Q. What is a MasterCard Payment Facilitator?
CCBill is considered by MasterCard to be a Payment Facilitator. Essentially a Payment Facilitator handles the necessary footwork required for processing MasterCard transactions by handling your merchant registrations as well as your transaction authorizations, billing, settlements, and chargebacks for you. Payment Facilitators provide a valuable service to you as a merchant and serve as experts in processing transactions.
Participating in MasterCard’s Payment Facilitator Program will provide a positive impact to consumers by providing better transparency about the Merchants as a part of the transaction. Similar to the Visa Sponsored Merchant program, this type of program helps reduce complaints and chargebacks due to improved clarity to consumers about the entity which charged the consumer’s credit card as well as by providing uniformity of descriptors that appear on the statement. These changes will help expand the level of trust that consumers have in the purchase process.
Q. What does MasterCard consider a high-risk merchant?
MasterCard high-risk merchants differ from Visa high-risk merchants. MasterCard considers merchants to be high-risk if their site offers adult content or dating services. Your site may fall into a high-risk category for MasterCard even if it didn't qualify as a high-risk site for other card types.
You can find more information on the difference between high- and low-risk merchants for different card types in this article:
https://www.ccbill.com/cs/wiki/tiki-...sk+accounts%3F
Q. Why do high-risk merchants have to pay an extra registration fee?
The simple answer given by the card associations is that high-risk merchant accounts do cost more for them to manage than low-risk accounts. High-risk accounts often carry a significantly higher chargeback rate and may require stronger monitoring for fraud. Additionally, due to the nature of their business models high-risk merchants also have more card association rules and regulations that must be adhered to. The annual registration fee helps MasterCard to offset the costs associated with high-risk accounts, ensures that participants are responsible industry members and business people, and provides more transparency as well as ensuring stabilization in the industry.
Q. Does this registration fee go to CCBill?
No. While CCBill accepts the fee from you, the entire annual registration fee is immediately sent to MasterCard.
Q. How does the implementation of the MasterCard annual fee affect me?
Beyond the annual $500 fee it should not have any effect on your business at all. CCBill has always managed the details of your MasterCard account for you and will continue to do so. This change should be seamless to you as our Merchant and we are working to make it as simple as possible. The only thing you should notice is the deduction of the annual renewal fee from your account on or soon after the implementation date of May 24, 2013.
Q. Why should I pay the fee to you when I can go get a merchant account and process transactions myself?
There are many reasons for your business to continue using CCBill to process your MasterCard transactions, not the least of which is the expertise and inclusive e-commerce services that we provide. CCBill takes care of all of the technical aspects of processing transactions on your site, as well as the day-to-day needs of transaction processing that happens behind the scenes.
It is also important to note that MasterCard is not just charging this fee to merchants who use a Payment Facilitator; they are also charging the fee to merchants with their own merchant accounts. As a CCBill Merchant your fee to register annually is only $500; MasterCard is charging $1,000 annually to stand-alone merchant accounts.
Q. How do I register to accept MasterCard for transactions with CCBill?
New CCBill merchants can complete the Merchant Application process and agree to the MasterCard terms during that process. If you are an existing CCBill merchant and wish to add MasterCard processing to your CCBill account, please contact CCBill Merchant Support.
Q. Who has to register with MasterCard?
A CCBill merchants who accept MasterCard for payment or who wish to add MasterCard as a payment option for their transactions with MasterCard.
Q. Do I have to pay an annual registration fee to accept MasterCard for transactions?
If you are a high-risk merchant you will have to pay a $500 annual fee to MasterCard in order to be able to process MasterCard transactions.
Q. Do I have to pay an annual fee for each URL I own?
No. MasterCard requires the annual registration fee be paid for each Merchant’s account. This single fee will enable you to accept MasterCard for processing on your main account and all of your subaccounts.
Q. When do I have to pay the fee?
You will have to pay the initial $500 annual fee upon initial registration with MasterCard, as well as a $500 renewal fee every year on the anniversary date of your initial registration.
Q. How can I pay the annual registration fee?
When you register with CCBill as a MasterCard Merchant you will be sent an email that will provide you with instructions for payment of your MasterCard Fee. If you are an existing CCBill merchant already accepting MasterCard the fee will be deducted from your account.
Q. Can I pay the fee in installments?
That may be an option for your annual renewal depending upon your sales volume and other factors, but the initial annual fee must be paid in full. Please contact CCBill Merchant Support to determine if you are eligible for this payment method.
Q. I use multiple MasterCard Payment Facilitators to process transactions. If I pay the fee to you, can you notify the other Facilitators that I’ve already paid so I don’t have to pay it again?
Unfortunately MasterCard requires that you pay the fee both separately and annually with each MasterCard Payment Facilitator, and the fees are not transferrable.
Q. Can I pay the annual registration fee directly to MasterCard?
No. MasterCard will only accept the fee from your Payment Facilitator (CCBill).
Q. If I’m already registered with/paying an annual high-risk merchant registration fee for VISA, do I have to register with MasterCard separately?
Yes, MasterCard and VISA are separate entities and both now require separate registration for all merchants and the payment of a separate fee.
Q. I live in the EU and Visa doesn’t make me pay an annual fee, is it the same with MasterCard?
No. MasterCard requires a recurring annual fee for high-risk clients in all regions, even if your business is in the EU, while Visa only requires the fee for users in certain regions.
Q. I’ve activated MasterCard processing with CCBill. Do I have to do anything to register with a bank?
No. CCBill will handle the registration for you.
Q. Can I register to accept MasterCard if I’m outside the US, Canada, and EU?
No. At this time we do not work with any banks outside of the US, Canada, and EU regions.
Q. My business is located outside of the US, Canada, and EU regions and I currently accept MasterCard. How will this affect me?
You will no longer be able to accept MasterCard for payment beginning May 24, 2013. If feasible, relocating your business HQ to one of those covered regions would enable you to begin accepting MasterCard again.
Q. I have a high risk account and I don’t want to pay the fee, how do I opt-out of MasterCard acceptance?
A. Please contact CCBill Merchant Support for assistance with cancelling your MasterCard service.
Q. I forgot to call and cancel my MasterCard subscription prior to the May 24, 2013 implementation date. Can I get my money back?
No. Annual registration fees paid to MasterCard and are non-refundable.
Q. I have elected not to continue accepting MasterCard for payment; do I have to do anything to my payment forms to remove the feature?
No. Once you have opted out of MasterCard acceptance we will remove the MasterCard logo from all of your CCBill payment forms automatically.