[Debconf-team] WRL (debit card) phone chat

[Jimmy Kaplowitz <jimmy@debconf.org>]

Hi,

I spoke with a friendly corporate accounts rep Ron at WRL on Tuesday, as
planned, to discuss how they could meet our requirements.

Here are the important takeaways from the chat (except for one, see below):

Pricing
=======
* Per-order cost: $2.95 per card plus $21.95 shipping
* Under the program we're planning to do, there would be no time-based fees
  (e.g. recurring maintenance charges)
* Setup cost: $500 (covered by SPI general funds not Deb* funds)
* The ability to restrict usage by MCC is new, so Ron needed to investigate
  what any costs are related to that. It also might cause us to receive
  MasterCard instead of VISA, but the two card brands are 100% interchangeable
  for our purposes, including pricing and acceptance among restaurants.
* They don't usually share residual amounts left over on cards for purchases
  under 500-1000 cards, but Ron will ask about it for us.
* There is no special rate for 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and they don't charge
  sales tax on the cards.

Tracking and controlling usage
=============================

* We would be able to put names on the cards at no extra cost
* We can view online which card numbers (last 8 digits) correspond to which
  person, and which have been activated, at no extra cost, but we can't see
  their balance or transaction details due to privacy laws. We can also have
  them mass-activated if we want.
* They will see if they are able to implement a shorter validity period than
  the usual 6 months, since we don't want them to be valid post-DC10.
* They don't have the ability to put sub-limits on per-day/per-card purchases

Overall quite a positive chat. He said he'd get back to me by close-of-business
today (Wednesday); since he didn't, I'll follow up tomorrow. (<-- ACTION ITEM)

The one big question: Ron said that many restaurants authorize the card for an
additional 15-20% to allow for a tip. If the customer tips less than the excess
authorized amount or tips in cash instead, the remainder of the money goes back
on the card in 5 business days, which obviously doesn't work for us.

I've heard about this practice, and I had assumed it didn't apply where tipping
is uncommon like fast-food and counter-service restaurants; he said it was even
true at Burger King. It's possible that it may be common elsewhere in the US
but not in NYC. Can someone who has actually used a debit (not credit) card at
such places in NYC clarify what actually happens?

If we can resolve that question, I think we're good to go on this for weekends
and the daytrip day.

(For reference, I told him that we'd be ordering roughly 185 cards, which I
calculated by adding sponsored-food + sponsored-food+accom + prof/corp in
Richard's registration data text file, and that $150 would be the most common
amount per card. In retrospect I realize I meant $75/card; that's 6 meals
averaging $12.50 each.)

- Jimmy Kaplowitz
jimmy@debconf.org