What is PCI and why do companies need it?

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a set of security requirements created by the major card brands (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, JCB) to protect cardholder data. It applies to any merchant, processor, or service provider that stores, processes, or transmits payment card information.

The standard is built around six core goals:

• Build and maintain a secure network
• Protect cardholder data (through encryption, masking, and restricted storage)
• Maintain a vulnerability management program
• Implement strong access controls
• Regularly monitor and test networks
• Maintain an information security policy.

These break down into 12 detailed requirements covering things like firewalls, encryption, access restrictions, unique user IDs, and regular testing.

For merchants, PCI compliance matters for a few concrete reasons. 

First, it's typically contractually required by your payment processor or acquiring bank — non-compliance can mean fines, increased transaction fees, or losing the ability to accept cards altogether. 

Second, it directly reduces breach risk: cardholder data is a prime target, and a breach can mean regulatory penalties, forensic investigation costs, and liability for fraudulent charges. Third, it protects reputation and customer trust, since a public breach can drive customers away regardless of legal consequences. 

Compliance level and requirements scale with transaction volume, ranging from a simpler self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) for smaller merchants to a full annual audit (Report on Compliance) for large ones.

For more details about PCI and how to complete your PCI requirements  check our Knowledge base

Where can I find my partner dashboard?

https://app.qualpay.com/partner/

What are the latest updates to the card brands pricing?

The new swipe fee settlement lowers some consumer card fees, but leaves out expensive corporate and purchasing cards used by businesses and government agencies. In the past, merchants could get lower rates by providing detailed transaction information, but now card networks are stricter about data accuracy. As a result, merchants who can't provide real transaction data may still pay high fees. While the settlement gives some relief for consumer transactions, it does not reduce costs for commercial cards, so merchants should focus on accurate data to save money.

For more details read our blog post: Unlocking the Hidden Rewards of Smart Data in Credit Card Fees

What is an integrated platform?

An integrated payment, at its core, is an offering where acquiring services (the actual processing/merchant account relationship) and the payments solution itself, whether that's a gateway or the actual end-point capturing card or ACH data, come combined rather than sourced separately. 

The benefits of having acquiring integrated rather than standalone:

Single access point.ne relationship, one contract, one support line for the acquiring side instead of managing a separate acquirer alongside the tech stack.

Less vendor clutter and cost. No need to shop, onboard, and maintain a separate acquiring relationship; it comes packaged with the rest of the solution.

Reliability. Fewer moving parts between acquiring and the payment technology means fewer failure points and a more dependable experience end to end.

Competitive edge. Bundled acquiring lets a partner offer a more seamless experience and richer reporting than a bare acquiring relationship would, which helps differentiate on value rather than just price and makes the relationship stickier.

What countries does Qualpay service?

USA and Canada

Can we offer point of sale terminals?

Qualpay offers 2 terminal models through Valor, the VL100 Pro and the VP550.To order/review our point of sales options, please contact your account manager.

Can we offer ACH?

Yes! Your business can start accepting ACH payments with Qualpay with a few simple steps:

If you already process credit cards with Qualpay, send a request to your Qualpay Sale Representative or contact Qualpay Support. Adding ACH payments follows a process similar to that of credit cards, albeit much shorter. We will ask you questions about your expected ACH payments and have you review and agree to pricing. Underwriting will review the request, and if approved, ACH payments will be added to your account.

If you are new to Qualpay, you can request to process ACH payments in addition to credit cards when you fill out your merchant application.

Something to keep in mind: Unlike credit card payments, where authorization is given by the issuing bank electronically during the sale process, you must collect ACH authorizations directly from your customers and store them for two years. By collecting and storing ACH authorizations properly, your business demonstrates compliance with regulatory requirements, which mitigates the risk of disputes or unauthorized transactions.

Read more about accepting ACH Payments in our ACH FAQ

Where can I find the development center?

You can access the developer portal from our main website by clicking on the upper right corner by clicking on Developer portal

Or directly going to: https://developer.qualpay.com

What is the best contact for Qualpay support for me? And what is the best contact for Qualpay support for my customers?

We provide you with the kind of concierge-like support that's designed to answer your questions and concerns as quickly and expeditiously as possible. To that end, we have real people ready with real answers to help you. They're experts who truly know their stuff and are available Monday through Friday from 6 am to 4 pm Pacific Time to receive your calls (844 282 0888). Or send us an email. We promise to respond within three hours.

Meanwhile our Knowledge Base is an online source of information and details about payments processing that can be accessed for free at any time.

Support options:

Merchants
‍You have unlimited free access to our Merchant Knowledge Base, accessible through the Qualpay Manager.

‍Partners
‍You have unlimited free access to our growing and evolving Partner Knowledge Base, accessible through the Partner Portal.

Developers
‍You have unlimited free access to our robust Developer Resource Library including SDK and API documentation and code samples.

Reach out at support@Qualpay.com and we provide live phone support 6am-4pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday: 844 282 0888.

What are three things that make Qualpay different from other payment companies?

Qualpay offers an effortless, unified payment solution for every business.One platform for all payments, whether they are online, in-person, or recurring. All managed from a single dashboard.

You can pair our merchant account with any of our products or integrations, seamlessly integrating with your existing software, such as bill payment, CRM platforms, shopping carts and accounting software. Our platform supports credit card and ACH payments level II and level III enhancement, foreign currency processing, surcharging, convenience, and service fees.

With Qualpay you can:

1. Reduce Payment Complexity
One account for every sales channel,—ditch multiple vendors and confusing reports. Everything is unified and simple.

2. Simplify Payment Reporting
Crystal-clear, real-time reports keep you on top of your payments and cash flow.

1. A daily batch report for settled transactions
2. A pending funding report for anticipated payments, ensuring you never lose sight of your money or data.
3. A daily reconciliation report detailing funds deposited into your account, including batches, adjustments for disputes, and money movement items,ensuring complete transparency so you always understand the origin of your received funds.
4. Comprehensive transaction tracking and research tools that provide detailed insights into each transaction's lifecycle, from authorization to funding, refunds, and disputes.

3. Streamline Compliance
PCI-certified security and compliance. No headaches, no hassle. Manage everything securely in one place.