Advanced Merchant Features

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Prerequisites
3. How to Enable an Advanced Merchant Feature
4. What do each Advanced Merchant Features Provide?
5. Level III Advantage
6. Video Tutorial

Overview

Advanced Merchant Features is available for Merchants who need more functionality than what a default Gateway Account offers. Learn more on how you can automatically load your Level III template to potentially improve your merchant's approval, or how you can allow your hospitality merchants to capture for an amount higher than authed, or how you can help prevent merchants from adding multiple Vault IDs. Here you will learn more on what each feature provides and how to enable them for your merchants. 

Prerequisites

Your affiliate sub-users will need the 'Manage merchant accounts' permission to be able to edit Advance Merchant Features for merchants; this also applies to your Sub-Affiliate sub-users so they can edit Advance Merchant Features for merchants under their portfolio. Primary users have this permission set by default and it cannot be removed. 

How to Enable an Advanced Merchant Feature

Log in to your Partner Portal and head over to List Accounts → Merchant Accounts → scroll to the merchants name from the list or search their name in the search box → click on their name → within the Advanced Merchant Features section click on Edit → check off the feature you want to enable → click on Save.

What do each Advanced Merchant Features Provide?

• Force merchant to read Merchant Service Agreement - if checked, upon first login the Merchant will be required to read their agreement, which is also available under the Support link in the Merchant Portal. 
• Force merchant to read Billing Authorization - if checked, upon first login the Merchant will be required to read the Billing Authorization agreement. They will also be forced to read and agree to any edits/additions to their fees. For example: if a Service is added.
• Allow merchant to issue “blind” Credit Card credits - if checked, the Merchant will have access to the Credit transaction type for Credit Cards in the Virtual Terminal, Batch Upload, iProcess, and the API. Blind Credits require a risk review prior to being activated and backend enablement by our Support Team prior to being used. 
• Allow merchant to issue ”blind” Electronic Check credits - if checked, the Merchant will have access to the Credit transaction type for Electronic Checks in the Virtual Terminal, Batch Upload, and the API. Blind Credits require a risk review prior to being activated and backend enablement by our Support Team prior to being used. 
• Enable Advanced Transaction Routing Interface - if checked, the Advanced Transaction Routing Interface table will appear in the Transaction Routing section of the Merchant’s Settings area.
• Set merchant as Past Due - will mark the Merchant as Past Due, even if they are not. This will also be automatically checked if the Merchant is actually Past Due per Gateway Billing (B2M merchants only). Past Due Merchants can still log in and process, but will see a pink pop up upon logging in.
• Enable automatic receipt sending functionality for API transactions - by default, the Gateway does not send receipts to customers when the source is API; this is because shopping carts typically send their own receipts. If the Merchant wants the Gateway to send the receipt, or if their cart doesn’t send receipts by default, this setting will send a receipt to the billing email present in the transaction.
• Enable automatic receipt sending functionality for Batch transactions - this setting follows the same concept as API; the Gateway does not send emails when the source is Batch Upload due to the sheer volume that is sometimes present in an upload file. If checked, the Gateway will send a customer email receipt to the billing email.
• Set merchant as Delinquent - will mark the Merchant as Delinquent, even if they are not. This will also be automatically checked if the Merchant is actually Delinquent per Gateway Billing (B2M merchants only). Delinquent Merchants cannot log in, and cannot process.
• Set passing of Commercial Card Indicator back through Merchant Defined Field 18 - if checked, the API will request from the Processor and return a Business/Commercial card indicator in merchant defined field 18 in the merchants reporting. This is for API transactions only and will not function for iProcess, Swipe Software, Batch Upload, QuickBooks, QuickClick or Virtual Terminal. Available on TSYS/First Data Nashville/MeS Trident. Will state whether the card is a corporate/business card or not.
• Allow merchant to pass Dynamic Billing Descriptors - if checked, the Merchant can send a unique descriptor for each individual transaction if they wish. This is only supported on specific processors; you can check the Processor Matrix for supported processors. Only supported via the API.
• Include Order ID when performing Duplicate Transaction check - if checked, the Duplicate velocity checking will take the Order ID into consideration when looking for duplicate transactions. Normal duplicates look at credit card/bank account and amount. If this is checked, the Gateway will look at a credit card/bank account, amount, and Order ID. If the credit card/ bank account, amount and Order ID are all identical, the Gateway will block the transaction. If the credit card/ bank account /amount are the same, but the Order ID is unique, the Gateway will let the transaction process.
• Set passing of Card Level Result back through Merchant Defined Field 19 - if checked, the API will request from the Processor and return a Card Level result in merchant defined field 19 in the merchant reporting. This is for API transactions only, when boarded on supported processors; you can check the Processor Matrix for supported processors. Card Level results indicate whether a card is a Signature card, a Business card, Traditional, Prepaid, etc. This only works for VISA.
• Allow Merchant to Capture for an Amount higher than Authed - if checked, the Merchant can capture for a higher amount than originally authorized (when using a separate authorize and capture transaction flow). If not checked, the Merchant can only capture for up to the original authorization amount. The Gateway's default rules are to only allow a capture up to the amount of the original authorization. This feature is helpful for use in hospitality (restaurant/hotel) businesses and transit solutions.
• Return an extended file batch response - if checked, the batch upload response file will have more information in it.
• Enable Required Fields for Retail Transactions - if checked, this allows partners to enforce required fields on transactions with track data (swiped, EMV, or contactless).
• Prevent Merchant from adding multiple Vault IDs with the same credit card or bank account numbers - just as the description states, the merchant will not be allowed to add multiple Vault IDs with the same credit card or bank account numbers. This feature is a way to prevent a merchant from duplicating entries in their customer vault. The Gateway will throw an error if the merchant tries to add a customer to the vault if their card or bank account are already in a Vault ID.
• Prevent Merchant from Configuring Convenience Fees/Surcharges - if checked, the merchant will not be allowed to configure convenience fees/surcharges. This is going to block the merchant from accessing the convenience fee/surcharge page in their settings. You, as the partner, can still access it by logging in as the merchant. You can access that page and make changes which is going to control what the merchant see in their virtual terminal when they're running sale. If you want to make sure they charge a certain surcharge percentage on every transaction in the virtual terminal you can still configure it for them which they won't have a way to disable that if this feature is checked.  
• Require a processor be specified on all transactions in the Virtual Terminal - if checked, the processor will be specified on all the transactions in the Virtual Terminal.
• Merchant has access to cash discounting - the Gateway supports a limited version of “Cash Discounting” for merchants who want to offer a discount to customers who pay invoices with an electronic check. Merchants are able to set up a service fee that will be applied to all invoices they send out through the customer invoicing service. All customers will be charged a service fee, and those paying with an electronic check will have the fee discounted at the time of purchase. If you would like to offer this service, please contact support@nmi.com to request for the flag to be enabled for your Partner Portal on the backend first. Once the flag is enabled, any merchant who has an electronic check processor boarded on their account will have this feature that you may enable. Once you enable this for the merchant, they will see the new setting link in Settings → under Transaction Options → “Cash and ACH Discounting”, right below the existing surcharge option. This page works almost exactly the same as the surcharging page and allows the merchant to set their service fee amounts. The page lets them know that this will currently only take affect when customers are paying their invoices and not elsewhere in the control panel.
• Restrict merchant account due to card testing - this feature will be automatically checked off if the Gateway detects ongoing card testing activity on a merchant account. 
• Allow Merchant to Enter Tips in the Virtual Terminal on Keyed Transactions - allows the partners to control whether or not merchants see the 'Tip' field in the Virtual Terminal. Merchants who are using Cloud in the Virtual Terminal will still be able to add tip when using a Cloud Payment Device.
• Send Detailed Daily Batch Reports (sent at 5AM UTC) - if this feature is enabled, merchants will receive a detailed daily Credit Card Settlement Batch report, which will include a list of each settled transaction from that batch. The list will include the Transaction IDs, Card Type, Transaction Type, Amount, last 4 of the Card Number. This report is sent automatically every day at closing around 5 AM Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). 
• Allow Custom Sale Amount/Donation in Collect Checkout - this allows you to disable custom/donation type payments for merchants who have no plans to use it to add further security against card testing.

Level III Advantage

The following feature flag is only available on Standard Gateway Accounts and Test Gateway Accounts. The merchant account has to have the Level III Advantage value added service active or offered:

• Automatically add my Level III template data to the merchant's credit card transactions - Level III templates can now be set in the affiliate control panel and used to add Level III data to any merchant's transactions. You can set an auto-loading template in the partner settings pages, then go to the merchant details page for any merchant with the Level III Advantage service active, go to Advanced Merchant Features, and enable the new "Automatically add my Level III template data to the merchant's credit card transactions" option. This lets you potentially improve your merchant's approval. 

Video Tutorial