BAMS Contracting
and
Nelnet Processing
BUDGET ACCOUNTING & REPORTING MEETING
OCTOBER 2015
Introductions
Dawn Vinberg, Executive Director, Shoreline Community College
Jennifer Fenske, Financial Services Director, Shoreline
Community College
Ryan Pitroff, Banking Services Manager, Office of the State
Treasurer
Tami Taylor, Banking Services, Office of the State Treasurer
Jon Potter, Regional Vice President, Nelnet Business Solutions
Background
Prior to Dec. 2012, 3rd party vendors were the merchant of record, and were directly charging
customers a convenience fee. The VISA rules were almost impossible to comply with, so most were
only accepting MasterCard, Discover and American Express for payment.
Dec. 2012 – VISA rolled out a new program called the Government Service Fee Program only for
certain merchants who are classified under one of the following Merchant Category Codes:
 Government merchants:
MCC 9311-Tax; MCC 9222-Fines; MCC 9211-Court Costs; MCC 9399Miscellaneous Government Services
 Tuition payments for higher education: MCC 8220-College Tuition;MCC 8244-Business;MCC 8249Trade Schools
Under the Government Service Fee Program, a 3rd party is allowed to assess the service fee, but the
merchant of record for the sale transaction MUST be classified as one of the qualifying MCC’s.
Background
After Dec. 2012 VISA started cracking down on 3rd party service providers who were the
merchant of record, but were NOT government or Higher Education. Because of this, the
colleges’ 3rd party provider wanted to issue new MIDs from their acquiring bank to make
each college the merchant of record.
The Office of the State Treasurer (OST) by law is responsible for contracting with financial
institutions and for coordinating agencies use of electronic payments, including bankcards.
OST has a master contract for Merchant Bankcard Services with Bank of America Merchant
Services (BAMS).
As a result, when the 3rd party wanted to make each college the merchant of record, that
brought the program under the oversight of OST, as we contract for all state agencies(which
includes the Community and Technical College system). We could not allow this program to
“go off contract”, but needed the sale merchant accounts to be issues by BAMS
BAMS Contract Requirements
BAMS was chosen as the state’s vendor primarily because of the flexibility they offer state
agencies. They allow the use of any processor or 3rd party service provider as long as that
provider can Authorize and Settle transactions using BAMS MIDs through one of the multiple
FirstData Gateways.
Because of the nature of the Government Service Fee Program, all 3rd Party Service Providers
must also have a direct relationship (contract) with BAMS, separate from the state’s
agreement.
Applies to all 3rd Party service providers, not just a specific vendor.
Working with BAMS and OST
 All requests for MIDs from BAMS must be made through the Office of the State Treasurer.
Email Bankcards@tre.wa.gov
 You can also contact the OST Bankcard Coordinator (Tami Taylor) at 360.902.8906; or the OST
Banking Services Manager (Ryan Pitroff) 360.902.8917
 Part of the MID setup is determining what processor/gateway the 3rd party either uses or is
certified to. We also need to know if the college is going to participate in the Government
Service Fee program or not.
 OST is willing to be on conference calls with 3rd Party vendors, but a representative from the
merchant must always be present.
 Once the MID is issued, OST will provide the college with a VAR sheet (information sheet
about the MID) that the college will then need to pass to their 3rd party to complete the setup.
Plan to solve the problem
Identified the steps to move forward
Sent an email to all of BAR and BAC
Slow progress
Testing Underway
Specific steps for the colleges
Get a new BAMS Merchant ID
Gather the info for the VAR chart
Plan for Pilot testing
Testing – What is the status?
Timing for making the change
Other things you should know
Nelnet side of Testing
Nelnet and ctcLink
Questions
Closing remarks and contact information