What is Level 3 processing?
Level 3 Processing collects additional information on a credit card sale and sends this along with the payment transaction.
Level 3 or line item detail is information you would generally find on an invoice that is passed along with the payment transaction.
There are three different levels: Level I, Level II and Level III. Level III cards provide more extensive information than Level II, and Level I cards only provide the same basic credit card information found in business-to-consumer (B2C) card transactions.
Level II requires Tax amount and customer code be entered when processing a transaction.
Level III provides data elements such as a description of the product, quantity, unit-of-measure, price, price discount applied and sales tax information when applicable
What are the benefits of level 3 processing?
Level 3 processing allows corporations and the government to keep better track of what employees are purchasing on company issued cards.
Corporate and Purchasing cards have more capabilities than a regular credit card. When an employee uses a company issued card at a merchant who is processing level 3 line item detail, this information shows up on the company or government agencies bank statement. Rather than a showing the store name and dollar amount, the bank statement shows a detailed description of what was purchased.
Example of Enhanced Data on a Bank Statement
http://www.visa.ca/purchasing/download/enhanced_data.pdf
The benefits for merchants can be quite signifiant.
When level 3 data is provided merchants are rewarded with a lower interchange level for Business-t0-Business and Business-to-Government transactions. Merchants can see a savings of 30% of higher from implementing level 3.
Processing level 3 does require proper technology and a cost plus merchant account. Just because a merchant is passing level 3 data doesn’t necessarily mean they have been set up properly to receive the lower interchange levels for level 3.
Its encouraged to have a few different merchant service providers to do a comparison for you. Merchants will easily be able to tell which providers truly have experience setting up level 3 payment accounts.
If you would like a Free No Obligation level 3 comparison or have questions regarding level 3 processing contact a Revolution Level -3 specialist at 888 790 3450 or email [email protected]
To receive a no obligation analysis either fax your last months statement to 301 790 1998 or email [email protected]