Since you (hereinafter 'Merchant') have either entered ...



Since you (hereinafter "Merchant") have either entered into a Bank Card Merchant Agreement and/or related agreements (collectively referred to herein as "Bank Card Merchant Agreement") with Fifth Third Bank (collectively referred to herein as "FTB") or receive Visa and/or MasterCard acquiring and/or related services from FTB, Merchant agrees to comply with and be bound by these Bank Card Merchant Rules and Regulations ("Bank Rules"). These Bank Rules may be altered or amended from time to time at FTB’s sole discretion and without notice. Merchant also agrees to comply with and be bound by the Visa U.S.A Inc. By-Laws and Operating Regulations, the Visa International Operating Regulations and any other rules, policies or requirements of Visa or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates (collectively "Visa Rules") and the MasterCard International Inc. By-Laws and Operating Regulations and any other rules, policies or requirements of MasterCard or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates (collectively "MasterCard Rules"), any of which may be altered or amended from time to time and without notice, which are referenced herein and hereby incorporated into these Bank Rules as if fully rewritten herein. Except for those terms specifically defined herein, all capitalized terms used herein shall have the same meanings as ascribed to them in the Bank Card Merchant Agreement. Merchant may now, or in the future, participate in one or more other card programs which are supported by FTB in accordance with its standards ("Other Programs"), including but not limited to Voyager and Wright Express, and may receive services related to these Other Programs from FTB. In the event that Merchant participates in any such Other Programs, Merchant agrees to comply with and be bound by the Other Programs Bank Rules published by FTB from time to time, as well as any operating rules or regulations or any other rules, policies or requirements of the applicable Other Program(s) (“Other Program Rules”). Before Merchant participates in any Other Program, Merchant agrees that it shall request from FTB in writing a copy of the Other Programs Bank Rules. The Bank Card Merchant Agreement, Visa Rules, MasterCard Rules, Other Program Rules, Other Program Bank Rules and these Bank Rules are intended to be and shall be construed as consistent parts of a whole as applied to the applicable product type. In the event of a direct conflict between the Bank Card Merchant Agreement or the Bank Rules and the Visa Rules or the MasterCard Rules, the Visa Rules and MasterCard Rules shall control; provided, however, Merchant acknowledges and agrees that all agreements with respect to the obligations and liability of FTB are specified in the Bank Card Merchant Agreement and the Bank Card Merchant Agreement shall control on such subjects notwithstanding anything in the Bank Rules, Visa Rules, MasterCard Rules, Other Programs Bank Rules, and/or the Other Program Rules.

A. Honoring of Cards

1. The Merchant shall promptly and without discrimination honor all valid Cards within the appropriate categories of acceptance when properly presented as payment from Cardholders for the purchase of goods and/or services. The Merchant shall maintain a policy that shall not discriminate among customers seeking to make purchases through use of a valid Card. An unreadable magnetic stripe, in and of itself, does not deem a Card invalid.

2. The Merchant shall not establish minimum or maximum sales transaction amounts as a condition for honoring a Card.

3. The Merchant shall not impose any surcharge on sales transactions.

4. Any purchase price advertised or otherwise disclosed by the Merchant must be the price available when payment is made with a Card.

5. Any tax required to be collected by the Merchant must be included in the total transaction amount and not collected separately in cash.

6. The Merchant shall validate all cards by ensuring the signature on the back of the Card matches the signature on the transaction receipt.

7. The Merchant shall not accept any Card having two signatures on the signature panel located on the back of the Card.

8. The Merchant shall not impose a requirement on Cardholders to provide any personal information, such as a (i) home or business telephone number, (ii) home or business address, (iii) driver's license number, (iv) photocopy of a driver's license or (v) photocopy of the Card, as a condition for honoring a Card unless such information is required (a) for mail order, telephone order, or electronic commerce transactions; (b) the transaction amount exceeds a pre-determined dollar limit set by FTB; or (c) the information is required by the Card issuer. Except for the specific circumstances cited above, the Merchant shall not refuse to complete a sales transaction solely because a Cardholder who has complied with all of the conditions for presentment of a Card at the point-of-sale refuses to provide such additional personal information.

9. A Merchant must not refuse to complete an electronic commerce transaction solely because the Cardholder does not have a digital certificate or other secured protocol.

10. The Merchant shall not require a Cardholder, as a condition for honoring a Card, to sign a statement that in any way states or implies that the Cardholder waives any rights to dispute the transaction with the Card issuer or otherwise.

B. Use of Service Marks

1. The Merchant shall adequately display, in accordance with the Visa and MasterCard Rules, the Visa and MasterCard service marks, as applicable, at points of interaction and on promotional materials to indicate which Cards will be honored at the Merchant's place of business. At a minimum, the Visa and MasterCard service marks should be on display near the entrance of the Merchant's place of business and must not be less prominent than other service marks that the Merchant has on display (e.g., American Express, Discover).

2. The Merchant may use the Visa and MasterCard wordmark on promotional, printed, or broadcast materials only to indicate that Cards are accepted for payment and shall not indicate, either directly or indirectly, that Visa and MasterCard endorse any goods and/or services.

3. A merchant web site must display the Visa and MasterCard Marks in full color to indicate card acceptance. The Visa and MasterCard wordmark should be used to indicate acceptance of cards when a visual representation of the marks is not possible at the merchant web site.

4. The Merchant may not refer to Visa and MasterCard in stating eligibility for its products, services or membership.

C. Authorization

1. The Merchant shall obtain authorization for each sales transaction for the total amount of such transaction. For sales transactions not processed through an electronic terminal, the Merchant shall type or print legibly on the sales draft the authorization approval code evidencing the authorization so obtained.

2. A Merchant must only deposit transaction receipts that directly result from Cardholder transactions with that Merchant. A Merchant must not deposit a transaction receipt that it knows or should have known to be either fraudulent or not authorized by the Cardholder

3. A Merchant is responsible for its employees’ actions while in its employ.

4. The Merchant's designated authorization center, or at FTB's option the authorization center designated by FTB (hereafter referred to as "Designated Authorization Center"), provides such Merchant approval or denial for sales transactions for specific dollar amounts. The Designated Authorization Center may also provide the Merchant with assistance in the following circumstances.

a. When a sales transaction involves use of a Card and the total amount of the transaction is in excess of the then current and applicable floor limit, if any, in the Bank Card Merchant Agreement or if a zero floor limit is applicable to such transaction or if there is no mention of a floor limit in the Bank Card Merchant Agreement.

b. When a sales transaction is completed in partial payment of a single purchase, authorization is required for the amount segment(s) of the purchase effected with the Card, regardless of the Merchant's floor limit.

c. When a sales transaction is a mail order or telephone order transaction.

d. When a sales transaction, other than mail order or telephone order, involves (i) a handwritten sales draft which does not contain the imprint of the Merchant plate or the Card, (ii) a Cardholder who is present but without the Card, (iii) a sales draft which is not signed by a Cardholder, (iv) an unsigned Card, (v) suspicious or unusual circumstances or (vi) an expired Card. When requesting authorization in such circumstances, the Merchant must advise the Designated Authorization Center of the specific reason(s) authorization is requested.

(1) If the signature panel on the Card is blank, in addition to requesting authorization, the Merchant must do all of the following.

a) Review positive identification to determine that the user of the Card is the Cardholder. Such identification must consist of a current, official government identification document (e.g., passport, driver's license) that bears the Cardholder's signature. Such identification, including any serial number, social security number, or driver's license number and expiration date, must be indicated on the sales draft

b) Require the Cardholder to sign the signature panel of the Card prior to completing the transaction.

2) If a sales transaction involves suspicious or unusual circumstances, then the Merchant shall call the Designated Authorization Center and request a "Code 10" authorization.

5. An authorization code only indicates the availability of a Cardholder's credit as of the time the authorization is obtained. An authorization is no guarantee that the person presenting the Card is the rightful Cardholder or that the transaction will not be charged back to the Merchant.

6. In the event FTB for whatever reason is unable to obtain, or due to system delays chooses not to wait to obtain, authorization from the Cardholder’s financial institution, Visa or MasterCard, FTB may at its option “stand-in” for such entities and authorize the sales draft or sales transaction based on criteria established by FTB, and Merchant remains responsible for such sales draft or sales transaction in accordance with the Bank Card Merchant Agreement.

7. If a sales transaction is not authorized, the Merchant must not complete the sale. A declined sales transaction is originated from the bank that issued the Card. The fact that a sales transaction was declined should not be interpreted as a reflection of the Cardholder's credit worthiness. If the Cardholder has any questions concerning the authorization, instruct such Cardholder to call the bank that issued the Card.

D. Verification and Recovery of Cards

1. If a transaction is not authorized, the Merchant must not complete the sale, and, if instructed by the Designated Authorization Center to pick-up the Card, the Merchant should do so by reasonable and peaceful means, notify the Designated Authorization Center when the Card has been recovered, and ask for further instructions.

2. The Merchant shall use reasonable and peaceful means to recover any Card if (i) the account number thereon is listed on any Combined Warning Bulletin, (ii) the printed four digits above the embossed account number do not match the first four digits of the account number, (iii) the Merchant is advised to retain it or (iv) the Merchant has reasonable grounds to believe such Card is counterfeit, fraudulent or stolen. The Merchant shall also note the physical description of the Cardholder.

3. It is not necessary for an automated dispensing machine, self-service terminal or limited-amount terminal to retain Cards. However, if such machine does have this ability, it may retain Cards only upon a Card issuer's specific request.

E. Electronic Processing Merchants

1. Any Merchant processing sales transactions through the use of an electronic terminal must comply with the following additional requirements in order to properly process sales transactions and in order to attempt to qualify for a reduced rate.

a. The Card must be swiped through the terminal (except for mail order or telephone order transactions). If the Card account number is not electronically read from the Card's magnetic stripe, the Merchant must obtain an imprint of the Card. The draft with the imprint of the Card must be signed by the Cardholder and shall include the date, time, authorization code, location, and dollar amount on the same side as the imprint of the Card.

b. If an electronic authorization results in a "referral", "call bank", or similar response, the Merchant must call its Designated Authorization Center for an authorization. If an approval response is received, the Merchant must obtain an imprint of the Card. The sales draft containing the imprint must be signed by the Cardholder.

c. Notwithstanding any provision in section C above, every sales transaction must be authorized.

d. When entering an off-line transaction, the correct Card account number and expiration date must be key-entered into the terminal.

e. Deposits must be transmitted within two days from the actual date the Merchant completes all of its obligations to the Cardholder. These obligations include, but are not limited to, delivering all goods and/or performing all services as required on the sales draft.

f. The Merchant must compare the account number embossed on the Card to the account number encoded on the Card's magnetic stripe and, if the account numbers are not the same, will call the Designated Authorization Center and request a "Code 10" authorization.

g. The Merchant may use the MasterCard or Visa Address Verification Service to verify a Cardholder’s billing address prior to completing a sales draft or sales transaction. In this case, all required information must be forwarded as part of the authorization request.

2. Notwithstanding the information outlined above, the Merchant shall be responsible for all applicable fees in connection with each sales transaction processed by FTB. Properly adhering to the information outlined above is no guarantee that sales transactions will qualify for the lowest possible rate.

F. Returned Merchandise and Adjustments

1. A Merchant shall not process a credit transaction without having (i) completed a previous purchase transaction with the same Cardholder and the same Card and (ii) paid related fees associated with such transaction to FTB. The refund or adjustment indicated on the credit draft shall not exceed the original transaction amount.

2. The Merchant shall not submit a sales draft and an offsetting credit draft at a later date solely for the purpose of debiting and crediting a Cardholder's account.

3. If, with respect to any transaction, any merchandise is accepted for return, or any services are terminated or cancelled, or any price adjustment is allowed by the Merchant, then the Merchant shall not make any cash refund to the Cardholder, but instead shall deliver promptly to FTB (if FTB received the original sales transaction from the Merchant) a credit draft evidencing such refund or adjustment.

4. Authorization is not required when a refund is given to a Cardholder.

5. The Merchant may limit its acceptance of returned merchandise or establish a policy to make price adjustments for any transaction, provided that proper disclosure is made by the Merchant to the Cardholder and purchased goods and/or services are delivered to the Cardholder at the time the transaction takes place.

a. Proper disclosure by the Merchant shall be determined to have been given at the time of the transaction if (i) the Merchant informs the Cardholder orally of its return policy and (ii) the Merchant's return policy is conspicuously stated directly on the sales draft that is signed by the Cardholder. The return policy on the sales draft should have the following words or similar wording legibly printed on all copies of the sales draft formset, in capital letters at least ¼ inch high and in close proximity to the space provided for the Cardholder's signature or invoice being presented to the Cardholder for signature:

1) "NO REFUND, ALL SALES FINAL" -- For a Merchant which may not accept merchandise in return or exchange and may not issue a refund to a Cardholder

2) “EXCHANGE ONLY" -- For a Merchant which may only accept merchandise in immediate exchange for similar merchandise of a price equal to the amount of the original transaction

3) "IN-STORE CREDIT ONLY" -- For a Merchant which may accept merchandise in return and deliver to the Cardholder an in-store credit equal to the value of the merchandise returned which may be used only in the Merchant's place(s) of business.

4) The Merchant may, if permitted by applicable law, stipulate special circumstances agreed to by the Cardholder (e.g. late delivery, delivery charges or insurance charges) as terms of the sales transaction, but under no circumstances shall a surcharge be assessed for the use of a Card. Any special terms of the transaction must appear on the sales draft.

b. Notwithstanding the information above, the Merchant shall be responsible for all returns and chargebacks allowable pursuant to or by the Visa and MasterCard Rules, applicable law, Visa, MasterCard, or any other applicable corporation. Properly adhering to the information outlined above is no guarantee that the Cardholder's rights with respect to returned transactions and chargebacks have been limited or waived.

G. Cash Payment and Cash Disbursement

1. The Merchant shall not receive any payments from a Cardholder with respect to charges for merchandise and/or services which are included on a sales draft resulting from the use of a Card.

2. The Merchant shall not disburse cash to a Cardholder and then process such activity as a Card sales transaction.

3. The Merchant shall not process a money order or wire transfer transaction for a Cardholder and then process such activity as a Card sales transaction.

4. Owners, partners, principals, and/or officers of the Merchant are prohibited from depositing sales drafts involving the use of their own personal Card(s), other than for valid purchases of goods and/or services of the Merchant.

H. Refinancing of Existing Obligations

1. The Merchant is not permitted to process any transactions that represent the refinancing or transfer of an existing Cardholder obligation that has been (i) deemed to be uncollectible or (ii) arise from the dishonor of a Cardholder’s personal check or (iii) arise from the acceptance of cards at terminals that dispense scrip.

I. Cash Deposit

1. The Merchant shall not receive cash, a check, or other value from a Cardholder for the purpose of preparing and/or depositing a credit draft that could result in a deposit to the Cardholder's account.

J. Multiple Sales Drafts and Partial Consideration

1. The Merchant shall include all items of goods and/or services purchased in a single transaction in the total amount on a single sales draft, except in the following situations.

a. For purchases in separate departments of a multiple-department store.

b. For partial payment transactions when the balance of the amount due is paid by the Cardholder at the time of the transaction in cash, by check, with another card or Card, or any combination thereof.

c. For installment payment transactions when the Cardholder elects to use such option offered by a mail order or telephone order Merchant. (Refer to sections P.7.a-P.7.f for additional requirements to accepting installment payment transactions.)

d. For delayed delivery transactions when the Cardholder executes two separate sales drafts. In such a case, a deposit is made by completion of one sales draft and payment of the balance is tendered by completion of a second sales draft, the latter sales draft being conditioned upon delivery of merchandise or performance of services. Authorization is required if the total amount of both sales drafts exceeds the applicable floor limit and, if obtained, shall be assigned separate authorization numbers for each sales draft. The Merchant shall note on the sales drafts the words "Delayed Delivery", "Deposit" or "Balance" as appropriate, and the respective authorization date and approval code, when applicable. The sales draft labeled "Balance" shall not be presented to FTB until the goods are delivered and/or the services performed.

e. For advanced payment transactions when the Cardholder elects to use such option offered by a lodging or cruise line Merchant.

f. For delayed or amended charges relating to a travel and entertainment transaction where the Cardholder consented in writing to be liable for such charges. Such charges may consist of ancillary or corrected charges which may include room charges, food or beverage charges, taxes, fuel, insurance and rental fees, parking tickets, and moving violations as applicable, but may not consist of any charges for loss, theft or damage.

2. The Merchant shall not use two or more sales drafts originated by the use of a single Card to avoid authorization calls to the Designated Authorization Center.

K. Delivery of Sales Drafts and Credit Drafts

1. The Merchant shall deliver to the Cardholder a true and completed copy of the sales draft evidencing a transaction involving use of a Card. Such copy shall be delivered at the time of the delivery of the goods and/or performance of the services covered thereby, or, for transactions initiated at point-of-transaction terminals, at the time of the transaction. The Merchant shall deliver to the Cardholder a true and complete copy of each applicable credit draft at the time of the transaction giving rise thereto.

2. The Cardholder shall not be required to sign a sales draft until the final transaction amount is known and indicated in the "total" column.

3. For draft retrieval requests, a copy of the specified draft must be received by FTB from the merchant within ten (10) calendar days of the FTB report date. For chargeback prenotifications, the requested documentation must be received by FTB from the merchant within fifteen (15) calendar days of the FTB report date. For chargeback reversal requests, supplemental documentation must be received by FTB from the merchant within ten (10) calendar days of the FTB report date. Failure to respond to a retrieval request, chargeback prenotification, and/or chargeback reversal request may result in the Merchant being liable for chargebacks.

L. Date and Identification

1. The Merchant must date each sales draft and/or transaction record resulting from the use of a Card with the transaction date and should include thereon a brief description of the merchandise and/or services sold and the price thereof (including any applicable taxes) in detail sufficient to identify the transaction. The Merchant must also date each credit draft resulting from the use of a Card with the transaction date and should include thereon a brief description of the merchandise returned, services cancelled or adjustment made and the amount of the credit in sufficient detail to identify the transaction.

2. In each case in which a Cardholder presents a Card, the Merchant will complete the transaction only if (i) the signature on the draft appears to be the same as the signature on the Card and, if applicable, (ii) the Cardholder resembles the person depicted in any picture which appears on the Card. If such identification is uncertain or if the Merchant otherwise questions the validity of the Card, the Merchant shall contact the Designated Authorization Center for further instructions.

3. In each case in which a Cardholder presents a Card that bears an embossed "valid from" date and the transaction date is prior to the "valid from" date, the Merchant shall not complete the transaction. When a Card is embossed with a "valid from" date in a month/year format, the Card is considered to be valid on the first day of the embossed month and year. When a Card is embossed with a "valid from" date in a month/day/year format, the Card is considered to be valid on the embossed date.

4. Transactions completed by a Merchant without the imprint of the Card on a sales draft are "Identity Responsibility Sales". Such sales may be made by the Merchant at its option. In making such sales, the Merchant will be deemed to warrant and represent that the purchaser is the person whose name appears on the sales draft and that the name and account number appearing on the sales draft are the same as those embossed on such Card. The fact that the Merchant has obtained authorization for the transaction does not alter this warranty of identity or the need for independent identification and should Merchant complete such transaction, Merchant shall be solely responsible for any and all liabilities arising from such transaction.

M. Disclosure and Storage of Cardholder Information

1. The Merchant shall not disclose a Cardholder's account information nor any other personal information to third parties other than to the Merchant's agent(s) for the sole purpose of assisting such Merchant in completing the transaction or as specifically required by law. Suspicious requests for account information should be reported immediately to Merchant’s designated account manager at Bank or to Bank’s client services department.

2. The Merchant may request from FTB to receive BIN information. The Merchant must not use the BIN information for any reason other than to identify debit category products versus credit category products at the point of sale. The Merchant must not disclose the BIN information to any third party without prior written consent of FTB.

3. In the event of bankruptcy, insolvency, or other suspension of business operations, the Merchant must not sell, transfer, or disclose any materials that contain Cardholder account numbers, personal information or other transaction information to third parties. The Merchant must either: a) return the information to FTB or b) provide acceptable proof of destruction of this information to FTB.

4. The Merchant agrees to retain in its files legible copies of each sales draft and credit draft for a period of at least 90 days, and further agrees to deliver the paper copy of any such sales draft or credit draft in its files to FTB, or to such person as FTB may designate, within such period after request therefore as is required by law or by the Visa and MasterCard Rules. If the Merchant destroys or discards the paper copy of such sales draft or credit draft in its files after such 90-day period, the Merchant will retain a microfilm or other photographic image of the sales draft and credit draft thereof for such period as may be necessary to enable the Merchant and FTB to comply with all applicable laws and the Visa and MasterCard Rules, which period is approximately eighteen (18) months, and will deliver a copy of such image of any sales draft or credit draft upon request by FTB as evidence of the sale. The Merchant will be responsible for all liabilities arising from any failure to provide an acceptable copy of any sales draft or credit draft as required by law or the Visa and MasterCard Rules.

5. The Merchant or any agent of the Merchant shall store in an area limited to selected personnel and, prior to discarding, shall destroy in a manner rendering data unreadable, all material containing Cardholder account numbers or imprints, such as sales drafts, credit drafts, card rental agreements, and carbons.

6. The Merchant or any agent of the Merchant shall not retain or store magnetic-stripe data subsequent to the authorization of a sales transaction.

7. The Merchant or any agent of the Merchant shall not retain or store Card Verification Value 2 (CVV2) data subsequent to the authorization of a sales transaction.

8. The Merchant shall comply with provisions of the Visa Cardholder Information Security Program, which includes, but is not limited to the following requirements:

• Install and maintain a working firewall to protect data

• Keep security patches up-to-date

• Protect stored data

• Encrypt data sent across public networks

• Use and regularly update anti-virus software

• Restrict access by "need to know"

• Assign unique ID to each person with computer access

• Don't use vendor-supplied defaults for passwords and security parameters

• Track all access to data by unique ID

• Regularly test security systems and processes

• Implement and maintain an information security policy

• Restrict physical access to data

N. Legends

1. The Merchant shall use a suitable imprinter to imprint legibly on each sales draft and credit draft the embossed legends from the Card and the Merchant plate. If either or both of such legends are not so imprinted, the information appearing thereon shall be reproduced legibly on the draft in sufficient detail to identify the Merchant, the Cardholder, and the Card issuer. Such detail shall include the Merchant's name and address, the Cardholder's name and any company name, the Cardholder's account number, the expiration date of the Card, and the name or trade name of the Card issuer as it appears on the face of the Card. Merchants completing transactions with magnetic-stripe-reading terminals which produce transaction records must ensure that the Cardholder account number encoded on the magnetic stripe and the Merchant's name and address are included on the transaction record.

2. The Merchant shall immediately notify FTB in writing in the event that the information on the Merchant plate has changed.

O. Delivery of Non-Electronic Sales Drafts and Credit Drafts

1. The Merchant shall deliver all non-electronic (e.g. paper) sales drafts and credit drafts to FTB or its designated agent within three calendar days after the applicable transaction date, with the following exceptions.

a. In cases in which the Merchant requests and receives authorization for a delayed delivery transaction, delivery of the draft shall then be made within five calendar days after the date of the "deposit" transaction and within five calendar days after the date of the "balance" transaction.

b. In cases in which the Merchant has multiple locations or offices and delivers its drafts to FTB through a central office or facility, delivery of the draft shall be made within 20 calendar days of the transaction date.

2. A sales draft or credit draft may not be delivered to FTB or its designated agent until the Merchant has completed all of its obligations to the Cardholder. These obligations include, but are not limited to, delivering all goods and/or performing all services as required on the draft.

3. A Merchant may not present to FTB or its designated agent, either directly or indirectly, any sales draft or credit draft which was not originated as a result of an act between the Cardholder and the Merchant.

4. A Merchant may not present to FTB or its designated agent, either directly or indirectly, any sales draft or credit draft that it knows or should have known to be fraudulent and/or not authorized by the Cardholder. With respect to this requirement, the Merchant shall be responsible for the actions of its employees, representatives, agents and any other person which Merchant allows to have access to electronic terminals or sales drafts for purposes of generating or creating a sales transaction.

5. A Merchant may not present to FTB or its designated agent, either directly or indirectly, any sales draft representing a transaction which had been previously charged-back to the Merchant. This prohibition is applicable to transactions processed with or without the Cardholder's permission. The Merchant may, at its option, pursue payment from the Cardholder outside the Visa or MasterCard system.

P. Mail Order, Telephone Order, Delayed Delivery, Electronic Commerce and Recurring Transactions

1. The Merchant may not engage in mail order, telephone order, delayed delivery, electronic commerce and/or recurring transactions unless previously indicated on the merchant application and subsequently approved by FTB in writing. The Merchant assumes all risk associated with accepting mail order, telephone order, delayed delivery, electronic commerce and recurring transactions, including, but not limited to, fraudulent sales transactions.

2. For the transactions specified below, the Merchant shall type or print legibly on the "signature line" of the sales draft.

a. "TO" for telephone order transactions

b. "MO" for mail order transactions

c. "Recurring Transaction" for recurring transactions

d. "No Show" for motels/hotels which are actively participating in the Guaranteed Reservation Program (contact your account executive for additional information)

e. “E-Commerce” for electronic commerce transactions.

3. On the sales draft, the Merchant must clearly print the (i) Cardholder's account number, (ii) Card's effective and expiration dates, (iii) date of the transaction, (iv) description of the goods and/or services, (v) amount of the transaction (including shipping, handling, insurance, etc. charges), (vi) Cardholder's name, (vii) Cardholder's billing address, (viii) ship to address, (ix) authorization code and (x) Merchant's name and address.

4. The Merchant shall obtain the expiration date of the Card for mail order and telephone order transactions and shall forward the expiration date as part of the authorization inquiry.

5. Under no circumstances may a Merchant require that a Cardholder complete a postcard or similar device which includes the (i) Cardholder's account number, (ii) Card expiration date, (iii) signature or (iv) any other Card account data in plain view when mailed or transmitted over a public network.

6. A mail order and/or telephone order Merchant may offer Cardholders an installment payment option for its mail order and/or telephone order merchandise under the following conditions.

a. The Merchant's material clearly discloses the installment terms including, but not limited to (i) the availability of the plan for selected items or the total amount of the order and (ii) the handling of the shipping and handling charges and any applicable taxes.

b. No finance charges are added by the Merchant.

c. The sum of the installment transactions does not exceed the total sale price of the merchandise on a single transaction basis.

d. Authorization is obtained for each installment transaction above the Merchant's applicable floor limit.

e. The Merchant does not deposit the first installment transaction with FTB until the merchandise is shipped.

f. In addition to the Merchant name, an appropriate installment transaction descriptor (e.g., 1 of 5, 2 of 5) is included in the merchant name field of the sales receipt.

7. In a delay delivery transaction whereby a Cardholder makes a deposit toward the full amount of the sale, the Merchant must execute two separate Cardholder sales receipts, the first for a deposit and the second for payment of the balance upon delivery of the merchandise or the performance of the services.

a. The following authorization requirements apply to MasterCard delayed delivery transactions.

1) One authorization must be obtained for the full amount of the sale.

2) The Merchant must note on both Cardholder sales receipts the authorization date and approval code.

3) The Merchant must note on each Cardholder sales receipt the words "delayed delivery", "deposit" or "balance", as appropriate.

b. The following authorization requirements apply to Visa delayed delivery transactions.

1) The Merchant must obtain separate authorizations for the amount of the deposit transaction and the amount of the balance transaction.

2) The Merchant must identify the applicable authorization number, authorization date, and approval code on each Cardholder sales receipt.

3) The Merchant must note on each Cardholder sales receipt the words "delayed delivery", "deposit" or "balance", as appropriate.

8. If the Merchant accepts electronic commerce transactions, the Merchant must disclose all of the following information on the Merchant’s web site.

a. Complete description of the goods and/or services

b. Returned merchandise and refund policy

c. Customer service contact, including electronic mail address and/or telephone number

d. Transaction currency

e. Export or legal restrictions

f. Delivery policy.

g. Disclosure of the Merchant Outlet country on the same screen as the check-out screen or during the check-out process.

h. Consumer data privacy policy.

i. Security method for the transmission of payment data

9. If the Merchant agrees to accept a recurring transaction from a Cardholder for the purchase of goods and/or services which are delivered or performed periodically, the Cardholder must complete and deliver to the Merchant an order form containing a written request for such goods and/or services to be charged to the Cardholder's account. The order form must at least specify (i) the transaction amount charged to the Cardholder's account, (ii) the frequency of the recurring charges and (iii) the duration of time for which such Cardholder permission is granted. In the event that a recurring transaction is renewed, the Cardholder must complete and deliver to the Merchant a subsequent order form for continuation of such goods and/or services to be charged to the Cardholder's account. A recurring transaction may include the payment of recurring charges such as insurance premiums, subscriptions, membership fees, tuition, or utility charges.

a. If the recurring transactions are to be for varying amounts, the following additional conditions apply.

1) The order form must allow space for the Cardholder to specify a minimum and maximum transaction amount to be charged periodically to the Cardholder's account.

2) The Merchant must inform the Cardholder of the Cardholder's right to receive, at least 10 days prior to each scheduled transaction date, written notification of the amount and date of the next charge.

b. A copy of the order form must be (i) retained by the Merchant for the duration of the recurring charges and (ii) provided in response to an issuer's request for the original sales draft.

c. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any agreement between the Merchant and a Cardholder, the Merchant shall not complete an initial or subsequent recurring transaction after receiving a cancellation notice from the Cardholder, FTB, or a response that the Card is not to be honored.

Q. Additional Services/ Locations

1. The Merchant is required to notify and receive written acceptance from FTB prior to accepting Card transactions if the Merchant is involved in (i) sales at customer-activated terminals, (ii) sales at self-service terminals, (iii) telemarketing sales, (iv) supermarket sales, (v) sales which involve the transfer of cash or (vi) advanced payment sales.

2. If the Merchant intends to change the nature and type of products and/or services it provides as identified on the Merchant's processing application which was subsequently received by FTB, the Merchant is required to obtain and receive written acceptance of such change from FTB prior to accepting Cards and depositing sales drafts for such transactions.

3. If the Merchant intends to create a new legal business entity, separate from the business entity that previously contracted for Visa/MasterCard acquiring services from FTB, and process Card transactions at such business entity with FTB, then the Merchant is required to apply for processing for the new business entity, even if such entity is owned, in whole or in part, by the principle owners of the Merchant.

4. If the Merchant wishes to process Card transactions at a new or additional location of its current existing business, which business has previously contracted for Visa/MasterCard acquiring services from FTB, such Merchant should call their account executive.

R. Reserve of Funds

1. FTB reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to require the Merchant to prepay funds satisfactory to FTB as a reserve ("Reserve") to cover Merchant's anticipated or past-due obligations to FTB, including but not limited to, anticipated or past-due discount fees and chargebacks, for reasons that include but are not limited to, the Merchant files bankruptcy, FTB reasonably believes that there has been a material deterioration in the Merchant's financial condition, Merchant is past-due in amounts owed to FTB, or upon notice of termination of the Bank Card Merchant Agreement.

2. Not limiting the generality of the foregoing, upon notice of termination and/or upon demand by FTB at any time, Merchant shall immediately: (i) prepay, or at FTB’s option it shall have the right to fund from Merchant's Card sales and/or accounts, the Reserve in an amount equal to the chargebacks during a nine (9) month period prior to the notice of termination plus ten percent (10%), anticipated discount fees and/or such other amounts as FTB deems necessary, in its sole discretion, to cover Merchant's current or past-due obligations to FTB; (ii) pay to FTB, at FTB’s then current fees, the fees for handling draft retrieval and chargeback transactions originating from the Merchant's Card sales; and/or (iii) pay, or at FTB’s option it shall have the right to fund from Merchant's Card sales, daily for any and all fees or charges payable to FTB.

3. All funds remaining in the Reserve will be returned to the Merchant during the tenth (10th) month after the Merchant's actual termination of processing with FTB.

S. Association Compliance

1. FTB, in association with Visa and MasterCard, closely monitors the Merchant's processing activity in an effort to combat credit card fraud and reduce Cardholder disputes and chargebacks. To assist in such efforts, Visa and MasterCard have developed several programs designed to mitigate fraud risk and curb chargebacks. In the event that the Merchant exceeds any of the guidelines defined by these programs, the Merchant is subject to operating procedure requirement modifications, fines, and/or termination of the Bank Card Merchant Agreement.

2. The Merchant assumes all responsibility for any fines, fees, penalties, and/or operating procedure modifications levied by Visa and/or MasterCard in accordance with respective merchant monitoring programs. Such programs include, but are not limited to, the monitoring of chargebacks, Cardholder disputes, improper card acceptance, improper processing of declined transactions, and abnormal fraud or counterfeit sales activity.

T. Other -- Rights, Responsibilities, and Liabilities

1. The Merchant shall indemnify, defend, and hold Bank and its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, and agents harmless from all expenses related to any lawsuit filed by Merchant against Bank, a card-issuing bank, Visa, and/or MasterCard challenging Merchant’s obligations regarding any chargeback which is valid according to Visa rules and/or MasterCard rules as may be determined by Visa, MasterCard, or a court of competent jurisdiction. This indemnification shall survive the termination of the Bank Card Merchant Agreement.

2. The Merchant shall not acquire any property or any other right, claim or interest including any patent or trademark right or copyright interest in any FTB, Visa U.S.A. Inc., or MasterCard International Inc. system or in any of the equipment, software, processes, programs or data utilized by FTB, Visa U.S.A. Inc., or MasterCard International Inc. in connection with such systems other than an interest in any equipment supplied by the Merchant for use in connection with such systems but such interest shall only be as specified in the Bank Card Merchant Agreement.

3. The Merchant's right to use any FTB, Visa U.S.A. Inc., or MasterCard International Inc. system and any equipment and software used to access such system shall not be assignable and its duties with respect to them shall not be delegable in any way without prior written consent of FTB, Visa U.S.A. Inc., and/or MasterCard International Inc.

4. The Merchant shall observe complete confidentiality with regard to all FTB, Visa U.S.A. Inc., and MasterCard International Inc. owned software and documentation and shall not disclose or otherwise permit use of or access to it by any person or entity other than an employee of the Merchant with a need to know.

5. The Merchant shall not make or attempt to make any repair, adjustment, alteration or modification to any system access hardware or software except as expressly authorized in writing by FTB, Visa U.S.A. Inc., and/or MasterCard International Inc.

6. The Merchant shall not modify or enhance any FTB, Visa U.S.A. Inc., or MasterCard International Inc. owned software without the prior written consent of FTB, Visa U.S.A. Inc., and/or MasterCard International Inc.

7. The Merchant shall use its best efforts to protect the hardware and software of the respective FTB, Visa U.S.A. Inc., or MasterCard International Inc. system by providing the same level of security that is provided to the Merchant's other proprietary systems.

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