Page 20 - GBC Summer ENG flipbook 2024

SMART QUESTIONS TO ASK
A key area to cover with your current GMS provider, or prospective ones if you are shopping for a new system, is merchant processing. Here are some questions to ask, courtesy of Kevin McDonnell of Claymore Payments Consulting:
• Does your GMS integrate the payment software with multiple merchant banks and/or bank card processors?
• If yes, does the GMS have a financial relationship with all of the processors with whom they have software integrations?
•Does the GMS software integrate into a payments gateway, enabling the merchant to choose the bank card processor? What is the monthly cost to access the third-party gateway, and is there a per-transaction fee to utilize the gateway
• Does your GMS have a proprietary relationship with a single merchant bank or a single bank card processor?
• If yes, do the term lengths of the software contract and the merchant processing contract coincide?
•Does termination of the software contract terminate the processing contract as well?
• Are there any breakup fees associated with the merchant processing contract?
Breakup fees can be steep, ranging from $400 to a fixed percentage of potential fees remaining on the contract.
• Does the GMS customer service have access to the bank card processing platform in “real-time” to diagnose and resolve bankcard transaction difficulties in a single call without opening a trouble ticket and transferring the call for resolution?
• Does the merchant bank assess a PCI non-compliance fee, and if so, does the GMS assist the merchant with completing the Self-Assessment Questionaire (SAQ) to avoid the monthly PCI non-compliance fee?
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•In general, it is difficult for a merchant to complete an SAQ on their own. There are 6-10 highly technical questions that require significant input from the GSM to complete accurately.
•Does the PoS system consider itself in-scope concerning PCI compliance?
• It’s not uncommon for the GMS integration to cause the merchant to fail their PCI scan, which activates a PCI non-compliance fee. In those cases, we believe the GMS should be paying or waiving the monthly PCI non-compliance fees.
• Does your GMS provide daily reporting of bankcard receipts that “match up” with the reports generated by your banking and processing partners?
• Does your GMS provide daily reports of bank card receipts with time parameters that the merchant can adjust in a dashboard?
• Can the merchant ‘lock-in’ pricing for the contract term, or does the processor have the leeway in the contract to adjust pricing when it deems necessary?
• Does the merchant bank or bankcard processor have to inform the merchant of pending rate increases, and does the merchant have the option to opt out of the contract without penalty if it doesn’t accept the rate increases?
BE PROACTIVE
Don’t be shy. It’s your business. Asking these and other questions is the only way to make an informed decision. Bank card transaction fees are a significant expense that affects your bottom line. Whether you are shopping for a new system or keeping what you have, the answers you get will help you make better decisions on your bank card processing partnership.
Golf Business Canada
Here are links to online resources referencing the Canadian payment industry:
• https://www.payments.ca/canada-reaches-117-trillion-payment-transactions-2022-seven-cent-value-2021#:~:text=Credit%20
cards%20represent%2033%20per,all%20at%20two%20per%20cent
• Code of Conduct for the Canadian Credit and Debit Card Industry:
https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/industry/laws-regulations/credit-debit-code-conduct.html
• Credit Card Surcharging in Canada: https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/credit-card-surcharging
20 Golf Business Canada