FAQs
I would like a general overview of Commidea?
What solutions do Commidea provide?
Can I purchase or rent terminals?
How much does it cost to rent a terminal?
Can I purchase terminal insurance?
What do I do if my terminal is faulty?
What added value features are available for terminal solutions?
Do Commidea offer both standalone and integrated solutions?
Do Commidea have a solution for processing card payments online or over the phone?
Which system would suit my needs best, WinTI or ICP?
Which card types can the systems process?
Can I use WinTI or ICP with my bank?
How long does it take to process transactions with WinTI?
How long does it take to process transactions with ICP?
Do I need the WinTI Client with WinTI?
How do I connect to the ICP Service?
Can I process transactions in multiple currencies?
Can I process Corporate purchasing cards through WinTI and ICP?
How long will it take to implement a new system?
What do I need to tell my bank to set up a new system?
What is the maximum number of operators that can use ICP or WinTI at any time?
Who installs and configures the system?
Do Commidea offer software support services?
Can I arrange for a demonstration of the systems at my offices?
Do Commidea supply any development tools to help interface to ICP or WinTI?
What specification of PC will I need to run WinTI or ICP?
Do WinTI and ICP support Purchase with Cash Back?
Do the systems support multiple merchant account processing?
Can I interface to ICP or WinTI from my host system?
Who do I contact if I have a technical issue?
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I would like a general overview of Commidea?
- Established 1992
- In 2008 , Commidea’s turnover was £11.6M, and is projected to increase to £16M for 2009
- At February 2009, Commidea employ 135 members of staff
- Over 10,000 customers
- Over 30,000 merchant accounts
- 40,000 active Ocius Chip & Pin Terminals
- 150M transactions processed via ICP Managed service in 2008, almost twice the number processed in 2007
- These transactions equate to approximately £12bn
- 250M transactions processed using all systems
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What solutions do Commidea provide?
Commidea provide a variety of card payment solutions to customer present and customer not present environments.
Customer present solutions include: -
- Chip & PIN terminals for a fixed, portable or 100% mobile environments with a range of value added features including mobile e-top up, mobile vouchers, gift cards and contactless payments
- Unattended payment terminals for the self-service kiosk market
- A range of Mobile EPoS solutions enabling the usual till system functionality to be available on a handy hand-held device, including Chip & PIN payment
Customer not present solutions include: -
- Online payment solutions
o RTI - Real time card processing with added features such as Payer Authentication and Token Authentication and also integrates with PayPal
o BTI - Batch card processing enabling bundles of cards to be processed in a single file. High in functionality, BTI also utilises Visa Account Updater and MasterCard Automatic Billing Updater to reduce charge backs and minimise administration by automatically updating card details should they expire - Commidea have a range of solutions that can be used to process card payment over the phone. These systems have been installed for small independent companies to national call centres demonstrating the scalability of Commidea’s offering.
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Can I purchase or rent terminals?
Both. Commidea try to meet all customer needs and provide a range of flexible contract options. You can either purchase terminals outright and then pay a monthly processing fee or rent the entire package that includes all hardware, software and processing via Commidea’s ICP processing service. Contract lengths vary between 1 week to 3 years.
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How much does it cost to rent a terminal?
Commidea offer the most competitive rates on the market which is reflected in our market share. Chip & PIN solutions vary on contract length and the type of solution you require but prices start from as little as £9.99 per month – that’s for all hardware, software and processing. Contact Commidea sales on 08444 828 200 or email enquiries@commidea.com for further information.
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Can I purchase terminal insurance?
Yes you can. Commidea have a standard insurance policy for terminals but can also offer gold and platinum insurance at a small additional cost.
Platinum: (replacement supplied on the next business working day in the event of a fault or accidental damage, loss or theft of the terminal, collection of existing unit - where applicable – dependent on country customer located in).
Gold: (replacement supplied next business working day in the event of a fault, collection of existing unit – where applicable - dependent on country customer located in).
For further information, please refer to Commidea’s terms and conditions – www.commidea.com/tcs
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What do I do if my terminal is faulty?
If your terminal suffers a fault or is damaged, please contact Commidea’s Customer Services Team who will be able to help you. Please telephone 08444 828 268 or email customer.services@commidea.com.
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What added value features are available for terminal solutions?
Commidea provide a variety of value added features to ensure your Chip & PIN solution offers additional benefits to your business. Some of these include: -
- Contactless Payments – A simple add on to your terminal enabling payment under £10 to be accepted with just the wave of a contactless enabled credit/debit card.
- Gift Cards – Process Gift Cards/Loyalty Cards via a Chip & PIN terminal and build a loyal customer base.
- Mobile E-Top Up – Earn commission by enabling your customers to top up their ‘Pay As You Go’ mobile phone electronically via a Chip & PIN terminal.
- Mobile Vouchers – Using the latest mobile phone technology, text messages with a unique promotional offer and code can be sent to your customer base and the offer redeemed at the point of sale by entering the unique code. A useful marketing tool to help drive footfall.
Contact Commidea sales on 08444 828 200 or email enquiries@commidea.com for further information.
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Do Commidea offer both standalone and integrated solutions?
Yes. Commidea’s solutions can operate in a standalone environment i.e. operate independently from the EPoS system, and integrated environment i.e. linked with the EPoS system. With a standalone solution, you need to enter the total price into the Chip & PIN machine before customers enter their PIN code. With an integrated solution, you do not need to re-enter the total transaction value, therefore avoiding the costly mistakes of re-entering values.
Commidea have an extensive business network of over 250 EPoS suppliers that currently integrate with our solutions. If you would like an integrated solution, please contact Commidea and we will provide you details of suitable suppliers.
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Do Commidea have a solution for processing card payments online or over the phone?
Yes. Commidea is a multi-channel provider having solutions to fit any environment or sector. Commidea’s card payment solutions for online or phone payment start from as little as £8.99 per month. For details, please call Commidea Sales on 08444 828 200 or email enquiries@commidea.com.
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Which system would suit my needs best, WinTI or ICP?
The main difference between WinTI and ICP is the point at which authorisation for the card payment is sought from the acquirer. With WinTI authorisation is sought immediately (at the point of sale or point of order entry) and is thus referred to as an on-line system. This is important when goods or services are to be provided instantly (e.g. insurance) or where it is paramount to let the customer know that their order has been accepted while they are on the phone or connected to an e - commerce or interactive voice response system. ICP offers both a batch or real time authorisation solution but differs in that the payment engine software is housed at Commidea and you are provided with a variety of ways to connect to our central servers to process your transactions. The advantages of using our central servers include reduced communications costs, 24X7 system monitoring, use of Commidea’s X.25 network for fast authorisations, professional system management, reduces your PCI DSS compliance and inclusive system updates.
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Which card types can the systems process?
All of the major credit, debit and charge cards including American Express, Clydesdale, Delta, Diners Club, EDC/Maestro, Electron, JCB, MasterCard, Solo, Style, Switch, Visa and Visa Purchasing cards in addition to many other specific card types.
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Can I use WinTI or ICP with my bank?
Each of the following UK acquirers has independently tested and certified all of these systems. If your bank is not one of those listed, please call us to discuss timescales for certification. American Express, Bank of Ireland, Bank of Scotland, Barclays Merchant Services, Clydesdale Bank, Diners Club, HSBC (formerley Midland Bank), Lloyds TSB Cardnet, Northern Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and Yorkshire Bank.
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How long does it take to process transactions with WinTI?
The following table is intended to provide an approximation of the time taken by WinTI to authorise a card payment on line to any acquirer using each of the supported communication methods.
Communications Method Approx speed of authorisation:-
PSTN 10-15 seconds
ISDN 6-8 seconds
Paknet (Vodafone Data Network) 4-6 seconds
X.25 2-4 seconds
Please also note that the WinTI system can simultaneously process through a maximum of 32 communication channels therefore providing a maximum capacity of 32 online authorisations every 2-4 seconds from each WinTI server. This equates to an overall throughput capacity of more than 35,000 transactions per hour.
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How long does it take to process transactions with ICP?
Because the ICP service managed by Commidea is directly connected to the X.25 network, ICP real time authorisations take on average between 2-4 seconds to process from the time you present the transaction to our servers to receiving a corresponding authorisation result.
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Do I need the WinTI Client with WinTI?
Not at all. WinTI is most often implemented as a "server only" solution whereby your own host application (EpoS, sales order processing system, IVR system or e - commerce application) effectively acts as the WinTI client by capturing the card transaction details, lodging a processing request with WinTI and reacting to the subsequent authorisation responses that WinTI returns.
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How do I connect to the ICP Service?
There are three main ways of connecting to the ICP service; by using the ICP Client software available from Commidea; by communicating from your web server to our web server; by establishing a Virtual Private Network connection (this can be done between your firewall and ours or by installing a VPN hardware device to communicate to our firewall). All these methods are fully described in our ICP Integrators manual.
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Can I process transactions in multiple currencies?
With some Acquirers, yes. Additional modules are available with both WinTI and ICP to enable full multi currency processing (including the Euro), but you will need to set up multi currency arrangements with your Acquirer and check with them which currencies you are able to accept.
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Can I process Corporate purchasing cards through WinTI and ICP?
Additional modules are available for all systems to enable corporate purchasing card acceptance for both Visa and American Express branded cards at full line item detail level only. You will need to check with your acquirer about purchasing card acceptance as not all acquirers can process purchasing card transactions. In some cases it may be necessary to establish additional merchant account numbers for purchasing card processing.
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How long will it take to implement a new system?
Time scales will vary greatly dependent upon the set up times of each acquirer and the type of system used. As a guide we recommend that you allow 4-6 weeks for most implementations although many can be implemented within shorter time scales. Please call Commidea Sales on 08444 828 200 if you would like specific advice about time scales for your requirements, or email us at enquiries@commidea.com.
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What do I need to tell my bank to set up a new system?
Nothing initially. On acceptance of your order for any of our products we will communicate with your acquirer and provide them with any information they require. However some acquirers may need you to complete additional documentation if the nature of your agreement with them is changing (e.g. if you decide to process in multiple currencies) and they will contact you directly about these issues.
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What is the maximum number of operators that can use ICP or WinTI at any time?
The WinTI and ICP systems support a maximum of 10,000 operators per server.
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Who installs and configures the system?
At Commidea we offer a full system configuration and installation service by qualified internal engineers to ensure a smooth system implementation. However, due to the ease with which the systems can be installed this service is entirely optional and you can choose to install the system yourself with remote back up from our Merchant Helpdesk (link to ‘Services’ section in Products area of website).
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Do Commidea offer software support services?
Yes. All Commidea systems are sold with a mandatory annual support and maintenance contract which provides our clients with remote support from the technical support help desk and all bank mandated system updates to cover issues such as changes to valid card range tables and bank specific configuration requirements.
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Can I arrange for a demonstration of the systems at my offices?
Certainly. We appreciate that decisions about such an important element of your business may require detailed discussions to make sure that all of your requirements will be met. That's why we will always be prepared to visit you to demonstrate the systems or to simply discuss your requirements fully. Simply call Commidea Sales on 08444 828 200 to arrange an appointment or email us at enquiries@commidea.com.
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Do Commidea supply any development tools to help interface to ICP or WinTI?
Development copies of all systems are available. The development systems are configured in emulation mode which means that you can fully integrate and test the system without processing any live data, but in the knowledge that the system will work in exactly the same way in a live environment. In addition the WinTI developer’s software is supplied with a development application specifically aimed at clients who wish to use WinTI as a server only solution. Please contact Commidea Sales on 08444 828 200 to request a development copy of the software, or email us at enquiries@commidea.com.
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What specification of PC will I need to run WinTI or ICP?
WinTI minimum hardware requirements:-
PC running MS Windows 2000, XP or higher.
Minimum specification Pentium or Pentium PRO system with 300MHz processor.
64MB RAM.
500 MB of available hard disk space.
VGA or higher resolution display adapter.
Appropriate communications device(s).
At least 1 available standard COM port.
Commidea approved communications device
1 licensed copy of PC Anywhere or other approved remote diagnostics software application.
ICP Client minimum hardware requirements:-
PC running MS Windows 2000, XP or higher
Minimum specification Pentium or Pentium PRO system with 300MHz processor.
64MB RAM.
500 MB of available hard disk space.
VGA or higher resolution display adapter.
Firewall Access to Commidea’s ICP Servers over the internet
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Do WinTI and ICP support Purchase with Cash Back?
Yes, but only for those card schemes for which purchase with cash back is a permitted transaction type and only if you have agreement from your acquirer to offer this facility.
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Do the systems support multiple merchant account processing?
All systems have the capability of processing transactions under a recommended maximum of 10,000 merchant accounts and also support processing to different acquirers from the same system.
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Can I interface to ICP or WinTI from my host system?
All of our systems have been designed specifically for integration to a wide range of host systems including EpoS, sales order processing, IVR, e - commerce, mail order and telesales systems to provide fast and seamless card payment processing functionality. For more information about interfacing to ICP or WinTi, please call Commidea Sales on 08444 828 200 or email us at enquiries@commidea.com.
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APACS is the Association for Payment and Clearing Services, a body which sets standards for the protocols used to process card transactions. APACS standards include APACS 30, which relates to card transaction authorisations and APACS 29b which relates to funds transfer protocols.
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Who do I contact if I have a technical issue?
Commidea have a experienced Merchant Helpdesk department that work 7 days week. Should you have any technical questions or require help with operating your Commidea solution, please do not hesitate to contact the Merchant Helpdesk by phoning 08444 828 222 or email helpdesk@commidea.com.