Depending on which account you choose, depends on which
FAQ's you should read. The reason for this is that each
account has it's own way of doing things.
Please select the relevant frequently asked questions
below:
Even though the three accounts have their own FAQ's,
the three accounts do share many common aspects. Such
as what you need to set-up an account, what sort of
bank account you need etc. For this reason we have also
grouped the most common questions below.
Please note that these
questions relate to ALL THREE accounts
We can help a whole variety of businesses. We can even
help new businesses. However, due to either reputational,
legal or moral reasons, there are certain companies
that we cannot provide payment facilities to. Please
click on the relevant merchant
account for a list of businesses that specific account
can not help
Travel Companies: We can help travel
companies, however you must be bonded with either ATOL
or ITAA
Gaming and competition merchants:
For more information on gaming and the types of merchant
we can help. Please click here
Does my bank account have to be in the same country
as my business?
No, with the Optimal Account you can have them in different
countries. However due to money laundering regulations
your business bank account must be in the same name
as your registered business.
With the World Account, due to the money laundering
act, remitting funds across international borders can
sometimes be a bit tricky i.e. they will only remit
funds to accounts in the same country as the business
is based. However if the account is in exactly
the same name as the company’s this should be
ok.
For the Optimal Account we use Barclays, Elevon or
CAL. For the Premier Account we use B+S Card Services
or Postbank and for the World Account we use the Royal
Bank of Scotland
Could I go straight to that bank and get the
same deal that you offer?
No, we have negotiated with these banks to get you
the best possible deal. Due to specific terms and conditions
they cannot offer the same prices etc.
Do
I need to set-up a merchant account with a bank?
No! We provide the merchant account as part of the
online payment solution
Unlike many other providers Web-Merchant has brought
together the elements needed to obtain merchant status
allowing your business to accept credit card orders
from your customers.
* Sole trader or an individual - We
are recently experiencing with the banks we use for
the Optimal Account that they are not fond of Sole Traders
as they're not registered at an official body. Because
of this they are reluctant in accepting these merchants.
If you are a sole trader or an individual the only way
we can place you is with good security otherwise we
can only provide a 30 days delayed payment with weekly
settlements. It would help if sole traders are registered
at the Chamber of Commerce. Then the delayed payment
will be 14 days with weekly settlements.
Unfortunately with the Premier Account we can not help
sole traders or individuals whatsoever.
Please note that if you change entity then you become
a new legal entity and then therefore will have to put
in a new application. For this reason if you are thinking
about changing then it may be worth waiting to put in
an application until you have arranged it.
My credit rating isn't the best. Can you still help?
In most cases, YES! If you have certain on-going credit
issues or have even come out of bankruptcy, we can often
still help. It all depends on how many defaults you
have, how old they are, how far apart they are, how
much you owe and if they have been settled.
Unfortunately we often come across cases where a director
of a company, who has bad credit, will start a new company
without settling old debts in the hope of acquiring
merchant status. For this reason the above doesn't just
apply to sole traders, but also applies to limited companies.
Even though limited companies have limited liability,
we will still need to check the credit history of the
business and also each partner.
Even if we can't help with one account, and depending
on credit history (and business type), following a full
risk assessment of an application, we may sometimes
increase two specific elements: the settlement period
and the rolling reserve, in order to increase the merchant's
chance of obtaining a merchant facility with one of
our sponsor banks
Indeed a longer settlement period and a larger rolling
reserve are more likely to reassure our processing bank
that we have taken sufficient steps to mitigate the
risk exposure on an account.
As you can imagine we are unable to tell who will have
their settlement period and rolling reserve increased
until an application has been put in and is being processed.
Please be reassured that you are under no obligation
to continue with the application if the new terms offered
no longer meet your requirements. If this is the case
than simply reply to the relevant email and your application
will be terminated
PO Boxes can be used on websites but cannot be used
for the application. For the application you must supply
your actual home address and trading address
On the application you ask for guesstimates, shall
I exaggerate?
No. In fact this can be disastrous for your application
On the application you will be asked to give an estimated
monthly online turnover. These will most likely be guesstimates
as 90% of applicants have not yet started to trade online.
Because of this please do not exaggerate these estimates
as they can hinder your application and final merchant
account (if offered). Certain applicants think by exaggerating
the amounts we will be more keen to help them. However
this is not the case whatsoever. Not only will we help
any company big or small, the fact that you have put
very large monthly turnovers may mean you are actually
deemed a higher risk. Therefore receiving different
terms to those advertised or not receiving an account
at all
When you apply online you will receive an email normally
within 1 - 2 business days informing you if you have
passed the initial stage or not. If so, you will receive
an email with a list of supporting documents to return.
Once all forms and supporting documents have been received,
your application will be assessed, then you will be
contacted with a decision. You will also be contacted
if any questions regarding your application arise
How secure is the application and my financial details
The Web Merchant payment system uses a combination
of both established and innovative techniques to ensure
the security and integrity of all sensitive data. Furthermore,
public web servers are certified by Thawte, a public
Certificate Authority, ensuring that both the shopper
and retailer can have confidence that nobody can impersonate
our banking partners to obtain confidential information.
Data storage on our systems, and the communication
between us, our partners and the worldwide banking networks,
is regularly audited by the banking authorities to ensure
a secure transaction environment. We also ensure that
we stay up-to-date with the latest versions of any third-party
code we use, and continually review our own proprietary
code.
Any application form is also encrypted to the maximum
strength supported by the merchants browser using 128
Bit SSL.
Once an application is either rejected, been inactive
for more than 6 months or we have been asked to cancel
it, we destroy or delete any and all information.
What are the timescales for setting up an account?
Optimal Account - We try and get the
process done in 10 - 14 working days,
however during busy periods, due to the amount of applications
we receive, the application process may take 14 -
28 days
(from the time of receiving your documents).
World Account - The process should take 7-10
working days from time of providing all your accompanying
documents and check the information that you have provided
Premier Account - Once the application has been
received and approved, the account can be up and running
in less than 48 hours. During busy
periods the application process may take 5 working
days
(from the time of receiving your documents)
With our merchant facilities we give you the ability
to accept the following credit and debit cards. With
the Premier Account you can accept many different types
of cards. However there are certain conditions. Please
click here to view cards
available. Please note that currently the Premier Account
does not allow Maestro cards. However we are hoping
to have this resolved by the end of 2009, beginning
of 2010.
What conversion fees are levied on me if I get paid
in a foreign currency?
No currency conversion fees are levied on the merchant
when the card is charged. Any necessary currency conversion
is handled by the cardholder’s bank, and the conversion
fees are paid by the consumer.
If the merchant does not maintain a bank account in
the currency of the merchant account, e.g. Euros, then
their own bank will convert the wire transfer to Sterling
upon receipt of each remittance from us. Any conversion
fees will be paid by the merchant to their own bank.
As you see, we do not get involved in currency conversions.
Conversions are the responsibility of the respective
banks serving the cardholder and the merchant.
Which countries can my business be incorporated in?
Depending in which country you are incorporated in
depends on which account you can apply for. As you will
see, some countries appear in all three lists which
means you have a choice of all three accounts. Please
remember with the World Account, due to money laundering
regulations, your business and business bank account
must be in the same country. This does not apply to
the Optimal or Premier accounts. However the bank account
and business must be in the same name.
When will I get paid my money after someone buys from
me?
Depending which account you choose depends on when
you get your money. With the Optimal you are paid weekly,
5 days in arrears with a rolling reserve of 5%*. The
Premier Account is weekly, 14 days in arrears with no
rolling reserve, and the World Account you are paid
weekly, 28 days in arrears with no rolling reserve
* The rolling reserve holds five
percent (5%) of total approved gross transactions, over
the previous six month period. Following the seventh
month of operation (and every month thereafter) the
reserves generated from the first month of operation
(and every month thereafter) will be forwarded to the
merchant of each sale for a specified period, after
which time it is paid to you. The purpose of the reserve
is to pay for any chargebacks which may occur against
your account
How do I check my account to see who has bought from
me 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.
Some of the tasks you can do with the back office include:
Processing transactions manually
with the Virtual Terminal
Generating reports or searching
for information by account number, card number, etc.
with the Activity Report
Downloading reports in CSV
format
Viewing your account
balance and details with the Account Statement tool
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).
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
appears on a customers credit card statement?