Real-Time Payments Merchant Services - Frequently asked Questions

Real-TimePayments.com is a division of Today Payments, Inc, a provider of credit card, debit card, ACH and Check Conversion processing services for businesses through integrated software solutions.

Fill out the one page Application. The process takes about 5 minutes and you can fax it back to (603)947-5197. If you'd like help, call (866) 927-7180 Monday through Friday 8am-5pm Pacific Time.

We will contact you within 24 hours (not including weekends and holidays) to let you know which program you have qualified for, answer any questions you have, and complete your Application.

We accept retail, professionals, trade shows, mail order, telephone order, Internet-based, and home-based businesses.

Very few Applications are denied. In fact, we approve 98% of all applicants who apply for merchant accounts.³ In addition, there is no Application fee for credit card processing. If your Application were declined, it would be at no expense to you.

Credit is not always the determining factor in our approval process. If your credit is questionable, we have some options available to you so your account can be approved.

Can I still sign up for a merchant account?

Unfortunately, no. Only US-based companies with a U.S. bank account can use Real-TimePayments . However, see Multi-Currency processing.

For pricing comparisons, call (866) 927-7180 and check out Pricing Comparisons.

You will need the following information about your business:

1. Business information (Tax ID, physical mailing address)
2. Owner/principal information (contact and identifying information)
3. Account information (bank account, funding information)
4. Estimated credit card sales and existing credit card processing information (if applicable)
5. Current terminal model number

If you've already applied and have questions about the status of your Application, please call (866) 927-7180 or email CS@Real-TimePayments.com

No. The funds you collect from credit card transactions are deposited directly into the bank account of your choice. Funds are usually available NEXT BUSINESS DAY.

We set up you so that you can accept MasterCard, Visa and bank ATM debit cards. You can apply for American Express and Discover at the same time. If you would like to accept Discover Card and American Express there is set-up charge.

Should I cancel this other account before I apply?

In order to assure uninterrupted processing, DO NOT cancel your existing merchant service until you've been approved and ready to process with Deposit Checks. At that point, you can choose to cancel your existing service.

1. Terminal Service: It depends. You can use your existing terminal and reprogramming is FREE.¹ Just call (866) 927-7180 for assistance. Don't have a terminal, get one for a great price. Learn more about our terminals.
2. PC Service: No we provide you with FREE virtual terminal software, which lets you use your PC to manually key-enter card information, plus also lets you process sales anywhere there's an internet connection. You can also select the QuickBooks Merchant Service, which lets you manually key-enter card information right in your QuickBooks software.⁴
3. Internet Service: No we provide you with FREE gateway software, which lets you take sales over the Internet plus lets you manually key-enter card sales anywhere there's an internet connection.

One of our Activation team members can assist you with reprogramming. Call (866) 927-7180 for help.

We provide full technical support and our experienced customer service representatives and tech support are available 24/7/365.

Yes. A statement is mailed out monthly. It contains information on all deposits into your account, your total sales volume, and the charges for the month. There is a monthly statement/customer service fee.

Every bank charges a discount rate. The discount rate is the percentage of each transaction that the processing company charges to handle the transaction for you. Our discount rates are exceptionally low for retail (swiped), mail/telephone order, and Internet merchants.

No. Credit card transactions that are keyed-in are considered higher risk since the card is not present at the time of the sale. Merchants who do a lot of keyed-in sales (for example, mail/telephone order and Internet-based businesses) experience a higher discount rate than retailers where cards are physically presented and swiped.

Yes. Credit card processing includes both a discount rate and a transaction fee.

If you sell via mail/telephone order, or through the Internet, you don't want to send a product to a false address and risk a chargeback. The Address Verification System (AVS) lets you enter the customer's home address and compares it to the address on file with their credit card company. If someone uses a stolen card, and wants products shipped to a false address, AVS will detect this for you.

When a company must make high volumes of payments to payees, manual effort can take you so far. It is error prone and not scalable.

The time required to manage this entire payment process can be a significant drag on productivity. The average AP department spends more than five hours a week handling this process.

When paying partners, it’s also critical that tax and regulatory compliance is taken care of and that payments can be made in a timely, accurate way to your partners. Furthermore, when companies add foreign partners and suppliers, this add significantly more accounting and operational complexity to the mix, making a global payment automation system even more valuable. That’s because there are a multitude of payment options, including payment methods, tax implications, and currency, that should be localized for that specific partner.

A global payment solution like Good Funds Gateway enables companies to centralize and execute all payment processes for all partners, regardless of jurisdiction. In addition, the business can maintain records for reconciliation in one place.

Real-TimePayments (and our Originating Banks) are your global payment partners in automating a system to manage, execute and reconcile the entire process of making outbound payments to partners and suppliers. If you currently need to pay a hundred or more payees routinely, including across international borders, there is no system more global, powerful or comprehensive. Real-TimePayments eliminates over 80% of the workload required to manage payments, while ensuring tax and regulatory compliance, and improving the partner payment experience.

Payment remittance is certainly a core function to Good Funds Gateway’s solution, allowing mass payments to be made out to payees across over 35 countries. However, Good Funds Gateway also streamlines the entire payment management process for companies from payee registration through to tax and regulatory compliance, remittance, payment issue resolution, fraud risk mitigation, and payment reconciliation and payee reporting.

The system handles all payment tax and regulatory compliance requirements, including tax form collection, 1099 processing, and ensuring that all payees are not on any international anti-terrorism, anti-drug trafficking, and anti-money laundering watch lists prior to payments being made. Good Funds Gateway also enhances the partner payment experience to help you better attract and retain partners by offering them choice of different payment method and currency and by improving payment timeliness and accuracy results.

A payee is the person receiving funds and the payer is the one paying out to the payee. Depending on industry, terminology may vary. See our Glossary for more complete descriptions and definitions of other "Payment Related" terms."

Although Real-TimePayments is a U.S.-based company, our processing banks are globally located. Good Funds Gateway can pay in the local currency of over 35 countries. Sending in local currency can improve the experience for payees since it offers the additional convenience of ready-to-use funds when receiving payments, without the hassle or fees involved with going to a bank to convert US dollars in to local funds.

Good Funds
Funds are transferred directly from the Sender's (your company may be either the Originator or Receiver) Originating Financial Institution account to the Receiving Financial Institution account. One of the fastest and most reliable method, similar to Wires, without the higher cost.

ACH / Direct Deposit / Credit-Push / Direct Debit / Debit-Pull
Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) provides an inexpensive electronic money transfer to the payee bank account. It’s available in the US. In some situations, depending upon the Receiving Financial Institution, it can take a few days to clear.

eCheck / Global ACH
Fast and most cost-effective electronic money transfer to the payee bank account. Available in 29 countries.

Wire Transfer
Funds are transferred directly to the payee bank account. One of the fastest and most reliable method. However, the costs are higher.

Debit Cards
Visa Debit Cards - see Visa Direct

Prepaid Debit Cards
No bank account required. Prepaid debit card is loaded remotely and can be used at any location that accepts MasterCard and Visa.

SEPA (Single Euro Payment Area) is an expansion to the eCheck/Global ACH payment method, enabling payees in all Euro countries to receive direct bank transfers at a much lower cost. In some countries (e.g UK, Sweden) the local currency is supported alongside the Euro.

SEPA payments are supported in the following countries (updated July 2013): Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Denmark, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Monaco, Switzerland, Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Reunion, Gibraltar, Aland Islands.

Good Funds Gateway charges a monthly operational fee to set up and maintain an account. In addition, there are per-transaction charges depending on the payment method and any foreign exchange charges.

Good Funds Gateway offers the payer the flexibility to determine whether and how much the payer or payee pays for transactions. Charges can also be based on payment method. For example, you can encourage greater adoption of certain payment methods (such as ACH over wire transfers) by offering to cover the costs of one, and not the other.

Good Funds Gateway offers a lot of value for those making payments to multiple payees in different countries. However, if the volume of domestic payments is a burden to your accounts payable team,  you simply want to streamline and automate a cost center operation, or you want to insert a system that will grow with you if and when you go more global, Good Funds Gateway may still be right for you. Several Good Funds Gateway customers are domestic only but found considerable value in payment reconciliation reporting, onboarding payees, and streamlining communication issues.

Absolutely. In fact Real-TimePayments , we believe, is the only payment processing gateway providing, "Good Funds" transactions, Wires, Visa Direct, ACH, Credit Card, Debit Card and Paper Check payment solutions all with one convenient login with the additional benefit of accounting software integrations!