Posts Tagged ‘Credit Card Processing Fees’
|WSJ Article is incorrect in regard to interchange fees
Monday, February 15th, 2010
Every couple of weeks, I like to browse the most recent payments industry articles that have been published online to see what people are saying. For the most part, I very rarely read anything that is not published by a reputable site. With that being said, I was shocked to read this weekend an article posted online by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) titled “For Businesses That Accept Cards, Tips for Cutting Fees“. The following is how this article started:
“When it comes to credit-card fees, bigger companies have more clout with issuers than small ones. But there are ways to minimize costly processing fees, from negotiating to shopping around. Here are eight tips.” – At this point, I am very intrigued! The author is right, bigger companies will always have more clout but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a low rate.
“Negotiate processing fees – To negotiate the interchange rate, which is set by Visa and MasterCard accounts for about three-quarters of merchants’ card acceptance fees, business owners should contact Visa and MasterCard directly, says Trish Wexler, a spokeswoman for the Electronic Payments Coalition, a group representing banks and credit-card networks.” - This statement is incorrect and it is articles like these that confuse merchants on what they should do. Unfortunately, you cannot call Visa and MasterCard directly to negotiate interchange rate as this rate is un-negotiable. There are over 300 interchange rates and though you may not be able to negotiate for a better rate, there are steps that you can take to make sure you process at the most optimal rate. If you would like more information on if you are processing at an optimal rate, contact your processor or us at The Processing Brokerage and we would be more than happy to point you in the right direction.
Steve Williams – The Processing Brokerage
Tags: Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Fees, Interchange Fees, Processing Brokerage
Posted in Industry News | No Comments »
Credit Card Processing for Non Profits – It’s Time to Check Your Rate
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
We recently helped a Non Profit client who had not looked at their credit card processing rate since 1999. As it has now been a decade since their last reduction, they thought it was time to see if the market had changed and if they could reduce their fees. Needless to say, once we provided our analysis and showed them what they should be paying annually, they were shocked! The Processing Brokerage significantly reduced their fees and there are lessons that Non Profits, Associations, and Charities can learn from this case.
What happened to our client is very common for nonprofits as they are naturally focused on their cause and as long as they can accept credit cards, that is good enough for them. If you are a Non Profit reading this right now, this probably sounds very familiar: The last time you looked at your credit card processing was when you decided to take donations online or needed a new merchant account. Since that time, your organization has experienced great growth and success. With everyone being so busy, consistently meeting fundraising goals, and dealing with a scope that has probably broadened; who has the time to look at their credit card processing? Maybe that was you about a year ago and now with a changed economy, your organization needs to change as well. Either way, it behooves you to look into reducing your credit card processing fees further.
There are typically three options that you can take when attempting to reduce your credit card processing fees:
Tags: Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Fees, Nonprofit, Processing Brokerage
Posted in Nonprofit | 1 Comment »
WSJ – Interchange Fees Step Into the Spotlight
Sunday, November 8th, 2009
According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. banks raked in $45.3 billion last year from credit- and debit-card fees charged to merchants. About 75% of that comes from interchange fees set by Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. Overall merchant fees, including other revenue collected by banks and processing middlemen, are up 78% from $25.5 billion in 2003, according to the Nilson Report, a Carpinteria, Calif., newsletter that tracks the payments industry.
Merchants in the U.S. paid an average interchange rate of 1.82% per transaction last year, down from 1.93% in 2005, according to the Nilson Report, an industry’s argument that fees are falling. Please contact the Processing Brokerage for information on our interchange optimization program.
To read the rest of the article about credit card processing interchange fees, please click below:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125590252696692963.html
Tags: Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Fees, Interchange Fees, Processing Brokerage, Small Business
Posted in Industry News | No Comments »
Yankees and Credit Card Processing Fees
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
The Processing Brokerage wants to congratulate the New York Yankees for winning the World Series!!!
Tags: Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Fees, New York Yankees, Processing Brokerage
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
8 Ways – Small businesses can immediately lower credit card processing fees
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Having to deal with your credit card processing fees to some is the most painful task a business owner has. Though it may seem painful, everyone knows that this is an area that provide significant savings immediately for a merchant. Here are some helpful tips that will get you on your way to reducing your credit card processing fees.
8 Ways Small Businesses Can Manage Credit Card Processing Fees
Tags: Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Fees, Processing Brokerage, Small Business
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Discussion on growing Interchange Fees
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Interchange is in the news again due to the House Committee on Financial Services hearing which discussed the components of the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009. As many of you know, Interchange makes up a large part of your credit card processing fees and there is currently a discussion on BusinessWeek.com with different merchants who are sharing their stories on what they have done to reduce these fees.
Referenced Site:
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/running_small_business/archives/2009/10/small_merchants.html
Thanks,
Steve Williams – The Processing Brokerage
www.processingbrokerage.com
Tags: Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Fees, Interchange Fees, Processing Brokerage, Small Business
Posted in Industry News | 1 Comment »
Credit Card Processing Fees – Lowering Your Rate
Saturday, February 28th, 2009
Credit card processing is just a part of doing business for small business owners. An area that businesses should research on are the credit card processing fees assessed by the processor. These fees are commonly known as a transaction fee or simply pricing.
The pricing a businesses pays will either be billed as a percentage based fee or a flat fee. The transaction fee can also be wrapped up in the discount rate that is also a percentage based fee that consists of all credit card processing fees. We recommend that if you are a company and are being charged a discount rate, it would be in your best interest to change your discount rate to a pass thru setup. When your business is setup at pass thru, it means everything charged is clearly visible and shown individually which allows the merchant a better ability for large reduction in credit card processing fees.
When analyzing your rate, please note that the rate most competitive for you, may not be the right choice for another merchant. Your transaction fee is determined by average ticket, processing volume, and how many transactions a business processes over a 12 month period. It’s important that a merchant shop around for the best rate. While looking for a lower rate, it’s important to read the fine print of the contract to make sure you are comparing apples to apples and are truly agreeing to the pricing agreed upon.
The Processing Brokerage will assist you through lowering your credit card processing fees. The Processing Brokerage is an independant expert in the payments industry who strives to empower the merchant through cost cutting solutions.
Tags: Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Fees, Processing Brokerage, Small Business
Posted in Credit Card Processing FAQ | No Comments »
