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1. What is an IPSP? |
| Visa has created a new
category of service provider, under which CCBill EU now falls,
that is considered to be a “High Risk” Internet
Payment Service Provider or IPSP. An IPSP is an online
entity that enters into a contract with an Acquirer (Merchant
Bank) to shoulder financial responsibility and liability
for “high risk” merchant accounts, by which
registered sponsored merchants (website owners) are allowed
to process and settle Internet transactions.
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2. What type of Sponsored Merchant Websites fall into VISA’s
“high risk” IPSP Category
for processing? |
VISA considers any website
selling downloadable, digital merchandise and/or services
or those falling within Merchant Category Code 5967, to
fall within the “high risk” category.
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3. How do I register with CCBill EU to become a VISA USA Sponsored
Merchant? |
In order for CCBill EU
to register you as one of our VISA Sponsored Merchants,
you must:
- Complete the VISA Sponsored Merchant Application,
which requires you to provide pertinent information
regarding your business.
- Pay an Initial Registration Fee of $750
Upon receipt and review of both of the above, CCBill EU
will submit your application to VISA on your behalf. VISA
generally takes between 7-21 business days upon receipt
of the application and fee to process your registration
information and provide CCBill EU with their decision.
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4. In the statement "IPSP's can only register sponsored
merchants in the country where
the sponsored merchant has a presence". What defines
Presence? |
For entities that provide
only digital goods, presence is defined as the specific
business location where the principals of the business
work.
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5. What are the current VISA regions according to Acquiring
Banks and which countries
fall within each of these regions. |
The current VISA regions
are categorized as follows: Asia Pacific, Canada, Carribean
& Latin America, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle
East & Africa (CEMEA), European Union and US. Click
here to see a list of countries that fall within each
VISA region.
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6. What does VISA USA mean when they state that an IPSP
can only register Sponsored
Merchants in the Country where the Sponsored Merchant has
a presence?
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Under the new VISA USA
regulations, an IPSP will only be permitted to register
Sponsored Merchants for processing if the Sponsored Merchant
has their corporation based in the same Country as the
IPSP’s Acquiring Bank for VISA transactions. i.e.
CCBill currently has a banking relationship with an acquirer
for VISA USA, and thus can handle high risk processing
for any Sponsored Merchant based in the US.
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7. Will Sponsored Merchants be required to register and
pay the initial $750.00 fee
to EACH IPSP that processes for their Company?
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Yes, Sponsored Merchants
will be required to both register and pay the up front
registration and annual fees to each IPSP they choose
to have handle their processing.
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8. Under the new regulations, IPSP’s are required
to provide VISA with each Sponsored Merchant’s monthly
sales, chargeback and credit data for each of the Sponsored
Merchant’s billing URL’s.
After review of this information by VISA, the Sponsored
Merchants who are out of compliance on chargeback ratios
may be terminated at the discretion of VISA. What are VISA’s
ratio’s and have they changed? |
VISA’s ratios for
MCC5967 are as follows:
1% for Total Consumer Generated Transactions (domestic
& international combined)
2.5% for International Consumer Generated Transactions
These ratios have been in effect for some time now, and
each IPSP is responsible for its Portfolio’s compliance
to these governing ratios. It is the responsibility of
each VISA IPSP’s and Sponsored Merchant to remain
compliant with these rules and help protect the VISA brand.
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9. Why wouldn’t it be more cost effective for a Webmaster
to go out and get their own Merchant Account instead of
continuing to use a Third Party Processor IPSP like CCBill EU
for their VISA transactions? |
“High Risk”
merchant accounts are extremely expensive, and require
a large amount of maintenance and support. The initial
fees associated with opening a “High Risk”
merchant account could surely meet, if not surpass VISA’s
IPSP registration fee for Sponsored Merchants. In addition,
owning and maintaining one’s own “high risk”
merchant account can put added financial and operational
strain on an online Company by requiring them to make
major investments in Customer Support, Fraud Prevention
and Automated Reporting.
In addition, once a “High Risk”
merchant account is created, its owner and its operating
URL’s are on VISA’s monitoring. If that same
“High Risk” account is closed there after,
the account’s owner and/or its operating URL’s
will no longer be afforded the future opportunity to register
within the umbrella of an IPSP portfolio.
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10. If I choose not become a VISA USA Sponsored Merchant,
can I still process through CCBill.com for other Credit
Cards and Online Checks?
In other words, can I turn my VISA processing off, and still
accept other forms of payment? |
Yes, CCBill EU will
continue to offer you the option of transaction processing
with the following Credit Cards: MasterCard, Discover
or JCB; and/or Online Checks, at no additional cost to
your Website Business. However, after careful review,
a strong percentage of transactions are currently processed
for consumer clients utilizing the VISA system, and you
should expect to see a transaction volume and revenue
drop if you choose not to offer VISA processing for your
Websites. |
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