FAQs

• The cardholder, also known as the customer who is going to buy a good or a service from you.
• The merchant or business owner, aka yourself as someone who sells goods or services either in-person or online.
• The Point of sale system and terminal. These are the enablers for card payment acceptance.
• The issuing bank, this is your customer’s bank. Putting it simply, it is the bank that provides a person with a credit or a debit card that is run under one of the big card network schemes, like Visa, Mada, MasterCard, or American Express. Issuing banks act as the mediators between the end card users (your customers) and the card network.
• The merchant services provider, aka Geidea. As a Payment System Provider (PSP), we help you run and grow your business by facilitating credit card processing and providing you with all the services, technology, security, and data you need.
• The merchant bank, or the bank holding your IBAN number where you get paid out for your sales.

1. Authorization and approval

When a customer inserts or swipes his card over your terminal, his payment details are sent to Geidea. In a matter of 2 to 5 seconds, Geidea verifies with Mada, who then checks with the customer bank that this person has funds in his account to make the purchase. If the transaction is approved, the issuing bank holds the amount in the customer’s bank account for it to be paid out to the seller.

2. Payment processing

At this point, the customer’s issuing bank sends the requested amount back to the card payment network, which then sends this over to the payment processor (Geidea) before it arrives in your merchant bank account. All these steps have fees applied, like the interchange fee. If you want to learn more about payment fees check out this page.

The current net payout amount is the total amount that Geidea sends to your bank account on a given date.

Every time you sell a good or a service to a customer who uses a credit or a debit card (card gross sales), fees and deductions are taken out from the total amount you sold your product for.

Transaction fees and VAT are deducted from your gross sales, resulting in the card net sales amount. Any transactions that aren’t payable that month (pending settlement) will be deducted from the net sales amount; similarly, any transactions settled from previous months that are now ready to be paid will be added up to that amount, thus resulting in the gross payout total.

The net payout amount (how much you receive in your bank account) equals the gross payout total minus any non-transaction-related deductions applicable, plus the total amount covering chargebacks and refunds for that given period.

Geidea sends merchants their net payouts on a daily basis. This does not mean that transactions generated in a day are paid out on the same day. Instead, Geidea issues daily payouts containing transactions settled from previous days.

The time lapse between the moment you sell a good or a service, and the time you get paid in your bank account depends on the card network used by your customers.

Card network providers as well as banks, must first verify and run security checks on all transactions made by their customers. When a transaction is made with a Mada card the verification and settlement process takes less time than they do when the purchase is made using MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, or any other non-local card issuer.

You can check payout schedules in the table below. Please also note that, for transaction purposes, a one-day cycle starts at 4 AM and ends at 4 PM.

*For the purpose of bank transactions, a one-day cycle starts at 4 AM and ends at 4 PM as per Mada timing standards.

**Working days are Sunday to Thursday.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, punctuality isn’t always in our hands, as all transactions need to be settled by banks and network providers. These estimates are based on Geidea’s processing times after settlement and could be longer due to delays from third parties.

Transaction fees

These are deducted from your card gross sales as a fixed percentage on each transaction you make. These fees cover Mada fees, scheme fees (like Visa and Mastercard) and Geidea fees. They’re non-negotiable and they appear right below the card gross sales on your Geidea monthly statement summary.

Non-transaction fees

This is basically the minimum transaction fee and it is applied whenever your transaction level is lower than agreed. The minimum transaction fee per month is SAR15k per terminal. Fees charged under that equal SAR100 + VAT.

Would you like to know more about fees? You can either check your contract or visit Geidea to see all fees specified at the bottom of each product page.

An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is an international code that allows for easy identification of both the country where the bank is located and the recipient’s account number so he can receive transfers securely.

Without valid IBAN proof, Geidea will not be able to make payments into your account, so it is important that you provide it to us in the right format for your account to be validated.

A valid IBAN proof can be obtained physically, at your local bank branch, or electronically, in your banking app. It has to be officially issued by your bank and show both the IBAN number and the full name of the freelancer or business owner of that account.

You can then upload the file into your merchant portal easily:

1. Log into your account.
2. Choose Management on the left-hand-side menu.
3. Click on Documents and upload your IBAN proof.

We will review it and confirm whether the file was correct within 24h.

Similarly, if you wish to upload a new IBAN number you can do so from the portal too. Do you need more information? Check out this page or get in touch and we will be delighted to help.

A merchant statement report is a document you can download from your merchant portal on a monthly basis. This document contains information on all the transactions carried out by your business over the previous month. Monthly statements will enable you to reconcile balances with your own accounting books and bank records so you are always on top of your finance and payout processes.

A merchant statement provides you with very valuable information on how your business is doing. The details contained in a statement will enable you to closely monitor and analyze your business’ performance, as well as to make sure that all numbers are as you expect them to be so you can take the right decisions.

Monthly statement reports will cover all the information needed for you to understand what happens between the moment you make a sale and the moment you get the funds in your bank account.

In a nutshell, a statement will let you see all your card payments, total sales, fees charged by Geidea, and total payout amounts at any given time period.

Summary

This shows your net position for a given month. Number of transactions, total card gross sales, deductions, amounts pending from that month or settled from previous months, and net payout for that given period.

Transactions by card type

This table shows the card network provider your customers used when purchasing goods or services from you.

Net payout by deposit day

This section shows you on what days and what amounts were paid to your bank account.

Current net payout breakdown (by month)

In this section, you will see the breakdown of the payout so you understand which months your last payout includes transactions from.

Payout reconciliation by month

In this summary, you will be able to see your year-to-date position in terms of paid and pending payouts. Said differently, how much we still owe you and from which months.

Current net transactions paid

Of the current time period, this table shows you how many transactions you did and how many have been paid in the current payout.

Current net transactions pending

Of the current time period, this table shows you how many transactions you did and how many are pending settlement before they can be paid out to your bank account.

Here is a glossary with some useful terms that will help you understand a monthly statement:

• Payment terminal cancellation fees: SAR100 will be deducted for each remaining month in the contract, excluding tax.
• As for the Phone POS: SAR50 will be deducted for each month of use, excluding tax.

The misuse fees will be calculated based on a report and a photo of the damaged device. The minimum misuse fees are SAR950 and the maximum is SAR1,500:

• Broken screen fees are SAR1,030.
• A Breakage in the printer fees is SAR920.
• Complete damage or lost device fees are SAR1,500.
• A stolen device without a governmental report is charged a fee of SAR1500, and in some exceptional cases, the fees are below
• Charger port fees are SAR550.
• SIM port fees are SAR520.

• A commercial register matching your business type or your self-employment license and add your triple name in the business name box.
• KSA National Identity Number.
• ِA documented bank account stamped by the bank. The name on the bank account must coincide with the business or the self-employed license name.

  Please note that these are the initial requirements. Further documentation may be necessary to complete the on-boarding process.

You can get a copy of your contract by logging into your personal account on the Geidea website, then go to your Documents section and click on the Agreements option.

By attaching the following requirements (commercial register – institutional bank account) and submit a new request on the Geidea website.

There are no paper or maintenance fees. You can submit a maintenance request, and it’ll be fulfilled within 48 hours.

The devices are not for sale. You can get the device for free when you sign up to the Payment Terminal via the following link: Geidea – The new way to accept all types of payments and manage your entire business.

Monthly fees are collected by deducting them from the client’s operations every quarter. Note that you will receive a notification from Geidea with the dedicated amount.

You can submit a maintenance request by contacting us at 800303038, and we will be in touch in 48 working hours.

Please note that this is a free-of-charge number for your convenience.

You can request a paper roll for your terminal by simply calling us at 800303038 (to request a paper roll choose 3, for example) and then just enter your terminal number.

The request takes a maximum of 48 hours. Please note that this is a free-of-charge number for your convenience.

The usual fixed contract duration in Geidea is two years. The contract includes important details such as merchants’ information, start and end dates of the contract, transaction fee breakdown, merchant service charges, and terms and conditions.