What is a Merchant Account and how is that different from a Commerce Manager/EPay account and eStore?

Any department or unit that accepts payment cards on an ongoing basis though the University vendors is issued a Merchant ID number (MID) by MC/Visa/Discover and American Express. These merchant account numbers identify you to the credit card companies and establish a contractual obligation to comply with all credit card rules and regulations Payment Card Services: FAQs, Procedures, & Forms Page | 7

The merchant account name drives the description on the customer’s bill, and the flow of the deposit and PTAO (see How are Credit Card Processing Fees Calculated). A merchant account can be either for a face-to-face swipe account or web based e-commerce.

A description of the two eCommerce solutions that the University offers through our contracted party, Nelnet can be found on our website.

  • Commerce Manager – a Registration and Payment page for events
  • eStore – a Shopping Cart

Adding a New Process/Event

Whether the department will be required to complete a new application or whether the request will require an email to the Payment Card Services will depend on several factors:

  • will the merchant DBA (doing business as) name on the cardholder’s statement change,
  • will the fees be charged to a different PTAO or revenue credited to a new GL string,
  • is this an additional event/class/conference being added to an existing EPAY process,
  • is a new TID required by your Third-Party processor for a fully hosted vendor?

Contact Payment Card Services for more information and a demo of each product.