Transaction Descriptor or Merchant Descriptor – After a customer makes a transaction, he gets the bank details that contains, merchant name, amount, and time. The merchant name is often termed as the Transaction Descriptor or Merchant Descriptor. Nowadays, many customers started checking this transaction descriptor as a result of rising frauds.

This means, for a merchant, the transaction descriptor is far more important than to a customer. An incorrect or non-informative merchant descriptor can lead to chargeback, which is even more worse for the business. This article contains all the details necessary for a merchant regarding the Merchant Descriptor.

What Is Transaction Descriptor Or Merchant Descriptor?

It appears on the credit card   statement or any other bank statement of the customer that contains details of the company and merchant involved in the particular transaction.

The purpose of the merchant descriptor is to identify whom the payment was made to. Whenever a merchant goes for the merchant account, he or she is asked to provide the merchant descriptor as well.

What Are the Benefits of Having Transaction Descriptor or Merchant Descriptor?

Having a transaction descriptor can save the merchant from a chargeback. This is the most important benefit of having the transaction descriptor.

• A descriptor gives a clear information about the merchant and the purchase.
• This helps a customer to quickly identify the transaction.
• That also results in a low chance of the chargeback from the customer’s end.

According to the various reports from the card networks, most chargebacks are filed simply because the customer did not identify the transaction.

How to Choose the Correct Transaction Descriptor for Your Business?

Now you know, as a merchant you should give attention to the merchant descriptor. If this is the case, you need to gather more information about the Transaction Descriptor or Merchant Descriptor.

There are two kinds of Transaction Descriptor:

1. Static Descriptor – A Static Descriptor remains the same for all the transactions made by the merchant.
2. Dynamic Descriptor – And in this case, it varies and includes the details of the purchased goods or service.

You must be wondering which one is better and what should you get for your business.

A Static Descriptor is often called Hard Descriptor. If you have a business that sells one kind of goods or service then you can go for this. A static descriptor generally contains the company and location in form of the zip code.

Whereas, the Dynamic Descriptor may change with each transaction as it contains product specific details. If you own a store that sells a variety of products then you should choose the dynamic descriptor.

What Should be Added to the Transaction Descriptor or Merchant Descriptor?

• Company Name/Business Name – This is a must as the customer is most likely to identify the merchant on the basis of the company name. Never forget to add the company name to the merchant descriptor.
• Contact Information – Say the customer wants to contact the merchant but she is unable to because of the lack of contact information available to her. She may look at the credit card statement, if she finds the contact information there, it would save the merchant from one chargeback. Adding the contact number is considered as a clever move for a merchant.
• Website Information – The merchant can also put the Website address to the transaction descriptor. This also helps the merchant to identify the transaction.
• Merchant Address – You are not required to add the complete address. However, the zip code can also work for the merchant.

Here are the examples of an ideal merchant descriptor:

• COMPANYNAME 123-123-1234 ZIP CODE US
• COMPANYNAME COMPANYSITECOM ZIP CODE US

Conclusion – Merchant Stronghold

A billing descriptor should contain enough details for the customer to identify the transaction. It is up to the merchant or the business type to choose to go for the Static Descriptor or the Dynamic Descriptor.

The main goal is to provide the best services to the customer and run the business using good practices.

For any queries related to the Transaction Descriptor or Merchant Descriptor, feel free contact Merchant Stronghold. We also provide other merchant processing services and high-risk merchant account services.Also, you can try our toll-free number  +1 (727) 330-3944  and try the 24/7 email support.