Q: What is a gift card?
A: A gift card is a magnetic stripe enabled plastic card that is typically purchased at the point of sale of a particular merchant. The card represents a dollar value that can be used by the consumer to purchase goods or services from the merchant who issued the card. Because authorizations are based upon the card's status and available balance, the consumer does not need to provide a PIN or signature at the point of sale.

Q: What is the MRA Gift Card Program?
A: The MRA Gift Card Program is a full-service gift card program that provides card creation, card packaging, transaction processing, administration and customer service support to merchants nationwide.

Q: What is slippage?
A: "Slippage" or "breakage" refers to the amount of money that a merchant retains when a gift card is not fully redeemed. Slippage could add as much as five to seven percent of gift card sales to a merchant's bottom line.

Q: Is the MRA Gift Card Program going to be compatible with my point-of-sale system?
A: Yes. The MRA Gift Card Program is designed to integrate easily into your existing system. Typically, a partial or full download of your stand-alone credit card terminal is the only change necessary to begin accepting MRA gift cards.

Q: What is the risk of fraud?
A: The risk associated with gift cards is less than that of paper-based programs because:
• Cards are not activated until they are sold to your customers, reducing the risk of employee theft and fraudulent reproduction.
• Card contain features that help protect you from fraud, such as security values…
Although risk is reduced with gift cards, you should continue to utilize standard security measures to prevent fraud.

Q: What kind of reporting will I receive regarding my MRA Gift Card Program?
A: Comprehensive gift card reporting will be provided to your business in paper reports that are mailed on a monthly basis to your business address.

Q: What should I do if my terminal is unavailable for gift card processing?
A: Please call our 24-hour customer service line for assistance. Our experienced staff will help you resolve technical issues related to your POS terminal.

Q: What terminal types are supported?
A: The following terminal types are supported:
• Verifone Tranz 380, 380x2, 460
• Hypercom T7 512K
• Hypercom ICE 5500
• Thales Talento
• Sable

Other terminal types may be certified based upon new terminal introductions. Contact us for a current list of terminal types supported.

Q: What software is supported?
A: The following software is supported:
• PC Charge (v.5.7 or higher)
• Micros (3700 or 9700)

Q: How are transactions authorized?
A: The transaction is routed from the POS terminal to the host database; where it is processed based upon the card number and merchant identification. An approval or denial is passed back to the merchant based on the card's status and its available balance. It is very similar to the authorization process used for credit and debit card processing today.

Q: How are transactions settled?
A: Central Corporate Account (Non-settlement): Designed for merchants that settle all transactions to a central account rather than to separate accounts for each store location. Transactions are posted to the cardholders’ accounts, but because the merchant is both the issuer and the acquirer of the gift card, no funds are transferred between accounts.