For companies who are in need of more than one or two Merchant Identification Numbers or MIDs Scene Premiere has several solutions for you. Depending on your location, industry, merchant history, etc. Scene Premiere can arrange as many MIDs as you need. So if its ten, twenty or even fifty MIDs we have a solution!
One of the differences between a true merchant account and third party service offered through companies like Square or Paypal is a Merchant ID Number. True merchant accounts offer store owners the chance to get far lower credit card processing rates, and use a variety of terminals and POS system integrations. Most legitimate, serious, and stable business are already using a merchant services account to process debit and credit cards.
When you get a merchant account, you are issued a unique Merchant ID Number (MID) that identifies you to your processor and the banking institutions upstream which authorize transactions, and subsequently deposit money into your bank account. While some larger companies (such as resorts) may have multiple MIDs for accounting purposes, the average business owner will only have one, even if he or she has several credit card terminals.
From a technical standpoint, the MID is issued by an “acquiring bank” which backs dollars processed through your account. Merchant IDs are issued after your business is verified, usually with documentation such as the Taxpayer Identification Number and names of the principal owners. Typically, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) are the bridge between the acquiring bank and the merchant, as they do a lot of the heavy lifting required to satisfy the MID acquisition criteria. Should you ever switch credit card processing companies, you will be issued a new merchant id number. The process is generally seamless, and most store owners would only notice that the MID number on their statement has changed in relation to the other company data on the bill. It is important to keep your merchant ID number safe, so if you are getting your credit card processing statements reviewed by a third party, you should black out the MID number before copying or faxing the information.
The issue some high risk companies have is their current accounts fill up or the reserve becomes to much of a burden for one MID. Between Holds, Freeses and out right termination having multiple MIDs is vital to any thriving business!
There’s not always a clear definition between a hold on funds, a processing freeze, or account termination, so let’s define each one:
Withheld Funds
A hold on funds generally refers to the procedure by which a processor withholds X amount of a merchant’s processing volume due to “suspicious” transactions. Once held, those funds will not be deposited to the merchant’s checking account, and can be held indefinitely pending an investigation. Moreover, funds from open authorizations (i.e. recently processed transactions) may be withheld as well.
A hold may occur in unison with a processing freeze (see below), but not in every case. Sometimes the processor may allow the merchant to continue processing new transactions, so as to prevent them from having to shut down their ability to accept credit cards completely.
Freeze on Processing
Simply put, a processing freeze is when the processor temporarily shuts down a merchant’s payment processing abilities.
Termination (Closure)
This is pretty self-explanatory. Commonly, a processor will terminate an account if they deem a merchant to be in clear violation of their terms.
Remember…always keep up to date with merchant account fraud and credit card fraud education! Please see the following to help advise about credit card fraud and merchant account fraud and how you can avoid the issue:
PCI | FBI | FTC | Stop Fraud .gov | HG | USA.gov | DOJ | SS | FFIEC | CSOS
Contact us anytime with your merchant processing questions.
