Acceptance Procedures

Visa/MasterCard transactions are processed in two very different environments. In some cases, the card is present at the point of transaction. In other cases, the card is not present. Each of these environments offers merchants an opportunity to provide better customer service and control risks.

Acceptance Procedures – Card Not Present

In this environment, neither the card nor the cardholder is present at the point of transaction. Examples include catalog sales, telephone orders, automatic debit transactions, and Internet transactions.

The acceptance procedure in this environment is also very simple:

• Obtain the Visa/MasterCard card information from the customer: account number, expiration date, and Card Verification Value 2 (CVV2). This information will be used to process payment for the purchase.
• Send the card information to CUB to request authorization of the transaction.
• If the transaction is authorized, send the merchandise or provide the customer service, and deposit the transaction receipt with CUB, following the procedures and time frames established by the institution.

Online Merchants

When conducting transactions in the virtual world, it is important for the merchant to be able to answer a key question: “Is the cardholder who is participating in this transaction a legitimate cardholder?”

To be able to answer this question, Visa/MasterCard recommends all Visa/MasterCard merchants implement the authentication solutions currently available in the market due to the numerous advances and innovations developed by Visa/MasterCard to increase the security of online payments. These solutions provide benefits for all participants in an electronic transaction. For more detailed information about Visa/MasterCard recommendations and the best transaction security technology available for virtual merchants, please contact us at CUB.

Acceptance Procedures – Card Present

In this processing environment, both the card and the cardholder are present at the point of transaction when the transaction takes place, and the cardholder deals with the merchant sales associate face to face. It is also possible that both the Visa/MasterCard card and the cardholder are present at the point of transaction, but no employee is present, as is the case, for example, at gas dispensers or automated fuel pumps in gas stations.

The card acceptance procedure in this environment is very simple:

• Ask the customer for his or her Visa/MasterCard card and keep it while the transaction is being processed.
• Verify card security features such as the account number, the printed digits, the effective date, the hologram, the “Flying V” and the Visa Electron symbol (if the card is a Visa Electron card). To familiarize yourself with the acceptance procedure, or if you need more detailed information about the security features incorporated to Visa/MasterCard cards, please visit your nearest CUB branch.
• Obtain authorization from your CUB as needed. The authorization request must be submitted through the point-of-sale terminal or manually, following the procedures indicated by the bank.
• If the transaction is authorized, ask the customer to sign the transaction receipt and compare it carefully to the cardholder’s signature on the signature panel on the reverse of the card.
• Deposit transaction receipts with the bank in accordance with the procedures and time frames your institution has established.