FAQ: How Do I Swipe Credit Cards?

Salsa CRM supports using the SecuRED Mag Stripe card reader and the IDTech SREDKey, both available from CardConnect. These devices will take the credit card account information from a credit card magnetic strip and import that into Salsa CRM for a real-time, card-present credit card transaction. The device must be plugged into a USB port prior to logging in to Salsa CRM.

"Square"-type mobile devices are also available from CardConnect, but they are not supported by Salsa CRM. The transactions would have to be manually recreated into Salsa CRM or exported from Cardpointe and imported into Salsa CRM's Advanced Import functionality.

The mobile devices also do not capture donor demographics, because that is not on a credit card magnetic strip. Only the account number and expiration date are on a card magnetic strip.

Alternately, you could use Cardpointe's virtual terminal to capture transactions online using keyed entry.

To use a card reader to input credit card account information...

1. Start a new donation. Batch, Donor, Received Date, and Donation Amount must be entered and saved first.
   
   NOTE: The constituent, complete with a primary mailing address matching their billing address for the card, must be entered in the system first before a donation can be entered. 
   
   
2. Click Credit Card as the Payment Type. Make sure the Credit Card field says 'Use/Swipe New Card'.
   
3. Select the Charge button.
4. Swipe the card to input the account number into the Account Number field.
   
5. The Card Expiration Date must be manually entered. This is a security feature so that you are glancing at the card at least once for security's sake. Essentially, swiping the card replaces manually entering the card account number.
6. The Security Code is optional, even if the setting is turned on in the Credit Card settings.
7. Optionally, check the box to Store Card for Constituent. The card information is not stored in Salsa CRM but rather in your merchant account. A token that represents the card is stored in Salsa CRM and references the card stored in your merchant account.
8. Click Charge Card. The transaction is relayed to your merchant account. If the transaction is declined, a code will display and a general reason for the decline. If successful...
   • The donation record is saved.
   • A Donation ID is assigned.
   • The transaction's authorization code displays in the Payment Type area.