a charge back?
A chargeback is a reversal of a sales transaction by
the customer's credit card issuer. Chargebacks most
often occur when a cardholder disputes a transaction
and you, the merchant, cannot provide adequate proof
that the transaction made to a cardholder's account
is valid. A chargeback can also result from processing
errors, authorisation issues, and/or any other transaction
irregularities.
When a purchase is charged back to the merchant, a
£15.00 fee and any fees charged by the customer's
credit card issuer will be deducted from your account
in addition to the value of the sale.
How can I avoid a chargeback?
It may not be possible to prevent all chargebacks.
However, the Optimal Account has attempted to reduce
the number of chargebacks. First, the merchant's business
name will appear on the customer's credit card statement.
This reduces the risk of a customer not remembering
the purchase. Second, a team of chargeback analysts
review chargeback notifications and dispute a proposed
chargeback where evidence exists.
As a merchant, you can help by ensuring that the name
you register for the service is the name under which
your business operates. You can also help by having
your customers sign a sales receipt if they provide
their credit card to you in person. Finally, if you
are shipping goods, be sure to use a shipper that provides
confirmation of delivery. A signed sales receipt or
a confirmation of delivery will assist our chargeback
analysts in disputing proposed chargebacks.
How do online payments get into my bank account?
By providing your bank account number and bank routing
number, you permit funds owing from your merchant account
to be automatically deposited, by electronic funds transfer,
into the bank account that you specify.
Can I use a PO Box or Free phone, local rate number
etc?
Due to security, money laundering and privacy issues
you must supply a land address and phone number when
completing the documents. You may however, use
a PO Box and a free phone or local charge number such
0845, 0800 and 0870 number etc. on your website
My domain name is not registered in our company name.
Is this a problem?
Your web address (domain name) must be registered in
your company name. The reason for this is that if a
shopper searches your domain name, they can see who
exactly owns the website they have spent money with.
Basically everything needs to tally up for shopper confidence.
This also helps stop fraudsters opening and closing
businesses every couple of days.
What sort of bank account do I need?
For all our merchant accounts you need to have a business
bank account set-up. Sole traders that use their personal
/ current accounts must provide a business account.
Can my business bank account be in a different country
to my business?
Yes. However due to money laundering regulations your
business bank account must be in the same name as your
registered business
Can I use my merchant account with other websites?
You may use your merchant account with other websites
as long as they are selling similar products or services.
Please note though that due to the potential risk of
chargebacks, your business name must match on each website.
For example if you have set-up an account using the
business name 'DVD's R US' but also want to sell picture
frames on another website using the same account, this
would cause problems as the name would not match what
appears on a customers credit card or bank statement.
Thus causing a chargeback. For this reason you would
need to set-up a second account
Can I put monies owed to me into different bank accounts?
If you wish to have monies paid into seperate accounts,
depending on which website someone has paid you, you
will need to have different merchant accounts. We are
unable to split monies from one merchant account into
different banks accounts
Is there a minimum remittence amount?
No, a minimum remittence amount for the Optimal Account
does not apply
What
appears on a customers credit card statement?
As with all our merchant accounts your trading name
appears on the card statement. Please be advised that
if you are a sole trader it will be your personal name
trading as i.e. W Merchant t/a ABC Industries.
What
requirements must my website comply with?
If you are selling online you must comply with certain
website requirements. Once the website is compliant
along with all the remaining documents the application
will be passed to the bank for approval. For more information
on what requirements are needed please
click here.
The above requirements do not apply to MOTO (virtual
terminal) only merchants (unless a website is used in
conjunction).
What credit and debit cards can I accept?
With the Optimal account you can accept the following
cards automatically: Visa, Mastercard, Electron, Visa
Debit, Maestro, Solo (UK only), Delta, JCB, Laser (Eire
only), JB (Pre Paid). You can also accept the following
cards, however you must apply direct to the Card Scheme:
American Express, Diners Club
What application documents and ID do I need
to supply once I apply?
Due to money laundering regulations 1993 we are required
to see different Proof of Identity and address in order
to process your application. Once you apply you will
receive an email with a list of supporting documents
to return. These are stated below:
Identification Documents
- A photocopy of your passport
or photocard driving licence, to confirm your identity.
- An original utility bill or
bank statement, (Photocopies will not be accepted)
to confirm your current home address. This must be
recent, i.e. dated from within the last three months,
and for a service provided directly to your home.
Acceptable examples are bank statements, gas, water,
electricity, or landline telephone bills.
- An original voided cheque,
to confirm the bank account details of the business.
The cheque must show the name of the business to which
the merchant account will be issued. A used cheque
is not acceptable or original letter from bank to
confirm business bank account details.
Application Documents
- A Completed and signed Direct
Debit Form
- Signed Schedule of fees agreement
- If the business currently
accepts or recently accepted card payments, you must
supply photocopies of the last 3 months card processing
statements, . The statements must clearly show sales,
refunds, and chargeback’s
For help in
completing the documents please click here
How do I check my account to see who has bought from
me, make refunds etc?
Each account is provided with a customer mangement
system (CMS). The CMS is a central resource that provides
information, support and facilities to help you manage
your accounts. From here you can make full or partial
refunds, change login and passwords, primary e-mail
addresses and other account information, view statements,
and a whole lot more.
Please click here for more information
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