Summary

PIN debit transactions involve customers entering a Personal Identification Number (PIN) at the terminal to authenticate the transaction. Some merchants will request PIN Debit for its perceived enhanced security, as it requires customers to have physical possession of the card and know the associated PIN, thus reducing risk of future chargebacks from stolen cards. Please note that in reality, merchants always get chargeback protection from stolen credit/debit cards as long as merchant is using a chip reader such as our P5, for processing transactions. So merchants get same protection from stolen cards irrespective of whether PIN is used or not.

<aside> 💡 Note: PIN Debit works differently with each terminal based on how and when each terminal was certified.

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Availability

Pin debit is available on all brands without any additional development.

Processor

App Version

PIN Debit is ONLY supported by the P5 on App Version 1.460 and greater.

Enabling PIN Debit

Once a Brand has PIN Debit enabled (no dev work required), it can be turned on/off for any merchant by going to the Profile Page and turning it on similar to how you would for Tips or Donations.

Accepting PIN Debit Transactions

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Some merchants may be used to PIN being requested on all debit card transactions. While this is acceptable, it is not required. Entering a PIN takes extra time, can be a blocker if the shopper can’t remember their pin, and be a hassle to manage.

Instead, we prompt for a PIN only when the card issuing bank requires it thus saving the merchant transaction time and creating a more seamless experience.

When a PIN is prompted it’s a very simple process. After the consumer taps or inserts their card, the PIN screen is displayed and allows them to enter it and then press the Confirm button to continue.

Exceptions and Nuances

There are some corner cases where this process might vary slightly:

• Mastercard transactions may operate a little differently due to some newer regulation changes they implemented. Depending on how the card is setup, we may be required to display an additional prompt that asks if it should be run as Common Debit or Global Debit. Generally speaking, the shopper should not notice a difference although in general, authorization rates may improve for international or online merchants if they select the global option.
• Similarly, in some rare cases, we may be required on the terminal to prompt for signature. This is generally an outdated practice that is still in effect for some older cards but to stay in compliance, we have to offer it when the card requires it.

In both cases, these should be the exception to the rule, not the standard. In addition, these are only required when the card requires this behavior.