Manual Transactions Update
In February of 2019, CHS Payment Solutions published an article outlining best practices for processing credit cards manually. As merchants continue to invest in EMV-compliant Point of Sale (POS) equipment and software, it is more important than ever to ensure you are protecting your investment by communicating credit card processing expectations with employees.
Historically, if an embossed card could not be run through a credit card machine, merchants would utilize a credit card imprinter to capture credit card information for manual entry.
CHS Payment Solutions previously partnered with a vendor that provided imprinter plates, imprinters and sales drafts/credit slips to merchants. Recently, that vendor has discontinued all imprinter related items due to diminishing business needs. As a result, CHS Payment Solutions is no longer able to order those supplies on behalf of merchants. The diminishing business need is related to many EMV card issuers no longer embossing credit cards, making credit card imprinters ineffective.
If a customer is paying by card but the EMV chip entry method and the fallback entry method (swiping the magnetic strip) fail, the merchant should ask for another form of payment from the customer. Merchants are not required to process manual credit card transactions as a back-up. If a credit card is processed manually and later disputed, the merchant will be liable with no option to dispute a chargeback. Even if a merchant has EMV-capable POS equipment, if a card is manually run, the merchant has not complied with EMV procedures and is liable for any chargebacks. If the chip and magnetic stripe on a card do not work, there is a high likelihood the credit card is fraudulent. While the card brands offer additional ways to accept the card, if disputed, the liability lies directly with the merchant.
The card brand rules can be located on MyCHS > Business Services > Payment Solutions under Operating Regulations. If you have any questions, please contact Payment Solutions at 800-852-5301.
