Table of Contents
- Overview
- What is the difference between recurring and the customer vault?
- Can the merchant create their own Customer Vault IDs or do they have to use the one that the system generates?
- How can the merchant search for a customer in the Customer Vault?
- How can the merchant store the CVV number in the Customer Vault since the CVV is required on the initial transaction?
- How can the merchant add Merchant Defined Fields to the Customer Vault?
- Is there a limit on how many Customer Vault records the merchant can create?
- What fees will the merchant be charged for the Customer Vault service?
- How can the merchant update the customer’s card information in the Customer Vault?
- Can the merchant add more than one form of payment within a single Vault ID?
- Video Tutorial
Overview
The Customer Vault is a secure storage database where a Merchant can store sensitive billing information, both Credit Card and Bank Account information, that can be referenced by a “token”, what we call a Customer Vault ID. The Vault ID can be stored safely in an “unsecured” environment, like a website with no SSL, or a desktop computer without the risk of exposing sensitive information.
The Vault IDs are useless outside of NMI, as well as outside of the specific Gateway Account they are stored in. Merchants will use Vault IDs to process one-time, and recurring sales from the software they’ve built for their company, negating the need for our own Recurring module; this is normal for larger companies.
What is the difference between recurring and the customer vault?
Like Recurring, the Vault is a storage system, except unlike Recurring, it doesn’t process transactions on a schedule. A Vault ID could sit and remain dormant without being edited, deleted, or used. There is no expiry date on a Vault ID, although the information stored in the Vault ID itself could expire at some point.
Can the merchant create their own Customer Vault IDs or do they have to use the one that the system generates?
The merchant can create their own customer vault IDs. The maximum character limit for the Customer Vault ID is 36.
How can the merchant search for a customer in the Customer Vault?
To search a customer in the Customer Vault, you will click on the Customer Vault option from the merchant’s gateway account >> click on ‘List Customers.’ You can search for a customer by utilizing the different search fields options. You can also search by Merchant Defined Fields (if created). Once you have entered the information that you want to search the customer by, you will click ‘Submit’. If all the information is entered correctly, the customer vault ID should appear.
How can the merchant store the CVV number in the Customer Vault since the CVV is required on the initial transaction?
Due to Visa Regulations, the merchants are not allowed to store the CVV number in the vault. If the merchant account is set to require the CVV on the first transaction. The merchant will have to run a normal transaction and include the CVV. Once they click charge, it will take them to the Transaction Detail page. From this page, the merchant has the ability to add to the vault. Now the system has recognized that that particular card has passed the CVV and when the merchant stores that particular card data in the vault, they do not need to store the CVV.
How can the merchant add Merchant Defined Fields to the Customer Vault?
To add Merchant Defined Fields to the Customer Vault, you will have to create Merchant Defined Fields first.
To create Merchant Defined Fields log into the merchant’s gateway account >> click on 'Options' >> click on 'Settings' >> under ‘Transaction Options’ click on ‘Merchant Defined Fields’ >> click on ‘Merchant Defined Field 1’>> click on ‘Configure this field here’ >> from here you can choose the name of your field and what type of field you want to create >> click on ‘Save Field’
Once you have created the Merchant Defined Fields click on Customer Vault >> Click ‘Add Customer’ and on the bottom of the page, you should be able to see the Merchant Defined Fields.
Is there a limit on how many Customer Vault records the merchant can create?
There is no limit to the number of records that can be placed into the vault, however -- remember that a single vault ID can only contain 255 billing/shipping IDs.
What fees will the merchant be charged for the Customer Vault service?
A vault transaction action/fee includes the following actions;
- Add a customer
- Add additional billing methods
- Change the priority of the payment method
- Update billing records or customer information
- Deleting a billing record or the customer profile.
Transferring or importing customer vault records consists of 1 vault action for each add customer and add billing methods if they have multiple billing records.
The Fee Schedule will include what the partner is charging the merchant based on a per monthly fee and per transaction/action fee. Steps on how to access the Fee Schedule are listed below.
Log into your partner account >> Click on ‘List Account’ >> Pull up the merchant account >> Scroll down to ‘Fee Schedule’ >> From here you should be able to view the merchant’s monthly fee, per transaction fee and set up fee for each service that the merchant has.
How can the merchant update the customer’s card information in the Customer Vault?
To update a customer’s billing information please follow the steps listed below.
Have the merchant log into their gateway account >> Click on ‘Customer Vault’ >> Click on ‘List Customers’ >> Pull up the customer’s vault record >> Click on the Customer’s name >> Click on the Billing Record you would like to update >> From here you should be able to update the credit card number, expiration date, and their billing information except for the billing ID number >> Click ‘Save’
Can the merchant add more than one form of payment within a single Vault ID?
Yes, the merchant has the ability to store up to 255 separate forms of payment within a single Vault ID.
Video Tutorial
The video tutorial link for the Customer Vault has been provided below. This video will explain how the Customer Vault can help the merchant store and secure customer data. It also includes step-by-step instructions for adding and managing customer information.