Effective October 17, 2010, Visa Easy Payment Service will provide a better framework for conducting certain low value transactions less than $25 without cardholder verification or the issuance of a transaction receipt (unless requested by the cardholder). Drawing on the best features of each of the current programs and research, the Visa Easy Payment Service provides a broadened and consistent base for low value and everyday spend expansion.  Visa Easy Payment Service transaction rules will apply to all card technologies including magnetic stripe, EMV chip and Proximity Payment (contactless chip) transactions.  In addition, Visa Easy Payment Service will generally replace existing program rules, creating a consistent set of Visa International operating regulations. Redundant regional regulations will be deleted.

Program Qualification Requirements

To qualify for Visa Easy Payment Service, a transaction must:

• Be conducted in a face-to-face environment. Transactions at unattended (cardholder-activated) acceptance terminals less than or equal to US $15 may also qualify as Visa Easy Payment Service transactions.
• Be authorized.
• Be conducted at any Merchant Category Code (MCC) except the 21 MCCs listed below:
  • 4829 - Wire Transfer Money Orders
  • 5542 - Automated Fuel Dispensers
  • 5960, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69  - Direct Marketing – Insurance Service, Travel Related, Catalog Merchant, Telemarketing, Subscription, etc.
  • 6010, 11, 12 - Financial Institutions
  • 7995 - Betting, including Lottery Tickets, Casino Gaming Chips, Off-Track Betting, and Wagers at Racetrack
  • 9405 - Intra-Government Purchases (Government only)
  • 9700 - International Automated Referral Service (Visa use only)
  • 9701 - Visa Credential Server (Visa use only)
  • 9702 - GCAS Emergency Services (Visa use only)
  • 9950 - Intra-Company Purchases
• The transaction limit will be US $25 for all eligible Visa Easy Payment Service transactions. This limit is applicable to domestic and international transactions.
• Have full electronic read with a POS Entry Mode code of 05, 07, 90 or 91.

Visa Easy Payment Service Transaction Restrictions

The following transactions do not qualify for Visa Easy Payment Service:

• Fallback transactions
• Account funding transactions
• Cash-back transactions
• Manual cash disbursement transactions
• Quasi-cash transactions
• Prepaid load transactions
• Transactions where Dynamic Currency Conversion is performed

Optional Cardholder Verification Method

To increase speed and convenience at checkout, cardholder verifications (PIN and signature) are not required for Visa Easy Payment Service transactions.

Transaction Receipts

A merchant must provide a transaction receipt for a Visa Easy Payment Service transaction if requested by the cardholder.

Receipt Retention

Visa Easy Payment Service transactions will not be subject to transaction receipt retrieval requests. As a result, merchants will no longer be required to retain receipts of Visa Easy Payment Service transactions for this purpose.

Chargeback Protection

Because a cardholder verification method (signature or PIN) is not required and receipt retrieval requests are no longer permitted for Visa Easy Payment Service transactions, the following chargebacks will be invalid for Visa Easy Payment Service transactions:

• Reason Code 60—Illegible Fulfillment
• Reason Code 81—Fraud: Card Present Environment (Chargeback Conditions 1 and 2)
• Reason Code 75—Transaction Not Recognized

The following chargebacks will be valid for Visa Easy Payment Service transactions:

• Reason Code 53—Not as Described or Defective Merchandise.
• Reason Code 57—Fraudulent Multiple Transactions.
• Reason Code 80—Incorrect Transaction Amount or Account Number. 
• Reason Code 82—Duplicate Processing.

All other existing chargeback rights will be unaffected.