Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
R E V E R B E R A T I O N S R E V E R B E R AT I O N S
October 2007
Vol. XII No. 10
ProStores Replacing MerchantAmerica Website
We are pleased to have the ProStores shopping cart solution up and running, soon to replace your old
MerchantAmerica website and shopping cart. As we told current MerchantAmerica users in an August letter, most
of the transitional process has been done. In a letter to be
received in mid October, we will explain in detail how easy it is to
complete the process and begin using your new shopping cart
with your ECHO payment services.
You will find that your ProStores account can be administered
through an easy-to-use control panel allowing you to manage
and modify your shopping cart. Your new account also provides
you with access to WebsiteOS which offers power f ul web
hosting features, tools, email services, and file transfer protocol (FTP).
Once current MerchantAmerica accounts have been
transitioned to Serrahost, we will be looking forward to
offering the services to all our merchants.
Upcoming Fee Changes
We have come to expect that at yearly intervals, the credit card associations review their fees and then
provide all credit card processors with an update of their new rates and fees. This fall, the card associations
have announced additional price increases over those made in April. As a result of this and other costs,
ECHO is compelled to increase incremental fees we pass on to merchants from MasterCard for non-travel
and entertainment (non T&E) commercial cards and Rewards Cards. Despite increases to the incremental
fees, pricing changes will not affect your base discount rate.
There is no easy way to share information like this. We consider it a privilege to serve you and to meet
your needs through our payment processing services. We are committed to our partnership with you and
to helping you achieve your business goals and objectives.
Please watch your mail for a letter that will give you further details on these increased fees. These changes
will take effect on November 1, 2007. If you have any questions, please call your account representative
or our customer support department at 1-800-262-3246, ext. 1.
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Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
730 Paseo Camarillo
Camarillo, California 93010
1-805-419-8700
www.echo-inc.com
Is There a Problem if I Use Symbols When Processing
a Credit Card Transaction With a Purchase Order?
Unfortunately, when you enter a non-alphanumeric symbol in the purchase order number, the accompanying
transaction is at risk of being rejected or the settlement of the transaction could be delayed. So, when you
do submit a purchase order number with your credit card transaction, it must be alphanumeric (containing
either letters or numbers or both). This is the standard for all of the card associations.
What is a Chargeback and What do I do With it?
If you have just received a Notification of Chargeback, it is to inform you that one of your customers
requested a refund and that your account has been debited for that particular transaction. There is
always a reason given for why your account was debited, but if you believe that information is incorrect, you need
to fax supporting documentation for the Notification of Chargeback to ECHO's Chargeback Support Department at
(805) 419-8674 using the Notification of Chargeback for a cover letter.
If the documentation that you send is accepted by the issuing bank, the chargeback will be reversed and the
amount of the disputed transaction will be credited back to your account. Please note that the cardholder may again
dispute the charges, and if they are successful, the chargeback credit will be reversed. Also, if your customer provides
information that contradicts your claim, or the issuing bank finds your documentation inadequate in supporting your
case, the chargeback debit to your account will remain.
There is some good news in all of this. Most processors charge a fee of at least $20 to $25 for processing each
chargeback. At ECHO, we understand that chargebacks are an unfortunate part of doing business regardless of how
efficiently your company is run. For this reason, ECHO charges for chargebacks are kept to a minimum.
NACSSHOW
See You at the Show!
ECHO will be at both the National Association
of Convenience Stores (NACS) annual conference
(November 7-9) and the Direct Marketing
Association (DMA) show (October 14-16). If you
happen to be at either of these trade shows,
please visit our booth. We would love to meet
you in person.
ECHO merchants process on the Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO) network. ECHO is a publicly owned company trading on NASDAQ under
the symbol "ECHO". ECHO provides thousands of merchants with reliable processing of bank cards and checks. Merchants are sponsored by FIRST
REGIONAL BANK, Agoura Hills, CA (800-777-0929). Member FDIC.
