Knowledgebase

General Questions

Does this replace the payment gateway and merchant account I have now?
Yes.

Is there a limit on the number of transactions?
No, there is not.

Are there fee differences for AMEX?
No

How secure is the system? How do you protect PII within the system?
Of paramount importance to us at StarChapter is that our services are highly available, secure, and perform well. Through StarChapter, you store personal and organizational information and files, process eCommerce transactions, and collaborate with your fellow members and non-members. Here is a great overview of our process to ensure this.

What about PCI compliance?
The organization does have to post standard policies and other information for PCI compliance. Here is a great overview of our process to ensure this. With StarPay, you will have a SecurityMetrics account to guide you through PCI compliance requirements.

What does it look like?
The StarPay merchant portal is similar to other payment gateways, where you can view reports, locate individual transactions, issue refunds, and more. 

Application

What is the StarPay application process like?
It is a simple application within your StarChapter Admin Area.  

What documentation is needed?
After your initial application is received, the underwriting team will review the information provided and contact you directly if additional materials are needed. If more documentation is requested, you can upload those materials. Please do not submit materials until they have been requested.

The most commonly requested materials include:

• a voided check. If a voided check is not available, a bank letter on bank letterhead, including the account and routing numbers, can be used in its place.

• entity organization documents, such as Articles of Incorporation. This document is public information and in most states free to search and access.

• IRS Form 990. This is an informational tax form that most tax-exempt organizations must file annually.

• IRS 501C. This letter indicates that a nonprofit organization is exempt from paying federal tax under Section 501(c)(3). To get a copy of your 501c3 letter, contact the IRS Customer Service for nonprofit organizations at 1-877-829-5500.

Will it require a credit check on a board member?
As part of the approval process a soft credit check is completed on the responsible person. A soft credit inquiry occurs in cases where you check your own credit or when a bank or business checks your credit to approve you for an application or offer. Soft credit inquiries do not impact your credit scores.

The purpose of this check is to ensure compliance with legal regulations to satisfy the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), US Patriot Act, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations, and our internal policies and procedures. This is a required practice with any merchant account, bank account, or payment service in the U.S.

Is there any discounted pricing available for non-profit organizations?
The pricing options are designed to fit the needs for non-profit organizations because that is most of our customer base. 

We think you'll find the pricing to be very competitive and easy to understand. StarPay fees are limited to transactions rates and fees, meaning that your chapter only pays when a transaction is processed.

What’s the contract/agreement?
As part of the application process, you will be presented with the StarPay Sub-Merchant Payment Processing Agreement to review.

Do we have to cancel our current service ourselves?
Yes

How is StarPay connected to our StarChapter service?
When your merchant account has been approved, StarChapter’s Support Team will connect it to your system and notify you that it’s ready for use.  

Member Experience

Can members download their own financial history?
Yes, members can log in and go to View My Order History to get the details of their past orders and payments.

What cards can we process with StarPay?
Visa, American Express, Mastercard, Discover, Diner’s International, JCB, and UnionPay.

How will transactions display on the purchaser’s credit card statement?
The purchaser will see "FSP - " followed by the merchant's name on their credit card statement. For example, "FSP - Demo City Chapter" FSP refers to Fullsteam. Fullsteam Operations LLC is the parent company and backend payment processor behind StarPay.

Board (Admin User) Experience

How easy is it to refund something?
You can seamlessly process refunds with the StarChapter Admin Area. 

What is the timeline for refund processing?
When a refund is processed, funds will typically take 5 to 7 business days to be credited back to the purchaser's original account.

Are there fees for refunds?
Refunds do not incur additional transaction fees.

Is there an option to get an email for each transaction?
Yes, StarChapter automatically sends a notification to the treasurer contact email address when a payment is made.

When are funds deposited into our bank account?
A day’s transactions are batched and deposited together. Cutoff times for the day for both credit and debit cards is 08:05 PM CT (09:05 PM ET). From time of purchase to depositing into your bank account (funding) takes 2-3 days, plus 1 day if there is a banking holiday. Funding deposits will always happen daily and holding funds for monthly deposits is not offered. 

To view the details of transactions within a deposit, use the StarPay reports that are available in the StarChapter Admin Area. 

Can funds collected be directed to an existing bank account?
Yes

When are transaction fees deducted?

Transaction fees will be deducted from each transaction, as they are processed. Review the Funding by Transaction report to see details of those fees.
If you would prefer to have transaction fees deducted on a monthly basis, submit a Support Ticket with that request. Monthly deductions will incur an additional fee of 0.05%.

Will anyone with access to StarChapter be able to see StarPay or can that be controlled by Admin?
Full Admin Users and Restricted Admin Users that are granted access would be the only users with the ability to see StarPay.

If I import a member list will this have any effect on the payment history?
All order/invoice and payment information is still there, visible and reportable, in Order Manager no matter what happens to the member record.

Will we see an order number on the report, so we know which order it goes with?
You can access this information in Order Manager, in the payment and adjustment tab. This will show the order/invoice number and payment transaction ID for all the payments.

What does the merchant portal look like?
The StarPay merchant portal is like other payment gateways, where you can view reports, locate individual transactions, and more. The biggest difference that you can access the portal right from the StarChapter Admin Area.

What reporting is available?
There are comprehensive funding reports: summary and by transaction to help streamline your reconciliation process. Clear reporting to tie the payment transactions processed through StarChapter with deposits made to your organization’s bank account. 

How will deposits display on my organization’s bank account?
The organization (“Merchant”) will see deposits labeled as "Fullsteam SV9" on their bank account statements. Fullsteam Operations LLC is the parent company and backend payment processor behind StarPay. Deposits are net amounts. In other words, transaction fees are taken out before the deposit is made.

How will I know if a chargeback occurs?
A chargeback is a charge that is returned to the payer after they successfully dispute the transaction. An email notification of any chargeback will be sent to the email address listed on your StarPay account the same day notice is received by the acquiring bank.

How will I receive my 1099 Form required for taxes?
Form 1099-K is reported to the IRS for the amount of payment transactions processed through your merchant account each tax year. Reference: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k

A 1099-K for your StarPay merchant account is provided if your entity processed at least $20,000 combined with 200 transactions over the taxable year. StarPay merchants will receive their 1099-K forms, through US-mail from WorldPay. The 1099-K will be mailed to the entity's business address that was shared on the application, by January 31st each year. If the organization does not have a business address and instead uses the responsible party’s address as their mailing address, it will be sent there. 

PCI Compliance

Is PCI Compliance a requirement?
The PCI standard is administered by PCI Security Standards Council for the credit card industry. Compliance is required for all merchants accepting credit cards online.

Does StarChapter provide PCI compliance?
StarChapter Software is PCI compliant, but this does not meet all obligations that your organization will have as a merchant. Steps must be taken by each merchant to certify compliance and StarChapter cannot take these steps on behalf of your organization.

What does my organization need to do to be PCI Compliant?
StarChapter has partnered with SecurityMetrics to provide support for all StarPay merchants in their PCI Compliance tasks. Within 7 days of your organization's first funding date, the Responsible Party on your StarPay account will receive an invitation from SecurityMetrics to login and initiate those tasks. These tasks, the PCI SAQ form and website scan, must be completed within 90 days of that first funding date to avoid a PCI Non-Compliance Fee.

Why is there a non-compliance fee being charged?
Credit card companies require that all merchants be PCI Compliant. As part of that requirement, payment gateways, including StarPay, are required to charge a non-compliance fee when organizations are not in compliance. This fee is assessed 90 days after your first funding date, if the account is non-compliant. Merchants must certify before the 21st of the 3rd month after the first funding date to avoid the penalty fee.

Support

In what country is the help desk located?
StarChapter Support Advisors also support StarPay and are located in the USA.

Will support tickets need to be entered for help or will there be phone support?
You can create support tickets through your StarChapter Admin Area or call our Ticket Administrators to create a support ticket on your behalf. If you would like to speak to a StarChapter Support Advisor on the phone, please share your availability and urgency on your ticket.