PIN Debit Card Payments

To provide full transparency into the cost of acceptance associated with debit card payment transactions, the Payrix Pro platform offers direct debit network options for Cost configurations and Fee setups. With these options, you can pass along payment processing costs to the merchants that generate them.

As a partner, when you start seeing debit interchange costs from Worldpay for Platforms, the following capabilities should be automatically enabled for your platform account. Adopting this feature streamlines transaction reporting and reconciliation processes for you and your merchants by providing comprehensive details on debit-specific interchange fees.

Available Debit Processing Networks

The following table lists the available debit card networks:

Note

The ATH debit network is not supported.

Acceptance of PIN Debit Payments

Debit card payment acceptance is the ability to receive debit card payments with a cardholder personal identification number (PIN) or signature. Alternatively, it encompasses the flexibility to accept payments without a PIN for processing and settlement, similar to traditional credit card transactions.

PIN Debit

A PIN debit card transaction is an electronic funds transfer (EFT) from the customer’s bank to the merchant's bank.

The customer uses a bank-issued debit card linked to a checking account and enters a PIN into a payment terminal at the point of sale. Merchants can enable the PIN entry feature from the terminal perspective (through a triPOS integration), but it is not auto-enabled for all merchants. Debit card issuers trigger when a PIN is required, and triPOS EMV terminals respond by requesting a PIN triggered from the card issuer. The parameter can be enabled for partners and merchants from a Division Profile or Group Profile’s Parameters menu.

This process also identifies the debit card network with interchange costs and clarifies the card network assessment fee similar to credit cards, mirroring credit card fee structures for groups except for surcharge. Surcharges, which are fees to the cardholder, cannot be assessed on debit transactions.

A signature debit transaction follows a similar flow to credit transactions, but it involves capturing the cardholder's signature using the payment terminal screen at the time of sale or on a printed receipt as part of this process. This type of transaction entails an electronic transfer of funds from the customer’s bank to the merchant’s bank using a debit card linked to the customer’s checking account.

Tip

PIN-based debit transactions are considered to be the most cost-effective debit option compared to signature debit transactions, primarily due to the lower risk of fraud. This is because the cardholder is required to enter a debit PIN for authentication at the time of purchase, adding an extra layer of security.

Fees offer partners a means to not only reimburse their platform cost for the debit transaction through the merchants processing them but also provide greater transparency to these merchants with clearer reporting on the specific transaction fees charged. This aids in daily or statement-based reconciliation, resulting in more accurate reporting for all involved merchants.

How Debit Interchange Expenses Are Passed On

Each debit network charges specifics rates for processing, handling, and approving debit card transactions. These expenses are applied to the payment facilitation platform (such as Payrix Pro) that enables merchants to accept, process, and settle debit transactions.

When a merchant conducts a debit card payment, Worldpay for Platforms is initially responsible for any associated interchange expenses upon transaction approval. These expenses are subsequently reimbursed through the interchange cost set up for the partner. Consequently, Worldpay for Platforms transfers interchange expenses to the partners whose merchants initiated the debit transaction interchange expenses.

From the perspective of a partner, when you incur an interchange cost through a merchant's expense triggered by a debit transaction, you can set up an interchange fee to pass this cost on to the merchant.

In summary, when a merchant accepts a debit card payment and interchange expenses are levied on the payment facilitation platform:

1. Worldpay for Platforms pays the interchange expense upon transaction approval.

2. Through an interchange cost setup, Worldpay for Platforms automatically charges the partner for reimbursement of the interchange expense.

3. Through an interchange fee setup, the partner automatically charges the merchant for reimbursement of the incurred costs.

Through this interchange cost and interchange fee setup, merchants ultimately reimburse 100% of the interchange costs charged to the partner by Worldpay for Platforms.

Interchange Costs versus Fees

The following sections summarize the differences between debit interchange costs and fees on the Payrix Pro platform.

Debit Interchange Cost

• A partner-specific expense configuration established from the Costs section of the Fees Settings page.

• Charged to partners (by Worldpay for Platforms) when the debit network charges interchange expenses to Worldpay for Platforms for processing cardholder transactions.

• Configured for each debit network interchange expense individually.

Debit Interchange Fee

• A merchant or Group-specific expense configuration is accessible from the Fees menu on the Group or Merchant Profile page.

• Charged to merchants (by their partners) when a debit network interchange cost is incurred from Worldpay for Platforms for their merchants processing cardholder debit transactions.

• Configured for each debit network, encompassing all costs of that network.

• Assessed to the merchant, allowing them to handle all debit interchange costs with greater transparency in reporting.

Interchange Cost-Fee Setup Flow

The following diagram demonstrates a high-level flow of a cost and fee setup, including each step’s associated entity:

Example of a POS Switch Fee

The following example demonstrates the use of a general amount and the Accel debit network POS Switch Fee charged by Accel to Worldpay for Platforms for processing payments made by their Accel-brand debit card.

For the purposes of this example, assume the following:

• Except for Interchange, no other transaction fees are applied to the merchant or merchant Group.

• No markup is added to interchange partner costs and interchange merchant fees.

In this example:

1. Worldpay for Platforms configures interchange costs for debit brand networks, charged to partners.

2. The merchant submits a $15.00 Accel-branded debit card sale.

3. The Accel Network charges the Worldpay for Platforms $0.10 for transaction handling.

4. The partner incurs a $0.10 interchange cost related to the Accel POS Switch fee through the cost configured by Worldpay for Platforms.

5. The merchant bears 100% of the interchange expenses through the partner’s configured fee when the transaction status is Authorized.

6. The merchant receives the settled transaction amount in their available balance less the partner’s fee.

The following diagram depicts the flow in the example:

With the debit interchange cost and interchange fees fully configured, all parties have greater retention of their revenues and greater transparency for reporting and reconciliation when charged interchange costs and fees.

• Worldpay for Platforms reimburses the cost of accepting debit interchange on the Accel network to the associated partner by establishing a Cost through the partner’s Host.

• The partner reimburses the configured interchange cost to themselves by using a Fee set up on the transacting merchant or Group.

• The merchant can now handle all debit interchange costs with greater transparency in reporting, empowering them to negotiate for lower interchange rates or seek guidance from their partner on strategies to minimize their cost of accepting debit transactions.

See Access Debit Interchange Transaction Details for information on how to view debit interchange details and related reports.