April and October are key months for changes in rules and fee structures by the major card brands. There were several new requirements queued-up for the springtime edition of changes but COVID 19 prompted the postponement of many of them. MasterCard Transaction Integrity Class (TIC) for interchange rates is one of the new mandates that was delayed.
Although Mastercard did not announce a new deadline for compliance with its TIC mandate, October is looming. The safest approach for software providers with integrated payments is to proceed with steps toward compliance so that you and your customers are not caught off guard.
What is Mastercard TIC?
TIC is a two-digit code that appears in the authorization of Mastercard purchases. The new mandate will require that the TIC code from the authorization gets captured and included in the settlement process. Failure to comply causes the transaction to be downgraded and could result in a higher interchange rate for your customers. This will make them very unhappy.
Related Article: Important Update on Mastercard TIC Compliance for ISVs
Two Things Software Companies with Integrated Payments Should Do
If you have integrated payments in your software platform, there are two key activities you should be doing right now:
- Contact all gateways and payment partners that are supported in your integrated payments platform to ensure they have inserted the two-digit code in the settlement process. You’ll also want to confirm whether or not you’ll need to make programming changes at your end to accommodate the mandate.
- Contact your integrated payments users. Customers aren’t always aware in advance of new card brand requirements such Mastercard TIC. It’s a good idea reach out to all your customers using your integrated payment feature to alert them of the new mandate and let them know you are working behind the scenes to ensure compliance.
We’ll continue to post updates on this and any other card brand requirements coming down the pike. If you’d like us to alert you when we have updated information, please click the link below to provide your email address, and we’ll add you to the list.
If you would like additional information or if you have questions about compliance requirements for integrated payments, please feel free to reach out to me directly.
Email me at:
bwiltz@windriverfinancial.com
