We insert the card into the payment terminal, type in the pin code, we see the inscription: “Successfully”, a check comes out of the cash register - the payment is made! This is what the acquiring procedure looks like from the side of the buyer. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. We will talk about what acquiring is, how it works, how you can connect such a service, who provides it, and what nuances you should know when concluding an agreement for accepting payments using a bank card, we will talk in this article.

What is acquiring

The term "acquiring" comes from the English "acquire" - to receive, acquire. It is understood as the opportunity for a trading company to accept non-cash payment for goods and services with plastic cards. The concept of acquiring also includes banking and technological services - the transfer and processing of customer data.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, the first bank cards began to be accepted for payment 40 years ago. "Plastic" of the Diners Club payment system could be paid in the stores of the "Beryozka" system in Moscow and Leningrad - it is clear that only foreigners used this acquiring. For everyday calculations at the Winter Olympics in Calgary in 1988, the athletes of the USSR national team were given Visa cards with a set limit. And already in the early 90s of the last century, several banks in the Russian Federation offered real MasterCards to their customers. It was then that the first points where cards were accepted as a means of payment appeared.

Who is involved in acquiring

Several entities are involved in the acquiring procedure.

Outlet- an organization engaged in the sale of goods or services, the initiator of acquiring connection. Pays a commission for using acquiring.

Acquiring bank- a credit institution in which a seller is opened, and which provides equipment for acquiring. Such a bank must be registered with an international payment system(Visa, MasterCard or any other accredited in the Russian Federation - for example, Mir). Responsible for the technical side of card purchase transactions, receives a commission from the seller.

Issuing bank- a credit institution that issues bank cards, payments from which are accepted by terminals. Bears full responsibility for the correctness of settlements with the client as part of the purchase procedure using a bank card.

Client- the buyer, the owner of a bank card received from the issuing bank.

The most commonly used equipment for acquiring (from the English point of sale - "point of sale") - electronic devices for accepting plastic cards. We all come across these in supermarkets. The terminal has a card reader, a keyboard and a block for printing receipts. Read about other options for acquiring equipment below.

Acquiring: how it works

For the buyer, the use of the acquiring system is free. The costs are entirely the responsibility of the seller. Therefore, the connection of acquiring begins with the conclusion of an agreement between the outlet (or distribution network) and the bank. Under this agreement, a credit institution (in this case it is called an acquirer) leases or sells equipment to the company, as well as a package of services. It usually includes:

• setting software equipment (the full set of settings depends on the type of acquiring: in the case of POS terminals, these are solutions for devices, and when setting up Internet acquiring, they are purely software methods);
• training of personnel to work with equipment and/or software. Along with a set of ordinary operations, force majeure is worked out in trainings: equipment failure, purchase cancellation, and so on;
• providing a point of sale with consumables (paper for checks, etc.);
• connection of the point of sale to round-the-clock help support and technical service.

In turn, the owner of the outlet must comply with the following conditions:

• Locate equipment (terminals, wi-fi routers, etc.) in places that provide standard operation and access for customers (in the case of terminals) and service employees.
• Ensure payment is accepted through installed terminals or the functionality of the site in the case of Internet acquiring.
• In the event of a malfunction, notify the owner of the equipment immediately.

By inserting or applying the card to the payment terminal, we send information to the processing center of the bank, which transferred the equipment to the point of sale. The latter transmits the data to the payment system to which the card belongs. In the data processing center, the information is checked against the so-called "stop list" (checking for card blocking, account functioning, arrests, etc.). If violations are detected, the user is denied the transaction. If approved, the data is sent to the bank that issued the card. Here the card is authorized and one more time it is checked for the presence of a sufficient balance, the absence of signs of fraud (whether the buyer uses stolen data), the pin code matches, etc. Based on these data, a positive or negative response to the transaction is formed. The response is sent to the bank that owns the payment terminal. If the answer is positive, the payment is allowed, and the inscriptions “Successful” and “You can pick up the card” appear on the terminal. All this takes just a few seconds.

The real payment from the bank that owns the terminal to the bank that issued the card will occur within a few days. During this period, funds are frozen. The acquiring bank transfers money to the point of sale where the sale was made in 1-3 days (this period is indicated in the contract). Then, supporting documents about the financial transaction carried out go to the bank that issued the card, after which they are debited from the buyer's account in the issuing bank to the account of the acquiring bank.

In a simplified form, the transaction can be depicted as follows:

How much does acquiring cost

Payment for the purchase with a bank card is free for the customer of the outlet. But the seller pays a commission for it. For each transaction, the acquirer takes an average of 2-3% of the purchase price. What are these numbers made up of?

According to the agreement concluded between the seller and the acquiring bank, the commission for the purchase on the card has three components:

1 Commission of the bank that issued the card (the so-called "interchange fee" - Interchange Fee).

Its size is determined by payment systems and depends on the location of the banks participating in the acquiring. If both are located in the same country, the commission will be less than if the issuing bank is Russian, and the acquirer, say, is European. Also, the percentage depends on how secure the payment is. If an additional security protocol is involved (for example, 3D Secure), the commission will be less. When buying online, the commission is higher than when paying with a card through a POS-terminal.

There is a dependence on the type of store. Grocery outlets have a lower commission than, for example, those selling large household appliances. The reason is the probability of returning the goods and, as a result, the need to carry out a “reverse” acquiring operation - to return money to the card to the buyer. If this is a rarity in the case of products, then the returned top-end 120-cm TV leads to the need to distill back a fairly large amount.

The type of client card also affects the size of the commission. The more status means of payment, the more expensive the purchase is - however, for the acquirer, and not for the buyer. The most "expensive" are gold and cards with personal conditions. Credit cards have higher fees than debit cards. On this, in particular, the strategy of Tinkoff Bank is built: the direction credit cards, and even the standard ones have Platinum status.

And, of course, the commission percentage depends on the company's turnover. The base figures are written into the contract and then adjusted in case of deviation from the originally assumed values.

2 Commission of the acquiring bank.

It is appointed by the bank itself, it can be any. Due to this component, credit organizations usually carry out various promotions to attract legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. Below you will find a comparison table with commissions and other payments of the 10 most popular banks providing acquiring services.

3 Payment system commission.

The share of this component is small, international payment systems live off volumes. The commission is fixed, depends on the number of transactions per unit of time (for example, per month), and can be charged both from the acquirer and the issuer.

The most common types of acquiring

AT Russian economy The following 4 types of acquiring are the most popular:

1 Merchant acquiring

This concept includes all terminals at retail outlets through which the buyer pays with a bank card: shops, cafes, cinemas, gas stations, and so on. After the owner of the outlet concludes an agreement with the acquiring bank, he is provided (on the terms of the bank) POS-terminal - one or more. The terminal can be rented or bought: the difference in cost is about ten times.

2

This type of acquiring has become widespread with the development of online commerce. It includes all purchases in online stores using a bank card or electronic money. Here there is no terminal in its physical expression, a special computer program is used. The web interface makes it possible to pay for the purchase, keeping personal and especially payment data confidential. For this, encrypted data exchange protocols are used, which are provided by processing companies. Their services are not free: the seller's commission for this method can be up to 5% or more.

3 Mobile acquiring

For certain types of businesses, as well as for retail outlets with a small turnover and when paying with cards on the road (taxi, couriers, offsite sales of goods and services), there is a technology for transferring money through mobile POS-terminals. They are controlled from smartphones through special mobile applications. There are a number of similar services in the world: Pay Me, iPay, SimplePay, LifePay, ibox, Paybyway and others. They are distinguished by a higher commission, but they also have significant advantages for small and medium-sized businesses: full-fledged acquiring can be organized from scratch with relatively low costs.

4 ATM acquiring

Terminals and ATMs with the ability to pay for certain services are also a type of acquiring.

What are the benefits of acquiring

The ability to accept payment by cards is a sign of the "maturity" of the business, its seriousness. The buyer trusts such outlets. In addition, marketers have long noticed that it is psychologically easier for a client to spend money in a non-cash way. It is estimated that in the same store, the average check when paying with a card is about 10% higher than when paying with real money. There are other advantages of using acquiring.

• Reducing collection costs

We are talking about both financial costs and the absence of the need to go to the bank with cash or look for a terminal with a cash collection function, that is, about saving time. It should be borne in mind that part of the released funds will go towards paying the commission, however, with serious turnover and the right tariff, this is an insignificant factor.

• Cash Fraud Protection

A counterfeit banknote can theoretically be sold to the seller, even if there is a banknote detector. You can't pay with counterfeit money.

• Increase in average purchase amount

If there is a terminal in the store, the range of buyers is significantly expanded, since it becomes possible to use credit cards. According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, as of January 1, 2018, 31.6 million credit cards are considered valid in the country. A big plus for buyers is bonuses and other loyalty programs, often used by both banks and stores.

• Improving the quality of customer service

First of all, we are talking about change - when paying with a bank card, you do not need to look for it, there is no need to ask the client to add the amount to a round one in order to return it with one bill. Also, if there is competent staff at the outlet, the process of servicing each customer is accelerated.

• Attraction of new clients

Relevant for shopping centers with leased space, as well as for individual market segments. It is clear that in the presence of a payment terminal, it is a matter of technique to lure customers away from those who do not have such a terminal.

What are the disadvantages of acquiring

Despite the obvious benefits, this service is not suitable for everyone. Among the negative aspects are the following:

• High associated costs at low speeds. If the profit of the firm from customers with bank cards small, you need to be more careful in the process of calculating the benefits of acquiring. Perhaps you will spend more on it than you receive.
• Periodically occurring technical problems in the operation of the system. Many probably had to deal with the fact that “the bank is not responding”, and cards are not accepted for payment. If such situations are often repeated, this seriously undermines the reputation of the outlet.
• Possible cases of fraud. The acquiring system is designed so that in case of fraud with bank card details and subsequent blocking of the operation, the seller compensates the loss to the cardholder. The seller will be reimbursed if law enforcement catch the scammer. This happens, unfortunately, infrequently.

Choosing the most profitable acquiring

Almost every major bank offers acquiring services. However, this option is not always beneficial for a particular type of business. Before connecting to the program, it is necessary to analyze all the proposed conditions and choose the most suitable ones. Let's highlight the most important factors.

1 Type and cost of equipment offered by the bank.

The amount of initial investment and maintenance costs depend on the type of equipment. Now there are 3 options for card payment devices on the market:

Terminals traditional and familiar to most Russians. The most common models are from Verifone and Ingenico. Such devices are equipped with a thermal printer for printing checks, have a communication module (either Ethernet or WiFi, sometimes GPRS). Some of these devices are equipped with a remote keyboard (PinPad) for entering a pin code. The simplest pos-terminals cost around 7-8 thousand rubles. The average prices for Verifone devices, which we are used to seeing in stores and banks, are 15-20 thousand rubles apiece.

• Imprinters

The forerunner of POS terminals, now used mainly for safety net in case of communication failures. Identification occurs by taking an imprint of the card, authorization is carried out by the cashier by phone.

• Cash registers with acquiring function

Since from the middle of 2017 all trade organizations using acquiring must necessarily confirm each purchase with a cash receipt, and also transfer this information to the tax office, cash registers with a card acceptance function are in demand. Their cost is higher than that of POS terminals, but they significantly automate the acquiring process. Touch terminals with the functionality of full-fledged cash registers are sold from 40 thousand rubles per unit.

2 Type of equipment connection with the bank

There are several communication options. The most advanced and convenient is Wi-Fi: the terminal communicates with the bank via wireless channels. Wired Ethernet is also widely used - this is the most reliable way. In some places, GPRS and even the old testamentary dial-up are still preserved - these are the most expensive and slowest types of communication now. However, a 48-bit modem is considered one of the most secure means of communication.

A specific type of connection is usually offered by the bank itself and depends on the provider and the technical capabilities of the equipment.

3 Payment systems with which the bank interacts

Each bank has its own priorities for interaction with certain international payment systems (IPS). The wider their range, the more profitable acquiring will be. Visa International and MasterCard Worldwide, as well as less used American Express and Diners Club in the Russian Federation, are now the largest IPUs. also in modern Russia The ability to service cards of the Mir national payment system, which appeared after the imposition of sanctions in 2014, is of significant importance. MIR is inferior in terms of the number of users to such IPS as Visa and Mastercard, however, all civil servants and employees budget organizations are obliged to switch to the use of cards of the MIR system. And in the near future, this domestic system will displace foreign ones, or, at least, significantly squeeze them out of the market.

4 Text of the acquiring agreement

The contract for the provision of acquiring services must reflect all the essential conditions for the interaction of the bank and the outlet. Let us consider in more detail the mutual rights and obligations that are necessarily listed in the text.

Bank Responsibilities:

• Install hardware
• Conduct employee training (both initial and after significant updates) software products or interaction protocols)
• Ensure uninterrupted operation of terminals, round-the-clock technical support
• Funds must be credited to the seller's account strictly within the time period specified in the contract.

Bank rights:

• Charge a commission for the provision of acquiring services
• Unilaterally make changes to the terms of service (if these changes are published in a timely manner on the official website credit institution)
• Return money to the buyer for erroneously made payments
• Terminate cooperation when the turnover of the seller company drops below the mark specified in the contract

Responsibilities of the seller:

• Install hardware and/or software and start servicing customers' bank cards
• Pay the commission set in the contract
• Do not use in acquiring operations equipment provided by a bank other than the one with which the agreement was concluded
• Comply with the terms of the agreement with the bank

The rights of the seller

A significant part of the acquiring agreement are annexes to it. They contain full instructions on the use of equipment, the payment systems used are indicated, possible reasons errors and rejection of operations, all contacts of technical and information support services, and so on.

Failure to comply with the contract by the seller may result in immediate disabling of acquiring.

5 Quality of service of the acquiring bank

Much depends on the seriousness of the bank's attitude to its obligations under the contract. The most important aspect is the quality of training of the seller's personnel. The briefing should contain information on at least the following points:

• Rules for the operation of acquiring equipment
• Customer Service Procedure
• Types and types of bank cards, the difference between them when servicing, identifying fake cards
• Revocation process
• Purchase return process

Also, the willingness of the acquirer to provide technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week speaks of the quality of the service.

6

The parameter that most seriously affects the stability of the business is the term for transferring funds from the acquiring bank account to the seller's account. Usually this period is 1-3 days, depending on the type of acquiring, available equipment, processing center and the geographical location of the bank.

And it goes without saying that before concluding an agreement, it is necessary to evaluate the likely costs of acquiring, taking into account all the components: the cost of equipment, fees for services, the cost of maintenance.

The tariff for the use of acquiring can be both standard and individual. In the second case, the specifics of the organization - the seller are taken into account: the size of the turnover, the field of activity, and so on.

Tariffs of the 10 most popular banks for the acquiring service

Acquiring connection procedure

Having chosen the conditions you like, the seller sends an application to the bank. The easiest way to do this is directly on the website of the credit institution. Then the bank manager will contact you, you can clarify the details of the service. After that, you need to collect documents. Their list is usually located on the bank's website.

Minimum package:

• passport of the representative of the seller (or individual entrepreneur), power of attorney, if necessary
• certificate of state registration of an individual entrepreneur or legal entity;
• certificate of registration in tax office;
• a certificate with the details of the current account from the bank (not necessarily the one with which it is planned to conclude an acquiring agreement);
• signature and seal sample card.

Banks may also ask balance sheet for the previous period, licenses (if the type of activity is licensed) and other documents.

After that, an acquiring agreement is concluded. Then comes the choice of equipment for rent or purchase. The bank representative installs and configures the selected equipment. Then you can start accepting payments using bank cards.

Acquiring security

Merchant acquiring is considered the safest: the equipment allows for high reliability of data protection. The terminal is directly connected to the processing center, it is almost impossible to intercept the data.

The least secure is mobile acquiring. Due to the need to use a smartphone (and such devices operate on the Internet through relatively weakly secure channels), information about bank card data can theoretically be intercepted. That is why most often the bank sets limits on the amount that can be paid using mobile acquiring.

Banks use software installed in processing centers to protect data. A special data encryption protocol is also required when transferring information from the terminal (or from the corresponding page of the site for Internet acquiring) to the bank's server.

There are other ways of protection that the recipient of acquiring services can use on a voluntary basis for a fee, thereby increasing the attractiveness of their business in the eyes of customers.

Frequently asked Questions

I have an account in one bank, and best conditions for acquiring - in another. Can I use acquiring without opening an account?

Merchant acquiring is provided only if you have a bank account, so you cannot get this service without opening an account at all. However, if you have an account with another bank, then nothing prevents you from becoming an acquiring client in a "foreign" credit institution. But keep in mind that the passage of funds through two banks means additional commissions and a longer period for crediting money to the account.

But Internet acquiring allows the possibility of receiving funds from bank cards without opening an account. This service is a guarantee cashless transfer money from the buyer's bank card to the seller's account (including personal). Another thing is that banks do not provide such services, Sberbank or VTB24 will immediately show you the door. There are special services that act as intermediaries between IP sellers and banks: PayAnyWay, Uniteller, Coolpay, Evotor and others. They enter into acquiring agreements with banks as a legal entity and provide their capacities to the owners of online stores. An individual entrepreneur can open an online store and use the services of such a service even without opening an account. But paying taxes in cash is the last century, so it’s better to have an account after all.

What is more profitable: to buy a terminal or to rent it?

There is no single answer to this question, each option has its pros and cons, and each option may be preferable in different cases. Many banks offer the installation of their own terminal and its Maintenance is free. In this case, the commission will be higher than when using the seller's own device.

Also, when using rental equipment, the bank sets turnover requirements. For example, if you buy less than 100 thousand rubles a month, the commission percentage increases by 0.5%. For purchases of less than 50 thousand, the bank terminates the contract. With seasonal business or forced breaks, this is very inconvenient.

Buying terminals in property requires serious one-time investments (especially if you need several devices). Also, the devices will have to be reflashed to the requirements of a particular bank, this is also not free (the amount is comparable to the monthly rental of the terminal at Sberbank or VTB24). But in the future, you will not be limited by turnover requirements, and the percentage of commission in many banks will be lower.

Do I need to punch checks when using Internet acquiring? They won’t go anywhere anyway, they can’t be sent by mail!

Law No. 54-FZ requires the seller to issue a cash receipt to the buyer for any purchase. But there is one caveat. If we are talking about Internet acquiring, in the case of payment with a bank card, an electronic receipt becomes a supporting document. It is taken into account as an official document in the preparation of accounting and tax reporting, and is also the basis for the return of goods (“Rules for the sale of goods by remote means”, Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 612 of September 27, 2007). An electronic receipt is usually sent to the customer automatically to the email address provided on the product order form.

Can a bank refuse to conclude an acquiring agreement?

Credit institutions very rarely refuse customers an acquiring agreement. That's enough for a bank profitable service, therefore, partners are treated loyally. Alfa-Bank claims that the policy of attracting customers regulates the active involvement in the use of acquiring companies that meet the requirements of the bank. They usually refuse those who came on their own initiative and do not look very good in the eyes of the bank in terms of reporting and reputation.

The Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development, according to its press service, refuses those wishing to organize acquiring in about 5-6% of cases. Failures are much more common in the field of Internet acquiring (up to 12%).

Most often, the bank "footballs" the client if he has a bad business reputation or there are doubts about the legality of the business. The security service of the bank also checks the management of the applicant company for the presence of facts of criminal prosecution for economic crimes. If we are talking about online acquiring, then an incorrectly designed website of the online store may be an additional reason for refusal.

A representative of one of the banks told a story that many financial institutions call typical. The Bank has signed an agreement with a leasing company providing cars for use. However, after some time, the company's accounts from private individuals' cards began to receive daily large sums which were then withdrawn from the account. The audit showed that the company actually took out loans from individuals without "a pronounced desire to repay them." The acquiring agreement was terminated.

Avangard Bank refuses Internet acquiring if there is no confirmation of the actual operation of the online store - the site is not updated, there are no signs of client activity.

Credit Bank of Moscow does not cooperate in principle with organizations selling "pirated" products.

What should be the site of an online store for the bank to provide online acquiring without any problems?

The requirements of payment systems for the content of the site are as follows:

• The portal must necessarily contain contact information, namely: the details of the seller, address, telephone number (better if stationary).
• An online store must provide a description of goods and services sufficient for the consumer to make an informed choice. In this case, the financiers are not concerned about the convenience of the consumer, but about minimizing the return of goods due to circumstances not related to the quality of the goods.
• Detailed payment instructions with logos of the payment systems used.
• Detailed information about the possibility to cancel the order or return the goods of good quality (it is also necessary to list the goods that cannot be returned to the seller if they do not have signs of marriage).
• Delivery information.
• In the absence of even one of the listed items, the bank may refuse Internet acquiring or transfer your business to the category of "increased risks" and increase the commission.

I want to thoroughly understand acquiring, so that I can talk to the bank prepared and not get into a mess in the future. What legal acts govern acquiring?

To fully familiarize yourself with all the legislative subtleties that govern acquiring, you should read the following documents:

• Federal Law "On Banks and banking"(No. 395-1 dated 02.12.1990).
• Federal Law "On the use of cash registers in the implementation of cash settlements and (or) settlements using payment cards" (No. 54-FZ of May 22, 2003).
• Federal Law "On Communications" (No. 126-FZ of July 7, 2003).
• Federal Law "On Personal Data" (No. 152-FZ of July 27, 2006).
• Federal law "On information, information technology and information protection” (No. 149-FZ of July 27, 2006).
• Federal Law "On Electronic Signature" (No. 63-FZ of April 6, 2011).
• Federal Law "On the National Payment System" (No. 161-FZ of June 27, 2011).
• "Regulations on the registration and use of cash registers used by organizations and individual entrepreneurs" (Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 470 of July 23, 2007).
• Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation “On Approval of the Rules for the Sale of Goods by Remote Method” (No. 612 of September 27, 2007).
• “Regulations of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on the issue of bank cards and on operations performed using payment cards” (No. 266-P of December 24, 2004).
• "About the return Money for goods (services) previously paid for using payment card”(Letter of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation No. 112-T of 08/01/2011).
• Letter of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation "On cash register equipment and maps. On the return of funds to the card ”(No. 30-08 / 1 / 43844 of 09/13/2000).
• Letter of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation for Moscow “On the right of an organization not to be reflected in cash book part received as a result of settlement with plastic cards” (No. 09-24/038509 dated 11.05.2006).
• Letter of the Ministry of Taxes and Dues "On cash equipment and cards" (No. 29-12/41320 dated 07/23/2003).

Conclusion

Acquiring or accepting payment for purchases from bank cards is a logical solution for a growing business. Using this tool allows you to expand your clientele, simplify the service procedure and ultimately increase your customer base. Almost everyone offers acquiring service big banks countries and a number of non-banking organizations.

To correctly choose a partner bank, you need to evaluate your turnover, compare commissions financial institutions for each transaction, as well as the amount of the fee for renting equipment for acquiring. The latter can be immediately acquired as a property - this will require more serious investments at the first stage, but will reduce costs in the future. The costs depend, among other things, on the type of equipment used: outdated formats with communication via a 48-kilobit modem or GPRS will cost less, modern wireless terminals will cost more.

If you decide to connect Internet acquiring, be prepared for the fact that the commission will be a little higher, and the bank check will be a little more thorough than in the case of merchant acquiring. But you do not need to buy or rent terminals, all operations take place directly in the interface of your online store website.

about the author

Experienced professional journalist. I like to understand complex financial issues and convey them to ordinary people in a simple and accessible language. My goal is to help people increase their level of financial literacy, share interesting money chips and secrets with others so that people become richer, freer and happier.

The latest technologies have taken root in all spheres of our life. Innovative technologies and the banking sector did not bypass. Developments in the field of electronic gadgets, together with new types of digital communications, have allowed developers to create and implement the latest system of payments between people using bank cards. In this article we will talk about modern and comfortable technology like acquiring. What is it and why acquiring has made the process of using plastic cards even more convenient, read below.

Initially, all plastic cards were created with one goal - to get away from the use of paper banknotes as much as possible and quickly get access to all your accounts and savings without carrying them with you. But progress does not stand still, and over time, a giant leap has been made in the use of plastic cards. The latest technology has made it possible to use plastic as payment for purchases.

Translated from English, "acquiring" means to acquire. The use of plastic has allowed humanity to move to a qualitatively new level of development of trade relations. Today it is almost impossible to imagine modern life without bank cards that allow you to make purchases, pay for utilities, book flights and book hotels around the world. Cards have firmly entered into all spheres of our life, and it was the acquiring process that made it more mobile and comfortable.

What is the essence of technology? Thanks to a reliable and streamlined process, both parties making a transaction benefit without using cash.

Thus, acquiring is a method of paying with a card through a special reading electronic device in order to make a purchase or order a service. With the development of the Network, acquiring has gained a wider sphere of influence, allowing you to make a virtual process of transferring money from the Buyer's account to the Seller's account.

Technology did not immediately provide the comfort to which we are so accustomed today. At first, the process of transferring money from one account to another took a very long time. And the security system did not guarantee 100% safety of money when using such transactions. All this significantly slowed down the process of introducing acquiring in everyday life.

The fact is that the acquiring process became possible thanks to the invention of the first terminals. They were quite primitive in execution and could not quickly read information and details from the client's plastic. In addition, the device did not allow to fully determine the solvency of the client, which greatly hampered the process of making a transaction.

Today, modern terminals are small electronic devices that instantly identify plastic by making the necessary transaction.

Acquiring benefits

The role of the acquiring process is difficult to overestimate. If initially the functionality of bank cards was very limited and was limited only to cashing out money that was on the client's accounts, then with the advent of acquiring, the role of bank cards has become much greater in modern life. Thanks to acquiring, bank cards have become an indispensable tool for millions of people around the world, giving them freedom and mobility. This invention, perhaps, can be compared in importance with the invention of the mobile phone.

Acquiring is convenient for both the seller and the buyer

The use of acquiring has given many opportunities and advantages to customers, because now it has become possible to travel around the world without carrying a large amount of money. Many people today have completely switched to using bank cards and have completely abandoned cash. But this is still possible only for residents of large cities, where any service, from buying a cup of coffee to paying for public transport, can be made through a bank terminal.

For sellers, acquiring gives the opportunity to save money on cash collection services. You can not be afraid of being robbed or accepting counterfeit money. And the purchasing power of customers who pay for goods with a card, according to statistics, is 20% higher. This is where the fact that the client does not fully feel the process of parting with money comes into play.

Also for companies and shops that host terminals, there are a number of bonus programs. Thus, banks that provide terminals encourage the use of bank cards and stimulate demand for them.

Benefits for the client:

• saving time;
• mobility;
• financial security for the client;
• Ease of use.

Benefits for the outlet:

• inability to accept counterfeit money;
• saving money on collection services;
• preferential terms from banks;
• millet stimulation;
• increasing competitive positions;
• expansion of the target audience.

Acquiring types

Experts classify acquiring into three types:

• trade;
• bank;
• mobile;
• Internet.

Features of merchant acquiring

it fundamental view acquiring, which preceded the advent of Internet and mobile operations. It was he who appeared the very first, and for a long time occupied a leading position.

Its essence is quite simple - making a purchase at the outlet itself using a bank card. Payment for goods or services occurs through an electronic device - POS-terminal, which is installed in the seller's store by the bank.

Surely the reader has a reasonable question about the benefit in this transaction of the bank itself. The fact is that the installer charges up to 2% commission on the completed transaction. The percentage is determined individually by each bank and often depends on the category of store, card, etc. At the same time, the percentage is charged from the completed transaction not from the client himself, but from the seller. The seller, in turn, is interested in installing such an electronic device, as this stimulates the purchasing power of customers, increases the level of service and expands the target audience.

When installing the terminal in a store, the seller assumes responsibility for the safety of the equipment. The installer is responsible for the technical part of the process. An agreement is signed between the parties, which specifies the conditions for making transactions, commissions and a limit on daily operations. These conditions depend on the offer of the bank and the turnover of the company itself.

In order to understand the whole scheme of the transaction, consider this operation like a conventional POS terminal.

1. A store employee swipes the card through an electronic reader that activates a magnetic chip and manually enters the purchase amount.
2. Requisites and data are promptly sent to the processing center.
3. Deducted from the card specified by the seller sum. It is at this stage that the amount is transferred from the client's bank account to the seller's account, minus the commission.
4. The terminal issues two checks: one for the client and one for the seller for reporting.
5. The seller is obliged to substitute his signature on each of the checks and give one copy to the client.

Mobile and internet acquiring

With the expansion of the Internet, a new type of acquiring appeared, which gave real freedom to cardholders and electronic virtual wallets. After all, now it is possible to make purchases around the world, without being tied to one store.

Internet acquiring has a high degree of protection. Here, to carry out the operation, you must manually enter the bank card details and your data. Despite the high speed of the transaction, hundreds of processes take place on the Web before the money from the buyer's card is transferred in favor of the seller. At the same time, data protection, as well as the security of a financial transaction, is provided by an intermediary company that receives its commission from each payment.

Another type of virtual payments is mobile acquiring, which expands the geography of purchases and allows you not to be tied to one store. In order to transfer money to the seller's account for the selected product, it is enough to connect the card to a mobile reader - mPOS. A special application must be installed on the smartphone. The standard commission for such an operation is from 2 to 3%.

Despite the speed of the transaction and convenience, there is a big drawback in the mobile option. This is a low security threshold, because any fraudster can use a smartphone and make a purchase.

For online store owners, acquiring is a great way to attract customers. After all, as you know, cardholders belong to a higher social level, and, therefore, they are ready to bring more income to the store.

To carry out a banking operation to transfer money from a client to a store, special software must be installed on the site. But not all Internet resources are ready to provide acquiring services to their customers today. And this is due to the limited supply of banks. Not all banks are ready to cooperate with online stores.

However, it must be acknowledged that in last years the technology of online payment for completed purchases is growing by leaps and bounds. Compared to card payments in real stores, the share of online sales is still very low, but experts predict great prospects for this direction. This progress is hindered by the fear of the buyers themselves to pay for purchases through online stores using a card and the reluctance of many virtual outlets to connect to the system. After all, in this case, the entire income of the store is taken out of the shadows. On the other hand, installing an application on your site gives you the opportunity to attract new customers and increase the average bill.

There are two ways to connect the service of making online payments to the store:

1. Contact the bank directly by entering into a direct agreement with it. Given the need for increased electronic security, banks charge a higher percentage for a transaction. Compared to merchant acquiring, the commission for an online transaction will cost the store twice as much.
2. Connecting a service through a service provider. There are special companies specializing in software installation, control over completed transactions and security. You need to be prepared for the fact that the company will require the provision of financial and economic reporting to evaluate a potential client. Yes, and in this case, you can get a refusal.

The convenience of using Internet acquiring for the seller also lies in the fact that the provider provides analytical reporting. This allows the merchant to estimate the number of transactions made by customers through the built-in application and direct cash orders on the spot.

What is bank acquiring?

One of the main players in the acquiring scheme, of course, are banks. They are in the most advantageous position.

An acquiring bank is an organization that services cards when performing transactions and carries out all financial operations by deal. At the same time, the bank can either combine the functions of the issuer and acquirer, or be only an intermediary in the provision of acquiring services.

When setting a commission for using the service, banks take into account the following indicators:

• type of ownership;
• commodity volume of the company;
• technical capabilities for providing communication;
• availability of terminals;
• field of activity.

The service fee for stores is the most significant drawback, due to which many outlets still refuse to keep up with the progress and install POS terminals. For a bank, commission is a big source of income, even taking into account the transfer of part of the interest to the payment system.

Acquiring gives you the opportunity to expand your customer base, consolidate your position in the market and receive financial benefits. That is why there is such a huge competition among acquirers today, because every company wants to be the first to attract a large outlet to cooperation.

Services for the use of acquiring are always paid by the point of sale, while the payment has three components:

• payment system commission;
• commission to the issuing bank;
• commission of the company - to the owner of the terminal.

Given the interest of issuing banks in expanding their client base, they often waive their commission in favor of the client. This feature is called cashback and means the return of cash to the card for the purchase made. Thus, this encourages the client to increase the sales receipt and make purchases in the category where the cashback amount will be higher.

The higher the turnover of the store, the less interest rate he can count when signing an agreement with the bank. Also, the size of the commission can be influenced by factors such as the type of bank card, status, payment system. We present the standard interest rate for the acquiring service in Russia for 2017:

• Internet - 3.6-3.8%;
• mobile - 2.5-3%;
• trading - 1.5-2%.

Process participants

As mentioned above, three parties are involved in the chain of acquiring services. The issuer must be clearly distinguished from the acquirer itself. After all, the service, in fact, is provided not by the bank that issued the card, but by the company servicing the terminals.

In many cases, these two parties can be combined. The same bank is the card issuer and the owner of the electronic device installed at the point of sale. For the buyer, this does not matter, because the commission will not be deducted from him for the operation. But for a retail outlet, the size of the commission in this case will be less.

In the event that the issuer and the company owner of the terminal are two different organizations, then there should be an instant exchange of information between them when making a transaction. This scheme occurs through the processing center. The data processing center (DPC) checks the client's solvency, verifies the data and writes off the required purchase amount. All information is on a secure server.

The most profitable acquiring for IP

Given the high popularity of using bank cards, many aspiring entrepreneurs want to connect such a service at their outlet. It should be understood that the acquiring procedure between the bank and the client can only be completed when registering a legal entity.

Between legal entity(regardless of the business area) and the bank concludes an agreement, which specifies the obligations of both parties, the amount of commission for transactions, the limit on banking operations, etc. But here it is important to understand that the bank does not actually provide acquiring services, but is only a link between the client, the outlet and the payment system company.

As you know, today there are several large payment systems in the world that are the whales of this business: Visa, MasterCard, UnionPay. It is the company in whose system the card is registered that controls the transaction. At the same time, retail outlets must contact the bank directly to conclude an agreement on the provision of acquiring.

But not every outlet can conclude an agreement with a bank. For example, many financial institutions are very reluctant to sign an agreement with a small business, in particular with such a legal form as an individual entrepreneur. This is due to a small commodity turnover, the cost of providing a terminal, etc. In some cases, banks may require a report on financial activities IP to assess the feasibility of potential cooperation. At the same time, each financial institution has its own turnover threshold at which the bank will conclude such a transaction, and include the rental and maintenance of electronic devices in the terms of the contract.

Installation and configuration of the application on the POS-terminal is carried out by banking specialists. In addition to setting up, IT specialists are required to teach how to use the merchant's terminal. As a rule, setting up terminals and training store employees is carried out by installation companies free of charge, because the bank is no less interested in the proper operation of equipment than the store.

For the seller, the advantage of using the terminal in his store is also quite justified. After all, a client is much more willing to make a purchase in a store where you can pay with plastic, and not look for an ATM to cash out money.

For individual entrepreneurs, when choosing a company that installs a terminal, it is important to be guided by the following points.

1. It is necessary to analyze information about the technical equipment on which the company operates. These may be classic POS terminals, or perhaps the company will already provide more modern PinPad devices.
2. You should pay attention to what kind of connection will provide a message between the terminal and the bank. When using fiber or Wi-Fi, the response time will not take more than 1-2 seconds.
3. What payment systems does the device work with. The advantage, of course, should be given to universal terminals.
4. Specify the commission for each transaction. These conditions must be spelled out in the contract.
5. Pay attention to the financial side of the issue. Are there any penalties from the company, what is the cost of equipment and payment terms in case of damage.

In addition to a correct transaction, it is equally important for store owners to ensure data security and protect customers from fraudulent transactions. For this purpose, it is necessary to make sure that code protection is installed on the terminal. There are several options for protecting data during transactions and data verification. Most in modern ways today are PCI DSS and 3D Secure protocols.

Rating of the best acquiring banks in Russia

Below we provide a list of the most popular banks providing acquiring services in Russia as of August 2017.

It should be understood that the total cost of acquiring service will be set based on the following parameters:

• the scope of the outlet;
• annual turnover;
• protection code.

Documents for connecting acquiring at a point of sale

After analyzing and choosing the best acquirer, you need to collect the following package of documents, which is necessary for signing the agreement:

• founding documents;
• license to provide services;
• a copy of the passport of the director and accountant (must be notarized);
• Certificate of state registration;
• Certificate of tax registration;
• a copy of the Lease Agreement (Sublease) or a document confirming the ownership of the object;
• bank card with sample signatures.

Results

Summing up the relevance and prospects of acquiring, it should be noted that this service made it possible to make commodity-money relations more convenient and mobile. In this case, each of the parties to the process receives its own benefit.

The client receives comfort, mobility and safety. The outlet shows loyalty and attracts customers. The cashier reduces his time for servicing, and the issuing bank and the owner of the terminal receive a commission for servicing.

For retail outlet owners, the choice of an acquiring company should not be determined solely from an economic point of view. Of greater importance is the speed of the operation and the transfer of money to the seller's account.

The only disadvantage of using acquiring on the Internet or through retail chains, perhaps, is fraudulent chains. But every year the security of using acquiring on the Web and in stores is increasing, which indicates great prospects for this technology.

Video - Acquiring for small and medium businesses

This article discusses issues related to the regulatory regulation of acquiring operations, as well as their accounting and tax accounting and documentation.

Operations related to payment by plastic cards have become everyday, as it is a convenient and safe tool. Acquiring allows you to accept plastic cards of leading international payment systems for payment for goods and services. Therefore, more and more trade organizations use this form of payment.

The advantages of acquiring operations are:

• minimization of risks in operations related to cash (revenue from plastic cards is difficult to steal, and you will not be given counterfeit money);
• increasing the competitiveness of the organization and increasing turnover by attracting new customers-holders of plastic cards;
• plastic card transactions are not subject to the limit of cash settlements.

Terminology

A modern accountant is faced with the task of competently designing both traditional cash transactions and transactions related to settlements by means of plastic cards. However, in order to talk about acquiring, you must first understand the specific terms inherent in this operation. Let's consider the most important of them.

Reference

Acquiring- the activities of a credit institution, including the implementation of settlements with trade (service) enterprises for transactions made using bank cards.

Payment card(bank) - a plastic card linked to one or more current (personal) bank accounts. It is used to pay for goods (works, services), including via the Internet, as well as to withdraw cash.

Under electronic payment system refers to a complex of specialized software that provides transactions (transfer) of funds from the consumer to the supplier of goods, where the seller has his own account (the most common types of payment systems: Visa and MasterCard).

Acquiring bank- a credit institution that makes settlements with trade organizations on transactions made using payment cards and (or) issues cash to payment card holders who are not clients of the specified credit institution. An acquiring bank is required to carry out financial transactions by interacting with payment systems.

POS terminal is an electronic software and hardware device for accepting payments with plastic cards, it can accept cards with a chip module, magnetic stripe and contactless cards, as well as other devices with a contactless interface. Also, a POS-terminal often means the entire software and hardware complex that is installed at the cashier's workplace.

To date, many banks provide a similar service, you just need to choose the bank whose conditions are favorable. The bank will take a commission for its service, and each bank has a different percentage. The bank provides all the necessary equipment and trains employees.

When using the acquiring service, you must have an open bank account. Many individual entrepreneurs do not have a current account - in this case, you should choose a suitable bank in which you need to open a current account and conclude an acquiring agreement. A simple definition of the principle of operation using acquiring - through special equipment, the organization withdraws the amount for the purchase from the buyer's plastic card, and then the acquiring bank transfers it to the organization's current account, deducting a commission for its service from the amount.

What should be paid attention to in regulatory documents?

Money transfer is currently regulated federal law dated June 27, 2011 No. 161-FZ "On the national payment system". The transfer of funds is carried out within a period of no more than three business days starting from the day the funds are debited from the payer's bank account (clause 5, article 5 of Law No. 161-FZ).

If funds are received on the organization's settlement account for more than one day, then account 57 "Transfers on the way" (sub-account 57-3 "Sales by payment cards") is used in accounting to control the movement of money in accordance with the Instructions for using the chart of accounts accounting(approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 31, 2000 No. 94n). Settlements with the acquiring bank can also be recorded on account 76 “Settlements with various debtors and creditors”.

Proceeds from the sale of goods is income from the ordinary activities of a trade organization and is recognized on the date the goods are transferred to the buyer, regardless of the date and procedure for paying for the goods (clause 5, clause 6 PBU 9/99 "Income of the organization"). The actual cost of goods sold is recognized as expenses for ordinary activities and is debited from account 41 "Goods" to the debit of account 90 sub-account "Cost of sales" (clauses 5, 7, 9, 10 PBU 10/99 "Expenses of the organization" (hereinafter - PBU 10 /99)).

It's important to know

An incoming cash order for the amount of proceeds by bank transfer is not issued.

Expenses for paying for the services of an acquiring bank that makes settlements on transactions using payment cards are accounted for as other expenses and reflected on account 91 of the sub-account "Other expenses" on the date the proceeds are credited to the organization's settlement account (clauses 11, 14.1 PBU 10/99 ). The proceeds from the sale of goods using bank cards are credited to the settlement account of the organization, as a rule, minus the bank's remuneration.

Retail trade organizations have the right to take into account the goods they purchase and sell at the cost of their purchase or at selling prices, with separate allowance for markups (discounts) (clause 13 PBU 5/01 "Accounting for inventories").

The selected options for accounting for goods must be fixed in the accounting policy.

Accounting

First, let's establish the sequence of acquiring operations:

• the cashier activates the buyer's card using the terminal, information about the card is instantly transmitted to the processing center;
• after checking the current balance on the account, a slip is printed in duplicate, in which both the buyer and the seller must sign;
• a copy of the slip signed by the seller is issued to the buyer. The second copy (signed by the buyer) remains with the seller. The seller must verify the sample signature on the card with the signature on the slip;
• the seller is obliged to use cash registers for such operations and issue a cash receipt to the buyer.

Settlements made by payment cards are broken into a separate section of cash register and are reflected separately in the Z-report as the amount of non-cash revenue. At the same time, in the cash journal, the form in column 12 reflects the number of plastic cards for which settlements were made, and column 13 indicates the amount received when paying with these cards. Information from the cashier's journal on the amount of revenue received both in cash and by means of plastic cards is transferred to the certificate-report of the cashier-operator (form No. KM-6).

note

The services of the acquiring bank for settlements are not subject to VAT (subclause 3, clause 3, article 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Consequently, the cost of bank services does not include "input" VAT.

The scheme for documenting acquiring operations looks like this:

• at the end of the working day, acquiring obliges the organization to report to the bank for each transaction carried out on plastic cards. For this purpose, an electronic journal generated by the POS-terminal is sent to the bank;
• the bank checks the documents submitted to it;
• the bank transfers to the trade enterprise the funds paid by payment cards.

An acquiring agreement, as a rule, implies that the bank transfers to the settlement account of the organization the funds due to it, minus its remuneration.

However, the organization acts as a seller and is required to reflect the revenue in full, including the agreed remuneration to the bank. In this case, the bank's commission is reflected both in accounting and in tax accounting as "other expenses" using account 91 "Other expenses". Organizations that use the simplified tax system (with the object of taxation of income reduced by the amount of expenses) can also take into account bank services in expenses.

There are two main options for recording such transactions in accounting:

• the transfer of funds is carried out by the bank on the day of payment by plastic cards (see example 1);
• the transfer of funds by the bank does not occur on the day the card payment is made (see example 2).

Example 1

On September 13, 2014, using bank cards through the electronic payment system, Ritm LLC received payment from buyers for goods in the amount of 46,830 rubles (including 18% VAT - 7,143.56 rubles). An acquiring agreement was concluded with a servicing bank, on the basis of which the amount of proceeds for the goods sold was transferred to the organization's current account, minus remuneration. The amount of remuneration is 1.2 percent of the amount of proceeds received. Transfer of funds is carried out by the bank on the day of payment by plastic cards.

The following entries will be made in the accounting LLC "Ritm":

DEBIT 62 CREDIT 90 sub-account "Revenue"

- 46,830 rubles. - revenue from the provision of services with the use of plastic cards in settlements is reflected;

DEBIT 90 subaccount "VAT" CREDIT 68

- 7143.56 rubles. (RUB 46,830 x 18/118) - VAT was charged on the amount of revenue using plastic cards in payments;

DEBIT 51 CREDIT 62

- 46,830 rubles. - funds debited from customer accounts were received on the current account;

DEBIT 91 sub-account "Other expenses" CREDIT 51

- 561.96 rubles. (RUB 46,830 x 1.2%) - expenses for paying commissions to the bank are recognized.

Example

On September 14, 2014, the revenue of Trio LLC amounted to 64,900 rubles, including 47,200 rubles using plastic cards. The agreement with the bank stipulates that the funds are credited to the organization's settlement account the next day after receiving the electronic journal (a POS terminal is installed), the bank's commission is two percent of the payment amount plastic card. The transfer of funds by the bank occurs the next day after the payment by card.

The following entries will be made in the accounting LLC "Trio":

DEBIT 62 CREDIT 90 sub-account "Revenue"

- 47,200 rubles. - revenue from the provision of services with the use of plastic cards in settlements is reflected;

- 2700 rubles. (17,700 rubles x 18/118) - VAT was charged on the amount of cash proceeds;

DEBIT 90 subaccount "VAT" CREDIT 68

- 7200 rubles. (RUB 47,200 x 18/118) - VAT was charged on the amount of revenue using plastic cards in payments;

DEBIT 50 CREDIT 90 sub-account "Revenue"

- 17,700 rubles. (64 900 - 47 200) - capitalized on the income cash warrant revenue from the provision of services for cash;

DEBIT 57 sub-account "Sales by payment cards" CREDIT 62

- 47,200 rubles. – an electronic journal was sent to the bank;

DEBIT 57 sub-account "Cash collection" CREDIT 50

- 17,700 rubles. – funds were collected to the bank (an account cash order was issued);

DEBIT 51 CREDIT 57 sub-account "Sales by payment cards"

- 46,256 rubles. (47,200 rubles - 47,200 rubles x 2%) - funds debited from customer accounts (net of commission fees) were received on the current account;

DEBIT 91 sub-account "Other expenses" CREDIT 57 sub-account "Sales by payment cards"

- 944 rubles. (RUB 47,200 x 2%) - expenses for paying commissions to the bank are recognized;

DEBIT 51 CREDIT 57 sub-account "Cash collection"

- 17,700 rubles. - cash funds have been credited to the current account.
And now consider the operation of acquiring from the side of tax accounting.

value added tax

Please note that the sale of goods in Russia is subject to VAT. The tax base is determined on the date of transfer of ownership of the goods to the buyer as the cost of the goods (net of VAT) (clause 2 of article 153, clause 1 of article 154, subclause 1 of clause 1 of article 167 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Taxation is carried out at a rate of 18 percent (clause 3, article 164 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The remuneration of the acquiring bank is recognized by trade organizations as non-operating expenses (subclause 15 clause 1 article 265 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Payment by credit card actually means that the buyer has to make an advance payment. This must be taken into account when calculating the amount of VAT. The VAT calculation day for the seller will be the date of receipt of funds from the buyer, which is provided for by subparagraph 2 of paragraph 1 of Article 167 of the Tax Code. Since the moment of determining the tax base for VAT is the earliest of the following dates: the day of shipment (transfer) of goods (works, services), property rights or the day of payment, partial payment on account of the upcoming supplies of goods (performance of works, provision of services), transfer of property rights.

income tax

On the date of transfer of ownership of the goods to the buyer, the proceeds received (net of VAT) are recognized as income from sales (clauses 1, 2 of article 249, clause 1 of article 248, clause 3 of article 271 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The specified income for the purposes of profit taxation is reduced by the cost of acquiring the goods, which, in accordance with Article 320 of the Tax Code, refers to direct expenses (subclause 3, clause 1, article 268 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The amount of the withheld agency fee (net of VAT) as of the date of approval of the agent's report refers to other expenses related to production and sales (Subclause 3, Clause 1, Article 264, Subclause 3, Clause 7, Article 272 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

To check the correctness of the reflection of the acquiring operation, you need to check daily the spreading of amounts from the Z-report on accounts 50 and 57 of the sub-account "Payment card sales". Moreover, it is necessary to compare not only receipts for the day, but also the cumulative total, highlighted in a separate line in the Z-report. This will allow you to track the completeness of the posting of revenue.

In order to track the receipt of proceeds to the bank and the correct allocation of the bank commission, you need to daily compare the turnover on the credit of account 57 subaccount "Sales by payment cards" and the amount of turnover on the debit of accounts 91 subaccounts "Other expenses" (bank commission) and 51 subaccounts "Receipts by payment cards. If everything is spaced correctly, then they should match.

And, of course, account 57 should not have a balance at the end of the day, provided that payment card transfers are received from the bank to the current account on the same day. If this condition is not met, then in the amount of the account balance there should be only the debit turnover of the previous day (or the previous two days, this directly depends on how often the bank transfers money for acquiring operations to the company's current account).

You can also check yourself for the following typical mistakes:

• an accountant can reflect in accounting the proceeds from the sale of goods not at the time the goods are transferred to the buyer, but at the time the funds are received from the bank. This error leads to a distortion of accounting and tax reporting, when payment for goods with a payment card and transfer of funds to a current account by a bank fall on different reporting (tax) periods;
• it is also possible to make a mistake if you reflect in accounting the proceeds from the sale of goods minus the commission withheld by the bank under the acquiring agreement. This error leads to an underestimation of not only sales revenue, but also expenses, as a result, the accounting and tax reporting. For an organization located on the simplified tax system with the object of taxation "income", given error leads to an underestimation tax base on single tax for the amount bank commission;
• other violations may be the sale of goods by payment cards without the use of cash registers, the lack of information about the proceeds received using bank cards in the cashier's journal, the cashier's certificate and report and information about the readings of counters of cash registers.

Many entrepreneurs who accept payment for goods and services with bank cards are wondering if an online cash desk is needed when acquiring. In this article, we will answer this question, we will tell you about the features of merchant, mobile and Internet acquiring, share tips on choosing a bank and give instructions for connecting acquiring to an online checkout.

What is acquiring?

The term "acquiring" is quite firmly established in the everyday life of consumers. And if we do not use it in everyday speech, then the meaning of the word is familiar to everyone. Literally, "acquiring" (Acquiring, English) is translated as acquiring, buying.

Acquiring is the whole process from accepting payment on a buyer's plastic card to crediting funds to the seller's account. In the middle of this chain is the acquiring bank itself, which acts as an intermediary.

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In a rapidly developing digital market, payment can be made using contactless technology, for example, when a customer's smartphone is pointed at the terminal. This operation will also be considered part of the acquiring process.

The principle of operation of an online cash register with acquiring

The algorithm of the online cash register with acquiring at first glance is quite simple, however, if we look at it from the inside, we will see a lot of operations performed by the system between the processes of reading the customer's card and printing the cashier's receipt:

1. To begin with, the terminal must read the buyer's plastic card. For this purpose, the cashier swipes the magnetic stripe of the card through the reader, or the customer applies the plastic card to the terminal;
2. Further, the card data is transferred to the acquiring bank, in other words, the bank with which the store has an agreement to accept payment by plastic cards. The acquiring bank, in turn, performs the process of identifying the issuing bank (the bank that issued the card);
3. After the acquiring bank contacts the issuing bank, the issuing bank identifies the data of the plastic card holder in its database (at this stage, only a few seconds passed between the contact of the plastic card and the terminal, and the terminal usually asks the card holder to enter a pin code) and checks the balance of funds available for debiting;
4. The next step will be confirmation by the issuing bank of the availability of the required amount on the payment card and transfer of information to the acquiring bank;
5. The acquiring bank transmits the data to the payment terminal and to the online cash register, after which cash receipts are printed.

Debiting funds from the card is also subject to a certain scheme:

1. The amount required for debiting is first sent by the issuing bank to the acquiring bank;
2. The acquirer, in turn, takes the due commission (or charges it in addition to the debit amount, which will allow the store to be invoiced in the future) and transfers the funds to the settlement account of the outlet.

Do I need an online cash desk when acquiring?

At first glance, the connection between online cash desks and acquiring is quite transparent. After all, payments passing through the terminal are necessarily recorded in the recording device of the online cash register.

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We take a regular computer, connect any fiscal registrar and install the Business Ru Kassa application. As a result, we get an economical analogue of a POS-terminal as in a large store with all its functions. We enter goods with prices in the Business.Ru cloud service and start working. For everything about everything - a maximum of 1 hour and 15-20 thousand rubles. for the fiscal registrar.

Consider the goals and objectives of these two devices.

Acquiring:

1. Works to ensure the possibility of making payments by plastic cards;
2. It works according to the scheme: customer (shop) → acquiring bank → issuing bank → shop's settlement account.

Online cash desk:

1. Generates paper and electronic cash receipts for customers;
2. Provides information to the Federal Tax Service about all transactions carried out through the cash desk;
3. It works according to the scheme: customer (shop) → online cash desk → fiscal data operator → Federal Tax Service.

It turns out the connection is not so obvious.

Important! Acquiring without an online cash register will be able to work without any difficulties, just as the absence of acquiring will not make any significant changes to the work of an online cash desk.

Despite the fact that there is no direct dependence on each other in the functioning of the devices, they work in tandem. All sales that go through the acquiring process are recorded at the online checkout, the online checkout, in turn, generates checks necessary to complete the acquiring process.

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What does an electronic check generated at an online checkout look like?

An electronic check must contain the same details as a paper one. Required details on the check include:

1. The system of taxation applied by the organization;
2. Settlement sign: sale/return;
3. Serial number of fiscal data;
4. Fiscal data attribute;
5. List of purchased goods with cost, price and applied discounts;
6. VAT for each item;
7. Factory number of the fiscal drive;
8. Fiscal document number;
9. Fiscal data transfer code;
10. VAT amount and tax rate;
11. Name of OFD;
12. OFD website address;
13. QR code that serves as an additional verification of the authenticity of a check, etc.

Merchant acquiring

Merchant acquiring is the process of paying for goods by bank transfer at stationary outlets.

Since, often, the flow of customers is quite intense, when choosing a device for providing merchant acquiring, a businessman should focus on the performance of the terminal - the higher it is, the more customers the cashier can serve per day.

Mobile acquiring

Mobile acquiring is used in the work of the delivery service, to provide services to the population at home or for small businesses. All these areas do not involve a large flow of visitors, and therefore an entrepreneur can afford to purchase a more budget model of the device.

The most common model is the mPOS terminal - the most compact version in the entire family of POS terminals.

It is attached to the owner's device, usually a smartphone, and with the help of a simple program performs the functions of a payment terminal.

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The most significant advantages of mobile acquiring is the possibility of using it for courier delivery, traveling trade, etc. That is, wherever compactness is valued, an mPOS terminal will come in handy.

However, the device has its drawbacks:

• data processing speed is an order of magnitude lower than that of a conventional terminal;
• cannot print receipts for customers (but can send electronic versions);
• can only work with a wireless connection;
• mobile acquiring rates are often above average.

Internet acquiring

For entrepreneurs conducting their activities via the Internet, the issue of payment by bank transfer is one of the most important, because this is how most buyers pay.

An exception may be payment for the goods at the time of receipt, but in this case the site is not an online store, but serves as a showcase.

Payment by a plastic card in an online store is carried out without using a terminal, it is enough to install an online acquiring form on the site. For example, .

For the buyer, everything looks quite simple: at the time of purchase, a form appears on the screen in which you need to enter the data of the payment card and its owner, then an SMS message with a confirmation code may come (this function depends on the issuing bank) and after entering it, the operation is successful ends.

In order to connect Internet acquiring to the site, an entrepreneur needs to conclude an agreement with the bank itself.

There are three types of integration of an online store with acquiring:

1.Easy integration

• the form code for receiving payment is generated by the bank itself, it is posted on the website;
• the payment page is sent to the buyer with a link to email or phone number (electronic account).

2.Modular integration

In the case of modular integration, an entrepreneur can connect acquiring by himself using a module/plugin for CMS (Content Management System). For example, in the case of Sberbank Internet acquiring, it is possible to integrate with Joomla, ModX, OpenCart and 1C.

3.Full integration

The entrepreneur independently develops the integration according to the Internet acquiring documentation. In this case, the form of payment can be created, taking into account the peculiarities of the business processes of the online store, for example, linking payments to billing.

This type of integration will be the most expensive, because it will require the help of a developer.

How to choose an acquiring bank?

Today, almost any bank can offer acquiring services for an online cash register. And although there are more than enough offers, tariff rates for the most part pretty close.

Banks also cannot please the consumer with a variety of functions. Entrepreneurs need to bet on special conditions offered by a particular bank. These conditions may include:

1. Reducing the percentage charged by the bank from the acquiring procedure, depending on the turnover of the store. This offer may be of interest to shops with high traffic;
2. Reducing the tariffs of acquiring banks in relation to the cards issued by them;
3. Reduction of acquiring tariffs, if the entrepreneur buys and installs the equipment himself, or rents it from the acquiring bank.

How to choose a terminal for acquiring?

There are several types of acquiring terminals on the market. Let's analyze how they differ from each other (except for the price), for which business areas they are more suitable.

Standalone and stationary POS-terminals

Such terminals can send payment data to an online checkout via a wireless service. A modern POS-terminal should have a slot for inserting a payment card and working on a contactless payment acceptance system.

Standalone POS-terminals differ from those that operate from a power source, built-in battery, light weight and size.

Important! Not all POS-terminals have the ability to accept cashless payments. Before buying, you need to check whether the device has such a function. If not, then you will have to buy a card reader to the POS-terminal and connect it via USB.

Examples of such terminals for acquiring:

• VeriFone Vx510 (the terminal can run various cash register applications that allow you not only to deposit money to an entrepreneur's account, but also, for example, to a mobile phone account), costing from 15,000 rubles;
• Ingenico iCT220 (characterized by a higher speed of issuing checks, which is important with a high flow of customers during rush hour), price from 19,000 rubles.

Modular devices: computing module plus card reader

An acquiring terminal that looks like a card reader cannot work on its own. It must be connected to the computing module. For example, to a computer with a fiscal registrar or to an online cash register with a smartphone.

Boost your store performance in 1 month

The service will improve the efficiency of the store by reducing the loss of product balances, significantly speed up the process of revaluation, printing price tags / labels, strictly discipline the work of the cashier and limit his opportunities when working with discounts / sales at a free price.

Examples of popular readers:

• Tier R 2100 is popular due to the low price of 13,000 rubles, but does not have the possibility of contactless payment;
• VeriFone Vx 805 (medium receipt printing speed) has the function of accepting cards with contactless payment, the cost of the device is from 15,500 rubles;
• Ingenico iPP 320 (medium price, large display, fast receipt printing) also accepts contactless cards. The price starts from 17,000 rubles.

Features of the device - a miniature card reader with a pinpad attaches to a mobile device. For example, to a tablet with a cash register.

Such acquiring terminals appeared less than 10 years ago, and many buyers have not yet seen them.

Advantages of the MPOS terminal:

• it is very compact, smaller than a bank card;
• quickly makes the calculation and sends the data to the cashier;
• quickly connects to the module.

MPOS terminal, as well as other terminals for acquiring, work in compliance with the security requirements of payment data.

For example, MPOS devices are actively promoted by Yandex.Checkout along with the activation of the acquiring service. The offer is the following:

The Yandex.Checkout commission is more expensive than banks offer. However, the price of the reader is low. Convenient for courier or food trucks.

How to connect acquiring to the online checkout?

In order to connect an online cash desk to acquiring, a businessman needs to conclude an agreement with an acquiring bank. To do this, you need to collect the following package of documents:

1. Certificate that the organization is registered with the tax office;
2. Extracts taken from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities;
3. If the entrepreneur is of interest to the organization, it will be necessary to collect a package of constituent documents;
4. Documents from the bank confirming that the organization has a current account;
5. Confirmation of the right to use a trade enterprise (rent of premises, ownership);
6. Licenses if the scope of the company implies their availability.

After a thorough analysis of the information received by the bank's security service, and in case of a positive decision, an acquiring agreement is concluded between the store owner / organization.

The next step is that the store, in accordance with the requirements of the acquirer, is equipped with the necessary devices on which the required software is installed. And on the website of the online store, a form of payment is installed.

After providing the technical side of the issue, the store personnel are trained.

Summing up, we can say that acquiring is a necessary tool for every entrepreneur, since an increasing number of buyers prefer a non-cash form of payment.

Important! The absence of acquiring in the organization will not allow accepting non-cash payments, and may also lead to an outflow of customers for the same reason.

In addition to the ability to accept non-cash payments from customers, installing a terminal can also inspire confidence in the store - if the store has an acquiring terminal, then it has an agreement with a bank whose security service has checked the organization.