This document was developed to help merchants and service providers understand the Payment Card
Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). Read this entire
Instructions and Guidelines document to understand why PCI DSS is important to your organization, what
strategies your organization can use to facilitate compliance validation, and whether your organization is
eligible to complete one of the shorter SAQ versions.
For card-not-present (e-commerce or mail/telephone-order) merchants, all cardholder data functions outsourced. This would never apply to face-to-face merchants.
Check the obvious, power is plugged in, outlet that it's plugged into has power. Try moving it to another outlet. Make sure the terminal power is turned on. Contact Frontline Processing customer support for additonal assistance.
Storms can cause power surges as well as take telephone services that terminals depend on. Frontline strongly recommends a quality surge protector for your terminal. Even better is a Uninteruptable Power Supply (UPS) that will deliver power to the terminal in a power failure. Try unplugging your device from electrical and phone jacks and reconnecting them to see if it corrects the issue.
Reset the power by unplugging the power from the terminal and plugging it back in. Often after a storm power and phone lines have issues. Check the phone line to make sure it's plugged in securly. Try unplugging the phone line and putting it back in. Using a standard telephone (NOT a digial business phone) plug into the jack and test for dial-tone. If your terminal uses and Internet line, be sure to disconnect the power from the terminal before removing or installing the Internet connection.
Is it all cards or just one? Make sure the magnetic stripe is facing the right direction. A single card could be a bad magnetic stripe. Try cleaning the reader slot with a cleaning pad (ask us about them) or try swipping a new coffee filter through the reader to clean debris from the heads.
NEVER EVER use an approval code from anyone other than authorizied officials. Never force a transaction without contacting Frontline Processing. This is a popular fraud technique seen recently.
Gift cards can be sold and redeemed by customers at a later point. You may set expiration dates on them. They are a great source of additional revenue.
This is a warning sign of fraud. If you are hit with a chargeback, you will be required to produce the signed receipt. If the signature does not match the cardholder, you will lose the dispute. Therefore, we highly recommend getting positive ID from cardholders, especially on high ticket items.
Cardholders may contact their bank and dispute a charge on their statement. The merchant is then required to produce proof that the charge is legitimate. This is the reason you need to keep receipts filed such that they can be produced as part of a dispute.
This is a warning sign of fraud. If you are hit with a chargeback, you will be required to produce the signed receipt. If the signature does not match the cardholder, you will lose the dispute. Therefore, we highly recommend getting positive ID from cardholders, especially on high ticket items.
Visa/Mastercard rules prohibit recurring attempts on a decline during the same day. Merchants may encounter additonal fees, therefore you should either call the voice authorization line or ask the cardholder for another form of payment if the reason is a hard decline.
LCD displays can heat up and turn black. Move the terminal out of the sun and into a cool place and it should return to normal. Always keep your terminal away from hard environments such as extreme heat, cold and damp places.
