Credit Card Processing Issues (US Customers)

Credit Card Processing Issues (US Customers)

This is a credit card processing troubleshooting article for US customers using the PAX S300 payment terminal

Please ensure that you've checked the web Portal for any specific messages and error codes and that you've noted any specific messages on the actual display of the payment terminal.

There are two types of issues you can experience:
  1. PINpad terminal Communication Problem. The VAC's computer board simply cannot establish communications with the credit card terminal device.
  2. Declining transactions. You select the purchase amount on the VAC but the PINpad terminal declines, either immediately or when you insert your credit/debit card

Issue Type 1: PINpad Terminal Communication Problem

You can determine if you're having this issue if you're making ANY of these observations:
  1. Web Portal says Payment Terminal Error, or
  2. The Payment LED on the VAC's control board is red, or
  3. As soon as you press the Credit/Debit Card button, you get the message: PROBLEM: PINPAD ERROR
If this is a communication issue, use this flow chart to fix or to at least get closer to fixing the problem:



Activating the PINpad terminal

Plead read this article: 

PINpad Error Messages

If your PINpad terminal's front display is showing any of the messages listed below, please contact the Payment Processor and report the issue. They'll walk you through resolving them.
  1. "so open error uai"
  2. "9-Data Error"
  3. "APP EXCEPTION"
  4. "PED Tampered". In this case the PINpad likely needs to be replaced. Obtain a replacement from the payment processor





Rebooting Power to the PINpad Terminal

Open the Value Add Center and locate black terminal block. Unplug and plug back the DC power jack and wait for the PINpad terminal to boot-up. The VAC should be connected to the internet while you do this. Then wait 10 minutes before drawing any conclusions (the VAC needs time to re-synchronize to the terminal)


Issue Type 2: Declining Transactions

The very first thing you want to do is check the VAC Log report to get more details on why the transactions are declining. Simply click on your location and then click VAC Log on the right-hand side:


The log should indicate the reason for the transaction failure. For example:



Below is a list of some common decline messages that may need rectification:

Message
Description
PINpad serial number mismatch
There's a mismatch between the expect PINpad on this VAC and the actual one. Please contact Laundroworks Support right away
NEED REMOVE CARD FIRST
This means that the chip credit card was inserted before an amount was selected on the VAC. Certain PINpad versions do not like this. It's recommend you contact the payment processor and ask for a software update to the PINpad.
Invalid Account Status
This means that the payment processor has not yet set your account to Active. Contact the payment processor to report this message and ask them to activate your account.




On the web Portal, you might see the message  More than 5 consecutive non-approved Credit/Debit sales
This is warning and not necessarily an error. It means that the 5 most recent attempts to run a transactions on the credit card payment terminal have failed. In some cases, it is simply the same customer re-attempting transactions. In other cases, it could it is indeed a problem with some configuration, possibly on the payment processor's side. You'll still want to check the VAC Log report in the Portal to see what is actually happening.

Payment Processor Support Contact

Fortis Support (formerly known as Payment Logistics):

  888.9PAYLOG (888.972.9564)
  PL-Support@fortispay.com (for SUPPORT related issues)
  PL-CustomerService@fortispay.com (for ACCOUNT related issues)


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