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702.3 Receipting of Credit Card Transactions

Outlined below are some guidelines that may reduce the risk of fraud when accepting payment on credit cards.

 Situations which could be considered suspicious are:

 ·        first-time customers who order large or unusual orders;

·        requests of express freight of goods, where the customer appears to be unconcerned about the high costs;

·        orders that are paid with multiple cards and where the card numbers are strikingly similar or appear sequential, eg: 4557 0220 0000 0010, 4557 0220 0000 1252 and 4557 0220 0000 1562;

·        international orders from a country with which you do not normally deal or where the goods are readily available on the local market;

·        orders from Internet addresses using free email services that do not require a billing relationship or verification that the account was opened by a legitimate cardholder. Research indicates that a high percentage of fraudulent transactions are initiated through the free, web-based or email forwarding services.

Current fraud statistics show that a large percentage of fraudulent transactions are associated with Indonesia, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia and some countries in Western Africa. You may wish to exercise additional caution when doing business with these countries.

In any suspicious situation you should obtain authorisation for the transaction by telephoning the appropriate Authorisation Centre, as listed below:

• Bankcard/VISA/Mastercard                               132515
  (for a suspicious customer select option 1)

• AMEX                                                               1800 222 000

• Diners                                                                1800 331 112

An authorisation does not guarantee payment to you as it can only confirm that funds are available and that the card has not been reported lost or stolen at the time that authorisation was obtained. To minimise the risk of fraud further confirmation of the cardholder’s identify should be sought.

Minimising the risk of fraud in a card not-present environment

Outlined below are some options which may assist in minimising the risk of fraud where the card is not able to be examined.

·        Ask for the cardholder to fax you the front and back of their credit card together with suitable identification such as a driver’s licence or passport.

·        Obtain the customer’s contact phone number and address, then call them back to confirm their order (verify details where possible with White Pages or Telstra check).

·        Arrange for deliveries to be made upon presentation of credit card and ‘signature required’ by your choice of courier, rather than the customer’s choice.

·        For initial orders, advise customers that goods will be delivered once funds have been cleared from their account.

·        For large overseas orders, examining alternate methods of payment may reduce potential risk. Click onto www.national.com.au, select Business, Specialist Services and then International Trade for more information on payment solutions for exporters of goods and services.

·        Do not be afraid to decline the sale is you are suspicious.

Few genuine customers will resent these precautions. Customers are more likely to be reassured by your efforts to prevent mistakes and fraud on their card.

For further information please contact the Business Payments area at the National Australia Bank on 9215 6233.