A Planet Payment™ credit card
acceptance account is a special bank account that enables your
business to accept payment by credit card. Credit card payments can
only be processed through this type of account.
Planet Payment can also obtain an American Express® merchant
account for your online business.
A payment gateway is a software
program that integrates to a merchant’s website for the purpose of
transmitting transaction data to the credit card acquirer for both
authorization and settlement purposes.
It is the Internet’s virtual equivalent to the physical
world merchant terminal.
What documents are
required in order to open a Planet Payment account?
The
documentation Planet Payment requires differs depending on the type
of company applying for our services:
Merchant
Application Document Requirements – For Private Companies:
1.
Certified copy of Share Register or other corporate
documentation that lists all shareholders of the company
(If not available in English, please submit an English
translation as well as the official document)
2.
Hard copy of ORIGINAL, signed, complete Merchant Services
Agreement
3.
Notarized, legible copy of one form of government issued
photo ID for each principal owner* (e.g. passport and drivers
license)
4.
Bank reference letter for each principal owners* personal
bank account, from a recognized financial institution with which the
principal owner has had a relationship for at least two years
5.
Proof of address for each principal owner*, such as a utility
bill issued within the prior six months
6.
Certified copy of Certificate of Incorporation
(If not available in English, please provide an English
translation as well as the official document)
7.
Financial statements for the past two years (preferably
audited) OR, if a startup, your business plan, including detailed
financial projections
8.
Business Plan or, in certain cases, detailed Executive
Summary
9.
Set of marketing brochures, if available
* Principal
owner includes each beneficial owner who owns at least 5% equitable
interest in the company.
Merchant
Application Document Requirements – For Publicly Traded Companies:
1.
Original, signed Planet Payment Merchant Services Agreement
2.
Ticker symbol & Stock Exchange(s) on which stock is
traded
3.
Corporate bank reference letter from lead bank commenting on
the integrity and length of the banking relationship
4.
Certified Copy of Certificate of Incorporation
5.
List of Directors
What are Planet Payment’s rates for
e-commerce payment processing services?
To receive our current rates, contact
us at merchant-support@planetpayment.com
and we will email them to you immediately.
How do I apply for a credit card
acceptance account and payment gateway services?
Simply complete
our online Merchant Application Form.
Will I need to open
a U.S. bank account?
Unlike
most other Internet payment processing solutions, Planet Payment
does NOT require that you open a U.S. bank account or have a U.S.
presence of any kind in order to use our services.
Another
unique aspect of Planet Payment’s services is that it is a
multi-currency payment processing solution.
Merchants can accept payment in up to 140 currencies, and
funds can be settled into the merchant’s local bank account in
most major currencies.
What credit cards
will I be able to accept?
We
are currently able to process Visa®, MasterCard® and American
Express® credit card transactions.
We expect to expand our services to other cards, as demand
requires.
What is a discount
rate?
The
discount rate is the processing fee associated with your credit card
acceptance account. It
is a percentage of your gross sales.
What is a per
transaction fee?
The
per transaction fee is a nominal amount charged on each transaction,
which is associated with the processing of each transaction through
the payment gateway and the credit card acceptance account.
What is a
chargeback?
A chargeback
occurs when a cardholder informs the credit card issuer that a
particular charge was not authorized, or that goods were not
delivered as promised. If a customer alleges the goods or services
paid for were not delivered, the merchant has 7 days to produce
evidence that the goods were received or that the cardholder’s
account was credited.
What is a
chargeback reserve?
In
lieu of requesting an upfront security deposit, Planet Payment
imposes a chargeback reserve, generally 6%, which is maintained in a
rolling reserve account for the benefit of the merchant.
Funds are released from this account after six months, less
any amounts charged back.
What can you tell
me about multi-currency technology?
You
can access our White Paper on Multi-Currency Technology at the
Do I need to have
SSL?
In
order to ensure that your customers are protected when they enter
their credit card information onto your buy page, the Planet Payment
gateway utilizes Secure Socket Layers (SSL) to encrypt sensitive
personal information, including credit card numbers, when
transmitted to the payment gateway.
If your server does not support SSL, your buy page can be
hosted on our gateway’s server at no extra cost.
How often will I
receive payment?
Planet Payment
transfers funds from your credit card acceptance account into the
local bank account you designate for settlement of funds twice
monthly, on the 8th and 23rd of each month.
Payment on the 8th is for funds settled into
your account through the last day of the prior month; and payment
on the 23rd is for funds settled to your account
through the 15th. When applicable, a wire transfer fee
will be passed onto you each time we transfer funds to your
account.
What
type of equipment do I need to process credit card transactions
using Planet Payment?
All you need is a
personal computer and an Internet connection.
How do I integrate
my web site with Planet Payment’s gateway?
Integration is
simple; it typically takes a qualified programmer less than an hour.
For details on integration issues please see the
developer’s guide for our gateway located at:
https://secure.planetpayment.com/docs/developersguide.pml.
What shopping cart
should I use?
The only software
which must be compatible with our payment gateway is the shopping
cart software you choose, if you decide you need a shopping cart for
your web site. All
other software is optional. For
a list of compatible shopping carts please visit our website at www.planetpayment.com
and click on the “Our Services” button, or go directly to:
http://www.planetpayment.com/planet.cfm?pagename=shopping_cart.
If you do not see the shopping cart you are interested in on
that list, please feel free to contact our technical support to see
whether they are planning on adding your desired cart onto the list
of compatible shopping carts in the near future.
What is an
acquiring bank?
The acquiring bank
is the bank in which the merchant’s credit card acceptance account
is held, and from which funds are transferred into the merchant’s
local bank account twice monthly.
What is Planet
Payment Assured™?
When a cardholder submits their credit
card information to the merchant using Planet Payment, Planet
Payment Assured service enables users to be confident that the
transaction will be securely completed.
Planet Payment will be responsible for the purchase.
Planet Payment Assured provides cardholder protection if they
do not get what they pay for.
How is Planet Payment different from
other payment processing services?
§
Planet
Payment provides both credit card acceptance AND payment gateway
facilities, so that there are no hidden charges.
Planet Payment’s rates cover everything you need in order
to get set up to accept payment by credit card online.
§
Planet
Payment can process payments for businesses located outside of the
United States, in U.S. dollars and most non-U.S. currencies.
§
Planet
Payment’s banking partners have agreed to provide credit card
acceptance accounts to Planet Payment’s clients for Internet based
credit card transactions. Most
banks will not permit merchants to process transactions arising out
of electronic commerce to be processed through a traditional
merchant account.
§
Planet
Payment’s gateway is powered by Authorize.Net, a company foremost
in the industry for reliability and customer support.
Planet
Payment’s banking partners have among the highest possible ratings
from major credit card associations, so we are equipped to enable
your business to grow, without unreasonable ceilings being imposed
on the amounts you are able to process through your credit card
acceptance account.
For
more information about Planet Payment’s Internet payment solutions
or to sign up now, please
fill in this form.
Planet Payment will follow up with the merchant to obtain all
required supporting documentation. You should anticipate a
response from Planet Payment within two weeks of receipt of a
merchant application complete with all required documents. To
check the status of an application, feel free to e-mail
us.
