Oh, transaction disputes! Where to begin? Well, let's start with a simple definition: A transaction dispute can occur when a buyer is unsatisfied with a product/service they have purchased from a seller. Sound familiar?
Submitting a dispute and working out a resolution can be a tricky business, so here are just a few points to help make the whole experience run just a little bit smoother!
• Contact the seller first to resolve the issue. You can find their email address in the transaction activity in your AlertPay account. Opening a dispute with us should be your last resort.
• File your dispute within 30 DAYS of the original transaction. Disputes filed after this time may not be resolved.
• In your initial ticket, provide the Reference Number of the transaction. You can find this in your transaction activity.
• Do not reply to your initial ticket. Once you receive an email entitled "Contact Request", respond to that only after five business days have gone by.
• Respond within 5-10 business days of receiving the Contact Request. Your time-sensitive response will determine whether or not you will get a refund.
A couple other important points to remember...
People who participate in "High Yield Investment Programs" must exercise caution! If you are using AlertPay to make your payment, please note that you are doing this at your own risk and a resolution through AlertPay is not guaranteed. Please see Section 5.0 of our User Agreement for more information.
Furthermore, people who submit excessive dispute tickets or spam our system with grievances may lose their opportunity to resolve the dispute in an amicable way; excessive tickets will cause delays in the resolution process and may result in an account suspension — in certain situations.
One dispute is sufficient — we will get to it, even if it takes a little longer than expected.
Lastly, here are some tips on how to communicate effectively with your seller:
1. Don’t assume the seller is trying to scam you. Con artists posing as legitimate sellers are actually few and far between. If you don’t get what you paid for, it may have been due to a mistake that can be fixed with proper communication.
2. Listen to their side of the story. The seller may have a valid excuse for the mistake. Just take a deep breath and hear what they have to say about it.
3. Work together. Try to work with the seller if they are having issues getting your product or service out to you. If you meet them half way, you will both be satisfied with the results.
4. Please keep your cool. As cliché as it seems, the quote “you can attract more bees with honey than with vinegar” rings true. If you are calm and collected, you have a much better chance of getting what you want.
If you need to file a dispute, please do it through Customer Support and choose "Transaction Disputes" from the list of categories. We will do our best to mediate the situation.
Thank you for making AlertPay your way to pay!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Phone Validation Update
Since we released the phone validation process last week, we have received some interesting feedback from a lot of AlertPay members. As an attempt to make this new process just a little bit more convenient for you, all AlertPay sellers now have the ability to disable the phone validation option.
How to do this:
1) Login to your AlertPay account.
2) Click on "Profile".
3) Under "Financial", click on "Payment Preferences" and make the necessary selection.
Please note that the success rate for phone validation has been a remarkable 97%. This feature is a value-added service to help protect against fraudulent orders and potential chargebacks — which can be very injurious to your business.
A great many of our sellers have shown appreciation for this service which helps protect their business.
Even though you have the option of disabling phone validation, we highly recommend that you take advantage of this effective fraud detection tool.
How to do this:
1) Login to your AlertPay account.
2) Click on "Profile".
3) Under "Financial", click on "Payment Preferences" and make the necessary selection.
Please note that the success rate for phone validation has been a remarkable 97%. This feature is a value-added service to help protect against fraudulent orders and potential chargebacks — which can be very injurious to your business.
A great many of our sellers have shown appreciation for this service which helps protect their business.
Even though you have the option of disabling phone validation, we highly recommend that you take advantage of this effective fraud detection tool.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Ins and Outs of Depositing by Bank Transfer and Bank Wire
As you all know, AlertPay is one of the most convenient and accessible payment solutions on the web. You can make and accept instant secure credit card payments to online sellers, but you can also deposit money into your AlertPay account directly from your bank.
To determine if you can use your bank account to deposit money, please check your country here.
How to add a bank account
Adding a bank account only takes a few moments. Just follow these steps:
1. Login to your AlertPay account.
2. Click on "Profile".
3. Under "Financial", click on "Bank Accounts".
4. Choose country where your bank account is located and click on "Next".
5. Choose whether you would like to use your account for bank transfers (deposits and withdrawals) or bank wires (withdrawals only) and click on "Next".
6. Enter bank details and click on "Next".
7. Review details, accept the EFT authorization and confirm.
If you reside in Canada or the United States, AlertPay will send two micro deposits under $0.15 to your bank account within five business days.
Once you receive the micro deposits, you will see a prompt in the "Message Center" of your AlertPay account to confirm them. Simply click the status and enter both amounts to confirm your bank account. Then you can deposit money as often as you need to.
If you reside outside of Canada or the United States, you will not receive any micro deposits. Your bank account will be ready to go; however, your transactions may fail if you do not enter your banking details correctly.
Also, you must create a deposit transaction in your AlertPay account beforehand and bring the transaction details to your bank to complete the transaction.
How to create a deposit transaction
Just login to your AlertPay account and click on "Deposit" to initiate a deposit transaction. Follow the simple steps and you are on your way. Make sure to choose either bank transfer or bank wire for your transaction.
If you wish to deposit money into your AlertPay account by bank wire, you do not need to add a bank account; you only need to create your deposit transaction and bring the transaction details to your bank.
*Bank Deposit Codes (International members only)
For those of you who are located outside North America, you can deposit by bank transfer as long as we support this service in your country. If we do, it is imperative that you note the Bank Deposit Code in your transaction details, which are presented after creating your deposit transaction in your AlertPay account.
Bank Deposit Codes are 13 digits long and begin with 34. This code is required when you visit your bank and must be included in the "Details" or "Reference" area of your bank transfer. It is very important to note that a missing Bank Deposit Code will cause delays in the completion of your transaction.
Fast Facts
- Bank transfer deposits generally take 3-5 business days to complete, but up to 6 days to complete for our Canadian members.
- Bank wire deposits take 3-4 business days.
- Bank transfers are available in 46 countries.
- You can only add a joint bank account if it is not already added to a previous or existing account. Any bank account can only be added to one AlertPay account at a time.
- If your deposit coincides with a holiday, your deposit may be delayed by a minimum of one day.
- Fees can be viewed here.
If you have any further questions, please contact Customer Support.
Thank you for making AlertPay your way to pay!
To determine if you can use your bank account to deposit money, please check your country here.
How to add a bank account
Adding a bank account only takes a few moments. Just follow these steps:
1. Login to your AlertPay account.
2. Click on "Profile".
3. Under "Financial", click on "Bank Accounts".
4. Choose country where your bank account is located and click on "Next".
5. Choose whether you would like to use your account for bank transfers (deposits and withdrawals) or bank wires (withdrawals only) and click on "Next".
6. Enter bank details and click on "Next".
7. Review details, accept the EFT authorization and confirm.
If you reside in Canada or the United States, AlertPay will send two micro deposits under $0.15 to your bank account within five business days.
Once you receive the micro deposits, you will see a prompt in the "Message Center" of your AlertPay account to confirm them. Simply click the status and enter both amounts to confirm your bank account. Then you can deposit money as often as you need to.
If you reside outside of Canada or the United States, you will not receive any micro deposits. Your bank account will be ready to go; however, your transactions may fail if you do not enter your banking details correctly.
Also, you must create a deposit transaction in your AlertPay account beforehand and bring the transaction details to your bank to complete the transaction.
How to create a deposit transaction
Just login to your AlertPay account and click on "Deposit" to initiate a deposit transaction. Follow the simple steps and you are on your way. Make sure to choose either bank transfer or bank wire for your transaction.
If you wish to deposit money into your AlertPay account by bank wire, you do not need to add a bank account; you only need to create your deposit transaction and bring the transaction details to your bank.
*Bank Deposit Codes (International members only)
For those of you who are located outside North America, you can deposit by bank transfer as long as we support this service in your country. If we do, it is imperative that you note the Bank Deposit Code in your transaction details, which are presented after creating your deposit transaction in your AlertPay account.
Bank Deposit Codes are 13 digits long and begin with 34. This code is required when you visit your bank and must be included in the "Details" or "Reference" area of your bank transfer. It is very important to note that a missing Bank Deposit Code will cause delays in the completion of your transaction.
Fast Facts
- Bank transfer deposits generally take 3-5 business days to complete, but up to 6 days to complete for our Canadian members.
- Bank wire deposits take 3-4 business days.
- Bank transfers are available in 46 countries.
- You can only add a joint bank account if it is not already added to a previous or existing account. Any bank account can only be added to one AlertPay account at a time.
- If your deposit coincides with a holiday, your deposit may be delayed by a minimum of one day.
- Fees can be viewed here.
If you have any further questions, please contact Customer Support.
Thank you for making AlertPay your way to pay!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Hooray for New Features!
Hi AlertPay members,
November is going to be our most exciting month in a while! The AlertPay team has been hard at work developing all sorts of new features and functions. You will be very excited by the improvements we have made:
Credit card withdrawal
You made the request and we listened!If you have a Visa or a MasterCard, you can withdraw funds from your AlertPay account and it will automatically convert to your credit card's currency.
You can withdraw the money in your AlertPay balance to your credit card in three different currencies: USD, GBP and EUR. This makes withdrawing your money faster, more convenient and just as secure.
Please note that you will only be able to withdraw up to $250 USD (or equivalent) per transaction temporarily. We apologize, but this service is not available for American Express.
You can withdraw the money in your AlertPay balance to your credit card in three different currencies: USD, GBP and EUR. This makes withdrawing your money faster, more convenient and just as secure.
Please note that you will only be able to withdraw up to $250 USD (or equivalent) per transaction temporarily. We apologize, but this service is not available for American Express.
Pay in different currencies with credit card
You can make cross-border payments in three currencies USD, GBP and EUR and save money on currency exchange. All you have to do is choose the currency you wish to be billed in for that purchase and avoid paying extra fees.We apologize, but this service is not available for American Express.
Phone validation
When shoppers make a credit card purchase through a website, they will receive a validation code by phone that they must enter at checkout to complete their purchase. This will help protect our sellers by preventing fraudulent payments. This applies to U.S. and Canadian shoppers alone and will only be done one time.
Lower credit card fees
Now for the most exciting news of all: lower credit card fees! Members who receive credit card payments will pay a little bit less on every credit card transaction. We have lowered them from 5.0% to 4.9%, saving you just a little bit more money. And every little bit counts!
And don't forget...
Website Review is still in full swing for our online sellers. We are stream-lining the procedure to make it even easier, so stay tuned. Please leave a comment about your Website Review experience in our Facebook discussion or other post.
That's all for now, but we will be back very soon with more exciting updates!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Call for Testimonials!
Hi AlertPay members,
What do you have to say in praise of AlertPay? Share it right here!
Did you have a positive Customer Support experience? Is there a particular feature you find very efficient? Is there an aspect of our service that has brought value to your shopping and/or selling experiences?
Submit a testimonial today! Please tell us a bit about your positive experiences with AlertPay and you might even see your name on our website!
Please leave your name or initials and your country of residence along with your testimonial. We would like to represent members from all over the world on our website!
We ask for serious testimonials only — if you have any queries about your account, please contact Customer Support and we will be happy to help through that channel.
Thank you for your support and for making AlertPay your way to pay and get paid!
What do you have to say in praise of AlertPay? Share it right here!
Did you have a positive Customer Support experience? Is there a particular feature you find very efficient? Is there an aspect of our service that has brought value to your shopping and/or selling experiences?
Submit a testimonial today! Please tell us a bit about your positive experiences with AlertPay and you might even see your name on our website!
Please leave your name or initials and your country of residence along with your testimonial. We would like to represent members from all over the world on our website!
We ask for serious testimonials only — if you have any queries about your account, please contact Customer Support and we will be happy to help through that channel.
Thank you for your support and for making AlertPay your way to pay and get paid!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sellers in the Pharma Industry can only accept Visa and AmEx payments
Attention sellers in the Pharmaceutical Industry,
In view of recent changes to our credit card processing relationship with our banking partners, we wish to inform our sellers in the Pharma industry that we can no longer offer MasterCard processing for the below industry types directly from the AlertPay checkout page (accessed through payment buttons) even if you were previously able to.
Pharma accounts or similar product types will now be placed into a specially designed “AlertPay Pharma Account”. We will be able to better monitor the selling and fulfillment of products to our members and also ensure our services stay available for this new market type that we will now be growing in. This will result in greater customer trust in this industry and translate into more return customers. As our costs have now gone up for this industry by our banking provider, your rates may also increase.
All changes are immediate and a list of industries affected can be seen below.
These business models include and are not limited to the following:
• Plants, seeds and/or other horticultural products.
• Pharmaceuticals (non-prescription).
• Homeopathic medicine.
• Chemical products intended for research.
• Products whose legal status varies from country to country.
How this affects you?
MasterCard payments will be prohibited on our checkout page. The logo for this card will not be displayed to your customers. Your customers will still have the ability to purchase with Visa or AmEx or should they already have an AlertPay account, they will be able to make payments with their AlertPay balance (e-wallet) as well. Alternatively, your customers may also fund their AlertPay balance (e-wallet) through one of our numerous depositing options such as bank transfer, bank wire, money order or certified check. Your customers may also use the Send Money feature to transfer funds using their credit card.
Why is this necessary?
To continue to improve our services and provide solutions for your business needs, we are required to adapt our policies to comply with our banking partners. This is strictly related to credit card processing and not the AlertPay balance (e-wallet) transactions.
Questions?
If you have questions or concerns regarding this change or feel that you should not be classified in one of the above-mentioned categories, please contact us.
We thank you for your understanding and value your business.
In view of recent changes to our credit card processing relationship with our banking partners, we wish to inform our sellers in the Pharma industry that we can no longer offer MasterCard processing for the below industry types directly from the AlertPay checkout page (accessed through payment buttons) even if you were previously able to.
Pharma accounts or similar product types will now be placed into a specially designed “AlertPay Pharma Account”. We will be able to better monitor the selling and fulfillment of products to our members and also ensure our services stay available for this new market type that we will now be growing in. This will result in greater customer trust in this industry and translate into more return customers. As our costs have now gone up for this industry by our banking provider, your rates may also increase.
All changes are immediate and a list of industries affected can be seen below.
These business models include and are not limited to the following:
• Plants, seeds and/or other horticultural products.
• Pharmaceuticals (non-prescription).
• Homeopathic medicine.
• Chemical products intended for research.
• Products whose legal status varies from country to country.
How this affects you?
MasterCard payments will be prohibited on our checkout page. The logo for this card will not be displayed to your customers. Your customers will still have the ability to purchase with Visa or AmEx or should they already have an AlertPay account, they will be able to make payments with their AlertPay balance (e-wallet) as well. Alternatively, your customers may also fund their AlertPay balance (e-wallet) through one of our numerous depositing options such as bank transfer, bank wire, money order or certified check. Your customers may also use the Send Money feature to transfer funds using their credit card.
Why is this necessary?
To continue to improve our services and provide solutions for your business needs, we are required to adapt our policies to comply with our banking partners. This is strictly related to credit card processing and not the AlertPay balance (e-wallet) transactions.
Questions?
If you have questions or concerns regarding this change or feel that you should not be classified in one of the above-mentioned categories, please contact us.
We thank you for your understanding and value your business.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Attention US members: ACH transactions can no longer be sent across international borders
Important note before reading:
This will not affect international bank wires nor will it affect any US-based ACH transactions initiated through our system. Although AlertPay is located in Canada, we have banking partners all over the world to process these transactions, including in the United States.
According to the NACHA - the Electronic Payments Association, ACH transactions that begin in one country and end in another will be formatted as a new transaction type: IAT (International ACH Transaction).
This is to say that US citizens will not be allowed to perform cross-border ACH transactions. Rather, the transactions will have to be classified as international in an attempt to help law enforcement agencies detect, investigate and prosecute money laundering and other financial crimes.
Recognizing international transactions will help law enforcement officials readily identify international payments and create a paper trail to track the comings and goings of money.
Please note that IAT transactions are not permitted through certain banks, such as Chase Commercial Online.
Please take a moment to review the following resources for more details.
Thank you for your time.
Resources:
https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/commercial/prod_serv/page/iat_transactions
https://www.key.com/html/international-ach-transaction-iat.html
http://www.frbservices.org/eventseducation/education/fedach_iat_resource_center.html
http://www.nacha.org/IAT_Industry_Information/
This will not affect international bank wires nor will it affect any US-based ACH transactions initiated through our system. Although AlertPay is located in Canada, we have banking partners all over the world to process these transactions, including in the United States.
According to the NACHA - the Electronic Payments Association, ACH transactions that begin in one country and end in another will be formatted as a new transaction type: IAT (International ACH Transaction).
This is to say that US citizens will not be allowed to perform cross-border ACH transactions. Rather, the transactions will have to be classified as international in an attempt to help law enforcement agencies detect, investigate and prosecute money laundering and other financial crimes.
Recognizing international transactions will help law enforcement officials readily identify international payments and create a paper trail to track the comings and goings of money.
Please note that IAT transactions are not permitted through certain banks, such as Chase Commercial Online.
Please take a moment to review the following resources for more details.
Thank you for your time.
Resources:
https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/commercial/prod_serv/page/iat_transactions
https://www.key.com/html/international-ach-transaction-iat.html
http://www.frbservices.org/eventseducation/education/fedach_iat_resource_center.html
http://www.nacha.org/IAT_Industry_Information/
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