The 13 Most Frequently Asked Questions about the Virtual Merchant
The Virtual
Merchant and the GenieCard
Welcome
to the world of Electronic Banking and Commerce. The Virtual Merchant and the
GenieCard have been combined to become your passport into a whole new era of
doing business on the telephone and on the World Wide Web.
In
the next few pages, we will tell you about these two cutting edge business
tools – What they are, how they work and how to use them. Hopefully, we can
answer all of your questions in this simple Q&A format.
1. What is
the Virtual Merchant?
The
Virtual Merchant is a tool you use to accept electronic payment for your goods
and services, whether you are selling lots of items all the time, a few items
occasionally, or just the odd ones-and-twos every now and then.
2. How does
the Virtual Merchant work?
By calling the Virtual Merchant
from any touch tone telephone, you OR your customer can enter all the necessary
information to place an order for your product or your services, and make
electronic payment on the spot. The payment information is verified instantly,
while you or your customer is still on the line, and the order information is
electronically forwarded where you need to send it for fulfilling the order.
There
is absolutely no special equipment needed, and no advance setup required. The
service is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from any touch-tone
phone anywhere in the world.
3. Who can use the Virtual Merchant?
Anyone can use the Virtual
Merchant, no matter how large or how small their business or selling needs. The
Virtual Merchant is right at home selling home care products, personal
services, major appliances, or processing contributions for civic, political,
charitable or religious organizations – whoever needs to accept electronic
payments for anything.
4. How do I
access the Virtual Merchant?
Simply
call your regular Universal Office number. When Genie answers, press the POUND
key (#) on your touch-tone telephone, and you’re in. Genie will begin the
transaction process by asking you for the whole-dollar amount of the purchase.
From there, Genie will walk you through each step of the transaction, including
buyer’s name, description of the purchase, shipping address, method of payment,
etc.
Because
there is no special equipment needed, you can use the service from anywhere you
are, whenever you need. Whether making the charge from your office over your
standard telephone or from the floor of a trade-show over your cell-phone, the
experience and service are exactly the same.
5. How does
my customer access the Virtual Merchant?
Your
customer accesses the Virtual Merchant in exactly the same way that you would
do so. They simply call your
Universal Office number from any touch-tone telephone, and press the POUND key
(#) when Genie answers. There is no difference in what you would hear and what
your customer will hear when placing a Virtual Merchant order.
And
just as it is for you, so it is for your customer: It makes NO difference where
they are calling from, whether it’s a cell-phone on the freeway or a standard
desk phone at their home.
6. Which
cards does the Virtual Merchant accept?
The
Virtual Merchant can process several forms of payment. Currently, the Virtual
Merchant accepts Visa and MasterCard charge cards, as well as payments from a
GenieCard or a Genie-to-Genie Money transfer from another Universal Office account.
7. Where does
the information go?
Before
the call is ended, the payment information is verified and recorded. Charge
card information is verified against the cardholder’s credit card issuer, while
GenieCard or Universal Office
transfers are checked against the user’s GenieCard information. As soon as that
happens, the recorded information about the transaction (caller’s name,
address, product ordered, etc.), along with the financial information, is
stored in your Universal Office as a regular message. You can then forward that
information to any other Universal Office, or to any email address you wish.
Genie can even do the email forwarding automatically if you wish, using up to
three email addresses.
If
you are a larger organization, using your Universal Office primarily for the
Virtual Merchant function, you can use the email forwarding to automate the
entire order handling process. For example, you might forward the transaction
record to the Sales office for storage with the customer records, to the
Accounting office for the financial data, and to your Shipping clerk for order
fulfillment.
For
smaller businesses, with occasional sales, it is probably better to forward
these messages to a single email address for distribution by hand, especially
if you use your Universal Office for routine business or personal messages as
well. (No need to advise the shipping clerk of your social calendar.)
No
matter what size your organization, though, this sales record with its attached
recordings is ideal for your “third party verification record”, proving that
the sale was real. In fact, you should always store these records for a safe
period of at least 120 days, to deal with any complaints or other problems.
8. What will
my customer see?
Your
customer will see a transaction on their next credit card statement, for
whatever amount was charged. The “merchant” will show on their statement as EasyTel Virtual POS (“POS” stands for “Point of
Sale”)
Your
customer will NOT see your name or your business name on their statement, so
you should be sure to tell them what to expect in your sales literature,
recorded messages, or when you speak to them.
9. How much
does the Virtual Merchant cost?
The Virtual Merchant costs nothing to setup and there is no monthly
fee – just click
on the link below to request your Virtual Merchant Account.
Once
the account is set up, you can call your Universal Office, press the POUND key
(#) and start using your new Virtual Merchant. You pay only transaction costs
when you actually USE the service. There is a 50-cent basic transaction fee and
a 5% discount fee, (which includes the credit card processing fees to Visa and
MasterCard). For example, if you sell an item or service for $100, the fees
would come to $5.50: 50-cent basic transaction fee plus $5 discount fee.
Activate your Virtual Merchant Account and receive your GenieCard
10. What
about Chargebacks?
Chargebacks
are what happens when a customer objects to a particular transaction (or
sometimes just changes their mind) and tells their credit card issuer to reject
a charge on their card. For example, a child might get hold of his father’s
credit card and order a product from you. Or the product you shipped is lost in
the mail and never arrives. In such cases, the credit card holder might contact
their card issuer and dispute the charges. The card issuer then issues a
“chargeback”, which essentially reverses the credit to your account.
First, it is important to understand that YOU are responsible for all
chargebacks to your account. Because the sale of your product or service is between
you and the customer, it is up to you to resolve any disputes. This is at least
part of the reason why it is important for you to SAVE your transaction
records, with the attached recordings. That might well be just what you need to
prove to the credit card issuer that it really WAS a valid purchase.
Second,
we help protect you against chargebacks by requiring that you maintain a safety
reserve in your Virtual Merchant account, with a $100 “balance” or 20% of your
monthly sales limit, whichever is higher, as the minimum. Any amount OVER the
reserve can be issued to you for whatever distribution you wish, but the
reserve protects both you and us against the occasional chargeback. Most
chargebacks are processed within 120 days (except in cases of fraud), so the
reserve can be released after 120 days after you stop using your Virtual
merchant.
If
there ARE chargebacks to your Virtual Merchant account, we will deduct the
amount of the chargeback from your account, along with a $25 handling charge.
If there is not enough in your Virtual Merchant account to cover the chargeback
and fee, the account will remain negative until future charges are processed.
If you cancel a Virtual Merchant account that is in the negative, we will
process a charge against your current credit card for the balance, before
turning off your Virtual Merchant.
The
chargeback reserve structure is based on an average of up to $500 per month in
credit activity. If your foresee having more than $500 per month in
transactions, please contact customer service to arrange for a higher line of
credit. They will be happy to explain the details of reserves and fees for
high-volume accounts.
11. How do I
collect my money?
You can access the money you make
with the Virtual Merchant by transferring it to your GenieCard. Processing the
credit charges takes three days to complete. Transferring is very simple, and
can be done any time you wish, after the three-day window, from any touch-tone
phone. Just call your Universal Office and sign in as if you were collecting
your messages. Then press 7 to access the GenieCard Financial Services menu.
From there, press 2 to access your Virtual Merchant account and follow the
simple prompts. Any amount can be transferred, as long as you leave the
required reserve balance in the Virtual Merchant account ($100, by default. See
“What about Chargebacks?” above.)
That
money is instantly ready for you to use, whether by drawing cash from an ATM or
using your GenieCard anywhere ATM cards are accepted.
You
can also use the money in your Virtual Merchant account to pay for your
Universal Office services (like extra calling time or that big phone
conference) if you wish. Just transfer money from the Virtual Merchant to your
Genie account instead of to the GenieCard, and you’re ready to go! It's all
done the same way!
12. How do I get a
GenieCard?
A
GenieCard comes with your Virtual Merchant Account. Click on the link below to
request your Virtual Merchant and GenieCard.
When
you begin the process, you will be asked a series of five questions. These will
cover some personal information that only YOU would know, but which is not
usually used by financial institutions. We’ll use this information to verify
your identity when you come back to the web site later for reports, or to make
changes.
Once
your order is complete, your new GenieCard will be rushed to you in the mail.
There is no charge for the GenieCard, if you are a Virtual Merchant customer.
Activate your
Virtual Merchant Account and receive your GenieCard
13. Where can
I use my GenieCard?
Your
card is good anywhere an ATM card is accepted, whether for cash withdrawals at
an ATM, or making purchases anywhere ATM cards are accepted.
The
GenieCard works at any ATM with the following logos.
Activate
your Virtual Merchant Account and receive your Genie ATM Card
See the 15 Reasons Why You Need a GenieCard for
Financial Services
See the 15 Reasons Why You Need a GenieCard for
Calling Services
The GenieCard is issued by MetaBank. Use of the card is governed by the
terms in your Cardholder Agreement.
GenieCard Cardholders
Agreement