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Can I use third-party payment processors on my website in Mississippi? What are the requirements?

Yes, you can use third-party payment processors on your website in Mississippi, but you need to fulfill certain requirements.

Requirements for using third-party payment processors in Mississippi

  1. Written notice to the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance: If you want to use a third-party payment processor to hold, have access to, effectuate possession of, by any means, or to distribute or be in the chain of distribution of the monies of another licensee’s consumers, you must give the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance ten (10) days’ written notice. The notice should contain the name and address of the third-party payment processor, a description of the services, a copy of the agreement or contract between the licensee and the third-party payment processor, and the highest daily amount of consumer funds to be held or transmitted. [1.1]
  2. Surety bond or other assets: Each third-party payment processor must file with the commissioner a surety bond, issued by a bonding company or insurance company authorized to do business in the State of Mississippi, in the principal sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) and in an additional principal sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) for each additional licensee it contracts with, but in no event shall the bond be required to be in excess of One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00). In lieu of the surety bond, a third-party payment processor may file other assets such as cash, a certificate of deposit, or government bonds. [1.1]
  3. Confirmation from the department: A licensee shall not use a third-party payment processor until the licensee receives written notice from the department confirming that the department has received a surety bond or other assets from the third-party payment processor. [1.1]
  4. Examination of records: Prior to performing any of its services, the third-party payment processor shall provide written authorization for the department to examine all books, records, documents, and materials, including those maintained in electronic form, as they relate to the consumers’ monies held by, or distributed by the third-party payment processor to the creditors of the consumers and shall have received written confirmation from the department that the written authorization is sufficient. The cost of the examination shall be paid by the licensee. [1.1]
  5. Termination of agreement or contract: All agreements or contracts between a licensee and a third-party payment processor shall provide for a thirty-day written notice of termination to the party against whom termination is being sought. A licensee shall immediately notify the department in writing of the notice of termination. [1.1]

Additional information

The Department of Finance and Administration, Office of Fiscal Management (OFM) has established a policy for direct or indirect payment to vendors to support internal business functions in the fulfillment of orders and completion of transactions initiated in person or through the Internet. These transactions may include, but are not limited to, the collection of taxes, issuance of licenses, production of reports, and other collections or payments for services that are conducted by agencies in their normal course of business. Any cost incurred directly (by an agency) or indirectly (passed directly to the consumer) for a party to complete agency business transactions must be reflected as a cost of doing business for this agency. To do otherwise would not fully disclose costs of the State to conduct business or reflect revenue generated by a vendor who is providing services under contract for the State of Mississippi. Likewise, any charge to the consumer for processing these transactions should be recognized by the agency as revenue. [2.3]

State agencies accepting credit and/or debit cards through an approved alternate payment processor will comply with Payment Card Industry - Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) to safeguard cardholder and sensitive cardholder data, regardless of revenue input source. Agencies must provide to DFA yearly, proof of the alternate processor’s compliance with PCI-DSS. [2.3]

Conclusion

To use third-party payment processors on your website in Mississippi, you need to fulfill the requirements mentioned above.

Source(s):
Jurisdiction

Mississippi