WePay FAQs

Have a question? We can help! Our team is available from:

9:00 AM- 9:00 PM ESTMonday - Friday

To submit a ticket, click the 'submit a request' link on the upper left of the page in the side navigation bar. We will get back to youwithinone business day.

Why do I need to do this?

We're required by law to collect and verify certain information about our customers.

You can learn more about some of these requirements by checking outthe following resources:

US Department of Justice

US Department of the Treasury

Im using WePay for my businessWhy do I have to provide my personal information?

We require you to provide personal information such as your Social Security number and date of birth to confirm that you're authorized to act on behalf of the business. This prevents unauthorized people from creating an account on behalf of your business.

Is my information safe?

Absolutely yes! Protecting your information and your privacy is above and beyond our toppriority. WePay goes through efforts to encrypt and store all sensitive information in a PCI Compliant environment.

You canlearn more here: Security Standards and Privacy Policy.

Will this affect my taxes?

Under certain conditions, WePay may be required to provide you and the IRS with an informational record of your payments. It's up to you and a tax professional to determine how payments you receive using WePay should be reported to the IRS. Learn more about tax reporting.

Whats an EIN?

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a Federal Tax Identification Number used to identify a business.

Your EIN can be found on the the paperwork you filed with the IRS to legally form your business. If you did not file with the IRS, you likelydon'thave an EIN.

Where can I find business type?

This can be found on the paperwork you filed with the IRS to legally form your business. If you did not file with the IRS, you are likely a sole proprietor or independent contractor.

To protect our users, WePay reviews each payment submitted by your clients, customers, and donors.

Credit and debit card payments usually clear in 1 business day.

If your payer submitted a payment using their bank account, the payment will process 1-5 business days after the payer confirms their bank account.

Some payments may require additional review by our Trust & Safety team, which may extend processing times.

If you receive notification that a payment made to your WePay account has failed, this means we were unable to fully process the transaction. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including:

The information submitted by the payer was incorrect or could not be verified. For example:

Incorrect billing name, address, or zip code

Expired card

Invalid CVV / CSC

The payers card issuer declined the payment due to insufficient funds or other blocks on their account.

Your WePay account setup is not complete, or your account has been deactivated.

Youre collecting payments for something that violates our Terms of Service.

Our Trust & Safety team needs additional information about you, your business, or the payer.

For specific details about why your payment failed, please reach out to our Support team. For verification purposes, please submit your request using the email address linked to your WePay merchant account.

Why do I need to do this?

WePay is federally required to collect and verify certain information about our customers.

If you've received an email that says we were unable to verify your tax identification number, you should update your account information using the link in the email.

How can I ensure WePay is able to verify my account information?

Please double-check that you entered your tax identification number correctly. Even a small typo may prevent us from verifying your information.

If you're using your social security number (SSN), please make sure you enter your full legal name. This should match the information you provide to file your taxes.

If you're using your Employer Identification Number (EIN), please double-check that you've entered the legal name you provided the IRS when registering your business. You can find your EIN and business name on any official tax paperwork from the IRS, including the documents you used to register your business.

If someone has collected funds on your behalf and theyve transferred their WePay account to you, youll receive a Reset Password email from WePay that will allow you to set a password and gain access to the account.

Once you've logged in, you just need to click on the 'Settings' icon and visit the 'Trust Center' tab to finish entering in your personal information.

When you're ready to withdraw your funds, click on the 'Withdrawals' tab to enter in your bank account or request a paper check.

If you signed up through one of WePays partner sites and are looking for the money you collected, find the section that relates to you and follow the steps to access your funds.

I created a campaign for myself; wheres my money?

If you signed up through one of our partners to collect funds for an event, project, or campaign you will also have automatically received a WePay account.

If this is the first timeyou'vetried to access your WePay account, you should have received a confirmation email from [email protected]. In this email, youll see a blue Confirm button that will allow you to verify the account and set a password.

Once you've logged in, you just need to click on the 'Settings' icon and visit the 'Trust Center' tab to finish entering in your personal information.

When you're ready to withdraw your funds, click on the 'Withdrawals' tab to enter in your bank account or request a paper check. Note - paper checks are only available in the US.

I started a campaign for someone else, how do I send them their money?

For security reasons, WePay cannot send funds to anyone other than the organizer of the WePay account. This means ifyou'veraised funds on behalf of someone else, you'll need to transfer over the WePay account to your beneficiaryto give them access to the funds.

To do this, youll simply need to contact the partner site where you originally created the campaign and they will work with WePay to finalize the transfer.

You can find a list of some of our partners here.

Someone has transferred their WePay account to me. What do I need to do?

If someone has collected funds on your behalf and theyve transferred their WePay account to you, youll receive a Reset Password email from WePay that will allow you to set a password and gain access to the account.

Once you've logged in, you just need to click on the 'Settings' icon and visit the 'Trust Center' tab to finish entering in your personal information.

When you're ready to withdraw your funds, click on the 'Withdrawals' tab to enter in your bank account or request a paper check.

The date of your next payout is shown at the top of your WePay merchant dashboard.

Once your payout is initiated, US merchants depositing into a Chase bank account will have Same-Day access to their funds, at no additional cost. If youaren'ta US merchant depositing to a Chase bank account, your bank should have your funds fully processed in 2-5 business days.

You can see an estimate of when you should expect to see funds in your bank account by clicking on Previous Withdrawals in your payment dashboard.

WePay enables businesses to accept credit card payments. If you have a charge from us on your statement,you'veprobably purchased something from a business that weve partnered with or donated to a fundraising campaign launched through one of our partners.

Ifyou'vemade a payment for goods or services, but would prefer to request a refund, please reach out directly to the business or organization that received your payment.

If youd like to request a refund for a donation to a fundraising campaign or nonprofit organization, please reach out directly to the campaign organizer using the Contact feature on the campaign page or contact the nonprofit.

If youre not sure who to contact in order to request your refund, please reach out to our Support team. Well be happy to point you in the right direction!

WePay is a payments processing website. We handle different transactions for a variety of reasons. From donation campaigns, to online merchants, to events, WePay is a great platform to start accepting payments online.

Processing & Delivery Times

If you requested your WePay funds viapaper check, the estimated delivery time is7-10 business days (not including weekends and holidays).

For example, if you requested a paper check on Friday 8/7, your check should arrive on or before 8/21.

Help! It's been more than 10 days!

If it's been more than 10 business days and your check still has not arrived, you'll first need toverify and update your mailing address in your WePay account home. You can do this by following the steps below:

Login to your WePay account at https://www.wepay.com

Click the 'Settings' icon above your balance:

Next click on the 'Withdrawals' tab on the left:

Finally, click the blue 'Change' button to update or add a new mailing address:

On the next screen, click the dropdown menu under 'Where should we send the check?' to change or update your address.

Requesting a Check Replacement

Once you've finished updating your address, please email us by hitting 'Submit A Request' at the top of this window. We'll cancel your existing check and get a new one sent out right away!

Your account balance will go negative if you have received disputes or chargebacks against your account and do not have enough funds available or in reserve to cover them.

To address the negative balance in your account, WePay will debit your attached bank account for the full amount of the deficit. If there are insufficient funds in that bank account, please change your primary bank account in "My Profile" (found by clicking your name in the top blue bar)to one with available funds. WePay will debit your bank account for a period of time in an attempt to recover the lost funds.

It is important that you address the deficitin your account, otherwise the account may be reported to a third party collection service. The third party collection service may report your debt to credit bureaus. If you would like to setup a payment plan to address the negative balance, please submit a support request from the link belowand someone from the Support team will assist you!

Do I need 2-Step Verification if I have a strong password?

Unfortunately, even a strong password can be stolen if you are using the same password on multiple sites. The 2-Step Verification can protect your account, even if your password is stolen, by adding a second level of protectiona special one-time code generated on your mobile phone or sent to you by WePay via SMS.

How does 2-Step Verification work?

With 2-Step Verification, you protect your account with two layers of security: your password (something you know) and your phone (something you have). Every time you login from a new computer or device, we will ask you to enter both your password and a specially generated code that will be sent to you via SMS text message or generated on your mobile phone. You can also choose to to have WePay remember the newcomputer, which will not require entering a code the next time you login from that computer.

Should I always trust all the computers I login from?

If you access your account from a public computer (like in a library) or from a computer that others have access to, then you should not trust the computer. You will still be able to login and access your account during the current session.

What if a trusted computer or device was lost or stolen?

If a trusted computer or device was lost or stolen, then you should immediately login to your account from another computer, go to "My Profile" (accessed by clicking on your name in the blue header bar), then going to the "2-stepVerification" tab. Find the appropriate device and forget it. This will ensure that entering a verification code will be required the next time someone tries to login to your account from thatdevice.

What if my phone was lost or stolen?

If your phone was lost or stolen, then you should contact your cell phone carrier and notify them about the accident. Your cell phone carrier will disable your lost or stolen phone and stop sending SMS text messages to it. After that, you will get a new phone configured for the same phone number and you can continue to use it with for 2-Step Verification.

If you are a GoFundMe customers and would like toupdateyour 2-Step Verification, please contact them at www.gofundme.com/contact and they can assist you. If you are with one of our other partners and need an update, send us a message by selecting ' Submit A Request' at the top of this article.

What if my phone number changes?

If your phone number changes, then you can configure your new phone number to receive 2-Step Verification codes in the future by going into the "2-step Verification" settings section.

What if the code hasn't arrived?

If you are a GoFundMe customer who is trying to log in and the code isn't arriving,contact GoFundMe at www.gofundme.com/contact.

If you are with one of our other partners, contact us by selecting ' Submit A Request' at the top of this articleand we can assist you. This will allow you to login and you can double-check to ensure you entered the correct phone number.

You also have the option of installing Google Authenticator to receive the codes, as opposed to having it send via text message. You can learn more about Google Authenticator on Google's site.

If you receive notification that a payment you made has failed, this means we were unable to fully process your transaction. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including:

We couldnt verify the information used to submit this payment. For example:

Incorrect billing name, address, or zip code

Expired card

Invalid CVV / CSC

Your card issuer declined the payment due to insufficient funds or other blocks on your account.

This merchants WePay account is currently deactivated or not processing payments.

The payment was for something that violated our Terms of Service.

Our Trust & Safety team needs more information about this payment.

If youre not sure why your payment failed, please reach out to our Support team. Well be happy to help!

If you need to transfer ownership of your WePay account to someone else, please reach out to our Support team and let us know if:

Your organization needs to appoint a new account administrator

You would like your beneficiary to have direct access to their donations

If possible, please submit your request using the email address linked to your WePay merchant account. Our support team will help you take your next steps!

Using WePay does not necessarily affect your taxes. WePay helps you organize your payments and under certain circumstances will issue you Form 1099-K, a requirement from the IRS.

What is Form 1099-K and what does it contain?

Form 1099-K is the IRSs information return for reporting the movement of funds. It reflects the gross dollar amount that you collected in the previous calendar year. In addition, the IRS 1099-K form should reflect your legal name and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). It is up to you (and your tax professional) to determine whether these amounts represent taxable income.

When will WePay send me the form?

If you collect at least $20,000 and have at least 200 transactions in the calendar year, WePay will send you the 1099-K form by January 31 of the following year. All payment processors are required to issue the 1099-K form by law. WePay is also required to file a corresponding tax form with the IRS, which participates in a combined filing program with many state tax agencies.

I received only gifts and donations. Will I receive a Form 1099-K?

As of 2015, the IRShas clarified that WePay is not required to send a Form 1099-K with respect to payments that are made solely as gifts or donations. The purpose of Form 1099-K is to report payments for the provision of goods or services, which may be subject to tax. Gifts and donations typically are not reported as income by recipients, so it is not necessary to send them a Form 1099-K.

We are a business or non-profit. Do these thresholds apply to us as well?

Yes, these thresholds apply to all US-based businesses including non-profits and other tax-exempt entities. However, the 1099-K form will be sent with the name and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of your business or non-profit, rather than the WePay accounts administrators legal name and social security number.

In other words, if you are an administrator of a WePay account for a business or non-profit, you will not take on any tax liability on behalf of the business or non-profit under your own social security number, as long as you input the correct name and employer identification number for the business or nonprofit into WePay

Are refunds and fees included in the $20,000?

When determining whether you have received more than $20,000, WePay does not deduct refunds or fees. Gross payment volume is determined by the amount of money your customers originally paid.

How should I use the information from the 1099-K form?

It is up to you (and a tax professional) to determine whether your proceeds represent taxable income. WePay will not report the funds that you collected as earned income. The 1099-K form is simply intended to track the movement of funds.

I am not a US citizen or a permanent resident. Will I get the 1099-K formfrom WePay?

If you are subject to tax in the United States, and you meet the requirements of at least $20,000 collected and at least 200 transactions in a calendar year you will receive the 1099-K form. If you reside in Canada or another foreign country and are not subject to tax in the United States, you will not receive the 1099-K form.

WePays ability to support merchants in the US, Canada, or the UK varies between our partner platforms. If you are a merchant located in the US, Canada, or the UK, please reach out directly to your platform to confirm that your country is supported.

WePay supports payments made using most domestic and international cards with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover logo.

How do I reduce my chances of getting a chargeback altogether?

There are a few best practices you can implement to reduce the likelihood of receiving a chargeback:

Deliver excellent service.Pride yourself on running on a business that prioritizes quality and customer experience. Furthermore, as refunds are less of hassle to deal with than chargebacks, we recommend highlighting ways a customer can contact you if they are unsatisfied with the product or service they received. Include your support teams email address or 800 number, and make your refund policy simple and transparent. This will help ensure that customers choose the option that is less time-consuming and expensive. Another best practice is to consistently provide a summary of services, which is signed by the customer.

Ensure you have a streamlined shipping processin place and always set appropriate expectations with your customers as to when they can expect full service or delivery. We also suggest keeping tracking numbers on all items that are shipped out.

For more best practices, click here.

What is WePays policy on chargeback volume?

WePay complies with card network rules on chargeback volume. Currently, the industry maximum chargeback rate is1% of merchant monthly transactions. We monitor the chargeback rate for merchants, and provide alerts if a merchant is experiencing a particularly high chargeback volume.

For situations in which a merchants chargeback rate is elevated and does not decrease over time, WePay reserves the right to close the merchant account.

There can be a fewdifferent reasons why an account balance isn't fully available for withdrawal. Below are several reasons, as well as some extrainfo about each reason:

One or more payments haven't fully processed.

The account holder needs to fill out the Trust Center.

There are reserves on the account.

If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to submit a request from the link below!

WePay uses your social security number (SSN) as part of its identity verification program.

WePay verifies the identity of each user of the WePay service in order to manage risk and to comply with anti-money laundering laws. If you are an individual or sole proprietor, WePay will also use your SSN for any required tax reporting. If you are acting on behalf of a corporation or other organization with an Employer Identification Number (EIN), WePay will use the EIN for any required tax reporting instead. Check out our article on 1099-K reporting for more detailed information.

Even if you are acting on behalf of an entity with an EIN, WePay requires your SSN so that WePay can verify who you are and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the entity. All of the information you enter on WePay is kept safe by our bank-level security measures. You can read more about the security WePay offers here.

Credit not Processed

Credit Already Issued on Returned Merchandise or Service Cancellation

Documentation and date from when the credit was issued

Returned Merchandise or Service Cancellation Inconsistent with your Disclosed Return or Cancellation Policy

Documentation showing that the cardholder was aware of and agreed to your policy

Specifically, the cardholders signature must appear on a sales receipt or other document stating your return policy

Card Charged After Payment was Canceled

Signed contracts, agreements or terms of service

Refund policy

A screenshot displaying the policy as located on your website - please include the browser URL in the screenshot

Card Charged After Subscription was Canceled

Contract, Terms of Service and/or Refund Policy that states the terms of the subscription agreed to by the cardholder at the time of the transaction

Entire document must be made available to cardholder prior to checkout

Products not Delivered or Defective

Labor/Services not Delivered

Signed contracts, agreements or terms of service

Proof of the service rendered

Correspondence with the cardholder (emails, texts)

Shippable Merchandise not Delivered

Signed contracts, agreements or terms of service

Tracking numbers and/or delivery confirmation (sign into your carrier's website to supply full URL address information)

Correspondence with the cardholder specific to the delivery (emails, texts)

Digital Product not Delivered

Signed contracts, agreements or terms of service

Proof of digital receipt to cardholders e-mail address

Logins with the I.P. and access information

Correspondence with the cardholder (emails, texts)

Product/Service not as Described or Defective

Signed contracts, agreements or terms of service

Refund policy

A screenshot displaying the policy as located on your website - please include the browser URL in the screenshot

Itemized receipt

Proof of work, or detailed condition of product or service

Description of the item with an image of the item

The URL should be present if on a webpage while taking the screenshot

Available information on damage during shipment

Digital Services: Logins with the I.P. and access information

Correspondence with the cardholder (emails, texts)

Additional Chargeback Types

Charge not Recognized by Cardholder

Signed contracts, agreements or terms of service

Itemized Receipt

Correspondence with the cardholder (emails, texts)

Chargebacks Related to Donations

Correspondence with the cardholder (emails, texts)

Duplicate Billing

Separate receipts for each transaction

Proof that products/services from each transaction have been delivered

General Guidelines

For all of the products and services that you are selling, be sure to provide:

A description

Pricing

Any additional details needed to convey an appropriate customer expectation for the product or service

This information could be shared on a webpage, the customer receipt, or the contract signed by the customer.

If a customer requests to cancel a subscription prior to the new billing period, have a process or steps to ensure that the customer will not be billed for subsequent months.

After the transaction has been completed, send the customer a follow-up email informing them of transaction details as well as what they will see on their statement.

If you've received an email or notification that a withdrawal was cancelled or created a chargeback, this could be for a couple of reasons:

The username on the WePay account (the name in the blue bar at the top of the homepage) does not match the legal name listed on the bank account

The bank account and/or routing number(s) entered do not match what the bank has on file (sometimes from a typo when entered)

If the bank account had incorrect information, it may have been deleted and the funds would have been returned to your WePaypayment account.To be sure we are able to send the funds back out to you, please be sure to enter your updated bank information as soon as possible.

To add or update the bank account, follow these steps:

Login to your account at www.wepay.com/home

Go to the right-hand side and click the grey gear icon that says Settings

Click the tab 'Withdrawals from the left side of the page

Click the blue button that says Link your bank account

Enter in the routing number, account number, and bank name for your account (if you are unsure about any of this information, please reach out directly to your bank to confirm)

Indicate if this is a checking or savings account

Choose how often you want your money sent to you in the future after this withdrawal is corrected and sent

Click Continue and youre all set!

The new withdrawal will initiate the next business day and takes 2-5 business days to arrive.For more information, please visit this article on how to withdraw your funds.

For security reasons, WePay cannot send funds to anyone other than the organizer of the WePay account. This means ifyou'veraised funds on behalf of someone else, you'll need to transfer over the WePay account to your beneficiaryto give them access to the funds.

To do this, youll simply need to contact the partner site where you originally created the campaign and they will work with WePay to finalize the transfer.

You can find a list of some of our partners here.

2-StepVerification is an added security optionfor your WePay account. With 2-StepVerification, you protect your account with two layers of security: your password (something you know) and your phone (something you have).

Every time you login from a new computer or device, we will ask you to enter both your password and a specially generated code that will be sent to you via SMS text message or generated on your mobile phone.

You'll be prompted to enter in this code when you try to login to WePay from a new location:

We'll then send you a text message with the code you need to enter:

You can also choose to to have WePay remember the newcomputer, which will not require entering a code the next time you login from that computer.

Sample Documentation

Sample Invoice

Sample Itemized Receipt

Sample Proof of Usage of Product / Service

Sample Tracking / Delivery Confirmation

Sample Refund Policy

Sample Correspondence with the Customer

If you are using WePay to collect payments, you can reset your existing WePay password using the following steps:

Visit https://www.wepay.com/register/recover.

Enter the email address linked to your WePay merchant account.

Open the Reset your password email.

Follow the prompts to reset your WePay merchant password.

If your email address is linked to an existing WePay account, you should receive a password reset email in a few minutes. If youdon'treceive this email:

Check your spam folders.

Add [email protected] to your trusted senders list.

Double-check the email address you used to request a password reset.

If you have never logged into WePay or are having trouble resetting your password, please reach out to our Support team. For verification purposes, please submit your request using the email address linked to your WePay merchant account.

As a WePay merchant, you can issue refunds directly from within the Merchant Center. Please note, you can only refund a payment thats less than 60 days old. Once a refund has been issued, it usually takes the payers bank 3-7 business days to credit the payers account.

You can refund payments using the following steps:

Log into WePay at https://www.wepay.com/login.

Click the Reporting tab on the left.

Select the payment you would like to refund.

Click the red Issue Refund button.

For help with issuing partial refunds, or for payments older than 60 days, please reach out to our Support team with the following information:

WePay Transaction ID:

Name of payer:

Email address of payer:

Date of payment:

Total amount of payment:

Full refund or partial amount to refund:

Reason for refund:

If you get stuck or have any additional questions about refunds, please reach out to our Support team. For verification purposes, please submit your request using the email address linked to your WePay merchant account.

"WPY" is an indication that a payment was processed by WePay.

WePay enables businesses to accept credit card payments. If you have a charge from us on your statement,you'veprobably purchased something from a business that weve partnered with or donated to a fundraising campaign launched through one of our partners.

We process payments and donations for merchants, events, independent contractors, nonprofits, schools, churches, wedding registries, and online fundraising campaigns.

If youd like more information about a payment that was processed by WePay:

Use our Charge Lookup Tool.

Enter the email address used to submit the payment.

Enter the last 4 digits of the card used for the transaction.

Our charge info tool will email you the results in approximately 10 minutes.If you have any further questions, please reach out to our Support team.

Why is my account balance negative?

When a chargeback is created, your merchant account will automatically be debited for the disputed amount.

If there aren't enough funds in your merchant account at the time of a chargeback, then WePay may deduct that money from your incoming payments or debit your bank account or credit card on file.

Why is my account debited before I respond to the chargeback?

When you receive a chargeback, the chargeback amount is automatically debited from your merchant account. This happens because funds are needed to cover the cardholders refund, which generally happensimmediatelyonce a chargeback has been requested. If you win the chargeback, these funds will be returned to your WePay merchant account.

How do I see the status of my chargeback?

You can view the status of your chargeback via e-mail notifications and through your merchant portal. You will receive an initial e-mail notification informing you of the chargeback details. If you decide to contest the chargeback and submit evidence, you will receive a notification once the chargeback is resolved as well.

I would like more information on the chargeback I received.

The most common chargeback types can be found below:

Charge not Recognized by Cardholder

This is a very common chargeback type. The cardholder sees the purchase on her bank statement, but does not recognize the transaction.

Charge after Transaction was Canceled

The cardholder has canceled the transaction (or the subscription), however her credit card was still charged.

Credit not Processed

The customer expected to receive a credit for a reversed or cancelled transaction, but has not yet received the credit from the merchant.

Duplicate Billing

The cardholder was charged multiple times for the same product.

Products not Delivered or Defective

The product purchased by the cardholder is not delivered, not as described, or defective. Please keep in mind that this chargeback can be initiated for shippable merchandise, labor or services, and digital products. Based on the product type, different types of evidence are required.

Can you cancel the chargeback or reverse it?

Unfortunately, WePay and other payment providers are unable to control or cancel chargebacks. WePay follows the required processes with banks and card networks to resolve chargebacks.

Can I reach out to the cardholders bank?

WePay recommends that merchants contact the cardholder -notthe cardholders bank - to resolve the chargeback.

I have already issued a refund, so why did I still get this chargeback?

Merchants can receive chargebacks up to120 daysafter the original transaction occurred. Cardholders tend to reach out to both the merchant and their bank to receive the disputed funds. Sometimes the bank still issues a chargeback - evenafteryou provide a refund - since the bank is not aware of this refund. If this happens, we encourage you to challenge the chargeback and provide evidence about the refund being issued.

Do I always need to supply evidence if I want to contest a chargeback?

In two scenarios, WePay will contest automatically and additional documentation is not needed frommerchants. These types are recognition chargebacks and refunds. If either of these scenarios occurs, you will be notified via e-mail, but you will not need to take any action.

How many days do I have to submit my evidence?

From the day that you receive your first chargeback notification, you will have5 business daysto submit your evidence. This window ensures that WePay has sufficient time to represent the evidence to the cardholders bank and/or card network within their allocated timeframes. Late submissions of evidence will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and submitted accordingly.

I have submitted all my documents, so when will I know the status of the chargeback? And where can I see my status?

Your merchant portal will provide you with the latest information on your chargeback status. You will receive e-mail notifications regarding your chargeback as well.

Once you receive notification about a chargeback, it will take approximately 20 days for AMEX to resolve the chargeback, and 45 days for all other card networks to resolve. Once Visa initiates its new Visa Claims Resolution initiative in April 2018, we expect a turnaround time of approximately 20-30 days to resolve Visa chargebacks.

If you've gotten notification that your payment has been declined, but you still see a charge on your statement, most likely it's just apending authorization. This means that the payment has not been processed, and that pending charge will fall off your statement in 1-3 business days.

If the authorization remains on your statement for longer than 1-3 business days, please reach out to our Support team and we'll be happy to help!

What is a chargeback?

A chargeback is a transaction that has been disputed by the cardholder. Chargebacks occur for a variety of reasons: the cardholder may not recognize the purchase, the item the cardholder received may not be what was advertised, etc. Merchants generally have the opportunity to contest or concede the chargeback. If you decide to contest the chargeback, you will need to supply specific evidence based on the chargeback type.

Once WePay learns that the chargeback has occurred, we will automatically debit the funds from your WePay account. If you win the chargeback, we will return these funds to your WePay account.

What happens when I receive a chargeback?

WePay provides information and guidance for merchants who receive chargebacks. We keep you informed on the status of your chargeback as well.

Below are the steps that happen when a chargeback is initiated by the cardholder:

If the merchantconcedesthe chargeback, the chargeback is resolved in favor of the cardholder

If the merchantchallengesthe chargeback, they must providesupporting evidence

WePay is notified about the chargeback by the cardholders bank

WePay automatically debits the funds from the merchants account to cover the chargeback cost, and we notify the merchant about the chargeback

If applicable, the merchant can decide to contest or concede the chargeback

WePay submits the supporting evidence to the credit card network for their decision on the chargeback.

If the credit card network rules in the cardholders favor, the funds are not returned to the merchant.

If the credit card network rules in the merchants favor, the funds are debited to the merchants account.

In both scenarios, WePay will notify merchants of the credit card networks decision.

How am I notified that I have received a chargeback?

You will receive a notification via email that you have received a chargeback. This e-mail will contain pertinent details about the chargeback as well.

What should I do if I receive a chargeback?

When you receive a chargeback, you should review the information carefully, particularly the chargeback type. You may be given the option to contest or concede the chargeback. If you concur with the cardholder, click Concede. If you want to contest the chargeback, consult this page to see what documents you will need to submit.

Once you have gathered all of the documents, you can click the Contest button and upload your documents. Please keep in mind that there are size limitations on files, so you may want to submit screenshots if necessary. For instance, if you would like to submit your refund policy but the file size is too large, you can take a screenshot of the page with the cardholders signature.

We Value Providing Great Service

WePay is pleased to affirm its commitment to the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada (Code of Conduct), including the enhancements to the Code of Conduct introduced by the Minister of Finance on April 13, 2015.

As we support the transparency and choice the Code of Conduct provides to merchants across Canada, we have established a process for handling Code of Conduct compliance concerns and will manage any complaint pertaining to the Code of Conduct efficiently, professionally and respectfully.

If you believe that WePay is not complying with a particular element of the Code of Conduct, please follow the process below to submit your complaint to us.

Step 1: File a Formal Complaint

You may file a formal Code of Conduct complaint through the following channels:

Online: Complete in full the Code of Conduct Complaint Handling Form

Telephone: Call us toll free at 1.855.469.3729

It is important that you provide the following details, where applicable, to assist us in reviewing your complaint:

A summary of your concerns

The name of the person you were dealing with at WePay

The date the concern occurred

The date that you spoke with anyone else regarding this issue, including as applicable, the Platform, the Payment Card Network (e.g. Visa, MasterCard) etc.

Please note that copies of supporting documentation (i.e. agreements, statements, correspondence from acquirer) may be requested by WePay to resolve your complaint.

Step 2: Resolving Your Complaint

Once we receive your formal complaint, we will:

Acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five (5) business days

Provide our final decision in writing within ninety (90) days of receiving your complaint, along with:

A summary of the complaint

The final result of the investigation

Explanation of the final decision

Information on how to further escalate your complaint in the event of an unsatisfactory outcome

If we cannot provide a response to you within 90 days you will be informed of the delay, reason for the delay, and the expected response time.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) supervises Payment Card Network Operators to determine whether they are in compliance with the provisions of the Payment Card Networks Act and the elements of the Code of Conduct for Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada. It also educates consumers and monitors industry Codes of Conduct and public commitments designed to protect consumer interests.

Please visit the Financial Consumer Agency of Canadas website for more information on merchant rights under the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada.

Nothing restricts you from directly filing a complaint with the FCAC to investigate non-compliance with the Code of Conduct. However, the FCAC is not a dispute-resolution agency for consumers in their individual dealings with Payment Card Networks or acquirers.

The FCAC can be reached via:

Telephone: 1.866.461.3222Email: [email protected]

Mail:

Financial Consumer Agency of Canada6th Floor, Enterprise Building 427 Laurier Ave. WestOttawa, ON K1R 1B9

Please note that the information being submitted may be shared with your Payment Card Network, acquirer, processor or financial institution in order to assist us in answering your concerns.

What is a reserve and why does WePay have them?

Reserves are portions of payments that WePay holds "in reserve."

Reserves are held to protect your business against chargebacks or disputes. We set your reserves based on the transaction history in your account as well as the information you provide in your profile, your industry, and how youre using WePay.

We have reserves to protect you from overdrafts and holding a negative balance in your WePay account. As soon as your account goes negative, we start our internal collections process. If wecan'tcollect for any reason, theres a chance an account couldbe sent to a third party collections agency. We definitely want to avoid that!To allow payment processing on WePay, even if you get a chargeback or dispute, we may hold a portion of each payment in reserve. As your history grows, we can be more accurate in predicting your chargebacks based on your payments, so it's not based onaverages.

How are standard reserves set?

WePay has a unique reserves system that tries to balance getting merchant's their money as soon as possible while also protecting against risky elements like fraud.

Every merchant has their own reserves threshold. This ranges from $500/week to $10,000/week, but most merchants have a threshold of $2,500/week or higher. This threshold determines the amount that can be immediately withdrawn every week. Any amount over this threshold will be available 7 days after first being received.

For example, let's say a merchant receives 3 payments of $250 each, and the merchant has a threshold of $500/week. The first two payments will be immediately available for withdrawal, but the 3rd payment will not be available until one week after that payment was first made. Any additional payments that week will also not be available until 7 days after they were made. When the next week rolls around, the first $500 collected that week will be available for withdrawal immediately, but any subsequent payments will have to wait the 7 days again.

When setting the thresholds for each merchant, we try to balance making sure that the merchant receives almost all of their average weekly payment volume immediately, while also protecting against fraud and riskier merchants.

In order to make merchants' accounting easier, we will not split up payments. If part of a payment would go over a threshold, the entire payment will be held for the standard 7 days before clearing.

How are reserves lowered or thresholds changed?

If you have a merchant that you'd like to increase the threshold for or have a merchant you believe will be doing more than $10,000/week in payment volume, please contact either your account manager (if you have one) or the WePay support teamby clicking the submit a request link below!

Id like to contest in the pre-arbitration stage, and need to submit a rebuttal letter. What should I include in this letter?

The rebuttal letter provides an opportunity to summarize your case for contesting the chargeback. Ensure that you include the following pieces of information in your rebuttal letter:

The chargeback reason code.

The dollar amount that you are contesting (e.g. the entire chargeback amount or a partial amount).

List of all evidence/documentation that you are submitting.

Brief summary of how your evidence invalidates the cardholders claim.

Below, please find two templates of rebuttal letters. Be sure to modify your rebuttal letter to reflect your chargeback reason code and your unique situation.

Services not rendered - event-based ticketing company

Dear [insert name],

I am writing this rebuttal letter to contest chargeback #[insert number] for $[insert dollar amount]. The chargeback reason code is Services not Rendered. [Insert cardholder name] completed the transaction on [insert date], and attended the concert with the ticket that my business emailed to her. I am attaching the below evidence which indicates that she used our service:

Email correspondence (Attachment A)Internal system notification that the ticket was used (Attachment B)

Attachment A is a string of email correspondence. As you can see, my business automatically triggered an email to her inbox once the ticket purchase went through. [Cardholder name] received this email because she sent a reply to us saying, Thank you!! Cant wait to attend!!

Attachment B is from our internal system -- it is a screenshot showing that the tickets barcode was scanned. Its timestamp is from the day and time of the event (June 21, 2017 at 8:27 pm).

Our tickets are sent electronically, but can also be printed out. Occasionally, this can cause confusion for customers. However my evidence clearly points to usage of the ticket, and services rendered.

Do let me know if you have any questions, or if there is any additional information I can provide. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

[Insert name][Insert company][Insert email address]

Product not as described - shipped physical goods

Dear [insert name],

I am writing this rebuttal letter to contest chargeback #[insert number] for $[insert dollar amount]. The chargeback reason code is Product not as described. [Insert cardholder name] completed the transaction on [insert date], and the product was delivered to her on [insert date].

Per our refund policy, we account for items that are not as described -- the customer simply needs to mail the item back to us, and if we confirm that the item is different from what was ordered, we will gladly ship the correct product for free. [Cardholder name] shipped the product back to us, but the item was exactly what was described on our website: an 18-inch, five-speed black fan with a Glacier setting. Since we shipped the product that [cardholder name] ordered, we did not issue a refund.

I am attaching the below evidence which invalidates [cardholders name] claim that the fan was not as described:

Signed terms of service (Attachment A)Screenshot of the refund policy (Attachment B)Description of the item with an image of the item - URL included (Attachment C)Email correspondence to resolve cardholders issue (Attachment D)

Attachment A is a screenshot that shows our terms of service with [cardholders name] signature, initials, and date. Attachment B is a screenshot of our refund policy, which has also been signed and dated by [cardholders name]. As you can see, the screenshot includes our statement: If you receive an item that is different from what you ordered, ship it back to us at 2001 Convention Drive, Chicago, IL 60606. If the item is different from what you ordered, we will then mail you the correct product, free of charge.

For proof that we provide a clear image and description of the product, Attachment C is a screenshot with the URL and web page for the fan. Not only are multiple pictures of the fan available, but a list of product details are included as well.

Attachment D is an email chain which clearly highlights how we tried to resolve the customers issue. We asked her to describe the product she received and how it was different from what she ordered. As you can see, her description (its a black fan, and it has five buttons and this Glacier setting) is identical to the description that we included on our website.

My ample evidence clearly indicates that my business did ship the correct item to [cardholder name]. Do let me know if you have any questions, or if there is any additional information I can provide. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

[Insert name][Insert company][Insert email address]

What is a chargeback?

What does it mean if I concede a chargeback?

How do I challenge a chargeback?

What happens if I win the chargeback?

How do I avoid chargebacks?

What is a chargeback?

A chargeback occurs when a credit card holder contacts his bank or credit card company to dispute a charge on his account. Common reasons for chargebacks include:

The cardholder does not recognize the charge or recipient on the statement

The cardholder did not receive the product or service

The cardholder was unsatisfied with product or service

The cardholders credit card was stolen or used without their permission

When a chargeback is issued, the total amount of the chargeback is forcibly removed from WePay's bank account. In turn, the total amount of the chargeback is removed from your WePay account. The funds will be removed from your available balance and held in reserve until the chargeback process is complete. The chargeback process is long and largely dependent on banks and issuers. If you choose to challenge the chargeback, the process typically takes about 45 days from the date of the chargeback.

If you have received a chargeback, you will be issued an email upon notification from the credit card company.If the funds in your WePay account are insufficient to refund the payer, we will debit the bank account on file.

It is important to maintain a low chargeback rate (number of chargebacks/number of total successful payments). A high chargeback rate can result in slower processing times, higher reserves, and could result in the eventual closure of your WePay account. Typically, we hold our merchants to maintain no greater than a 1% chargeback rate.

The chargeback email will explicitly detail the transaction and the reason behind it. As the merchant, you have two options: to concede or challenge.

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What does it mean if I concede the chargeback?

By conceding a chargeback, you decide to not challenge the chargeback. You should concede a chargeback if you cannot prove that the good or service was actually provided. If you concede a chargeback, the total amount of the chargeback will be permanently removed from your WePay account.

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How do I challenge the chargeback?

If you believe that the payment has been wrongfully disputed, you have the ability to challenge the chargeback.

To challenge the chargeback, click the blue Challenge button in your email notification. This will prompt you to a screen where you can provide information about the payment and upload documentation proving that you provided the good or service. Only information submitted with this form will be used to help you challenge the chargeback so make sure you submit as much pertinent information as possible. Also note that audio and video files cannot be submitted. Suggested documentation includes:

contacts

refunds policies as agreed to by the payer

tracking numbers proving receipt of goods

communication from the payer, acknowledging receipt of goods/services

Once submitted, WePay will look over the information and decide whether or not we will fight against the cardholders bank on your behalf. We will fight the chargeback if we feel the information provided by you is sufficient to win the chargeback. We can only fight chargebacks on your behalf within three business days of receiving the chargeback, so make sure you submit information quickly!

Once information is submitted to challenge the chargeback, an email will be sent to you as notification. It can take 30-45 days for the credit card company to return with a decision on the dispute.

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What happens if I win the chargeback?

If the chargeback is dropped against your account, the total amount of the chargeback will be released from your reserve into your available balance. You will be able to withdraw the total amount of the chargeback regardless of any other reserves you may have on your account. You will be notified if you have won a chargeback by email, but keep in mind that this process can take up to 45 business days.

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How do I avoid chargebacks?

Chargebacks are intended to protect cardholders fromfraud and against malicious merchant behavior. Most chargebacks you receive will likely be due to recognition issues (the cardholder does not recognize the charge from WePay on his/her card). Other common reasons include the buyer not receiving the items or service (known as non-receipt)or claims that the good or service was not-as-described.

To prevent recognition chargebacks, it is recommended that you remind your customers that the charge will show up as "WPY*" on their statements, followed by the name of the payment account that charged them.

Non-receipt and not-as-described chargebacks are more within your control to prevent. We suggest keeping all tracking numbers on items that are shipped out. Make sure you are setting appropriate expectations with your customers as to when they can expect full service or delivery. Keeping good records is a great way to challenge chargebacks but providing outstanding service to your customers is the best way to avoid them all together. Stay in communication with customers to manage expectations and gauge their satisfaction. Be honest and upfront about any delays you are experiencing and be willing to issue refunds.

Chargebacks are a long process that can ultimately result in the closure of your WePay account. It's important you keep an eye on the number of chargebacks you receive and work to minimize that number. For more ideas on preventing chargebacks feel free to call, email or chat with our Support team!

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WePay is unable to process payments for adult content or services.

This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Pornographyincluding internet pornography and magazines, books, and film

Prostitution and escort services

Sexual content in images, video, or language

Adult massage or other adult-entertainment services

Adult video performers, such as "cam girls"

What are the guidelines?

While WePay is not allowed to process payments for adult services and content, adult entertainers may raise funds with WePay as long as they follow the following guidelines:

No exchange of prohibited goods or services in return for payments (whether stated on a WePay-related page or on another page related to the admin)

No explicit photos

No link to the WePay-related page from other sites with adult-content

The WePay-related page falls within the rest of WePays Terms of Service

In this article

Security

PCI Compliance

Security

Protecting your security and the security of your customers is very important to us. We take a variety of safety and security precautions to ensure your personal data and payment data are kept safe at all time. To keep you safe, we utilize a combination of security technology, training and education and secure partners to ensure you have bank-level security while using WePay.

WePay uses state-of-the-art cryptographic algorithms during data transmission (HTTPS with RSA 2048 bit key and SHA 256 certificate) and in our databases (AES 256 encryption with unique per-row keys). Our servers are kept in PCI and SSAE16 certified datacenters with 24x7 monitoring. Each of our employees undergo rigorous security training periodically to ensure there are no breaches in our system. All money you collect is held in a protected account by our partner bank, an FDIC-insured institution, so your funds are never at risk. Our systems are tested frequently and are inline with PCI compliance requirements resulting in WePay'sLevel 1 PCI Compliant rating.

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PCI Compliance

PCI-DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. PCI-DSS certification is designed to ensure cardholders' information is well-protected and managed by payment companies like WePay. To earn a PCI certification, WePay undergoes an annual third-party audit of our security process and procedure. Systems are tested daily and employees are held to strict standards and levels of security education. WePay has been certified at the highest level of PCI compliance as aLevel 1 PCI Compliant Service Provider.

For additional information, you may visit the security page on our site.

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File formats accepted by WePay

Currently WePay accepts JPG, JPEG, TIF, TIFF, PNG, and PDF files.

The link here provides more information on the documentation needed based on chargeback type. Please keep in mind that there are size limitations on files, so you may want to submit screenshots if necessary. For instance, if you would like to submit your refund policy but the file size is too large, you can take a screenshot of the page with the cardholders signature.

Things to Look Out For

The below items may indicate a potentially fraudulent transaction. We recommend paying close attention to these indicators prior to processing a payment. If you feel that a transaction is fraudulent, we recommend that you do not process the transaction.

Customer Indicators

A suspicious-looking e-mail address, with an outdated domain (@inbox.com) or random numbers and letters

Refusal to speak on the phone regarding any issues, or only supplying a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) or chat service as phone contact information

Exceptionally poor grammar, typos, or lack of proper English if the customer lives in or is shipping to a location where English is the prominent language

Customer responses at times that would far exceed normal business hours and are not indicative of the location in which they claim to reside (i.e. the customer always replies at 3 AM PST and they claim to live in California)

Transaction Indicators

Rush orders for high value items - or numerous items - with requests to ship immediately using the fastest shipment method available

Orders in which the cardholder is not in the same location as the merchandise delivery (IP /phone/email domain not matching the destination country)

Splitting the payment across multiple cards

Any additional unusual requests in payment methods

Physical Goods

Always obtain tracking information when shipping physical goods.

Require that the shipment is signed for at the time of delivery. This is especially important for high value items.

Confirm that the shipping address is a valid address (not a PO Box or a freight forwarding company, which may have the word shipping in it).

Keep the customer updated on any delays and inform them of the expected delivery date if an issue arises.

Offer to provide a refund if you cannot ship the merchandise in the timeframe provided to the customer.

Return Policy

To minimize customer confusion, we recommend that you create a short and simple return policy.

No returns is not a return policy. Merchants should provide customers with an option if they are unsatisfied with the product or service. For example, you may offer the ability to exchange the product; provide store credit; or provide additional services.

Make sure your return policy is clearly shown on your website (WePay recommendation: include this on the checkout page). All customers should see the return policy prior to purchasing, and ideally would click to agree to the policy during checkout. In addition, we recommend that merchants present some high-level bullet points on their refund policy on the checkout page.