Establishment and Maintenance of Credit Card Services

1. Requests to accept credit cards must be emailed to Merchant Support at merchantsupport@ucdavis.edu.
    
2. A Vendor Risk Assessment (VRA) or Service Provider IT Evaluation must be retained on file for service providers when the University is the Merchant Of Record (MOR).
    

3. Departments must provide a Third-Party Service Provider (TPSP) justification statement to Merchant Support if the department use-case is not met by the TPSPs that Merchant Support manages.

   If the new TPSP is approved, the merchant department must:

   • Manage and ensure the TPSP maintains compliance with the current version of Payment Card Industry Data Standards (PCI DSS).
   • Annually request the TPSP’s Attestation of Compliance (AoC).
      
4. If the merchant request is approved:
    
   • Merchant Support prepares and submits all documentation to the acquiring bank and credit card companies to establish the merchant account. If applicable, Merchant Support orders the merchant terminal and notifies the merchant of the assigned merchant number.
   • The merchant department must submit a completed Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) to Merchant Support. The SAQ must be reviewed and approved before the merchant department can go live.
   • The merchant department must maintain year-round PCI DSS compliance, participate in the annual Business as Usual (BAU) visits, participate in the annual PCI attestation, and attend merchant meetings scheduled by Merchant Support. Failure to participate in the annual PCI attestation or demonstrate PCI DSS compliance may result in the closure of the merchant account.
      
5. If the merchant request is not approved:
    
   • Merchant Support provides the department a written summary of findings that resulted in the non-approval.
   • The department cannot accept credit cards as a method of payment.
      
6. Finance allocates discount fees, equipment rental costs, and banking network access fees to merchants based on their merchant account and activity.
    
7. Finance receives all chargeback notifications, notifies the relevant merchant, and prepares accounting entries to reflect the chargeback.
    
   • Merchants must respond directly to the acquiring bank within the specified time, providing requested information or necessary documentation to verify the legitimacy and proper processing of the original transaction.
   • The acquiring bank must determine if the chargeback will be reversed, and the cash receipts returned to the merchant.
   • Upon receiving a chargeback reversal notification, Finance notifies the relevant merchant and prepares accounting entries to reflect the chargeback reversal.