The Bank of Russia, as part of its work to improve the quality of customer service of credit institutions when they carry out transactions using payment cards, recommends that credit institutions make a refund Money for a product (service) previously paid for using payment card, in the following way:

1. Upon return of goods (refusal of services) by an individual in a trade and service enterprise (hereinafter referred to as a merchant), previously paid using a payment card, a credit institution is an acquirer that provides services for paying for goods (services) through payment cards in this merchant, no later than a business day following the day the register of payments or an electronic journal containing information on the return of goods (refusal of services) is received by this credit organization, refunds the funds to the address of the credit organization - the issuer.

A credit institution - an issuer on the basis of a register of payments or an electronic journal containing information on the return of goods (refusal of a service), as well as in accordance with intra-bank rules and an agreement between a credit institution - an issuer and an individual - a holder of a payment card, restores the expenditure limit of the settlement (debit ) cards, limit credit card installed according to conditions loan agreement, the limit of the prepaid card and provides the ability to perform transactions with its use, taking into account the restored limit of this payment card, no later than the business day following the day of receipt by the credit institution - the issuer of the specified register of payments or electronic journal.

2. Credit organizations (issuers and acquirers) determine in the internal banking rules the procedure for refunding funds to an individual who is a payment card holder upon returning goods (refusal of a service) to a merchant, previously paid using a payment card, including in the case when natural person there is no possibility of providing a payment card to the merchant, with the use of which payment for this product (service) was previously made (for example, in case of loss of a payment card, change of a payment card number when it is reissued, closing a bank account opened for transactions using a bank card, and etc.).

3. Bring these clarifications to the attention of credit institutions.

Letter from the Central Bank of Russia dated August 1, 2011 No. 112-T "On the return of funds for a product (service) previously paid using a payment card"

Document overview

Returns clarified credit institutions funds for goods (services) previously paid for using payment cards.

Upon return of goods (refusal of services) by an individual in a trade and service enterprise (merchant), the acquiring credit institution, which provides services for paying for goods (services) through payment cards in this merchant, returns the funds to the issuing credit institution. Deadline - no later than a business day following the date of receipt by the acquirer of the register of payments or an electronic journal containing information on the return (refusal).

The issuer, based on the register or journal, as well as in accordance with the internal banking rules and the agreement with the individual-holder of the card, restores the expenditure limit of the payment (debit) card, the limit of the credit / prepaid card. Deadline - no later than a business day following the date of receipt of the register or journal by the issuer.

Issuers and acquirers determine the procedure for returning funds to an individual-holder of a card upon return (refusal) in the internal banking rules. In particular, situations are stipulated when a citizen is unable to provide a card to the merchant (for example, in the event of its loss, number change upon re-issue, closing of the corresponding bank account, etc.).

Nowadays, they have ceased to be a rarity, and each of us no longer performs one or two operations per quarter, but three or four daily. Tens of millions of issued cards, hundreds of thousands of transactions per hour, tens of thousands of terminal devices for accepting cards - this is today's reality. There is a steady trend towards a shift in emphasis from towards operations of payment for goods / services in trade and service enterprises (hereinafter referred to as TSP).
Let us briefly recall how the card payment procedure in the merchant looks like in general.

The client (cardholder) makes a purchase of a product or service in a merchant that accepts cards for payment, as evidenced by stickers at the entrance to the store or at the checkout. Approaching the cashier, the client presents the card and informs the seller that he intends to pay with it. The seller takes the card, spends it initial check for the absence of obvious signs of a fake (he does not have to be an expert, it is enough just to make sure that it is clearly not fake). Next, the seller reads the data from the magnetic stripe or microprocessor (chip) of the card, using the corresponding connector of the electronic terminal (hereinafter - ET). Then he enters the amount of the transaction, the ET generates an authorization request and sends it to the acquiring bank. Further, the authorization request via the IPS channel reaches the host of the issuing bank, which allows or prohibits this operation (transaction). If the transaction is allowed, the issuer issues an authorization code and response code (RC) "00". Otherwise, the issuer's response is different from "00" and the authorization code is not issued (the transaction is not approved; the issuer does not confirm the payment). If the completion is positive, the merchant prints out two copies of the receipt and the client confirms his or her agreement to pay for the transaction either by signing a signature-based transaction (SBT) or entering a PIN (PIN-based transaction, PBT). With SBT, the merchant of the merchant must complete the transaction by checking the signature on the receipt against the sample of the customer's signature in the designated space on the back of the card.

Placing information for buyers

To begin with, each merchant, by sticking posters with MPS logos on its doors, thereby assumes an obligation (namely, an obligation, and not just a wish) to accept cards of the corresponding system for payment. And if the MasterCard logo hangs at the cash register, then this merchant is obliged to accept the corresponding card for payment (but not Visa card, and vice versa). Moreover, merchants that accept cards, in places accessible to customers ("buyer's corner"), must contain information explaining the policy of this point in terms of the return and exchange of goods paid for by the card. The absence of such an information resource is a violation of the rules of the Ministry of Railways.

Unwillingness of the cashier to accept the card for payment

Quite often, there are situations when a sticker hangs at the entrance to the merchant, saying that it is possible to pay with a card, but at the time of payment it suddenly turns out that the cashier or the seller does not want to accept the card for payment without explaining the reasons for the refusal. Such actions are a serious violation of the rules of the Ministry of Railways and may entail the imposition of rather tangible financial sanctions to the acquiring bank, which in turn can broadcast them later to the outlet, if this is provided for by the terms of the agreement between them.

Passport requirement when paying by card

The rules of the Ministry of Railways clearly state that when making a payment with a card, the seller has no right to request from the client (the bearer of the card) data confirming the identity of the latter, or other personal data, except for cases when it is necessary to complete the transaction (for example, for indicating the address of the client's place of residence for the purpose of subsequent delivery of the goods) or when this is clearly spelled out in the requirements of local legislation. The seller does not have any authority to require the client to present a passport or other identity documents. As a vivid example, we can cite the following situation: imagine that in a Russian merchant, a customer from China or a citizen of another country, exotic for us, who does not speak Russian or English, pays with a card in a Russian merchant. In this case, the seller and the buyer will not be able to communicate at all (unless the seller is a polyglot, of course). From the point of view of the rules of the Ministry of Railways, this practice of requiring documents when paying by card is punishable (a fine may be imposed on the acquiring bank with all the ensuing consequences for the merchant). However, some types of operations (which primarily include cash withdrawal operations in offices and bank branches) should be performed only on condition that the client presents an identity document.

PIN entry requirement when paying with a magnetic stripe card

Today more and more banks issue cards equipped not only with a magnetic stripe, but also with a microprocessor (chip). Such cards are called hybrid cards, and they can be used for transactions - both on the magnetic stripe and on the chip. This is an undoubted advantage, since it is believed that the chip cannot be made at home, which, in turn, deprives fraudsters of the opportunity to make a fake card by issuing a duplicate with a copy of the magnetic stripe track (so-called skimming). But often there is a situation when the merchant seller, having read the card data from the magnetic stripe (not from the chip), invites the client to confirm his consent to the payment by entering the PIN. This is completely unacceptable, since it carries the risk of complete compromise of the card data (i.e. track / track of the magnetic stripe and PIN), which theoretically can lead to the loss of all funds from the card account. The sellers explain their actions by the fact that "the electronic terminal is programmed in this way," however, most often the error lies in their actions: when working with ET, they mistakenly indicate that the type of card is not MasterCard, but Cirrus / Maestro. It is noteworthy that on the territory of the Russian Federation all operations with Cirrus / Maestro cards must be performed exactly as PBT!
An interesting fact: the rules of the Visa MPS indicate that in any case, when making a payment for goods or services in the merchant, the client has the right to demand an SBT operation. And this has a quite reasonable explanation: not all clients remember their PIN and some banks generally issue cards without PIN to them. Of course, all of the above applies to cards with a magnetic stripe. For cards with a chip, the overwhelming number of transactions in the merchant is confirmed by the client by entering the PIN.

Recently, the IPS MasterCard issued a circular (operational bulletin), in which it notified all participants in the settlements that from June 8, 2012 in the Russian Federation it is allowed to request a PIN to confirm transactions with magnetic stripe cards by customers in the merchant.

Thus, at present on the territory of the Russian Federation, when registering transactions in merchants using cards with a magnetic stripe of the Ministry of Railways Visa, entering a PIN is unacceptable, and on cards with a magnetic stripe MasterCard - it is allowed. For cards with a microprocessor (so-called chip), entering a PIN is almost mandatory for both MPS.

Refusal to accept cards without the name of the holder

Many issuers use the so-called non-personalized to quickly enter the market, unnamed cards, on the front side of which there is only a number, a validity period, but there is no name and surname of the client (also, this data, respectively, is absent on the first track of the magnetic stripe). The rules of the Ministry of Railways clearly indicate that such cards are an absolutely legitimate means of payment and should be accepted on an equal basis with all other products of the Ministry of Railways. Acquirers in the instructions for sellers also specifically stipulate this point, and nevertheless, quite often, unfortunately, it happens that sellers flatly refuse to accept such cards for payment. As arguments, the sellers argue that they have nothing to compare the last name and first name of the client (bearing in mind the prohibited practice of requesting supporting documents, which was mentioned above). Such actions of merchant employees also contradict world practice and are subject to study by acquiring banks.

Increase in price (surcharge) for goods when paying by card

As you know, when concluding an acquiring agreement with a merchant, the bank indicates the amount of the so-called acquiring concession (commission) that will be charged (underpaid) from the merchant for all card transactions. This commission varies by country and by type of merchant activity, taking into account the turnover of the latter. As a guideline, one can keep in mind a value of the order of 1.5 - 2.5%. Thus, if the transaction amount is 1000 rubles, the acquiring bank will credit the current account with the amount minus this commission, that is, 975 - 985 rubles. The difference is the most important component of the acquirer's activities and will be charged to operating income. This is a completely normal, generally accepted practice all over the world, and the opinion that it is unprofitable for merchants is nothing more than a delusion: when paying in cash, other overhead costs arise that are quite comparable to these "losses" for acquiring. This includes merchant expenses for recalculating cash, their safe storage, cash collection, etc. And nevertheless, many merchant practice setting markups when paying for goods and services using cards, and the amount of such "markups" is approximately equal to the amount of the acquiring commission. This practice is completely unacceptable, which is clearly stipulated in the rules of the Ministry of Railways. The same rules of the Ministry of Railways provide a kind of loophole for the merchant, namely: it is indicated that the merchant has the right to provide a discount for payment in cash. That is, in the general case, the price of a product or service when paying by card should not exceed the usual one, but you can give a discount to a client if he pays in cash.

Refusal to accept for payment an unsigned card

According to the rules of the Ministry of Railways on back side the card must have a special strip intended for the signature sample of the legal cardholder. When making a payment for goods or services in the merchant, the cashier must offer the buyer to confirm his willingness to pay for the transaction, either by entering a PIN or by signing the electronic terminal's check. In case of confirmation of consent by the signature, the cashier should compare the signature on the check with the sample signature on the back of the card. However, quite often, when receiving a card, the client does not affix his signature (which is a violation of the MPS requirements and carries an increased risk of illegal use of the card by fraudsters if it is lost). Merchant sellers, seeing that the client offers them an unsigned card, often refuse to accept such a means of payment, which is also unacceptable. According to the rules of the Ministry of Railways, in such cases, the cashier should offer the buyer to present an identity document of the latter, containing a photo and a sample signature, and then offer to sign the card, compare the signature on the card with the sample in the document, and then complete the transaction in the usual way. If the buyer refuses to show his passport and (or) sign the card, the transaction should not be completed.

Setting the minimum purchase price / product for payment by card

Often there are situations when the store arbitrarily sets the minimum amount, from which the seller agrees to accept the card for payment. For example, the purchase amount when paying by card must not be less than 100 rubles. (or 1000, 10,000, etc.). This practice is categorically unacceptable, since according to the rules of the Ministry of Railways, the card payment terms must fully comply with the cash payment terms.

The procedure for returning goods and spent funds

It happens that for some reason the client wants to return the purchased product back. If the goods were paid for with a card, then the money must also be returned to the card account, and not in cash. Moreover, the refund must be made to the account of the card on which the initial payment was made. If the goods are returned back, the merchant employee must complete the appropriate operation on the electronic terminal (refund / credit - return / credit). As a result of this operation, a credit check is printed on the terminal, which is a confirmation and basis for the return of funds to the payer's account. According to the rules of the Ministry of Railways, the refund must be made within 30 days from the date of the credit transaction. If there is no receipt of funds to the card account after this period, the client can file a claim with the issuing bank, and the funds will be returned based on the results of the claim cycle on the basis of "credit not processed".

Issuance of checks for card transactions

The Ministry of Railways imposes very strict requirements on the contents of electronic terminals' receipts, printed upon completion of the transaction. So, the following data must be indicated on the check:

• description / price of each paid product / service;
• date and time of the operation;
• amount and currency of the transaction;
• card number (for security reasons only the last four digits);
• country, city, address of the location of a point or bank branch;
• the name of the merchant or DBA (doing business as, DBA name, for example, OJSC VimpelCom is known on the market as Beeline);
• authorization code (if any);
• type of operation (payment for goods, return);
• place for the client's signature;
• space for the initials of the seller, cashier or other identifier (for example, the number of a department in a supermarket) of the department that served the card;
• place for the seller's signature (in the case of a credit transaction);
• on the copy of the buyer should be placed a text in Russian or English with the following content: "Important: keep this receipt for control of transactions in the statement";
• other parameters as required by local laws.

According to the requirements of the Bank of Russia, on the checks of Russian merchants, it is necessary to place a text about the amount of the commission (usually they write "There is no acquirer commission") charged from the buyer.

It is also necessary to have text approximately as follows: "I hereby authorize my issuing bank to pay for this purchase and undertake to reimburse the issuer for the amount indicated in the" Total "column, plus all relevant fees."

Customers must keep copies of receipts for at least six months to ensure that they can control the correctness of the debiting of funds in their card statements. The main purpose of the information on the check is to provide an opportunity to unambiguously correlate the information reflected in the statement with the data on the check. If the data on the check and in the statement differ significantly, the client has the right to file a claim with all the ensuing sad consequences for the acquirer.

Submission of claims on the facts of revealed violations

In all cases described in this article, affected customers - bank card holders need to contact only their issuing bank. In this case, it will be necessary to submit to the bank such data as the exact address of the merchant, name, date, time, identifier or name of the acquiring bank (if the card transaction did not take place at all, i.e. the authorization request was not generated and did not go online , the issuer will not be able to determine these data independently), and the essence of the claim (refusal to accept the card, the requirement to present a passport, enter a PIN, etc.).

Obviously, it makes no sense even to try to contact an acquiring bank, since in general, a situation with violation of the rules for processing card transactions can take place anywhere in the world and the victim will not always be able to find time to visit the right place and it is unlikely that he will have specialized knowledge and master the terminology in the local dialect.

On the basis of such an appeal, the issuer has the full right to send, in turn, a claim to the authorized body of the Ministry of Railways, and various sanctions can be applied to the acquirer, ranging from a warning and a requirement to conduct additional training of the violating merchant's employees up to the imposition of tangible financial fines (hundreds and thousands of dollars or euros depending on the tariffs of the Ministry of Railways).

Conclusion

In our dynamic age when cashless payments are rapidly invading all areas of life, and transactions with bank cards have become a daily occurrence, the aspect of client literacy is very important. This question includes both the basics correct use cards in everyday situations, and the nuances highlighted in this article, namely: what rights the buyer has when paying for goods or services in a network of merchants using a card and what exactly needs to be done in case of violations of the procedures for processing such transactions.

Since international payment systems do not work with end customers (cardholders and merchant), but with financial institutions and, first of all, they take care that their products (cards) are accepted everywhere and without restrictions, very stringent requirements are imposed on acquirers in terms of guarantee and compliance with the procedures for accepting MPS cards in their merchant network. In cases of violations of the procedures and conditions for accepting cards, holders should complain to issuing banks, which, in turn, have the right and obligation to inform the relevant MPS about such incidents, which, as a result, may lead to very unpleasant sanctions for acquirers and incorrectly operating merchants and their employees.

September 2012

Acquiring of merchants through a payment intermediary (Serebryakov S.V.)

Date the article was posted: 09/11/2014

Almost every bank sooner or later starts looking for an outlet to the retail market. One of the most attractive products for individuals is the service of bank (payment) cards. However, in order to obtain the right to issue cards (issue) and service them in the network of your enterprises (acquiring), you must at least become a member of one or another payment system, mainly international.

At the beginning of the last decade, a very popular solution for the rapid entry of banks into the retail market was the so-called agency scheme, in which the sponsoring bank, which is a full member of the international payment system (hereinafter referred to as the MPS), is usually a larger one, attracted smaller banks to issue and acquiring. And if in terms of emission, payment systems rarely had questions, since the cards of such sub-issuers could be unambiguously identified (projects "Aegis", "New Age"), then from the point of view of the Ministry of Railways, the situation with acquiring was much worse: agent banks, not being members of payment systems, attracted merchant and service enterprises (hereinafter - merchant) for servicing, in which conditions favorable for fraud often arose.
Moreover, some merchants, having concluded an acquiring agreement with their bank, independently attracted other outlets, thus becoming a mini-bank or a settlement center for the latter, which, of course, neither the MPS nor the acquiring bank had until a certain time representation.
This activity led to the fact that about 10 years ago the Ministry of Railways categorically and for a long time banned the so-called agency schemes on the territory of the Russian Federation and only relatively recently gave relief in this matter, including the introduction of the concept of Payment Facilitator (payment intermediary). This is an undoubted plus and new opportunities for acquirers, but now, taught by bitter experience, the Ministry of Railways strictly regulated all aspects of both the registration of such intermediaries and work with them.

General requirements of international payment systems for payment intermediaries

The relationship scheme assumes that the acquiring bank concludes an agreement with a payment intermediary, and that, in turn, gets the right to attract and conclude acquiring agreements with many merchant, thus creating a kind of tree structure (hierarchy). In this article, such merchants will be referred to as "subordinate merchants".
In accordance with the rules and requirements of the IPS, the acquiring bank bears full responsibility for any actions and mistakes of both subordinate merchants and the payment intermediary itself. The payment intermediary, in turn, can no longer be subordinate to the merchant of any other payment intermediary.
International payment systems impose severe restrictions on the aggregate turnover: unless otherwise specified in the rules, any subordinate merchant whose aggregate annual acquiring turnover on MPS cards exceeds $ 100,000 must cease to be such and enter into direct contractual relations with the bank. acquirer.
The acquiring bank must ensure that the following requirements are met.
1. A payment intermediary and all its subordinate merchants must operate exclusively in the territory determined by their bank's acquiring license. The location of subordinate merchants is determined by the place of the transaction, and not by the place of registration of the payment intermediary.
2. Funds received by the payment intermediary must be used exclusively for payments to subordinate merchants.
3. The acquirer may allow the payment intermediary to carry out the following activities on his own behalf, remaining fully accountable to the IPS for their adequate implementation:
- checking subordinate merchant for the correctness of business;
- keeping records of how the preliminary verification of subordinate merchants was carried out, subject to the immediate submission of such records at the request of the acquirer;
- transfer of funds to the accounts of subordinate merchants for card transactions carried out in them;
- provision of subordinate merchants with all the materials necessary for successful card transactions;
- monitoring the activity of subordinate merchant in order to detect fraudulent activity or incorrect registration of transactions.
Neither the payment intermediary nor its subordinate merchant is allowed to require the cardholder to waive the right to object to the transaction.
The acquiring bank is obliged to submit to the IPS on a quarterly basis a report on the work of each subordinate merchant payment intermediary, including at least the following:
- the name of the subordinate merchant and its address;
- if applicable - a link to the website of the subordinate merchant or the name of the trade mark;
- merchant category code (MCC) - tabular description of the direction of the business;
- for each MCC - the number and volume of card transactions per quarter;
- for each MCC - the number and volume of transactions protested by the issuers.

Payment intermediaries and high-risk merchants

International payment systems assign a high-risk status to a payment intermediary if it offers the sponsoring bank subordinate merchants whose business falls into the Excessive Chargeback Program or complies with any of the following MCCs:
- telecommunications (MCC 4814, 4816);
- e-commerce of adult video content (MCC 5967, 7273, 7841);
- Internet gambling (7995), as well as payment for games on the Internet (7994);
- Internet sales of pharmacy goods and medicines (MCC 5122, 5912);
- Internet sales of tobacco and similar products (MCC 5993).
The acquirer must register each of these merchants with the appropriate MPS program (for example, for MasterCard, this is the Merchant Registration Program (MRP)) before accepting card transactions from them.
Acting at its own discretion, the IPS has the right to deprive a payment intermediary of registration if an excessive number of protest transactions is detected either from the payment intermediary itself or from any of its subordinate merchants, or if they violate any of the requirements / standards of the IPS. Also, the MPS reserves the right to de-register the payment intermediary or its subordinate merchant in cases of identifying activities that could harm the MPS.
Any acquirer who enters into a relationship with a high-risk payment intermediary must ensure that payment system a monthly report on the activities of all subordinate merchants in accordance with the rules of the Ministry of Railways.

Registration requirements for payment intermediaries

In order to declare a merchant in the IPS as a payment intermediary, the acquirer must:
- to be a member of the IPU with a good status;
- meet all the requirements prescribed in the rules of the Ministry of Railways;
- when registering an intermediary falling into the high-risk category, - fully comply with all the rules and requirements of the Ministry of Railways concerning risk control and security.
To register a merchant as a payment intermediary, the acquirer must:
- send to the authorized subdivision of the Ministry of Railways all the necessary documentation and materials no later than 60 days from the date of the proposed registration;
- Ensure that the reseller fully complies with security requirements such as PCI DSS and other requirements applicable to the situation.
Before sending to the settlement network of the Ministry of Railways financial information about the transactions of the payment intermediary or his subordinate merchant, the acquirer must receive written confirmation from the IPS (confirmation by e-mail) about successful registration of the payment intermediary. The decision to register or refuse to register a payment intermediary is made by the IPS at its sole discretion.
To support the registration of the payment intermediary, the acquirer must periodically send to the IPS with information and documents that may be required for analysis, such as a copy of the agreement between the acquirer and the intermediary. MPS reserves the exclusive right to refuse to renew the registration of a payment intermediary.
When registering a payment intermediary, the MPS will deduct all fees applicable to this process from the acquirer in accordance with the current tariffs (for registration, review, license renewal, etc.).
If the acquiring bank intends to terminate the agreement with the intermediary or subordinate of the Merchant, it is necessary to notify the IPS of this decision at least one week in advance. The IPS reserves the right to oblige the acquirer to immediately stop accepting transactions from the payment intermediary at any time.

Obligations of the payment intermediary

The payment intermediary is a merchant and has all the rights and obligations arising from this status that are applicable to a regular outlet.
It is the responsibility of the acquirer to ensure that the payment intermediary meets all the IPS requirements set out below for the merchant.
Before entering into, renewing or renewing an agreement with a subordinate merchant, the payment intermediary must make sure that this merchant conducts a legal and correct business, has a sufficient set of mechanisms and procedures to reliably protect cardholder data and card transactions from unauthorized access or disclosure. , matches all necessary requirements and laws, and in addition, all transactions directed from such a merchant reflect a valid transaction between the subordinate merchant and the cardholder.
The acquirer must ensure that the payment intermediary is not a sponsor of the subordinate merchant registered in the untrustworthy merchant database (e.g. MATCH for MasterCard). Also, the acquirer is obliged to send data on any subordinate merchant, the contractual relationship with which was terminated due to the dubious activity of the latter, to the appropriate authorities of the Ministry of Railways.
Each payment intermediary must enter into a written agreement with each subordinate merchant, which should indicate all the conditions applicable to the issue of accepting such merchant bank cards for payment. Such an agreement must not contradict or diminish the rights of the payment intermediary, acquirer or IPU to terminate it at any time. MPS reserves the prerogative to restrict the payment intermediary's right to enter into agreements with subordinate merchants, depending on the direction of the business or other criteria at the discretion of MPS.

Necessary clauses of agreement

Each agreement between a payment intermediary and its sponsored subordinate merchant must reflect all the necessary conditions specified in the relevant sections of the IPS rules and other standards applicable to the substance of the merchant's business, and apply these standards in the same way as for regular merchant.
If the payment intermediary does not prescribe in the agreement with the subordinate merchant any necessary clause stipulated by the rules of the IPS, or special conditions set by the IPU, this does not release the acquirer from liability for protest operations and other claims procedures.
The agreement with subordinate merchants should include the following provisions.
1. The subordinate merchant must continuously inform the payment intermediary of the current address of each of its offices, the names of the trademarks used, along with a full description of the goods sold and the services provided.
2. If there is a conflict between the rules of the IPS and any of the clauses of the agreement between the payment intermediary and the subordinate merchants, then the provisions of the rules prevail.
3. The payment intermediary is solely responsible for the compliance of the subordinate merchant with the standards and procedures for servicing cards and has the right to require such merchants to make changes on their website and other similar actions if it seems necessary or reasonable to ensure that the subordinate merchant complies with the rules and standards of the IPS ...
4. An agreement with a subordinate merchant is automatically and immediately considered invalid if the IPS deregisters its payment intermediary or the acquiring bank ceases to be a member of the IPS for any reason, as well as if the acquiring bank loses the IPS acquiring license.
5. The payment intermediary, at its discretion or as directed by the acquirer / IPS, has the right to immediately terminate the agreement with the subordinate merchant due to activities that appear fraudulent or questionable from the point of view of the payment intermediary, acquirer or IPS itself.
6. Subordinate Merchant confirms and agrees that:
a) it complies with all applicable IPU standards and regulations, which change from time to time;
b) MPS is the sole and exclusive owner of its trade marks and marks;
c) the subordinate merchant will never attempt to dispute the ownership of the IPU trademarks for any reason;
d) MPS may at any time, immediately and without warning, prohibit the use of its trademarks by subordinates of the Merchant for any purpose;
e) The IPS has the right to strengthen the enforcement of any of the standards and prohibit the subordinate merchant and (or) its payment intermediary from participating in any activity that, from the point of view of the IPS, may damage or create a risk of damaging the reputation of the IPS, and also clearly negatively affects the integrity of the IPS network, or confidentiality of information;
f) the subordinate merchant will never take any action that may hinder or contradict the implementation of these rights of the IPU.
The agreement with the subordinate merchant should not contain any conditions that conflict with the current standards and rules of the IPS.

Responsibilities of a Payment Intermediary as a Sponsor of a Subordinate Merchant

A payment intermediary must strictly comply with the following obligations in relation to each of its subordinate merchants.
1. Send only data on correct transactions to the network.
The payment intermediary must transmit to its acquirer the correct transaction records as submitted by subordinate merchants and initiated by the original cardholder. The payment intermediary must not direct to the acquirer any transaction about which he or the subordinate merchant probably / should know that it is fraudulent or not authorized by the cardholder, or probably / should be aware that it was initiated by the cardholder colluding with the subordinate merchant in criminal purposes. Subordinate merchants are expected to be held accountable for the actions of their employees, agents, and representatives.
2. Ensure that the subordinate merchants comply with the IPS standards.
The Payment Intermediary is responsible for ensuring that each of its subordinate merchants complies with the standards and regulations of the IPS. The Payment Intermediary shall take all necessary and reasonable steps to ensure that subordinate merchants continue to comply with IPS standards.
3. Maintain the relevance of information about subordinate merchant.
The Payment Intermediary must maintain up to date information on the names, addresses and URLs (if applicable) of all its subordinate merchants on an ongoing basis. The acquirer must ensure that the payment intermediary sends such information to the IPS in a timely manner upon request.
4. Make payments to subordinate merchants.
Each payment intermediary is required to make payments to its subordinate merchants for all transactions submitted to the acquirer on behalf of those merchants. The agreement with subordinate merchants may include a clause allowing the payment intermediary to withhold amounts for the opposed transactions or other similar cases.
5. Provide subordinate merchants with materials.
Each payment intermediary must regularly make sure that all its subordinate merchants are provided with all the materials necessary to effectively work with cards and send transactions to the IPS network in accordance with the standards and rules for accepting cards.
6. Monitor subordinate merchants.
Each payment intermediary is required to continuously monitor the activities and use of IPS brands by all its subordinate merchants in order to detect fraudulent and incorrect activity early and ensure continued compliance with IPS standards. To comply with this rule, minimum merchant monitoring standards have been established that apply to all subordinate merchants.

conclusions

A more democratic and flexible approach of the IPS to the issues of building relations between acquiring banks and their merchants, in particular, the legalization of the scheme using a payment intermediary (Payment Facilitator), undoubtedly allows the participants of the IPS to develop the network at a faster pace, attracting more and more and new merchants and creating entire hierarchical structures with more complex levels of subordination and relationships.
Nevertheless, acquiring banks should be extremely careful in choosing merchants as payment intermediaries and scrupulously comply with all the rules and requirements of the IPS, especially with regard to security issues and compliance with the standards for accepting cards for servicing in merchants.