Frequently Asked Questions
Who is DTI?
Direct Technology Innovations (DTI), headquartered in Fort Lauderdale,
is the Leader in the Quick Service Restaurant industry with our registered
Swipe N' Go® Program, credit card processing services.
Our Swipe N’ Go® Program allows credit card processing to be
your “fastest way to a sale” with transactions under $25 requiring
NO signature. We help move your customers faster through the checkout.
DTI offers Swipe N’ Go® Technology, Click to Go® Online Ordering,
Mobile Ticketing, Fleet Card Processing, POS System Integration, Contactless
Payment Technology, Pay at the Table Technology, Internet & e-Commerce
payments, Customized Gift and Loyalty Programs, and Interactive Kiosks,
Debit Card Processing, Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), Check21 Verification,
and contactless payments.
What is Swipe N' Go®?
Swipe N' Go® is DTI's exclusive program that speeds up transaction
time at the register while reducing the lines because of less wait time.
Swipe N' Go® allows the merchant to process credit cards without the
need of a customer signature for any purchase under $25. There is also
no liability to the merchant for any transaction under $25.
What is the Jared Fogle Credit Card program?
This program was developed exclusively for Swipe N' Go® and
Subway. DTI offers special promotions and pricing to all Subway franchisees.
For more information about this opportunity please contact
us.
What will DTI do for me?
DTI provides credit card merchant accounts for all business types.
If you have a storefront, service company, or own a internet-based business,
DTI can accommodate your needs by issuing your company a merchant number
to accept all credit card types. We provide credit card terminals, PC
software or provide your company with a "real time secured payment
gateway via the Internet".
Does DTI provide ATM Machines, Debit, and Private
label or Gift Cards?
Yes! DTI is a full service processor providing all the latest
state of the art technology.
How much will this cost me?
DTI will provide your company with a comprehensive quote depending
on your business type, method of card acceptance, and volume as well as
your average sale amount. We will then overnight a package to your location
with applications and instructions on completing the forms and what information
we will need. Within 72 hours, we will issue a merchant number.
How long has DTI been doing business?
DTI has been serving the industry for 7 years.
How does someone sell card services to merchants?
For bankcards, the price of entry is a signed agreement that
authorizes an individual salesperson to act as an agent of an ISO or a
bank that is registered with Visa and/or MasterCard to sell bankcard acquiring
services. The Card Associations consider an ISO to be a member service
provider (MSP) if it employs more than one person. MSPs can hire independent
contractors to sell bankcard services, but those contractors must represent
themselves as working for the MSP, and they must receive all compensation
directly from that MSP. Visa and MasterCard rules forbid subcontracting.
Visa and MasterCard charge the MSP annual fees and fees for the initial
registration process. When portfolios change hands, the Associations require
MSPs to re-register.
View
the ISO and agent registration rules of Visa and MasterCard.
What about American Express
(AmEx) and Discover Financial Services?
AmEx and Discover are non-bank companies. Historically, AmEx
and Discover have issued cards bearing their logos directly to customers.
The companies have limited transactions to credit lines and have processed
all transactions on proprietary networks. In other words, card issuing
and acquiring have been largely proprietary operations. However, recent
changes at both card companies (brought on by court rulings that struck
down Visa and MasterCard rules about bank relationships with AmEx adn
Discover) portend new possibilities for them, including new issuing and
acquiring partnerships with banks.
How do credit and debit cards
differ?
Credit cards provide access to a line of credit. Debit cards
allow access to demand deposit (checking) accounts.
What is card authorization
and how does it differ from transaction processing and settlement?
Card authorization involves a communication between the card-issuing
bank and the merchant-acquiring bank. The communication verifies that
the cardholder has available credit (or funds on deposit, in the case
of online debit) to cover the transaction. The card-issuing bank then
sets aside the funds, and the authorization network issues an authorization
code. Settlement refers to the final accounting during which the card-issuing
and card-acquiring banks post debits and credits to the appropriate accounts.
Processing is a catch-all phrase that refers to the management of payment
flows. Some processing companies handle everything involved with a card
transaction, while others merely move transaction data between different
parties (e.g. card acquirers, card issuers and the clearing and settlement
systems).
What is interchange?
In its simplest form, interchange is a fee that card acquirers
pay each day to card issuers. It is the base fee upon which all other
costs and markups along the transaction chain are added. In other words,
it's the wholesale cost of clearing bankcard payments. The retail price
-- the fee assessed for each card payment accepted by a merchant--includes
interchange plus markups such as processor costs, network fees, fees for
any other entities that touch the transaction, and any markup added by
the MLS. Many call this final price the discount fee because the processor
deducts the amount from the total before the merchant receives payment.
Visa and MasterCard set bankcard interchange. ATM network operators set
and collect the interchange assessments for online debit card payments.
(AmEx and Discover card payments do not carry interchange; instead merchants
pay discount fees to those companies for accepting the cards for payments.)
Interchange fees vary by retail sector (grocers versus department stores
versus Internet stores); type of card (e.g., cards tied to rewards programs
tend to have higher interchange); transaction value (large commercial
versus small consumer purchases); and authorization procedures. Historically,
the reason for interchange has been that the card issuer needs to be compensated
for the risks and costs associated with extending unsecured credit, and
Visa and MasterCard need to be compensated for running payments through
their networks. However, over the years, interchange has become more of
a competitive differentiator. Earlier this year, for example, Visa and
MasterCard announced changes that hiked interchange on payments tied to
reward cards. In doing so, they hope to encourage even more banks to issue
rewards cards, which carry larger average balances than traditional credit
cards.
What is the buy rate?
In its purest sense, the buy rate is the price the merchant-acquiring
bank charges per transaction. It includes interchange plus the fees for
transaction and settlement processors, plus other costs and a profit margin.
ISOs will add a fee to that amount; in effect, they are creating a second-level
buy rate for their salespeople. MLSs then factor in their costs and profit
considerations when quoting final buy rates to merchants. Buy rates can
vary greatly at each of these three stages of pricing. Variations are
based on projected payment volume, stability and size of merchant, and
a plethora of other conditions and circumstances.
Can a retailer add a surcharge
to a purchase made by credit card?
No, Visa and MasterCard rules strictly forbid surcharging. However,
retailers are challenging these prohibitions in the courts, and the rules
might be subject to change at some point in the future.
What is a chargeback?
A chargeback is a reversal of a card payment. Cardholders can
initiate chargebacks for any number of reasons, including when they suspect
fraud or are dissatisfied with the merchandise purchased. Authorization
problems and processing errors can also result in chargebacks. A complex
set of rules and time limits established by the card brands govern chargebacks.
Failure to comply with the rules can be costly to both merchants and acquirers.
How do online and offline debit
cards differ?
Cardholders can use either an offline or online debit card to
initiate a debit against their demand deposit (checking) account. However,
there are differences in the way the transactions are authorized, settled
and priced. Similar to making a credit card payment, a cardholder signature
authorizes an offline debit card transaction. Offline debit transactions
settle through the Visa and MasterCard networks. Cardholders authorize
online debit card transactions using their PINs. Online debit transactions
clear through the ATM network structure (think STAR or NYCE). Merchants
like online debit because the interchange fee is less than the fee for
offline debit, which tracks credit card interchange pricing. To accept
online debit cards, merchants need PIN pads. Both factors create sales
opportunities for the MLS.
How does terminal leasing work?
Leasing is a three-party agreement involving the merchant, the
MLS and a leasing company. The leasing company agrees to pay the MLS (either
directly or through the acquirer) an upfront amount when the MLS installs
its POS equipment at a merchant checkout. The amount paid covers the cost
of the equipment, installation fees and sales commissions. The merchant
signs a contract agreeing to make monthly payments to the leasing company
over a period of time (a year, two years, etc.). One advantage for merchants
is making smaller, monthly payments for the POS equipment instead of paying
a large, lump sum. The MLS benefits from the immediacy of the commission
collection process. Also, because merchants spread out payments, it might
be easier for the MLS to steer them toward more sophisticated products
(and higher commissions).
What are prepaid cards?
Prepaid cards are special purpose debit cards. These cards are
loaded with value from a master account (e.g., a company's payroll account)
and cardholders can use them at ATMs and POS terminals accepting those
card brands. Prepaid cards often look like Visa- and MasterCard-branded
bank cards, but this is not a prerequisite. For example, phone cards are
examples of prepaid cards, albeit with limited functionality. Prepaid
cards can function as payroll cards, gift cards and reward cards; companies
even market them for use in doling kids' allowances. Prepaid cards of
all varieties are gaining significant traction at the POS. Why? Merchants
like them. This summer, First Data Corp. reported that companies with
customer incentive programs offer gift cards "most often". Mercator
Advisory Group, a research firm focused on the payments industry, predicts
that by 2008 retailer gift cards will be used for $97.6 billion in transactions.
The company predicts that payroll cards will be the largest category of
prepaid cards in 2008 and will be used for payments worth an estimated
$109.1 billion.
What is EBT?
EBT is an acronym for electronic benefits transfer. Beneficiaries
of certain state and federal financial aid programs receive debit cards
instead of food stamp vouchers and checks. The debit card functions in
a way similar to bank-issued online debit cards. In some cases, the cards
even bear the logos of MasterCard or Visa and the issuing banks. Generally,
a state or federal funding agency loads cards with value once a month;
the cards are tied to pooled master accounts managed by the agency and
its bank partners. Over the years, as electronic payment networks have
grown, state and federal government agencies have found that piggy-backing
benefit distribution programs on these networks not only saved money and
thwarted benefits fraud, but also helped push people without bank accounts
to join the ranks of the banking public. In some regions of the country,
EBT has evolved into a public-private enterprise. Some jurisdictions,
for example, distribute court-ordered payment (such as child support)
using preloaded debit cards. Also, as more paper transactions move to
EFT networks, network economies of scale improve. Something of particular
interest to ISOs/MLSs: EBT cards create more reasons for merchants to
install PIN pads.
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