Implementing a Point of Sale Terminal

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The following procedure provides guidelines for all credit and debit card processing at the University of Guelph. Departments must meet Treasury Operations’s requirements for security and for integrating transaction information into the University accounting system by way of a Revenue Remittance Voucher (RRV).

  1. The Department conducts a feasibility study to determine the costs and benefits involved.  The Department obtains the appropriate approval from the Chair, Director & or Dean and to facilitate the project a Project Leader is normally assigned.
  2. Current costs of terminal rental, monthly Visa and MasterCard discount fees etc. See section 1.9 of the Overview.
  3. A Global Payments merchant number is first required.  Contact the Treasury Officer at ext: 58390 to arrange setup of the new merchant number.  Provide the following information: 
    • Name and address of Department
    • Contact name and telephone number
    • General ledger coding for monthly merchant fees
    • Approximate annual revenue expected showing $ value for both Visa and MasterCard
    • Approximate single sale value
  4. Starting in 2010 all POS terminals should be IP connections. This is a more cost effective method and industry standard than the current phone line. Please note there may be a one time set-up charge for the Internet connection (IP) set up fee, this eliminates the ongoing monthly phone line cost, which is currently about $40.00 per month. (Contact CCS or your local IT department for an estimated cost to install the IP connection)
  5. Once the Department receives the Global merchant number and the terminal they are ready to start Testing. To complete the testing it is imperative to contact the Treasury Officer at ext: 52870 who monitors this bank account and can verify that the terminal is linked correctly to our bank. Testing is done by making a payment using both Visa and MasterCard for a $1 or more. A refund should also be tested on a separate day for an amount less than the payment amount. This cycle can take 2-3 banking days, please plan accordingly. Once the Treasury Coordinator sees this revenue in the bank, the Treasury Operations Manager will be notified and granted approval for the terminal to “go live
  6. To complete the deposit for submission to Treasury Operations the following is required:
  • Print End of Day (EOD) Transaction Report.
  • EOD report for the day is to be attached to your RRV and taken to Treasury Operations for receipting.

Final Approval to Go Live for the merchant card payment process rests with Treasury Operations.  This approval is based on the success of the testing and the provision of a complete payment audit trail.

Information on receipting an RRV

See a list of FAQs