APX - General

What is APX?

Abacus Payment Exchange (APX) is a payment solution that uses a single platform to process Credit Card and ACH payments within Amicus Billing, Amicus Online, Office Tools, Abacus Law, and Office Tools Online , so you get paid quickly.

It also makes payments easy for your clients! This allows you to collect payments to your operating and trust accounts.

Is APX PCI Compliant?

Yes, all sensitive data are securely stored with our payment processor partner. Our payment processor partner fulfills the PCI compliant requirements.

Onboarding and adding Credit Card, Banking and other sensitive data occur via a secured web browser provided by our payment processor partner.

We use a token to communication between the application and our payment processing partner.
Since there are no sensitive data stored locally, a firm using APX will not require to be PCI compliant.

Does APX comply with ABA IOLTA rules?

Yes, APX is configured to process all fees from the operating account for APX trust transactions. This is done as part of the onboarding process where you define your operating and trust bank account.

Note: You cannot onboard your trust account without having onboarded the operating bank account. This is normally done at the same time, but you can choose to onboard the trust later.

Does APX do hard checks or soft checks?

APX performs a Soft check as part of the underwriting process after the merchant application (onboarding) submission.

The soft credit check will have no impact on the credit score. In addition, soft credit check will not show up on their credit report.

How long does it take for my application to be approved?

Generally, two business days, provided our payment processing partner does not require further information to complete the underwriting process.

If further information is required, such as a home address, or a void check, you will be notified, and we will provide via email a secure link which allows you to securely upload the required document(s).

Does APX have any capability that allows our clients to pay directly?

Yes, the application provides two options: 

1. The firm can invite their client to pay via the application client portal.
2. The firm can use the PayNow feature. This feature allows the firm to send a payment request by email where the firm’s client can click on a link to open a secured portal to make the payment.

Does APX have separate accounts for operating and trust accounts?

Yes, the firm can onboard both the operating and trust accounts at the same time or choose to onboard the trust account later.

What are the associated APX fees?

ACH transactions are $1.00 per transaction
ACC Transactions are 3% per transaction

Note: There are no fees for Refunds or Voids

When are APX fees taken from my account and are they done on individual transactions?

Fees are normally taken out 2 to 3 days after the deposit. The fees are withdrawn in total for one day’s transaction.

Note: Details of the Fees can be seen on your APX Transaction report.

Will fees be taken from the Trust account?

In keeping with the trust/IOLTA requirements, all transaction fees for APX trust transactions are taken from the operating account and not the trust account.

Are there fees for Refunds or Voids?

There are no fees for either Refunds or Voids

When can I expect to see the transaction in my bank account?

For CC transactions 24-48 hours. This depends on when your client credit card issuing bank releases the funds.

For ACH Transactions 5 – 7 business days. This is an electronic bank-to-bank transfer that is processed through the Automated Clearing House Network.

Note: Transactions entered prior to 5pm EST are cleared for processing on the same day. However transactions entered after 5pm EST will be cleared the following day for processing.

What does a co-signor need to provide?

Name, DOB, Email Address, Home Address, Cell Number,

Vantage will then do an identity verification check on the cosigner – so as soon as they get the information a new link will be created for the cosigner to complete the KBA questions.

Does APX allow for payment processing in Canada?

APX does not currently allow for payment processing in Canada.

Are there APX Reports?

Our software has built in APX Reports. You should run these reports to check the status and details of your transactions. These reports cover your Operating and Trust (if applicable)

These reports includes:

- Chargeback Report
- Transaction History Report – Details and Summary

What are Chargebacks?

A chargeback, also referred to as a payment dispute, occurs when a cardholder questions a transaction and asks their card-issuing bank to reverse it.

A chargeback can be considered a refund since it returns specified funds taken from an account through a prior purchase. In this sense, it differs from a voided charge, which is never fully authorized for settlement. Focused on charges that have been fully processed and settled, chargebacks can often take several days for full settlement as they must be reversed through an electronic process involving multiple entities.

Chargebacks can be disputed for many reasons. A cardholder may have been charged by a merchant for items they never received, a merchant could have duplicated a charge by mistake, a technical issue may have caused a mistaken charge, or a cardholder’s card information may have been compromised. Source