B2B (Level III)
One of the best-kept secrets of the credit card processing industry, and we are here to show you how to do it.
Corporate & purchase cards are the most expensive cards to process.
Business owners often use corporate and purchasing credit cards to pay their vendors to leverage rewards and points, but these are the most expensive cards to process.
Substantial Savings
Save a substantial amount on your payment processing by capturing the required level 3 data to qualify corporate and purchasing cards at the best rate.
Automatic Enhanced Data Capture
Automatically capture nearly 20 line-item details to qualify for level 3 processing.
Easy to Integrate
Add specific level 3 capable payment integrations to your existing accounting systems or online shopping carts with ease.
The different levels of data
Although it’s difficult to achieve, Level III Processing is certainly not without its perks. If achieved, Level III rewards merchants with reduced interchange rates.
Level I
Level I is your basic business-to-business transaction that includes only narrow purchase data.
Level II
Level II includes the same data as level I, but also adds sales tax. This can be achieved with a physical terminal.
Level III
Level III processing must include nearly twenty line-item details for purchasing, corporate, or GSA cards. It also requires an enhanced virtual payment gateway and is eligible for lower interchange rates.
How does a merchant qualify for the best rate?
The card brands require certain enhanced data or Level II and Level III data to be sent with the settlement of the transaction. This data includes:
Level II
Level II data requires a valid sales tax amount, tax indicator, and if tax exempt, a valid tax ID
Level III
Level III data is line item detail, which includes nearly twenty fields of data.
(Level I & II + Item description, item quantity, item unit of measure, item freight/shipping amount, item commodity code, item discount amount, duty amount, product code, unit cost, discount per line item, and line item total)
Streamline helps you automatically capture the enhanced data to meet the card brands requirements and qualify your business for the best rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get Some Answers
What does B2B mean?
B2B stands for Business to Business. In the credit card industry, these transactions are often referred to as Corporate, Purchase, Government Purchase or Business cards. For merchants who enter the required data in order for the card brands to facilitate these features, Visa and MasterCard have created special interchange rates for these card types and most MCC’s are eligible.
What information is needed for Fleet, GSA Purchasing and Purchasing cards for fuel transactions??
For Fleet Purchasing, GSA Purchasing and Purchasing cards for fuel transactions, fuel data is required. Visa Fuel Data Requirements include business format code, type of purchase, fuel type, unit of measure, quantity, gross fuel price, and miscellaneous fuel tax exemption status.
Can I enter the information in manually?
Although entering this data can save on Interchange costs, manually entering this data is time consuming and in most cases level III data isn’t supported on the merchant’s device.
First, merchants must capture funds for the same amount or less than the preauthorization. Second, after a card is preauthorized, merchants must capture funds within a few days.
One of the biggest reasons why merchants don’t qualify for Level III
processing is because they’re either capturing more than the preauthorized amount, or preauthorizing and capturing after the 48- hour window has expired.
How does B2B Interchange Optimizer work?
The B2B technology identifies the proper data fields necessary to meet the preferred interchange categories for participating card brands with no additional prompts or data for merchants to enter.
How does B2B increase my revenue?
Since there is a significant savings in interchange by using this product, there is more room for margin!
For example, for a transaction of $1,000, if the merchant is not using the B2B Interchange Optimizer App on a corp card, the interchange would be 2.95% which is $29.50. Using the B2B Interchange Optimizer, the merchant could qualify that same transaction at 1.90% which would be $19. Saving $10.50 on just one transaction.merchants to enter.
Does the merchant need to enter AVS information?
Yes! AVS information is required for keyed transactions.
Does AVS need to match?
For Card Present Transactions, the Zip Code MUST match.
For Card Not Present Transactions, the AVS doesn’t need to match, but must be entered.
However, to minimize fraud an AVS match is highly recommended.
Is CVV required in order to qualify?
No CVV is not required to be entered or to match in order to qualify for Level II or Level III
What type of savings can merchants expect to see?
This depends on the card processed and in some cases the ticket size. The average savings on corporate cards are between 60-90 bps. Please refer to the MasterCard Card Flow Diagram and Visa Card Flow Diagram for details on individual interchange rates.
Which MCC’s are eligible for these savings?
All merchants EXCEPT the following:
- High Risk, Direct Marketing (MCC 5962, 5966, 5967)
- Restaurants (MCC 5812, 5814),
- Hotels (MCC 3501-3833, 7011),
- Car Rentals (MCC 3351-3441, 7512),
- Truck and Utility Trailer Rentals (MCC 7513),
- Airlines (MCC 3000-3299, 4511),
- Cruise Lines (MCC 4411),
- Passenger Railways (MCC 4112)
- Travel Agents (MCC 4722
How often does the merchant need to settle their batch in order to qualify?
Merchants must settle all authorizations daily in order to qualify for the best rate.
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Michelle and her team did not “Sell” us a product or service. Rather, she educated us on parts of the payment business that we had no idea about and, in the process, offered us better solutions than we had at a more competitive price. She has followed up in the years since to ensure that we always have questions answered and that we are optimizing our options while minimizing costs.
Kevin Prior, Chief Financial Officer
Catholic Health Association of the United States
Michelle has taken care of our credit card processing for over 10 years. I can’t say enough about her commitment to customer service. She goes above and beyond to make sure we are taken care of and is always presenting new ideas to improve our online business needs. We love that she is so hands on and takes care of our needs.
Kelly Callier, General Manager
Callier's Catering
I have worked with Michelle Carr since 2012 and she has always offered top of the line customer service. Even when on vacation, she has found time to return my calls and help me out of a jam. She knows her stuff. I recently switched over to the Cash Discounting program, which has nearly eliminated my credit card processing fees. This lower cost solution has generated dollars that I can now invest back in to my business.
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Crest Bowl
