Overview
iPay Solutions is our bill pay services provider. iPay provides the following electronic payment options:
- Automated Clearing House (ACH)
- Single-use payment cards, pre-paid card
- Check
All payees in iPay Solutions’ bill pay system are reviewed to determine if payment data can be sent to them via single-use payment cards, pre-paid card. iPay Solutions runs a cross-check with payees and those that third-party payment processors consider good candidates for payment remittance. Payees are required to accept payments in the form of a single-use, pre-paid card.
Note: The payees are onboarded based on their acceptance of credit card payments. See iPay Single-Use Payment Cards - FAQ for more information.
- iPay Solutions determines how payment data is sent to individual payees.
- Payees may not voluntarily opt out of receiving payment data in a particular manner.
Remitting Payments
Payment information is sent to third-party payment processors during iPay Solutions’ end-of-day processing. The processor then creates and funds a single-use, pre-paid card to make the payment on behalf of the subscriber.
- Payee receives the payment within 24-48 hours based on their processor agreement.
- Payee has seven business days to authorize transactions once the card number is received.
Payment Data
Payment details include:
- Subscriber name and address/phone number
- Account number with payee
- Payment amount
- Payment date
| Delivery Method | Processing Payment Data |
|---|---|
| Fax | The payment processor faxes payment data to the payee. |
| Interactive Voice Response (IVR) | The payment processor uses the payee’s IVR system to dial in and provide payment data |
| Payee Website | The payment processor uses the payee’s website to send payment data |
| The payment processor sends payment data via predetermined email address(s). | |
| Customer Agent (Phone) | The payment processor calls the payee and speaks to a representative to deliver payment data. |
| Application Programming Interface (API) | The payment processor codes to the payee’s API to send single-use, pre-paid card payment data. |
| Payment Portal | The payee logs into a portal to retrieve payment data. |
Additional Processing Methods
If a payment is sent using a single-use, pre-paid card, but the card is not processed, there are additional payment methods in place to ensure the payment is posted efficiently.
Check
If the payee cannot process a specific payment, or the payee fails to process the card payment within 48 hours of receipt, the payment processor sends a check.
Note: There may be a lag time of 2-8 business days before the check is mailed due to the time it takes to cancel the card and return the funds.
Note: The payee may have five calendar days to process the card payment for certain email delivery payments and 48 hours to process the card payment for customer agent payments.
Electronic
The payment processor sends the payment using a secondary electronic payment method if the payment cannot be processed using a single-use, pre-paid card. The payment processor or iPay Solutions automatically reissues the payment electronically.
Note: iPay Solutions continuously monitors the single-use, pre-paid card success rate for payees. When necessary, the payment processor may be removed as a payment method for a payee.
Payment Returns
Transactions returned to iPay Solutions are refunded:
- Partial returns are automatically refunded to the subscriber or financial institution (FI) per handling instructions.
- Full returns are refunded to the subscriber or FI per handling instructions, and the payee is deactivated.
Bill Pay Products
Subscribers and institutions can see virtual card payment details within the bill pay products.
MASTER Site
If a payment is sent by virtual card, the payment history timeline in MASTER Site states: This payment was sent using a single-use, pre-paid card.
If available, the last four digits of the card number will display.
Card Number Unavailable
Card Number Available
Consumer Bill Pay
If a payment was sent by virtual card, the payment history timeline in Consumer Bill pay states: This payment was sent using a single-use, pre-paid card.
If available, the last four digits of the card number will display.
The following education message will display in Consumer Bill Pay on the Payments tab and on payment confirmation pages. Our goal is to deliver your payment securely and quickly. Some payments will process using a single-use, pre-paid card, which means you will not recognize card numbers within payment confirmation communications you receive.
Payments
Confirmation
Business Bill Pay
If a payment was sent by virtual card, the payment history timeline in Business Bill pay states: This payment was sent using a single-use, pre-paid card.
If available, the last four digits of the card number will display.
FAQ
What is a virtual card?
A virtual card is a single-use pre-paid card not physically issued by a credit card provider.
Is this something that is automatically set up?
iPay Solutions runs a cross-check with payees and those that our processors consider good candidates for payment remittance. Payees are either contacted by the processor to complete enrollment or are onboarded based on their acceptance of credit card payments.
The payee states that he/she did not enroll for the virtual card service. Who should he/she reach out to?
The payee can reach out to the virtual card processor directly. Payees can reference payments they received from the processor to confirm the contact information.
Can businesses opt out a specific payee, subscriber, or my institution?
CCB cannot prevent payees from matching to specific processing types. If processing issues occur, we work to resolve them as they arise.
If the payee was already electronic, why did he/she change to virtual card payments?
When switching to virtual card payments, posting times can be one business day earlier than the previous electronic payment method.
How can I see if a payment was sent by virtual card or if a virtual card payment dropped to check in MASTER Site?
If a payment is sent by virtual card, the payment history timeline in MASTER Site states: This payment was sent using a single-use, pre-paid card.
If available, the last four digits of the card number display.
The institution can also choose View/Add Subscriber Notes from the Subscriber Options menu. Notes are added when a card is created, if a payment is dropped to check, or if the check has cleared. The institution can reference the payment ID to identify the payment.
This is not available for all transactions at this time. We are currently working to include details for more processors/transactions.
Can financial institutions receive a daily report of all payments sent using virtual cards and which processor was used?
At this time, a daily report by electronic processor is not available.
How do I explain this process and its benefits to my subscribers?
Some electronic payments are sent using a single-use, pre-paid card. This allows us to send more of your payments electronically, making payment posting times more secure and efficient for the subscriber. A different card number is used for each payment.
How does this benefit my institution?
Payees are able to post your subscriber’s payments faster. This payment method also allows more payees to receive electronic payments which increases your e-Rate.
Why is my client being assessed a service charge by his/her vendor to accept virtual card payments?
If your client is the payee, he/she can be charged by his/her credit card processor for accepting card payments. Payees agree to interchange fees when they enroll with a credit card processor. These fees are the responsibility of the payee and were agreed upon in the payee's card processing contract.
Clients who are subscribers should not be charged any fees, and this should be reported for research. Any fee passed on to the subscriber or the elimination of a subscriber’s discount due to a credit card payment should be brought to the attention of support immediately.
What type of card was it paid with?
Visa, MasterCard, or Discover.
What if a client asks if this is this fraudulent?
These payments are not fraudulent. Our goal is to deliver payments securely and quickly. Some payments process using a single-use, pre-paid card, which means you will not recognize the card numbers in the payment confirmation communications from the payee.