Brown University departments seeking to accept payment card transactions must request approval from Financial Services by completing a New Merchant Request Form.

NEW Merchant Request Form

• If approved, implementation of this process may take 60 days or longer.
• Fees associated with the acceptance of credit cards will be charged to the department's budget.
• Under no circumstances should a department contact a credit card servicer directly or begin accepting credit cards without prior approval by Financial Services.

The Commerce Committee is a standing committee composed of representatives from Finance and Administrative Services, Office of Information Technology, and Internal Audit.

The Committee will perform the following functions:

• Establish registration requirements for commerce approval;
• Review and approve/deny requests for establishment of commerce presence;
• Advise Senior Officers on commerce policy, process, vendors, dissemination/publication of commerce information, and commerce matters in general; and
• Evaluate and exercise due diligence of vendor relationships, including monitoring service providers’ PCI DSS compliance on an annual basis.

1. Review Accepting and Handling Payment Cards Policy.
2. Complete a New Merchant Request Form. Please allow 10 business days for processing.
3. Financial Services will contact you regarding your request. If your request is approved, a new merchant account number will be requested and assigned to your department.
4. Training will be provided by Financial Services if using the TouchNet system. Training is required for all individuals in need of access to TouchNet. PCI Compliance training is required for all individuals handling credit card payments.
5. Implementation may take up to 90 days.
6. Email questions to commerce@brown.edu.

Departments looking to utilize an online commerce site or in-person payment card device for the purpose of ticket sales, registrations, and other types of products, that are a single-use or one-time event, may be able to utilize the Financial Services Merchant. 

This option is for departments or groups looking to offer online commerce or in-person payment for events/services/products that are not ongoing/recurring. For Departments or areas that will need long term online commerce options, please contact commerce@brown.edu

Online Commerce for Single-Use or One-Time Event

1. TouchNet Marketplace is the online payment card solution that is University approved and compliant; other methods for collection of payment must be approved in advance by the Commerce Committee and meet the Accepting and Handling Payment Cards Policy.
2. With TouchNet Marketplace, information can be collected in the form with modifiers for registration type events, such as: name, email, selection of sessions, meal type, special accommodations, affiliations, etc. with the ability to charge varied costs. Different registration types like student/professional or options like size and color for physical products as well as different fee models depending on the type or options selected can also be configured.
3. Ability to apply discounts or special codes is available
4. Reporting by transaction is available that includes all information collected during the purchase.

Departments should contact Financial Services at commerce@brown.edu before completing the below form to discuss their needs and make sure this solution will work for their use case.

Complete a Brown TouchNet Commerce Site Request to initiate site setup.  Please allow approximately 3 weeks for site development.

Revenue collected will be credited to the Cost Center provided to us when you complete the form. payment card fees will also be charged to the Cost Center monthly.

Credit Card Device Rental for Single-Use or One-Time Event

1. Various credit card devices are available for rental that follow the Accepting and Handling Payment Cards Policy.
2. Devices can be linked to an existing TouchNet Store for Point of Sale or used as a stand alone device to take various payment amounts. 
3. Multiple payment types available across different systems, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo.

Departments should contact Financial Services at commerce@brown.edu  to discuss their needs and find a solution that will work for their use case.

Revenue collected will be credited to the Cost Center provided on the rental agreement, along with payment card fees.