nue Control


for transaction queries, etc. Somake it a point to talk to different clearing houses and gateway providers on all aspects of services when choosing your partners. We all know how important credit card payments are today


to retailers, parking operators and virtually all businesses that deal with payment transactions. But the concept of things such as serv- ice providers, clearinghouses, issuers, real-time processing vs. batching, reconciliation, charge-backs, BINs, authorization, settle- ment and interchange systems always surface and may not be understood bymost users. Let’s start by explaining these terms and what you as a park-


ing operator need to know and do to handle credit card transac- tions correctly. 1.Merchant: company accepting credit card payments. 2. Clearinghouse: a generic term, usedmostly in the parking


industry, to identify aMerchant Service Provider (MSP). 3.Merchant Service Provider: organization themerchant has


contracted with to accept credit card payments and handle the processing and send deposits to themerchant’s bank account. 4. Issuers: companies that issue the card; they control the


cardholder accounts and authorize or decline authorization requests. 5. Real-time processing: high-speed authorization (yes or no)


while the parker is on-site. 6. Batchprocessing: all transactions are acceptedofflinewith-


out authorizations, which are completed when the batch file is processed. 7. Reconciliation: comparing revenue data to ensure that all


systems along the way between the parking payment application and the bank accounts showthe same data. 8. Charge-backs: official dispute by the cardholder to his


issuer received by themerchant fromhisMSP (see above). 9. BINs: The first six digits of a credit card number; these


identify the issuer (see above). 10. Authorization request: first in the two-step credit card


process. 11. Settlement: “a confirmation of payment” that is the sec-


ond step of a lengthy process confirming that the authorized amount can be processed for payment. 12. Interchange systems: Visa andMasterCard systems con-


necting to theMSPs and the issuers (see above). Whenbuying equipment,make sure toaskwhether theman-


ufacturer is compliant with payment card industry security stan- dards. Visit Visa’s website (http://usa.visa.com/merchants/risk_ management/cisp_payment_applications.html) to see who is both certified and current. That said, lets look at theback endof these systems, howthey


work andwhat you as owner/operator should be prepared to do if you’re not already accepting credit cards as a settlement. As stated above, credit card processing involves two steps.


The first is an authorization request,where an electronic request is sent through multiple parties to either approve or decline the transaction.The secondis a settlement, a confirmationofpayment where all parties settle their accounts and themerchant receives deposits in their bank account and the cardholder’s account is charged.


Your equipment supplier can helpmake this process easier.


All clearinghouses (MSPs) have their particular requirements for equipment standards, but a good distributor will put the system together according to your choices, so you need not concern yourself with themechanics other than selecting the right partner for your needs. All we generally want to know is will the equipment accept


the credit card and will it do it fast, since we don’t want backup lines in the lane or at the pay-on-foot station. The answer is that the credit card process is faster than conventional pay systems. These real-time systems are both fast and accurate these days. In fact, fromthe owner’s perspective, credit card processing


is so accepted by the patrons that atmost parking facilities, credit card users will account for 80%of all transactionsmade within a few months after installation. Not only do these systems speed things up within the parking structure, they also eliminate fum- bling around for cash and they virtually guarantee revenues col- lected, so using the credit card is awin-win for everyone. The next question usually asked is what if the card is bad or


what if communication goes down in a parking structure. The answer in both cases is relatively simple. If a card is bad it will be declinedandthepatronwill generally use another cardto get out, assuming they don’t want to use cash. If communication is inter- rupted one must be prepared. Most operators will generally select the acceptance of all cards when communications goes down and when restored all cards accepted during that period will then be sent for authorization. This does two things: it keeps traffic flowuninterruptedwith-


in the parking facility (an important service to patrons) and ensures collection for themost part because operators know that most of the transactionswill be approved as good cards. Now that high speed Internet connections are so affordable,


parking operators can cost-justify real-time authorization credit cardprocessing.Credit cards are awonderful and essential tool to improve operations and secure revenue. Credit Card acceptance can be part of your original parking


purchase or purchased after the fact, if you wish. They can be used at cashier booths, PayOn Foot stations or even as a formof entry known as “credit card in and credit card out operations”. These CCIOdevices can stand alone in parking operations


anywhere within the parking structure to facilitate patrons quick exiting of the facility. If and when you elect to go to a Credit Cards system, do it


well.Knowyour options.We’re alwayswilling to assist. Remember, Credit Card systems operate 24/7 and no hard currency changes hands.Therefore, revenue control is optimum, are less likely to be vandalized and as a customer convenience, they can’t be beat!


Pierre Koudelka is Skidata’s Midwest Regional Manager and Fabien Pesenti is 3C’s Country Manager North America.


PT JANUARY 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com 37


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