Posted by LKT/CA on 8/22/12 8:06pm
Msg #431534

Intuit or Square - Important FYI

Just a heads up....I use Intuit and was at a GNW appt last week - knew ahead of time client wanted to pay with credit card. Client flew in from Canada to handle paperwork for aunt here in CA. When I left for the appt, my phone was completely charged, used the navigation for a short period. Completed the 8 notarizations, went to charge the credit card and saw the battery was in the yellow zone. Don't know how that happened as I used the navigation app the last 10 minutes of the drive (total drive time was 40 mins.)

I do not have email synced to phone and run the minimal apps I can get away with - but I digress. Hubby rode with me and I called him to bring car to us (parked down the street) and connect phone to car charger so I could charge the card.

But that's not the real issue. The real issue was when I had to enter the client's zip code. The site would not take a zip that includes letters, like Canadian zips. As we all know, when we use our debit cards at the gas pump, it asks for a zip code and if it's not the zip on record for that card the sale is declined. Called Intuit and did get a live person (whew!) and she said enter my own zip...the site only takes US zip codes.

Not sure if Square works the same but those of you using Intuit, for non-US customers, where the site asks for a zip code, use your own US zip code. And have a wall or car charger with you at ALL times - as I said, my phone was fully charged (so I thought) when I left for the appt.

Reply by jba/fl on 8/22/12 8:12pm
Msg #431535

I use square - did not have to use zip codes the few times I've used it. But, I will remember this. Thanks for the info, Lisa, others will remember now that do use Intuit.

Reply by LKT/CA on 8/22/12 8:19pm
Msg #431537

Forgot to mention, I was having problems with the credit card reader that day, so I just entered the info manually. When I swipe the card with the card reader, I don't think I put in the zip.

Was ssoooo glad a human answered the phone when I called merchant services.

Reply by jba/fl on 8/22/12 8:21pm
Msg #431541

Oh, I bet. Big sigh! n/m

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/22/12 8:19pm
Msg #431536

Interesting..."As we all know, when we use our debit cards at the gas pump, it asks for a zip code and if it's not the zip on record for that card the sale is declined."

I've never been asked for my zip code - I'm asked for my PIN, that's it. Maybe a CA thing?

Thanks for this info though. I'm still trying to decide which one is better, Square, Intuit, PayPal, etc. Will get one as soon as I set up a separate dedicated bank account for it - I want it separate from our household account.

Thanks again Lisa.

Reply by LKT/CA on 8/22/12 8:26pm
Msg #431545

Specifically at gas stations, when I use my debit card as a debit card, I enter my pin, but if I use my debit card as credit card it asks for a zip code. Sometimes the bank has those promotions where when you use your debit card as a credit card (anywhere), you could get that charge for free. I did win one of those over a year ago...saw a credit on my statement for a twenty something dollars and change purchase.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/22/12 9:14pm
Msg #431577

I never use debit cards, just credit cards. At some gas stations, I've been asked for a zip code - but not at Costco, where I usually gas up.

Reply by sueharke on 8/23/12 1:39am
Msg #431610

When using a credit card or debit card at a gas station it is recommended that you pay inside, not at the pump. Fake card readers are sometimes placed by thieves to get pin number on debit cards.

Reply by Gregory/CA on 8/22/12 8:53pm
Msg #431566

I use Square. It's simple and no monthly fee's involved. Just a transaction fee for each swipe. Other services I checked into wanted a monthly maintenance fee on top of transaction fee's.

Reply by GaryT/CA on 8/22/12 9:28pm
Msg #431581

It is illegal to request Zip Codes for CC purchases in CA

The California Supreme Court in the case of Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma declared it unlawful to demand ZIP Code information for credit card transactions. Following is from 3D Merchant Services and is reporting, not legal advice.

"California rules merchants asking for zip code violates privacy

In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme  Court prohibits retail stores in California from asking customers to provide a ZIP code when making a purchase, holding that holding that ZIP codes are “personal identification information” for the purposes of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act. Retail store cashiers routinely asking, “May I have your zip code please?”, is about to disappear.

Here is an extract of the Song-Beverly Act of 1971

1747.8. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), no person, firm,
partnership, association, or corporation which accepts credit cards
for the transaction of business shall do either of the following:
(1) Request, or require as a condition to accepting the credit
card as payment in full or in part for goods or services, the
cardholder to write any personal identification information upon the
credit card transaction form or otherwise.
Statutory penalties are up to $250 for the first violation and $1,000 for each subsequent violation.

RAMIFICATIONS:

California is short on cash. Enforcing this ruling could bring in big money for the state. Why risk fines? I recommend merchants inform cashiers not to ask the question, and post a bulletin in the “break room” as a reminder. Note, the ruling applies to card present transactions only.

Additionally, if the point of sale system prompts for zip code, whether optional or required,  update the system to remove the prompt. With an estimated 1.5 million merchants in California and 15 minutes to download a terminal update, there is the potential for merchants to experience delays in updating their systems.

RECOMMENDATIONS

For a dial up terminal, call your payment processor, ask to remove the zip code prompt from the program file, and then perform a partial download which will update the terminal.
For POS systems, contact your software provider.
For merchants using our host-based technology solution, please review your merchant settings. The zip code prompt is manageable at the administrative user level for all merchant accounts. This setting will not affect interchange qualification due to our back-end technology for least cost routing.
If you can’t instantly update what happens at your POS, contact us immediately to find out more about how we can help you avoid these situations in the future.
NOTABLE:

This ruling is yet another situation driving the need for merchants to have host-based payment processing technology. Updates are instant across local, regional and entire merchant operations instead of downloads to individual terminals."

Reply by GaryT/CA on 8/22/12 9:29pm
Msg #431582

Gas pump purchases are specifically exempted n/m

Reply by ToniK on 8/22/12 10:00pm
Msg #431588

I use Intuit gopayments. Never had to input zipcodes n/m

Reply by Jered Morgan on 8/22/12 10:36pm
Msg #431596

Never encountered it, but on the gas station pumps it usually says 'if this card is international, enter 00000', you may want to try that if you run into that issue again. On square it doesn't ask for zip when swiped, not sure about manual entry though. If you get in a jam, you can set up a business account on paypal and accept credit card via that as well.

Reply by SheilaSJCA on 8/23/12 12:39am
Msg #431607

I use Intuit, and the only time you enter a zip code (the billing address zip code that is) , is if you put in a credit card transaction manually. It is part of verifying the card holder is the card holder. I am surprised that it took Lisa's zip code,as it obviously is not the same as the card holders billing zip.
It is not for marketing as other zip code requests can be.
Intuit does not charge monthly fees unless your volume is above a certain amount per month. I only use mine a couple of times a week, so I have no worries that I will exceed what they consider a small business threshold, which I think is over $1000 in charges a month.

Reply by Jered Morgan on 8/23/12 8:51am
Msg #431626

I'm way to familiar with AVS as we use it on my merchant account as well as the other company I do tech support for. However, an AVS match is not always required for the card to approve, the merchant can set rules on if the card will decline or not based on a number of factors, I bet intuit has a similar fraud scoring system. If intuit is like square where it gets your GPS, it's possible b/c the GPS location and ip location were in the same zip code and the last 3 on the card matched, depending on the amount of the transaction, intuit may have been willing to take the risk on the zip code mismatch. Since it is an international card, the AVS code probably returns a "U" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_Verification_System)

If they get a "U" code, which means it can't be verified, intuit may just take your word at the zip code. This is why I suggested the 00000 as that is what the gas stations ask for to deal with the situation.