## Overview **Owner:** Phoebe Price, VP Customer Operations **Last Updated:** June 7, 2026 **Applies to:** All merchant-facing communications — support replies, incident notifications, compliance requests, escalation updates ## Core Principles ### 1\. Lead with clarity, not defensiveness Start with what the merchant needs to know — not background or internal reasoning. First sentence must answer: What happened? What action is required? When? | Don't write | Write instead | | --- | --- | | Due to recent regulatory changes and internal process reviews, we are reaching out regarding your account. | We need your completed Beneficial Owner form by June 1, 2026. | ### 2\. Be transparent without oversharing Merchants need to understand the situation and next steps — not root-cause details. | Don't write | Write instead | | --- | --- | | Our reconciliation process attempted to reconcile the same payment twice, creating an invalid deposit record due to an internal mapping issue. | We identified an issue that impacted how certain deposits were reflected in your Transfer Report. | **Commercial sensitivity:** Never reference pricing tiers, processing plans, or capabilities not part of the merchant's current setup. Commercial upgrade conversations belong with their CSM — not support. ### 3\. Never name our technology providers Our processing and banking relationships are confidential. | Never say | Say instead | | --- | --- | | Vantiv / Stripe | our payment processor or our card processing partner | | Airwallex | our banking partner or our payment provider | | CPI | our check processing partner | If a merchant explicitly asks who processes their payments, escalate to your manager or CSM before responding. ### 4\. Acknowledge impact without assigning blame | Don't write | Write instead | | --- | --- | | This was our mistake and we apologize for the problems we caused. | We understand this may have affected your reconciliation process and appreciate your patience as we work through the correction. | ### 5\. Never speculate Only communicate what Engineering has confirmed. | Don't write | Write instead | | --- | --- | | We believe this may be related to a sync issue. | The issue is under investigation. We'll provide an update by \[date\]. | ### 6\. Focus on actions and outcomes Every communication must answer: - What happened - What we are doing about it - What the merchant needs to do (if anything) - When they will hear from us next ### 7\. Set specific expectations — never vague ones | Never use | Use instead | | --- | --- | | soon, shortly, as soon as possible, in a timely manner | by Thursday / within 2 business days / by June 3 | If you don't know the timeline: _I don't have a resolution timeline yet, but I'll send an update by Thursday regardless._ ### 8\. Handle subject lines carefully Internal subject lines can be informative. External subject lines (what the merchant sees) must be neutral. **Never expose in a subject line:** VIP or account tier status, internal severity ratings (Sev-2, IR-1), internal process context (Escalated, Flagged), or sensitive financial details. | Internal (OK) | Merchant-facing (never expose) | | --- | --- | | \[VIP\] HPG — AutoPay Failure — Escalated | Follow-up: AutoPay Processing | ## Tone **Aim for:** Calm. Clear. Confident. Human. **Avoid:** Corporate or overly legal language, internal jargon (PHD, BTR, IR-1, Sev-2, roadrunner, JIG, Appsmith), naming internal tools, vague timing, panic-inducing language, over-apologizing. ## Incident Communications Structure 1. **What happened** — We identified an issue impacting... 2. **Impact** — As a result, you may see... 3. **Resolution** — We have implemented a correction... 4. **Merchant action** — No action is required. _OR:_ Please review and update... 5. **Next update** — We will provide another update by \[specific date\]. **Always omit:** internal system names, engineering root cause details, provider names, Jira references, anything unconfirmed. ## Escalation Communications 1. **Acknowledge first** — I understand this has been frustrating. 2. **State current status** — The issue has been escalated and is actively being investigated. 3. **Set a specific expectation** — I'll provide an update by Tuesday, even if the investigation is still in progress. Consistency builds trust more than speed. ## Good-Faith Exceptions | Write (discretionary framing) | Never write (causal framing) | | --- | --- | | As a one-time goodwill gesture, we have approved... | Because of the issue, we are refunding... | ## The Litmus Test Before sending any merchant communication, confirm the merchant can answer all five: 1. What happened? 2. Am I impacted? 3. What do I need to do? 4. When does it need to happen? 5. When will I hear from Paystand again? ## Quick Reference | Never say | Say instead | | --- | --- | | Vantiv confirmed… | Our payment processor confirmed… | | CPI is processing… | Our check processing partner is processing… | | Airwallex… | Our banking partner… | | We'll be in touch soon | We'll follow up by \[specific date\] | | This is our fault | We understand this has impacted your operations… | | Our BTR script failed | We identified an issue with your Transfer Report | | You're on 6-day ACH | Your ACH transfers typically post within 6 business days | | We believe this may be… | The issue is under investigation. We'll update you by \[date\] | | Immediate action required! | Please complete by \[date\] to avoid interruptions | | \[VIP\] in subject line to merchant | Neutral subject: Follow-up: \[topic\] | PrevNext #### Table of contents Merchant Communication Guidelines - [Merchant Communication Guidelines](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#merchant-communication-guidelines-0-0) - [Overview](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#overview-0-1) - [Core Principles](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#core-principles-0-2) - [1\. Lead with clarity, not defensiveness](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#1-lead-with-clarity-not-defensiveness-0-3) - [2\. Be transparent without oversharing](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#2-be-transparent-without-oversharing-0-4) - [3\. Never name our technology providers](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#3-never-name-our-technology-providers-0-5) - [4\. Acknowledge impact without assigning blame](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#4-acknowledge-impact-without-assigning-blame-0-6) - [5\. Never speculate](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#5-never-speculate-0-7) - [6\. Focus on actions and outcomes](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#6-focus-on-actions-and-outcomes-0-8) - [7\. Set specific expectations — never vague ones](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#7-set-specific-expectations-never-vague-ones-0-9) - [8\. Handle subject lines carefully](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#8-handle-subject-lines-carefully-0-10) - [Tone](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#tone-0-11) - [Incident Communications Structure](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#incident-communications-structure-0-12) - [Escalation Communications](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#escalation-communications-0-13) - [Good-Faith Exceptions](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#good-faith-exceptions-0-14) - [The Litmus Test](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#the-litmus-test-0-15) - [Quick Reference](https://support.paystand.com/hc/en-us/articles/51405076483483-Merchant-Communication-Guidelines#quick-reference-0-16)