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NOTE: TSYS is available in the U.S. only.
TSYS™ (formerly Cayan) is a credit card processing company that integrates directly with Stratus and InSpiredByYou. In addition to making credit card processing extremely easy, StudioPlus and TSYS take much of the hassle out of fulfilling the requirements for your business to become PCI compliant. Click here to learn more about PCI compliance and how it affects you.
Use the Credit Cards page of Company (Studio) Preferences to set up the TSYS integration. Follow the step-by-step instructions below:
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Setting up TSYS Credit Card Processing #
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Before you can process credit cards with TSYS through Stratus or InSpiredByYou, you need to establish a TSYS account and get things set up. Follow these step-by-step instructions:
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Create a TSYS account. Click here to receive a no-obligation quote from TSYS. This is the first step in establishing your account. Once your account is established, TSYS will email you your unique Account Credentials.
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Test your TSYS account credentials. Log into the TSYS gateway on the Internet with your account credentials and process a payment for $1 to make sure your credentials are valid and that your account is set up properly. You can then void the test transaction.
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Set up the TSYS integration in Stratus.
- Go to Maintenance > Preferences > Company (Studio) Preferences > Credit Cards.
HERE’S A FLASH FOR YOU!You may or may not receive two sets of credentials from TSYS, one for processing keyed transactions and one for processing swiped transactions. If you only receive one set of credentials, then use those credentials for both keyed and swiped transactions.
- Enter the Site ID, Key, and Name on both the Keyed and Swiped tabs. This information can be found in the setup email you received from TSYS. Again, if you only received one set of credentials from TSYS, enter the same information on both tabs. Note: The 2018 release or greater of Stratus no longer requires the use of a User Name or Password in the Company Preferences > Credit Card tab. The Site ID, Key, and Name are still required fields. Previous versions of Stratus still require a User Name and Password as well.
- Enforce Address Validation – When this option is selected, Stratus will automatically verify that the cardholder address you entered matches the actual billing address for the cardholder. If any part of the address matches, the transaction will be allowed to go through. If none of the address matches, you will be notified with a message box asking if you wish to proceed with the transaction anyway. This optional feature provides an added level of security that you may enforce at your discretion. Note: Turning this feature on does NOT lower your rates with TSYS.
- Enforce Security Code Validation – When this option is selected, Stratus will automatically check to see if the three-digit security code you entered matches the actual security code for the cardholder. If the code matches, the transaction will be allowed to go through. If the code does not match, you will be notified with a message box asking if you wish to proceed with the transaction anyway. This optional feature is an added level of security that you may enforce at your discretion. Note: Turning this feature on does NOT lower your rates with TSYS.
- Do not store credit card numbers for PCI compliance – When you select this option, the credit card boxes on your payments will be locked and the user will NOT be allowed to enter information into these fields. To process a credit card, Stratus will open a special window provided by TSYS. The user can then key or swipe card information into this window. TSYS will encrypt and transmit the information to themselves for processing. The authorization or decline code will then be passed back to Stratus, along with a unique token that can be used for future transactions using this credit card information. If this option is not available in this menu, it means it is already set up for your database. Because Stratus never touches the credit card details and never stores the credit card information in its database, Stratus is removed from the scope of PCI compliance. As a result, the process for your business to become PCI compliant is much simpler. It is highly recommended you select this option!
- Process a test payment in Stratus. Create a test client and invoice, and then process a test payment in Stratus. Refer to TSYS Credit Card Processing (US) for detailed instructions for processing payments in Stratus.
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Gift Cards #
- Use Gift Card Processing provided by Stratus – Select this option if you will be manually processing gift certificates through Stratus. See also: Gift Certificates
- Set a Gift Card expiration date – If you want to set a standard expiration date on gift certificates, enter it here.
- Use Gift Card processing provided by TSYS – Select this option is you will be processing gift cards with TSYS’s reloadable cards. See also: Setting up TSYS Gift Cards
Spectra Only – Purging Existing Credit Card Information #
If you have been storing credit card information inside Stratus prior to selecting the “Do not store credit card numbers for PCI compliance” option, you must run a purge routine to remove those existing credit cards from the database. Follow these steps to purge card information from your database:
ATTENTION!
It is recommended that you back up your Stratus database prior to running a purge routine.
ATTENTION!
The purge routine can take some time to run, depending on how long you have been using Stratus and how many card numbers are present. For large databases, we recommend allowing at least two hours for the routine to run.
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On the Credit Cards page of Company (Studio) Preferences, click Purge Now.

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You will see the following Purge Options:

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Click on the check box to Move existing credit card information to TSYS (Merchant Warehouse) secure server for future transactions prior to purge. This option will send necessary credit card numbers to the TSYS secure server prior to deleting them. TSYS will then provide Stratus with a unique token that can be used in the future to process a pending payment, a payment plan, or any other payment you wish using this credit card. It is recommended that you check this box.
NOTE: A token is a set of characters that are used as an exchange code so the entry characters (in a form, for instance) are coded with a specified type and character set, (hiding the original entry), and passed to another program. The code is then identified by its type in the receiving, secured program to be retained and used when needed. By not maintaining your client’s credit card information in Stratus, you are protecting the client information and your business from having PCI compliance issues. It is also an added marketing advantage for your client’s security assurance.
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Click Start Purge to begin the purge routine. The following items will be scanned and purged:
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Pending Payments – The database will be scanned for existing payment records that are still pending. For each pending payment, the card number will be removed from the pending payment record, leaving only the last four digits of the card number. If the check box for moving the information to TSYS is checked (step 3 above), the credit card details will be sent to the TSYS secure server and Stratus will receive a unique token back. The token is stored with this pending payment record to be used later, when the payment is actually due.
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Client Payment Methods – The database will be scanned for all credit card numbers stored as a client payment method. For each credit card payment method found on a client record, the card number will be removed from the payment method, leaving only the last four digits of the card number. If the check box for moving the information to TSYS is checked, the credit card details will be sent to the TSYS secure server and Stratus will receive a unique token back. The token is stored with this client payment method to be used later. Note: If the credit card is marked as inactive or if the card has expired, the credit card payment method will be deleted.
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Previous Payments – The database will be scanned for all credit card payments that have already been recorded. For each payment, the card number will be removed from the payment, leaving only the last four digits of the card number.
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Processing TSYS Payments #
To find out how to process client payments using the TSYS integration, refer to TSYS Credit Card Processing (US).