R.O. Writer has integrated an electronic payment system from Merchant Partners, an industry leader in internet-based (IP) credit card processing and electronic check processing (ACH) for internet and retail businesses.
The Merchant Partners electronic payment processing system:
- Complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which is a set of requirements designed to ensure that all credit transactions are processed securely.
- Transactions are processed at the payment provider and not locally on your machine. (Transactions processed on the local machine do not comply with the PCI DSS standards.)
- Shop owners are responsible for maintaining compliance with PCI DSS.
- Accepts electronic checks as well as credit and debit cards.
- Includes signature capture for credit cards, estimate authorization, and the final invoice.
Requirements
You must have the following to integrate R.O. Writer and First Mile Middleware:
- A computer with an Internet connection and browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, etc.).
- A merchant account from a payment provider configured for retail transactions.
- A credit card reader and signature capture device.
- You set up and configure all hardware with Merchant Partners not R.O. Writer.
- The Merchant First Mile Middleware software installed and configured.
- You install and configure this software with Merchant Partners and not R.O. Writer.
Chip Cards
The Merchant First Mile Middleware software and the pin pad device support embedded chip cards, which are also known as “EMV” cards. EMV is an abbreviation for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa; it is an open but standard set of specifications for smart card payments and acceptance devices.
These cards have the traditional magnetic strip on the back of the card and an embedded chip on the front of the card. Instead of swiping the card, you insert it into a slot on the pin pad device and leave it there until the transaction is done.
For more information about the EMV standard, click the following link to read about the EMV standards: http://www.emvco.com.
Existing PayPros ePay Users
If you are currently using PayPros ePay, integrating Merchant Partners software does not affect your current system. However, because First Mile is an alternative to PayPros ePay, you cannot use both systems at the same time. Instead, you must choose First Mile or PayPros in R.O. Writer Configuration.
Reporting Differences with First Mile
If you switch to Merchant Partners in the Configuration module, the following items are unavailable in R.O. Writer:
- Batch Settlement Report (Reporting and Accounting modules)
- This step is skipped during End of Day processing.
- ePayment Report (Reporting module)
- In the Accounting Interface, there is no ePayment section on the Credit Cards tab.
NOTE: These reports are associated with PayPros ePay and therefore not relevant if you are using Merchant ePay.
Reporting capabilities are available through the Merchant Partners website:
https://www.onlinemerchantcenter.com/docs/first_mile_middleware.taf.
First Mile is a trademark of Merchant Partners, Inc.
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