FAQs

Best Card takes pride in offering excellent savings to all merchants. Our average merchant saves $2,768 a year from prior processors. Furthermore, while many processors will offer low rates in the first few months, Best Card focuses on keeping our long-term costs low for all merchants. We have only had 2 rate increases in our entire company history and have repeatedly lowered our rates to pass on savings when the industry costs were lowered for credit card processors. Many processors have multiple rate increases per year and have chosen to keep any extra profits rather than pass them along to small businesses.

If you would like Best Card to complete a cost comparison to see exactly how much we can save you on your current rates, fax a recent processing statement to (866) 717-7247 or email it to CompareRates@BestCardTeam.com.

The only early termination fee that Best Card charges is $25 in the first three years of an agreement and $0 after that. Our low early termination fee is our promise that we will do everything we can to keep our rates as low as possible and continue to provide outstanding customer service.

Many processors charge early termination fees between $400-$1,000 and some have contract clauses that end up costing even more than that. In a few cases, offices have paid $10,000+ just to switch processors. Furthermore, contracts often automatically renew every 3 years with the close fee intact, meaning that businesses have a short 30-60 window every 3 years to change processors and avoid expensive close fees.

We would rather earn your business every month than rely on expensive fees to keep our merchants with us. Despite our low $25 close fee, we have repeatedly been told by First Data (our backend clearinghouse and the largest credit card processor in the world) that we have one of the lowest attrition rates of any company they work with.

Best Card never leases equipment because it is an overpriced way to provide merchants with credit card processing equipment. Most credit card equipment leases are 48-month, non-cancellable agreements. Even with a relatively cheap lease of $25 per month, this is a total cost of $1,200 with an expensive buy out option to finally own the equipment at the end of the lease.

We sell our equipment at a low price to ensure that no office has to pay too much and we frequently run promotions to provide even better savings than the listed price. Furthermore, if you already have EMV (chip) equipment, we can sometimes redownload your current equipment and $0 cost. Call us for more info!

Best Card has a variety of processing options to help any office meet their unique needs. We offer stand-alone credit card terminals for maximum ease of use and security. We have online systems to offer connectivity for the whole office, allow for setup of recurring payments and configuration of online payments to improve customer/patient payment response. Finally, we have invested significant resources into creating our own automated posting system, Paylink, to enable the effortless posting of payments into several popular practice management software options.

Best Card does has no setup fee to board new accounts.

Once we receive all of the paperwork necessary to setup an account, we can generally have an account open within 48-72 hours. If we need to send equipment, we will send that out the same day an account is approved. This means that from start to finish, we can have almost any account up and running within 1 week.

All equipment is downloaded and tested prior to shipment. When you receive your equipment all you need to do is call us for a quick training and you are ready to go!

These are all underhanded marketing solicitations. The caller has no knowledge of your rates, PCI compliance status or account setup. We always set up offices under the correct federal SIC code, which is why our dental/medical offices can accept HSA and FLEX spending cards. We also try very hard to contact our merchants repeatedly if there are concerns regarding PCI compliance. When Best Card contacts our merchants, we will gladly verify your merchant number.

In addition, the only card that has a different rate (cost paid to card issuer) for retail vs. healthcare is American Express. MasterCard, Visa and Discover charge rates simply based on type of card. Debit, credit, rewards and corporate cards run at varying rates, which can vary further depending on whether a card is keyed or swiped.

Best Card automatically sets up our merchants up to accept MasterCard, Visa and Discover cards but makes American Express optional. American Express is the only card issuer whose rate varies based on type of merchant (such as medical vs. retail) and transaction size. With Best Card, all card types, including American Express, deposit together.

EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard and Visa, the three driving entities behind the liability shift to encourage merchants to switch to “chip” technology that went into effect on October 1^st, 2016. As of that date, any transactions “swiped” by the magnetic strip despite the card being EMV-capable, are subject to chargebacks wherein the merchant holds full liability for fraudulent use. The merchant will lose any subsequent chargeback because they failed to update to the most secure card processing technology. We have unfortunately seen both cardholders and issuers choose to exploit this in the past year.

We have also seen some processors charge monthly “EMV Non-Compliance” fees even though there is no corresponding fee from the card brands.

While there is no mandate to update equipment (meaning that non-EMV equipment will continue to function for the time being), we would encourage all merchants to update to new equipment to minimize the liability to their business. The cost of one chargeback resulting from non-compliant equipment can often exceed the purchase price of EMV equipment from Best Card. The only exception is for merchants that never have face-to-face transactions and take all payments online, by mail or over the phone.

Eleven states (CA, CO, CT, FL, KA, ME, MA, NY, OK and TX) explicitly prohibit surcharging on credit card transactions. There are some special situations (government entities, website companies with store presence) that can allow a surcharge amount (not percentage) but these are complex and Best Card strongly suggests that you obtain legal verbiage for any surcharges or discounts you are considering.

Save sales drafts 60 months for medical related businesses and 18 months for other merchants.

If you close your batch by 5pm CST you should receive funding for all transactions by the next business day. After 5pm CST funding will be delayed one day. Best Card removes our processing fees on the 2^nd or 3^rd of the month for the previous month’s processing.

If you are unable to swipe the card, you may collect the credit card number and expiration date to be processed at a future date. This information must be secured, however, and should not be electronically stored unless protected by industry-approved levels of encryption offered by our secure gateways (like eProcessing Network).You will want your customer to sign this payment authorization form or you may contact Best Card to receive an editable version to more specifically tailor to your business needs. If you don’t already have an online gateway account, feel free to call about our online recurring payment options that may help simplify this process for your business.

While not popular with most dental practices in recent years due to decreased check volume, we do offer various check services -click here for more information. In summary, Best Card offers:

-Check Warranty: More expensive, but offers some security of payment.

-Remote Capture & Deposit: A basic check processing option with no warranty. We have recurring, website and portal options (Paya, EZCheck) that are compatible with several of our online gateways.

-eCashflow: You would only use this service should you get a bounced check (no cost to you, check writer charged fee allowed by state, allows for one additional ACH presentment to collect vs taking check one time to bank for re-presentment).

There are various reasons why your business may experience a chargeback/transaction dispute. Though most chargebacks are initiated by cardholders, the card’s issuing bank can initiate a chargeback, as well. Of course, the best way to avoid a chargeback is to avoid fraudulent transactions in general.

Some important suggestions might include the following:

• Check identification if cardholder identity is not known/verified prior to the time of transaction.

• Know that keyed/manual transactions are more likely to be fraudulent than swiped transactions –swiped transactions are more likely to be fraudulent than EMV transactions.

• When manually entering a card, always request the billing address information and card verification code (CVV/CID). For keyed transactions, card issuers prefer an imprinted, signed slip (swiped on knuckle buster), but this is often impossible for phone or mail payments. When you enter the address number and zip code during a keyed transaction, these data are verified by the Address Verification System (AVS) and a receipt will display whether the information matched records for that card. In addition, keyed transactions are declined if processed with the incorrect CVV/CID code.

• Note that sometimes customers will initiate disputes because they do not recognize the name on their statement. To avoid this issue make sure that the “doing business as” name on receipts is your business name and not something like “Store 351”.

• Keep signed copies of all receipts and documentation of merchandise/services sold in the event you need to provide documentation in response to a chargeback and always respond promptly (most notices allow up to two weeks response time).

It is also preferred that your return policy be on customer signed documents (especially if merchandise will be shipped). Best Card offers carbon copy or customized forms for our medical/dental/chiropractic offices. For recurring payments, get customer to sign approval of such. If card is stolen and reported, the transaction will decline.

All of our credit card systems have options to generate a report without closing the credit card batch for the day. It is important to NOT close the batch. Once the batch is closed all transactions are submitted for funding which means we are no longer able to edit the batch to correct any errors.

That being said, Best Card can always see your batches in real time. 

For any questions, do not hesitate to call us and have our staff compare the payments we see processed versus what you believe may have been submitted.

EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard and Visa, the three driving entities behind the liability shift to encourage merchants to switch to “chip” technology that went into effect on October 1^st, 2016. As of that date, any transactions “swiped” by the magnetic strip despite the card being EMV-capable, are subject to chargebacks wherein the merchant holds full liability for fraudulent use. The merchant will lose any subsequent chargeback because they failed to update to the most secure card processing technology. We have unfortunately seen both cardholders and issuers choose to exploit this in the past year.

We have also seen some processors charge monthly “EMV Non-Compliance” fees even though there is no corresponding fee from the card brands.

While there is no mandate to update equipment (meaning that non-EMV equipment will continue to function for the time being), we would encourage all merchants to update to new equipment to minimize the liability to their business. The cost of one chargeback resulting from non-compliant equipment can often exceed the purchase price of EMV equipment from Best Card. The only exception is for merchants that never have face-to-face transactions and take all payments online, by mail or over the phone.

First, always feel free to call Best Card if you have any questions about how to proceed!

Provided you have not already closed the batch, you can void the transaction to avoid incurring any processing costs. If the customer is close to their line of credit limit, call the customer’s bank (phone number on back of card) and most banks will release the authorization. Otherwise, the authorization will eventually fall off in 3-30 days (depending on issuing bank’s policy).

If you have already closed the batch for a transaction, you will need to run a Return. While Best Card does not charge processing fees on Returns (most processors do, so you pay for the transaction twice), you were charged fees on the original sale as the batch has closed and fees have already been paid to Visa/MC/Discover. Please note that it can take up to three days for the issuing bank to post a return, whereas a Void treats the transaction as if it never occurred.

This is important for several reasons:

1. Credit card processors look for same card transactions to offset refunds. If the return is for a large amount, the risk department can “suspend the return” until researched and the customer may not be refunded in a timely manner.

2. Embezzlement can occur via credit card transactions. Refunds run without offsetting sales trigger risk for this reason.

3. Many Best Card merchants accept Flex Benefit/ Health Savings Account (FSA/HSA) cards. If the original transaction used FSA/HSA monies (often untaxed due to program specifications) and the return is to a different card, it is a violation of the policies affiliated with these cards.

This is a partial authorization and will only occur for transactions to debit, Health Savings Account or Flex Spending Account cards. Essentially, there is not enough available in the account to cover the full balance requested. The terminal will display or print out the approved amount and give you the opportunity to accept or reverse this lesser amount. The terminal will then prompt to see if there is another card available to accept payment in full.

You must press ‘Yes’ to get payment on the first card for the amount approved. If another card is available to pay the remaining balance, you can run the second card following the first partial authorization. The alternative is to say ‘No’ and then run the entire amount on a different card (or accept another tender for payment), but please note that if you select ‘No’ there will be $0 run to the first card and the initial approval for partial authorization will be voided.

Best Card receives many calls from medical/dental offices stating that they received reimbursement for an insurance (or health benefit claim) that tells them to key the credit card number into their credit card terminal in order to receive insurance payment (in lieu of receiving an ACH deposit or check). If you call one of these companies to request a check, you will be told that if your office accepts credit cards as a form of payment, it cannot discriminate. You must accept any valid payment or you are in violation of Visa/MasterCard regulation. If you read the terms of agreement for accepting credit cards in the program guide provided by your processor, this is technically correct. These companies will also tell you to check with your credit card processor to see if you’ll be charged fees to run the transaction. The fact is that you are charged fees. For most card processors, the interchange cost (paid to the card issuer) is greater than 2% and there is no way to avoid this cost.

The void doesn’t post until the batch is closed and settlement with the bank occurs. Tell the customer that the transaction will drop off, but it can take a day or so before online banking reflects this change. Banks do reserve the right to suspend the removal pending authorizations from the cardholder’s account for varying durations depending on their policies, though it rarely takes more than a day or two. If necessary, you may want to call the bank to expedite this process once the batch containing the void has been closed.

Please feel free to call if you have balancing questions, as we are happy to help! Please note that sometimes batches closed after cutoff or outside banking hours (weekends) may deposit with another batch -combined batches are behind most balancing calls we receive. If transitioning between locations, it is especially important to verify batch report, day sheet and deposit totals balance each day. If you remotely key a phone/mail payment, be sure to post immediately or note cardholder information to post when back in office. We can perform limited card searches to help narrow the list of potential cardholders should staff forget to post or note cardholder name on the receipt, but per card security regulations, our clearinghouses do not transmit names.

Depending on the method you use to accept credit cards and transmit payment information, there are different requirements to make sure that you are protecting credit card data. Particularly, any equipment that transmits payment information over an IP/internet connection using the business’ internet will require a network scan to ensure PCI Compliance. You should be set up under one of the Self-Assessment Questionnaires below:

• SAQ A or A-EP – For most eCommerce or mail-order merchants. These merchants do not process any face-to-face transactions.

• SAQ B – For credit card terminals that process via dial-up connection over analog phone lines.

• SAQ B-IP – For credit card terminals that connect via IP/WiFi using the business internet connection.

• SAQ C – For offices that process credit cards with online gateways with device-specific point-of-sale software and/or with card readers that attach to their computers.

• SAQ C-VT – For offices that use an online gateway, but do not use card readers or device-specific point-of-sale software. Some offices with a combination of terminal equipment over dial and online gateway access for only keyed, recurring or website transactions may fall into this category.

• SAQ D – For merchants with a similar setup to those described in SAQ C, but with more complex point-of-sale configurations and/or any localized storage of encrypted cardholder data.

Our PCI portal includes an ‘SAQ Wizard’ that can help you select the correct SAQ for your office, but the automated system includes some complex questions that can lead to offices setting themselves up with the wrong requirements.

If you would prefer to review your PCI requirements in greater detail, please call Best Card and our staff can help explain what SAQ is correct for your business.

Any credit card equipment or software that transmits information via internet connection needs to pass quarterly network scans to maintain PCI compliance. This means that any credit card terminal that is setup over IP or any office using our eProcessing Network with JPOS or Paylink need to complete quarterly scans.

If you have a credit card terminal that connects via phone lines, or if you don’t accept cards in person (phoned in payments or internet payments only) you do not need to complete a network scan.

Your business must complete the correct PCI requirements to receive the breach protection that our PCI compliance program provides. In addition, if you skip scans you also take on greater liability for the costs associated with a card data breach over your network. Should a breach occur, it is important that you can provide evidence that your business processed within the security requirements set by PCI -the ability to provide passing scan records are an important part of this evidence.

We strongly suggest that every office processing online complete these scans. If you process online, but cannot pass a scan due to lack of IT support, it is probably best to invest in further IT support to improve security on your network. This not only helps ensure cardholder data security, but the security of other data on your network, as well. Furthermore, since PCI requirements for system scans closely mirror HIPAA requirements, it is best to know that your network is secure.

Call Best Card and we can walk you through the results of the scan as well as steps to take to begin addressing them. Generally, we will have to contact or ask you to contact your IT person/company to fix failing vulnerabilities. While we are not your office IT solution, having worked with thousands of offices to address failing scans, we can offer some direction for the best way to move forward.