Merchant Services
University Units may act as merchants; however, Treasury Services approves and coordinates all University credit card merchant services. The University accepts the following payment card brands:
- Visa
- MasterCard
- American Express
- Discover
No other credit cards are authorized for acceptance by university units.
BYU is committed to following all industry regulations, including Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standards for all credit card transactions. If university units contract with third-party vendors, the third-party vendors must comply with all industry regulations. Before contract signing under the direction of the University Purchasing Office, University Legal Counsel reviews and approves all credit card-related contracts.
As part of university unit due diligence in taking credit card payments, the university unit must consider the following:
- Do you have a merchant number to process credit card payments?
- If a third-party vendor is involved, is the third-party PCI compliant?
- What fee will be charged to process credit cards?
- How is the credit card payment authorized and settled?
- How does the university unit receive payment?
- When, how, and how often will payments be recorded to the general ledger?
- What is the reconciliation process to ensure all payments are accounted for from the time of receipt until accepted by the bank and journalized to the general ledger?
- Is BYU contractually protected against theft of sensitive credit card data, and are all systems PCI compliant?
- Will sensitive credit card data be collected, processed, and/or stored on BYU hardware?
- Will point-of-sale or proxy payments be processed by a BYU employee or on a BYU computer?
Understanding Chargebacks
Customers initiate chargebacks through their financial institution to reverse a credit card transaction. Chargebacks can be for various reasons, including unauthorized transactions, goods not received, or dissatisfaction with the product or service. To minimize chargebacks, merchants should have a refund policy clearly stating when a customer can request a refund for products or services. If a chargeback occurs, merchants need to respond and provide relevant documentation. BYU Treasury Services can assist merchants with guidance and support for chargeback-related matters.
Contacts
Kim Stringham
801-422-1292