Frequently Asked Questions

How do I search transactions on Cybersource?

Please read more on searching transactions by following this link: Cybersource

I forgot my password for Cybersource, what do I do?

Please email chargemit@mit.edu and be sure to include your merchant name and your user name.

I forgot my password for TrustKeeper, what do I do?

Please click on the link, “I forgot my password” on TrustKeeper’s home page.

I’m having a problem with my POS machine, what do I do?

Please contact the POS Help Desk, there number is located on the side of your POS machine.

What if I only want to have one conference or event? Do I have to go through the new merchant process?

If this is a one-time event, you can use a PCI-compliant third-party vendor. These vendors provide a full solution for an event at a low cost. Per-registration fees can be incorporated into your pricing. Please see Acteva information >>

What if my customer sends me his/her credit card number through email?

Process the transaction and immediately delete the message from your email and from your Delete box. Discourage customers from submitting credit card information via non-secure methods.

Can I set up my own merchant account with a vendor that I want to use for my department?

No, you must submit all requests through the chargemit-help@mit.edu and follow the MIT Policies and Procedures.

I have a customer who has asked me to credit his/her account for a charge that was made over six months ago. What should I do?

1. Verify that the customer is indeed due a credit.
2. Fill out a Request for Payment.

I have a change in my staff–a new employee, someone is leaving MIT, there’s a change in an employee’s role. What should I do?

Send an email to chargemit-help@mit.edu with the person’s name, email address, and the appropriate action you want, for example, add a new employee, delete an employee’s record, or add an employee’s new role.

Note: The Manager/No Entry Manager role has the ability to process credits on credit cards; the Order Entry/No Entry Clerical role does not.

I have many products that I want to offer to my customers, how can I do that?

If you have complex requirements involving multiple products, e.g., discounting, MIT has approved Monster Commerce as the shopping cart solution. There is a monthly fee for this service.

If you only have a few products, your developer can summarize the total costs and pass this total amount to the Hosted Order Page.

What if my customer has an older credit card that does NOT have a CVV number on the back? Can I still accept it?

If your merchant account has been setup to require CVV/CNV etc., then no, you cannot accept that older card.

What is the difference between a credit and a void?

A credit is a refund. You are giving money back to the customer and a credit will appear on the monthly statement.

A void is an internal mistake that is corrected on the same day before it has settled at the bank. The customer will not see a charge or a credit on his or her credit card statement.

Can I receive an email when a customer has either made a purchase or paid for attendance to an event or conference?

On web orders utilizing the HOP, you can receive an email notifying you that someone placed an order.

Note: Virtual terminal transactions do not automatically send an email to the merchant.

How do I do my own secure shredding?

If you want to do your own secure shredding, you need a ‘cross-cut’ shredder (also called ‘confetti cut’ or ‘diamond cut’) . Such shredders generate small pieces of paper, vs. strips. Strips of paper can, in theory, be reassembled and reveal their secrets. The cross cut shredded paper is sufficiently secure that it can be put in MIT's paper recycling bins.

Fellowes makes a number of shredders ranging from ‘personal’ (which can also work well in offices with low volume shredding requirements) up through large volume shredders. Fellowes personal shredders can be found under $100, and are generally reliable and should last at least 2 years, many times longer. Fellowes has small office shredders under $200. There have been several reports of significant reliability problems with the Office Depot brand shredder (Ativa). The Office Depot web site has a nice ability to compare shredders (or other products.)

If you'd rather have someone else do the shredding, consider going with a National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) certified vendor such as Cintas. Rent-a-crate's Shred-X division is another alternative — they use the NAID standards, and have very attractive pricing for higher education. In either case, they will provide containers free of charge, which you can fill with mixed media (paper, binders, CDs, VHS tapes etc). They charge when they take the bin away (and give you an empty one). You will receive a certificate that they have taken the materials, and a certificate of destruction when they have physically destroyed the materials. (Both have trucks that can shred on-site — this service costs more and, given their security standards, is not materially more secure than the offsite shredding ).

Cintas contact info:

Alexander P. Luvisi
Cintas Document Management
P: 508 369 1928
luvisia@cintas.com
Rent-a-crate contact info:
Ron Thorne
Regional Manager, RentacrateLLC, Shred-X
P: 781-899-4477
rthorne@rentacrate.com

I want to change where my revenue is being deposited into my Financial Account/cost object. How do I request a change?

Send an email to chargemit-help@mit.edu with the merchant’s name, merchant’s account number, and the financial account you want the revenue to be deposited to.

I took a credit card authorization but in the end, there were no charges for the customer. How do I reverse the authorization so that there will be no charges from the bank?

The credit card authorization puts a hold on the cardholders funds until you process the settlement. The authorization will expire automatically with the card issuer typically within 7-10 days depending on the issuer's policy. Cardholders do not see a "charge" on their account; they are likely looking at an online banking statement and they see the amount has been moved from their available balance and that the transactions is pending, but the funds themselves are not removed from the customer's account.

To reverse an authorization before it expires:
* The cardholder should contact the card-issuing bank by phone. If you provide the card-issuer the authorization code, the card-issuer may be able to release it.
* You would need to work with your Merchant Bank Representative or the customer to gain the card-issuing bank's contact information. The 800 number on the back of the card should suffice. Please note that the customer will first need to give his/her bank approval to speak with you.
* Not all card issuers will pre-release the authorizations. Each card-issuer has its own policy on authorization reversals. This is why authorization reversals are not an automated process and we cannot guarantee the success of the authorization reversal.

Can Master Card and Visa have any additional fees?

If that card is a Rewards or Corporate card (e.g., L.L. Bean, Delta), the merchant will pay an extra fee to accept it. Read more about the costs.