Merchant payments for a small shop: FPS, online checkout, refunds and daily reconciliation

Before you start

HKMA describes merchant acceptance through FPS QR codes and other channels, while individual banks and payment providers determine service terms. Merchant onboarding, the settlement account and website orders are linked but distinct records. Compare settlement, refunds, reserves, chargebacks and user permissions. A badge advertising wallet support does not establish acceptance for every customer's account or cross-border transaction. Confirm the actual arrangement and currency before building promises into checkout.

What to do, step by step

1. List in-store, website and invoice-payment scenarios and ask the provider about currencies, customer locations and refund routes. Obtain written terms covering merchant evidence, prohibited activities and the settlement name. Verify whether the business model, including pre-orders or recurring services, is accepted under those terms.
2. Compare complete costs rather than one percentage: per-transaction, currency conversion, refunds, chargebacks, minimum charges and withdrawals. Ask separately about normal settlement and review or reserve situations. Use the provider's current quotation for budgeting, stating assumptions instead of inventing a typical industry rate.
3. Configure payments through official tools and update orders only after checking the real successful status. Limit staff privileges and avoid collecting complete card details in chats or spreadsheets. Inspect the recipient displayed by a posted QR code, with a routine to detect a replaced sticker or incorrect receiving account.
4. Before launch, perform authorised small-value payment and refund tests, recording order, transaction and settlement references. Reconcile paid, awaiting settlement, bank-received and refunded states daily. Give an identified person responsibility for differences so that a successful customer screenshot cannot conceal a missing payout or duplicated order.

Costs, timing, and things to check

Dynamic QR, static QR and manually evidenced transfers can offer different reconciliation functions. Establish order matching and missing-payment handling. Use merchant-side confirmation rather than a customer screenshot alone, and never ask customers to disclose passwords or verification codes in support messages.

Refunds and chargebacks are different workflows, and a provider may request delivery evidence for a dispute. Keep funds available for legitimate refunds. Retain contracts and delivery records for their permitted purpose while controlling access according to privacy obligations and the provider's secure-submission process.

A practical example

A bakery website shows a successful payment while the reconciliation table still says awaiting settlement. Staff verify the order using the merchant transaction reference; finance marks it settled after checking the bank receipt. A duplicate payment is refunded through the original transaction with confirmation retained. The shop also checks the recipient of its door-side FPS code daily, avoiding reliance solely on a customer's phone screenshot.