Agreements & funding logic
Three agreements, in the order they happen, and the funding mechanics behind them. Every one of these gets explained to the merchant before it gets signed — that is not a courtesy, it is the job.
01 · Merchant Processing Agreement
MPA
What it is
The contract that puts Capvera's processing in place — the terminal, the software, and the terms the merchant is agreeing to for card processing.
When it is used
Every build file. If the merchant is having the rails installed, the MPA is the first thing they sign, and it is signed on the closer's call.
Do not let a merchant sign a page you have not walked. A merchant who signs blind is a merchant who disputes the first debit.
Confirm before they sign
- The legal business name and address match the application exactly — not a trade name, not a DBA, unless the DBA is what was applied under.
- The equipment and software listed are what you actually quoted them, at the term you quoted.
- The merchant understands this is a lease with a fixed term, and can say the term back to you.
- The pricing you quoted is present in the document — walk the number with the term attached.
- They know what happens at the end of the term, because they will ask eventually.
02 · Private Client Leasing Application
PCL APP
What it is
The leasing application that sits behind the equipment — the finance side of the build, submitted to Private Client Leasing once the processing is agreed.
When it is used
Build files where the equipment is being leased. It follows the MPA — the processing is agreed first, then the lease is applied for.
There is no such thing as a small inconsistency here. PCL reads documents against each other, and a mismatch is a decline, not a question.
Confirm before they sign
- Every field is complete — PCL will send it back for one missing field, and that costs days.
- The entity details match the MPA and the application. One inconsistent name across three documents is a stall.
- The requested equipment and term match what was quoted on the call.
- The merchant knows the monthly number and the term, and has agreed to both out loud.
- Signed and dated by someone with authority to sign for the business.
03 · Private Client Leasing — Direct Debit / Authorization
PCL DNA
What it is
The authorization that lets Private Client Leasing collect the lease payment directly from the merchant's account. It is the piece that makes the lease live.
When it is used
Last of the three. Once the lease is approved, the DNA is what actually turns the payment on.
A wrong digit here does not fail loudly. It fails as a returned payment weeks later, after the equipment is already deployed.
Confirm before they sign
- The routing and account numbers are correct — read them against the voided check, digit by digit. This is the single most expensive typo in the file.
- The account is the same one the processing deposits and the lease debit will run through.
- The merchant understands the payment date and how much comes out.
- The business name on the authorization matches the account holder name.
- Nobody is authorizing a debit on an account they do not control.
Funding logic
How ACH funding works
ACH is the backbone of most Capvera funding files. Understanding how the money moves is what lets you set the merchant's expectations correctly before the first debit — and that conversation is the difference between a smooth file and a returned payment.
ACH means it comes out of the account
Unlike a card-based split, an ACH file has the payment pulled directly from the merchant's bank account on a schedule. That makes the account the whole game — it needs to be funded and stable, and it needs to be one the merchant is not about to change.
It runs on the schedule, not on volume
A card split moves with sales. ACH does not — it debits on the date, whether the week was strong or weak. That is exactly why you check the deposit consistency before you let a merchant commit to it.
Returned payments are the risk to watch
An ACH that returns is not a skipped payment, it is a flag on the file. One is a conversation; a pattern ends the relationship and can end the funding. Set the merchant's expectation on the date and the balance clearly, on the call, before it starts.
Explain it before it debits, never after
The merchant who is surprised by a debit is the merchant who calls the bank instead of calling you. Walk them through the date and the amount out loud, and confirm they have it.
The one structure to know cold
Funderial Split Pay
What it is
A funding structure where a percentage of each card batch is split off at the processor level until the balance is retired, rather than the merchant making a separate scheduled payment.
When it is used
On card-heavy businesses where a fixed ACH debit would be too heavy for the cash flow, and where the volume runs through processing Capvera can actually see. If the volume is off the rails, split pay has nothing to split — that is a build first.
How the split is structured
The funder takes an agreed percentage of each batch. Slow weeks cost the merchant less because the split moves with the volume; strong weeks retire the balance faster. That variability is the feature, and it is also the thing the merchant needs to understand.
What the closer must explain
That the payment is not a fixed number — it moves with their sales. That a slow week means a smaller payment, not a missed one. And that the total remains the total: the split changes the pace, not the amount owed.
Walk every line, every time
Not because the merchant cannot read, but because the ones who sign without understanding are the ones who call the bank instead of calling you. The five minutes you spend walking a document is the cheapest insurance in the file.