TSYS (formerly TransFirst Health and Government Services) is the current Credit Card Merchant Processing provider for the State of Montana.  

Per the contract with the State of Montana and TransFirst, transaction fees in the amount of $0.08 per transaction apply.  Fees charged by Visa and Mastercard also apply and are variable depending on the the bank and type of card/transaction.  Generally these fees vary from 2 - 4% of the transaction.  All fees are the responsibility of the department.

Credit card machines must be purchased through TransFirst to ensure proper data encryption.

Business Service maintains an inventory listing of Credit Card Processors and machines on campus.  To apply for a Merchant Account and obtain a credit card machine, the department representative fills out the Credit Card Processing Request Form.

Credit Card Processing for The University of Montana is governed by the Business Services Information Security Policy and Procedure and PCI-DSS as set forth by the PCI Security Standards Council. 

The PCI DSS, a set of comprehensive requirements for enhancing payment account data security, was developed by the founding payment brands of the PCI Security Standards Council, including American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc. Inc. International, to help facilitate the broad adoption of consistent data security measures on a global basis.

The PCI DSS is a multifaceted security standard that includes requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures. This comprehensive standard is intended to help organizations proactively protect customer account data.

Please read the Business Services Information Security Policy/Procedure and become familiar with PCI-DSS before requesting credit card processing services.

To request a Merchant Account and Credit Card Processing capabilities, fill out the Credit Card Processing Request Form.  The form will be submitted to Treasury in Business Services.  Prior to filling out the request, please consider the following:

• How you would like to process credit cards
  • Terminal (requires terminal purchase)
  • Virtual Terminal (processing from your computer - service provided by TransFirst)
  • Web Page Integration - Customers can enter credit card information at a secure location on your website (shopping cart).

• Main and Secondary Contacts - Those who will be responsible for credit card processing in your department

• Trained and Authorized Personnel - Those who will process credit card transactions within your department

After you have filled out and submitted the request, you will be provided with additional information and procedures on batching out and making your deposits.

RESOURCES

For questions or help with Credit Card Processing, contact:

Barb Bybee
Accounting Services
Business Services
406-243-6261
barb.bybee@mso.umt.edu