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General Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If you have a question that is not covered in these FAQs, please contact us. If you are an existing Practice Pay Solutions customer, please visit our Support page.
MERCHANT ACCOUNTS & PAYMENT PROCESSING
What is a merchant account?
What is a payment gateway?
What is a discount rate?
What type of equipment do I need to process credit cards with Practice Pay Solutions?
How do I apply for a merchant account?
My credit history isn't perfect. Can I still get approved for a merchant account?
How long does account set-up and approval take?
Do I need to have a U.S. bank account?
I live and work outside North America. What options are available for me?
What credit cards will I be able to accept with my merchant account?
Will I be able to accept credit cards issued in countries other than my own?
How long does it take for processed transactions to be credited to my bank account?
How is Practice Pay Solutions different from other payment processing services?
I know someone whose discount rate is only 1.65%. Why isn't your rate that low?
What kind of technical support is available?
How secure are transactions processed by Practice Pay Solutions?
How do I know when I'm ready to begin accepting credit cards?
May I accept credit cards for any type of products and services?
How do I download settled transactions into QuickBooks?
E-COMMERCE & SHOPPING CARTS
I would like to sell products and services on my web site. How do I get started?
What shopping cart system should I use?
How do I integrate my web site with the Practice Pay Solutions payment gateway?
MERCHANT ACCOUNTS & PAYMENT PROCESSING
What is a merchant account?
A merchant account is a special bank account that enables your business to accept payments by credit card. Credit card payments can only be processed through a merchant account -- either your own account or a third party processor, such as PayPal.
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What is a payment gateway?
A payment gateway is an Internet-based application that integrates with a merchant account for the purpose of transmitting credit card transaction data for authorization and settlement purposes. It's used to validate a customer's credit card and available balance in real time before a transaction is accepted. The gateway application collects accepted transactions and once per day forwards them to your merchant account bank for settlement.
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What is a discount rate?
The discount rate, also called the processing rate or processing fee, is the percentage of each credit card transaction that you pay to the processing bank. Depending on your account, the fee may be deducted from each transaction before the funds are deposited into your checking account, or debited from your account as a lump sum at the end of each processing month.
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What type of equipment do I need to process credit card transactions with Practice Pay Solutions?
All you need is a computer with an Internet connection to use your Virtual Terminal. If you accept credit cards in person at your place of business or occasional events, you may also purchase an imprinter or terminal from us, but it is not required.
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How do I apply for a merchant account?
You can apply online for a U.S. account or Canadian account, or contact us to apply by phone.
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My credit history isn't perfect. Can I still get approved for a merchant account?
Practice Pay Solutions has one of the highest approval rates in the industry. As long as you are not in active bankruptcy, you may be able to qualify for a merchant account. If your application is declined for any reason, we will refund your set-up fee. An application co-signer may be needed in certain situations.
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How long does account set-up and approval take?
Once we receive your application, your account will be activated for Visa® and MasterCard® within 3-4 business days, and for American Express® or Discover® within 5-7 business days.
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Do I need to have a U.S. bank account?
If you are a U.S. resident, yes. If you are a Canadian resident, a Canadian bank account is required.
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I live and work outside North America. What options are available for me?
We currently offer merchant accounts only for U.S. and Canadian residents. However, if you sign up for our shopping cart, you can accept payments online through PayPal.
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What credit cards will I be able to accept with my merchant account?
You will be able to accept Visa® and MasterCard®, and if you apply for them, also American Express® and Discover®. You will also be able to accept debit cards with the Visa® or MasterCard® logo.
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Will I be able to accept credit cards issued in countries other than my own?
Yes. There is a nominal foreign currency surcharge added by the processing bank to complete these transactions. The funds will be converted to your local currency at the currently applicable conversion rate.
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How long does it take for processed transactions to be credited to my bank account?
The processed amount, less any applicable processing fee, is credited to your bank account within 2-3 business days for Visa® and MasterCard®, and 3-4 business days for American Express® and Discover®.
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How is Practice Pay Solutions different from other payment processing services?
We offer you access to some of the lowest rates and fees for merchant account services in North America. Our web-based Virtual Terminal and cutting-edge processing systems provide our clients with the most functional, easy-to-use, and cost-effective payment processing solutions in the marketplace today.
Our partnerships with dozens of professional associations allow us to provide association members with discounted rates and the reliability of a service endorsed by the association’s management and your professional peers.
Practice Pay Solutions does much more than sell you individual tools for accepting credit cards and doing business online. We have brought together a scalable suite of payment processing, e-commerce, and web services solutions, carefully customized for the professional communities we serve. We provide everything your enterprise needs for success under one roof, and with our comprehensive education and consulting services, we support you from start to finish in implementing all the tools we sell.
We build our business based on referrals and education, rather than telemarketing, spam, or other intrusive sales techniques. Our primary focus is on service; not sales.
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I know someone whose discount rate is only 1.65%. Why isn't your rate that low?
This rate is for merchants who can physically swipe customer credit cards through a terminal for more than 90% of their transactions. With our service, no terminal is required, and you process transactions through your Virtual Terminal or an online shopping cart. Many of the professionals with whom we do business accept credit cards from their clients exclusively over the phone or online. Others, who see their clients in person, enjoy the convenience of not requiring a credit card to be physically present at the time of service. This enables you to process recurring payments based on a one-time authorization from your client.
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What kind of technical support is available?
Free technical support is available for our merchant accounts, in some cases 24 hours per day. You can get personal assistance by phone, email, or live chat, and we have extensive support materials available online.
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How secure are transactions processed by Practice Pay Solutions?
Authorize.net, our payment gateway partner, uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt sensitive personal information, including credit card numbers. Over 140,000 satisfied customers nationwide use this platform daily. If you accept payments online, you can increase transaction security by adding Authorize.net’s Fraud Protection Suite, which we provide to you with no set-up fee and at our cost.
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How do I know when I'm ready to begin accepting credit cards?
Some business owners open a merchant account as soon as they start their business or private practice. Accepting credit cards makes it possible for more potential clients to work with you and boosts your professional image. You can collect payment immediately from clients around the world, and remove barriers to doing business with you. If you prefer to wait until you have a few paying clients before beginning to accept credit cards, consider opening a merchant account once you are regularly accepting client payments totaling $1000 per month or more.
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May I accept credit cards for any type of products and services?
In most cases, yes. View our list of merchants requiring pre-approval for U.S. accounts or Canadian accounts. If your product or service doesn’t appear on this list, you are qualified to apply for a merchant account. If you do offer one of the products or services listed, please contact us for pre-approval before applying online.
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E-COMMERCE & SHOPPING CARTS
I would like to sell products and services on my web site. How do I get started?
To accept payment for products and services online, your best choice is to use a shopping cart system and credit card merchant account together. Practice Pay Solutions offers a shopping cart system that seamlessly integrates with our merchant account, and can be used on any web site. If you aren’t ready to apply for a merchant account, you can use our shopping cart with PayPal to accept payments online.
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What shopping cart system should I use?
The shopping cart system we recommend is Professional Cart Solutions. This is a 7-in-1 e-commerce system that combines an online shopping cart with email marketing tools, a contact management system, automated recurring billing, and affiliate program management. It integrates seamlessly with our merchant account and any web site.
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How do I integrate my web site with the Practice Pay Solutions payment gateway?
A shopping cart system is required to integrate your web site and merchant account. If you use Professional Cart Solutions, all you will need to add to your web site is one simple link for each product or service you offer. When your customers click on the link, the shopping cart will take their order, authorize their credit card through your payment gateway, and forward the funds to your merchant account bank for settlement.
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How do I download settled transactions into QuickBooks?
The QuickBooks Download tab gives you the option to download your successfully settled transactions into QuickBooks financial management software. The Quickbooks tab can be found in the Merchant Interface within Reports. There is a help link in blue at the top right of this page.
Note: You must configure your QuickBooks Download Report Settings before you can use this feature. To verify your QuickBooks Download Report Settings, click Settings in the main menu and then click QuickBooks Download Report Settings in the General section.
The QuickBooks download report feature is compatible with Basic, Professional, and Premier editions of QuickBooks from 2002 to 2005. For versions not listed here, please first download and import a test file to ensure compatibility before importing .iif files generated by the payment gateway.
The QuickBooks fields included in your downloaded report will vary according to the QuickBooks type of transaction(s) selected.
- Cash Sale
- Invoice
- Payment
- Cash Refund
- Credit Memo
Transaction Type |
Recommended QuickBooks Accounts |
Cash Sale |
Current Assets
Any bank account |
Invoice |
Accounts Receivable |
Payment |
Current Assets
Any bank account |
Payment Funding |
An account from which you will fund the amount. |
Cash Refund |
Current Assets
Any bank account |
Credit Memo |
Accounts Receivable |
The Quickbooks Download feature is a free service of Authorize.Net. Click here to download teh QuickBooks Integration Guide.
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