To ensure you receive the lowest possible processing rates while remaining fully compliant, Cash Practice® provides 3 distinct merchant account types. Our system is "intelligent" and will automatically route your transactions to the correct merchant account based on how the payment is processed.
1. The 3 Merchant Account Types
RETAIL Merchant Account: Use this for card-present transactions. This includes physically swiping a card, "dipping" an EMV chip, or using the CP Mobile swiper for one-time payments.
MOTO Merchant Account: Use this for card-not-present transactions. This includes recurring auto-debits, one-time payments with a card on file, online forms, or manually keyed-in transactions.
EFT Merchant Account: An add-on to the MOTO account used for bank account payments (using a routing and account number).
Note: Even though debit cards pull from a bank account, they are processed through MOTO or RETAIL, not EFT.
2. Why We Use Separate RETAIL & MOTO Merchant Accounts
Using 2 separate merchant accounts for credit cards protects your business in 3 ways:
PCI Compliance: It is against security regulations to store credit card numbers in a readable format (like a spreadsheet) to key them into a retail terminal later. The MOTO account allows you to store card data safely and securely within our encrypted system.
Lower Processing Rates: Banks charge more for "keyed" transactions through a RETAIL merchant account because the risk is higher. By using a MOTO merchant account specifically designed for keyed entries, your starting rate is significantly lower (e.g., 2.30% for MOTO vs. 2.99% for keyed-in RETAIL).
Account Protection: Visa and MasterCard limit "keyed" transactions on RETAIL merchant accounts to 20% of your total volume. Exceeding this limit puts your RETAIL merchant account at risk of being shut down. Using a MOTO merchant account for all keyed entries keeps your RETAIL merchant account in good standing.
[!CAUTION] EMV Liability Warning: We strongly discourage keying transactions into your RETAIL merchant account. If a patient disputes a keyed transaction on a RETAIL merchant account and you did not use an EMV chip reader, you will lose the dispute automatically under the EMV Liability Shift Rules. Always process keyed transactions through MOTO.
3. Why Use an EFT Account for Bank Payments?
Processing payments directly from a bank account offers 2 major advantages:
No Expiration Dates: Unlike credit cards, bank accounts don't expire. This eliminates the administrative burden of chasing down new expiration dates every month.
Significant Savings: While rewards or corporate credit cards can have rates as high as 3.89%, EFT transactions have a much lower flat rate (1.79%).
Questions? Contact our Merchant Services Department at (877) 343-8950 x 105.