Restaurant environments traditionally process real-time payments in two phases so that a tip may be added to the purchase. A restaurant can accept credit cards, debit cards, checks, and gift/loyalty cards. Most transactions can be swiped or keyed, although swiped is usually preferred. Keyed transactions, when allowed, usually result in higher processing fees to the restaurateur.

Restaurant transactions are usually performed as a pair of transactions, one that authorizes the card and holds the funds (“AUTH”) and the second that adds the tip and schedules the transaction for payment (“FORCE”). Tip entries and transaction totals may be adjusted for “FORCE” or “SALE” transactions as long as the batch has not been closed using the “TIPEDIT” command.

Tip Handling and Total Amounts

The amount set to the gateway is always the amount to charge the card. Tip amounts can be specified on SALE, FORCE and TIPEDIT commands, but the AMOUNT value should also be sent and should represent the TOTAL AMOUNT TO CHARGE THE CARD.

Here are some examples:

AUTH           Amount = 10.00

FORCE         Amount = 12.00, Tip = 2.00 (Total sale charged to card = 12.00)

SALE             Amount = 12.00, Tip = 2.00 (Total sale charged to card = 12.00)

TIPEDIT      Amount = 12.00, Tip = 2.00 (Total sale charged to card = 12.00)

AUTH           Amount = 10.00

FORCE         Amount = 10.00, no tip specified

TIPEDIT      Amount = 12.00, tip = 2.00 (NEW total sale charged to card = 12.00)

Transactions processed for certain types of business or commercial credit cards are often accompanied by additional data. When requested by the system, an additional transaction can be performed to “UPDATE” this information if it was not originally provided as part of the “SALE”, “AUTH” or “FORCE”.

The “AUTH” transaction type can be used to accept credit card transactions, but a “SALE” transaction is required to accept debit cards, gift/loyalty cards, and to perform certain operations with paper checks.

There are specific requirements for each type of payment.

• Credit cards are usually the easiest to implement, as they may be swiped or keyed.
• Debit transactions need to be accompanied by a “PINBLOCK” and “KSN” that contain the encrypted pin information from a physical hardware pinpad device.
• Check processing usually requires hardware to read the check’s MICR data or to scan the entire check as an image.
  • Check verification / guarantee services are done in a single step, often using a MICR reader to acquire the check’s bank information
  • Check truncation / conversion services require an image of the check to be uploaded after the transaction is approved
• Gift/Loyalty cards may impose additional receipt requirements and additional balance inquiry functions may need to be supported for the retailer to participate in the gift card programs.
  

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