International Credit Card Processing: Laws You Need to Know

Web sites like eBay make international credit card processing an easy process, but you should know the laws behind purchasing across national borders. This article will give an overview of international credit card processing.

Privacy Laws

Countries like Japan, The European Union and the United States, have laws against the misuse of personal information. These laws are intended to keep the sellers from distributing or using any personal information gained during a transaction. Each country will have its own set of rules, so it is important to read over regulations for the country you’ll be doing transactions in. Copies of these law documents are often available over the internet.

There are different standards and specific requirements for keeping information secure. These laws tell businesses that they need to let customers know if a breach of security concerning their private information.

The aim of the laws and regulations is to make companies more diligent in protecting private information. If business need to disclose possible security problems, they are more apt to keep security problems from occurring. A company can suffer a great loss of business, embarrassment, and law suits when they do not follow the regulations.

The Responsibility of Credit Card Companies

Credit card companies will not take responsibility for fraudulent vendors. What this means is: if you make a purchase, either over the internet, or in the location itself, and the vendor cheats you in some way you cannot turn to the credit card companies for compensation. For this reason, you should research any international business you want to work with. If you are abroad, stay away from booth vendors and small shops because they do not have an established store and can be fly by night institutions. Try to stick to businesses that have some popularity and reliability.

Illegal Purchases

This may go with out saying, but all credit card companies prohibit the purchase of illegal items or services. You cannot go to the credit card company with concerns of a purchase that was not legal. For example, in some countries it is illegal to take art or certain artifacts out of the country. Or, even food products, like fruit or wine. If you bought an artifact, and then found out later that it was a fake, not only will you not get your money back, you may be charged fines or face jail time. This is another reason to research the individual laws of each country, concerning not necessarily just credit card laws, but laws concerning the tourist trade.

This is includes items that are legal in the country you are visiting, but are not legal in the country that you live in. For example, certain pharmaceuticals or street drugs are legal in other countries, but are not legal in the United States. If you buy drugs from a legal drug business in Switzerland, and then find out that you didn’t get what you thought you had, you cannot go to your credit card company to complain. You may face fines and jail time once again. Many people do not realize that they are doing something illegal.

A good rule of thumb to use when planning to travel internationally is to read your credit card’s terms of service. The specified terms should answer most of your questions. Also, being careful when using your credit is recommended as well. Using your credit card at a hotel may be safe, but using it in a local market may not be. Your credit card company will do it’s best to help you if you’ve been a victim of fraud in one of these areas, but they cannot do much if they can’t find the vendor.

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International Credit Card Processing: Laws You Need to Know

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